Shammua

The name Shammua belongs to four men in scripture — a Reubenite spy, a son of David born in Jerusalem, a Levite ancestor of Abda, and a priest in the days of Joiakim.

The Reubenite Spy

When Moses sends one man from each tribe to spy out Canaan, the representative of Reuben is Shammua: "And these were their names: Of the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur" (Num 13:4).

A Son of David

Among the children born to David in Jerusalem, the lists in Samuel and Chronicles agree on the four sons of Bathsheba but vary on the form of Shammua's name. "And these are the names of those who were born to him in Jerusalem: Shammua, and Shobab, and Nathan, and Solomon," (2 Sam 5:14). The parallel in 1 Chronicles 3 reads instead, "Shimea, and Shobab, and Nathan, and Solomon, four, of Bath-shua the daughter of Ammiel" (1 Chr 3:5). The duplicate David-list in 1 Chronicles 14 returns to the spelling Shammua: "And these are the names of the children whom he had in Jerusalem: Shammua, and Shobab, Nathan, and Solomon," (1 Chr 14:4).

A Levite, Father of Abda

In Nehemiah's roster of those who settled in Jerusalem, a Levite named Shammua appears as Abda's father in the line of Jeduthun: "and Mattaniah the son of Mica, the son of Zabdi, the son of Asaph, who was the chief of praise, he led in prayer, and Bakbukiah, the second among his brothers; and Abda the son of Shammua, the son of Galal, the son of Jeduthun" (Neh 11:17). The same Levite stands behind the parallel notice in 1 Chronicles, where the form of the name is Shemaiah: "and Obadiah the son of Shemaiah, the son of Galal, the son of Jeduthun, and Berechiah the son of Asa, the son of Elkanah, who dwelt in the villages of the Netophathites" (1 Chr 9:16).

A Priest

In the priestly list under the high priest Joiakim, Shammua heads the household of Bilgah: "of Bilgah, Shammua; of Shemaiah, Jehonathan;" (Neh 12:18).