Kolaiah

Kolaiah is a personal name borne by two men in the Hebrew Bible. The first appears in a Benjamite genealogy from the post-exilic resettlement of Jerusalem; the second is identified only as the father of one of the false prophets denounced by Jeremiah among the Babylonian exiles.

Kolaiah the Benjamite

In the register of Benjamites who settled in Jerusalem after the return, Kolaiah appears as a link in the lineage of Sallu: "And these are the sons of Benjamin: Sallu the son of Meshullam, the son of Joed, the son of Pedaiah, the son of Kolaiah, the son of Maaseiah, the son of Ithiel, the son of Jeshaiah" (Ne 11:7). The name carries no narrative beyond its place in this descent, attaching Kolaiah to the tribe of Benjamin by ancestry of one of the chief residents of the restored city.

Kolaiah Father of Ahab the False Prophet

A different Kolaiah is named as the father of the false prophet Ahab in Jeremiah's letter to the exiles in Babylon: "Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and concerning Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who prophesy a lie to you⁺ in my name: Look, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon; and he will slay them before your⁺ eyes;" (Jer 29:21). Kolaiah himself is given no further description; he stands in the verse only as the patronymic by which his son's prophetic deceit is identified.