Hebrew word · H4641

מַעֲשֵׂיָהוּ

ma'aseyahu

Maaseiah

'Work/deed of Yah(weh)'. It is formed from maʿăśeh ('work, deed, what is made') plus the short form of the divine name. Here the shorter spelling -yâ is used in place of the longer -yāhû; the shorter ending is typical of books written after the exile. The name presents the child as God's handiwork.

Appears 23 times in 23 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

A man living at the time of Divided Monarchy, first mentioned at Jer.21.1;

father of: Zephaniah (H6846)

§ Maaseiah = "work of Jehovah"

1) a descendant of Jeshua who had taken a foreign wife in the time of Ezra

2) a priest of the sons of Harim who had taken a foreign wife in the time of Ezra

3) a priest of the sons of Pashur who had taken a foreign wife in the time of Ezra

4) a descendant of Pahath-moab who had taken a foreign wife in the time of Ezra

5) father of Azariah

6) one who stood on the right hand of Ezra when he read the law to the people

7) a Levite who assisted when Ezra read the law to the people

8) one of the heads of the people whose descendants signed the covenant with Nehemiah

9) a Benjamite ancestor of Sallu

10) a priest who took part in the musical service at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem under Ezra

11) another priest who took part in the musical service at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem under Ezra

12) father of Zephaniah the prophet in the reign of Zedekiah

13) father of Zedekiah the false prophet in the time of Jeremiah

14) a Levite of the 2nd rank who David appointed to sound with psalteries on Alamoth

15) son of Adaiah and one of the captains of hundreds in the reign of king Joash of Judah

16) an officer of high rank in the reign of king Uzziah

17) son of king Ahaz of Judah who was killed by Zichri in the invasion of Judah by king Pekah of Israel

18) governor of Jerusalem in the reign of Josiah

19) son of Shallum and a Levite of high rand in the reign of king Jehoiakim of Judah

20) ancestor of Baruch and Seraiah and a priest

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Nehemiah 10:25

Range of meaning

'Work/deed of Yah(weh)'. It is formed from maʿăśeh ('work, deed, what is made') plus the short form of the divine name. Here the shorter spelling -yâ is used in place of the longer -yāhû; the shorter ending is typical of books written after the exile. The name presents the child as God's handiwork.

Against the English

English versions transliterate it as 'Maaseiah'. Nothing is lost except the meaning of the name itself.

Used elsewhere in the period

Around twenty or more different people in the Hebrew Bible carry this name. In Ezra–Nehemiah alone there are priests who had married foreign wives (Ezra 10:18, 21, 22), lay offenders (Ezra 10:30), the father of a wall-builder (Neh 3:23), a man standing at Ezra's right hand (Neh 8:4), a Levite who explained the Law (Neh 8:7), and priests in the dedication choirs (Neh 12:41–42). The name also appears on seals and in Hebrew inscriptions from the end of the monarchy.

Where it appears

1 Chronicles · 2
  1. 1 Chronicles 15:18 וּמַֽעֲשֵׂיָ֡הוּ and Maaseiah

    and with them their brothers next in rank: Zechariah, Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, and the gatekeepers Obed-edom and Jeiel.

  2. 1 Chronicles 15:20 וּמַעֲשֵׂיָ֖הוּ and Maaseiah

    Zechariah, Aziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah, and Benaiah were to play the harps according to Alamoth.

2 Chronicles · 4
  1. 2 Chronicles 23:1 מַעֲשֵׂיָ֧הוּ Maaseiah

    Then in the seventh year, Jehoiada strengthened himself and made a covenant with the commanders of hundreds—with Azariah son of Jeroham, Ishmael son of Jehohanan, Azariah son of Obed, Maaseiah son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat son of Zichri.

  2. 2 Chronicles 26:11 וּמַעֲשֵׂיָ֖הוּ and Maaseiah

    Uzziah had an army ready for battle that went out to war by assigned divisions, as recorded by Jeiel the scribe and Maaseiah the officer under the direction of Hananiah, one of the royal officers.

  3. 2 Chronicles 28:7 מַעֲשֵׂיָ֙הוּ֙ Maaseiah

    Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, killed Maaseiah the son of the king, Azrikam the governor of the palace, and Elkanah the second to the king.

  4. 2 Chronicles 34:8 מַעֲשֵׂיָ֣הוּ Maaseiah

    Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, in order to cleanse the land and the temple, Josiah sent Shaphan son of Azaliah, Maaseiah the governor of the city, and Joah son of Joahaz, the recorder, to repair the house of the LORD his God.

