Gemariah

Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, was an official during King Jehoiakim's reign who opposed the burning of Jeremiah's scroll.

Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, was an official during the reign of King Jehoiakim of Judah, as recorded in Jeremiah 36. He is first mentioned as the owner of the chamber in the upper court of the temple where Baruch, Jeremiah's scribe, read the prophet's scroll to the people (Jer 36:10). When the officials heard about the scroll, they sent for Baruch to read it to them, and they were alarmed by its content (Jer 36:11-16). The officials, including Gemariah, advised Baruch and Jeremiah to hide while they reported the matter to the king (Jer 36:19). When King Jehoiakim heard the words of the scroll, he cut it with a scribe's knife and burned it in the fire, despite the pleas of Gemariah and some other officials (Jer 36:23-25). Gemariah's opposition to the king's actions demonstrates his respect for the prophetic word and his concern for the consequences of rejecting God's message. However, his efforts were ultimately unsuccessful in preventing the destruction of the scroll.

The son of Shaphan, and one of the Levites of the temple in the time of Jehoiakim (Jer. 36:10; 2 Kings 22:12). Baruch read aloud to the people from Gemariah’s chamber, and again in the hearing of Gemariah and other scribes, the prophecies of Jeremiah (Jer. 36:11-20), which filled him with terror. He joined with others in entreating the king not to destroy the roll of the prophecies which Baruch had read (21-25).