Shimeah

The form Shimeah appears in two distinct lines in the UPDV: a Benjamite figure in the Chronicler's Saulide genealogy, and David's brother — the father of Jonadab — in the Amnon-and-Tamar narrative of 2 Samuel.

Shimeah Son of Mikloth

In the Benjamite genealogy of 1 Chronicles 8, Shimeah is named as Mikloth's son and as one of those who lived in Jerusalem alongside his kin: "And Mikloth begot Shimeah. And they also dwelt with their brothers in Jerusalem, across from their brothers" (1 Chr 8:32). The parallel list one chapter later carries the same notice with a variant of the name: "And Mikloth begot Shimeam. And they also dwelt with their brothers in Jerusalem, across from their brothers" (1 Chr 9:38). The two verses are the same record under two spellings, and together they fix the figure as a Benjamite of Mikloth's house resident in Jerusalem.

Shimeah David's Brother

The other Shimeah is David's brother and the father of Jonadab. The form appears at the opening of the Amnon narrative: "But Amnon had a companion, whose name was Jonadab, the son of Shimeah, David's brother; and Jonadab was a very subtle man" (2 Sam 13:3). The descriptor — Shimeah's name, David's brother, Jonadab as son — is repeated when Jonadab speaks again at the end of the same chapter: "And Jonadab, the son of Shimeah, David's brother, answered and said, Don't let my lord suppose that they have killed all the young men the king's sons; for Amnon only is dead; for according to the mouth of Absalom this has been determined from the day that he forced his sister Tamar" (2 Sam 13:32). The two verses bracket the chapter's account of Amnon's death and identify Jonadab — the figure who first plots Amnon's stratagem against Tamar and later interprets the news of his murder — as Shimeah's son.