Ezra · 4
  1. Ezra 10:18 מַֽעֲשֵׂיָה֙ Maaseiah

    Among the descendants of the priests who had married foreign women were found these descendants of Jeshua son of Jozadak and his brothers: Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah.

  2. Ezra 10:21 מַעֲשֵׂיָ֤ה Maaseiah

    From the descendants of Harim: Maaseiah, Elijah, Shemaiah, Jehiel, and Uzziah.

  3. Ezra 10:22 מַֽעֲשֵׂיָה֙ Maaseiah

    From the descendants of Pashhur: Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethanel, Jozabad, and Elasah.

  4. Ezra 10:30 מַעֲשֵׂיָה֙ Maaseiah

    From the descendants of Pahath-moab: Adna, Chelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel, Binnui, and Manasseh.

Nehemiah · 8
  1. Nehemiah 3:23 מַעֲשֵׂיָ֛ה Maaseiah

    Beyond them, Benjamin and Hasshub made repairs in front of their house, and next to them, Azariah son of Maaseiah, the son of Ananiah, made repairs beside his house.

  2. Nehemiah 8:4 וּמַעֲשֵׂיָ֖ה and Maaseiah

    Ezra the scribe stood on a high wooden platform built for this occasion. At his right side stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah, and at his left were Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hash-baddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam.

  3. Nehemiah 8:7 מַעֲשֵׂיָ֡ה Maaseiah

    The Levites—Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, and Pelaiah—instructed the people in the Law as they stood in their places.

    Here: 'Work of YHWH', a very common name in this period. A different Maaseiah stood on Ezra's platform in v.4.

  4. Nehemiah 10:25 מַעֲשֵׂיָֽה׃ Maaseiah

    Rehum, Hashabnah, Maaseiah,

    Here: 'Work of Yah', from maʿăśeh ('deed, work') plus the short form of God's name. It was one of the most common names in the period after the exile. A Maaseiah stood beside Ezra at the public reading of the Law (Neh 8:4), but nothing shows that he is the same man as this one.

  5. Nehemiah 11:5 וּמַעֲשֵׂיָ֣ה and Maaseiah

    and Maaseiah son of Baruch, the son of Col-hozeh, the son of Hazaiah, the son of Adaiah, the son of Joiarib, the son of Zechariah, a descendant of Shelah.

  6. Nehemiah 11:7 מַעֲשֵׂיָ֛ה Maaseiah

    From the descendants of Benjamin: Sallu son of Meshullam, the son of Joed, the son of Pedaiah, the son of Kolaiah, the son of Maaseiah, the son of Ithiel, the son of Jeshaiah;

  7. Nehemiah 12:41 מַעֲשֵׂיָ֡ה Maaseiah

    as well as the priests with their trumpets—Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Micaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, and Hananiah—

  8. Nehemiah 12:42 וּמַעֲשֵׂיָ֨ה and Maaseiah

    and also Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malchijah, Elam, and Ezer. Then the choirs sang out under the direction of Jezrahiah.

Jeremiah · 5
  1. Jeremiah 21:1 מַעֲשֵׂיָ֛ה Maaseiah

    This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD when King Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur son of Malchijah and the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah. They said,

    Here: 'Work of YHWH'. Zephaniah's father, otherwise unknown here.

  2. Jeremiah 29:21 מַֽעֲשֵׂיָ֔ה Maaseiah

    This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says about Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying to you lies in My name: “I will deliver them to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will kill them before your very eyes.

    Here: Zedekiah's father. Several men bear this name in Jeremiah, and nothing shows which one, if any of them, this is.

  3. Jeremiah 29:25 מַֽעֲשֵׂיָה֙ Maaseiah

    this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “In your own name you have sent out letters to all the people of Jerusalem, to the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah, and to all the priests. You said to Zephaniah:

    Here: Zephaniah's father. The same pairing appears in 21:1 and 37:3, which marks him as a known figure at court.

  4. Jeremiah 35:4 מַעֲשֵׂיָ֥הוּ Maaseiah

    and I brought them into the house of the LORD, to a chamber occupied by the sons of Hanan son of Igdaliah, a man of God. This room was near the chamber of the officials, which was above the chamber of Maaseiah son of Shallum the doorkeeper.

    Here: A name meaning 'work of Yahweh'. He may be the father of Zephaniah the priest (Jer 21:1; 29:25; 37:3), though that is not certain.

  5. Jeremiah 37:3 מַֽעֲשֵׂיָה֙ Maaseiah

    Yet King Zedekiah sent Jehucal son of Shelemiah and Zephaniah the priest, the son of Maaseiah, to Jeremiah the prophet with the message, “Please pray to the LORD our God for us!”

    Here: 'Work of Yahweh'. A common priestly name of the period, here in its short form.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.