Shimri

Shimri is a personal name carried by four distinct figures in the UPDV Chronicles, distributed across a Simeonite genealogy, a roster of David's warriors, the Merarite gatekeeper division, and a Levitical roll from Hezekiah's reform. The name surfaces only in patronymic or list contexts; no narrative attaches to any of these men beyond the place each occupies in his clan or duty.

A Simeonite Forebear

The first Shimri stands inside a Simeonite genealogy preserved among the families whose princely heads "increased greatly." He is named as the link between Shemaiah and Jedaiah in the line that culminates in Ziza son of Shiphi: "Ziza the son of Shiphi, the son of Allon, the son of Jedaiah, the son of Shimri, the son of Shemaiah— these mentioned by name were princes in their families: and their fathers' houses increased greatly" (1Ch 4:37-38). The genealogy embeds Shimri several generations back from the named princes, identifying him only as an ancestor in a leading Simeonite household.

Father of One of David's Mighty Men

A second Shimri appears in the catalogue of David's warriors as the father of Jediael. The notice gives the name and the brother but supplies no further patronymic depth: "Jediael the son of Shimri, and Joha his brother, the Tizite," (1Ch 11:45). His significance in the list is wholly indirect — he is named because his son and his son's brother stand among the mighty men.

A Merarite Gatekeeper, Son of Hosah

The third Shimri is a Levite of the Merarite line, whose father Hosah elevated him to the chief place over his brothers despite his birth order: "Also Hosah, of the sons of Merari, had sons: Shimri the chief (for though he was not the firstborn, yet his father made him chief)," (1Ch 26:10). The parenthetical is the one note of substance the UPDV gives to any Shimri — a paternal designation that overrides primogeniture inside the gatekeeper rotation.

A Levite in Hezekiah's Cleansing of the House

The fourth Shimri belongs to the roll of Levites who answered the call to sanctify the temple in the days of Hezekiah. He is grouped with Jeuel under the sons of Elizaphan, alongside Asaphite singers in the same verse: "and of the sons of Elizaphan, Shimri and Jeuel; and of the sons of Asaph, Zechariah and Mattaniah;" (2Ch 29:13). The verse places him among the Levites organized for the temple cleansing, identified by clan affiliation rather than by individual deed.