Meshillemoth

The name Meshillemoth belongs to two men a long way apart in the Old Testament: the father of an Ephraimite chief who blocked the enslavement of Judean captives in the days of Ahaz, and a priest in the line of Immer named in the post-exilic register of Jerusalem.

Father of an Ephraimite Chief Who Refused the Captives

After the Israelite army of Pekah had defeated Ahaz of Judah and brought the Judean captives home, four heads of the sons of Ephraim stood up to refuse the deportation. Berechiah son of Meshillemoth was one of them: "Then certain of the heads of the sons of Ephraim, Azariah the son of Johanan, Berechiah the son of Meshillemoth, and Jehizkiah the son of Shallum, and Amasa the son of Hadlai, stood up against those who came from the war, and said to them, You⁺ will not bring in the captives here: for you⁺ purpose that which will bring on us a trespass against Yahweh, to add to our sins and to our trespass; for our trespass is great, and there is fierce wrath against Israel" (2Ch 28:12-13). Meshillemoth himself does not act in the scene; his name carries through his son's protest against the enslavement.

A Priest of the Line of Immer

The second Meshillemoth appears in the genealogy of Amashsai in the Jerusalem-resident list of returnees: "and his brothers, chiefs of fathers' [houses], two hundred forty and two; and Amashsai the son of Azarel, the son of Ahzai, the son of Meshillemoth, the son of Immer," (Neh 11:13). Three generations back from the priestly chief, he stands in the priestly line of Immer — one of the priestly courses of the post-exilic temple.