The scribe Shemaiah son of Nethanel, a Levite, recorded their names in the presence of the king and of the officials: Zadok the priest, Ahimelek son of Abiathar and the heads of families of the priests and of the Levites—one family being taken from Eleazar and then one from Ithamar. – 1 Chronicles 24:6

Today’s Scripture Reading (August 7, 2019): 1 Chronicles 24

In 2018, the most common baby names for boys were led by Jackson, Liam, Noah, Aiden and Caden. For girls, the top five baby names were Sophia, Olivia, Emma, Ava, and Isabelle. But every year the top names that were chosen for the births of our children changes. The year that I was born the most popular names for girls were Mary, Susan, Linda, Karen, and Donna. (I have a cousin named Karen.) For boys, the top five names were David (actually my middle name), Michael, James, John, and Robert. Every generation seems to have its own idea of what makes a perfect name for the generation that is yet to come. Incidentally, some more unusual names became more popular in 2018. Rainbow was up 26 percent over 2017. Ocean was up 31 percent, Bunny was 30 percent more popular, Kale was up 35 percent, and Kiwi was an impressive 40 percent more popular than it was in 2017. Five years from now, who knows what names will have caught our imagination.

Maybe in the years to come, we will see a revival of the name Shemaiah. In the Bible, Shemaiah is a very common name, although the name seemed to be most popular for the children of priests and those who worked in the Temple, as well as for prophets. There are more than two dozen Shemaiah’s mentioned in the Bible. And there is a reason why especially priestly families would want to name their children Shemaiah. The name means either, and there is some disagreement here, “the one who hears or obeys the Lord,” or “the one who is heard by Jehovah.” It doesn’t really matter which is correct. For someone who is going to spend significant periods of time throughout their lives in the House of God, being the one who is heard by God or who hears God is essential.

In this case, Shemaiah, the son of Nethanel, was a scribe in the court of David. He was likely one among the many more unmentioned Shemaiah’s of his generation. David wanted people who were willing to hear and obey God, as well as people who God listened to, in his orbit. And in this case, Shemaiah is trusted with recording the results of the order in which the twenty-four courses of priests would serve in the Tabernacle, each having the honor of serving for one week at a time, twice a year. And the implication here is that as the lots were drawn, Shemaiah was actually hearing and obeying the will of God, and not a decision that was determined by random chance.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 1 Chronicles 25