Hebrew word · H8070

שְׁמִירָמוֹת

ushemirimot

Shemiramoth

A personal name whose meaning is uncertain. Lexicons suggest connections such as "name of the heights" or "the (divine) Name is exalted," but give them only tentatively. Some have compared the name of the Assyrian queen Sammu-ramat, the Semiramis of Greek legend, but the link is speculative.

Appears 4 times in 4 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

A man living at the time of Divided Monarchy, first mentioned at 1Ch.15.18

§ Shemiramoth = "name of heights"

1) a Merarite Levite in the second rank in the choir of David

2) a Levite in the time of king Jehoshaphat of Judah

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 2 Chronicles 17:8

Range of meaning

A personal name whose meaning is uncertain. Lexicons suggest connections such as "name of the heights" or "the (divine) Name is exalted," but give them only tentatively. Some have compared the name of the Assyrian queen Sammu-ramat, the Semiramis of Greek legend, but the link is speculative.

Against the English

All English versions simply spell the name out as Shemiramoth.

Used elsewhere in the period

Elsewhere it appears only as the name of a Levite musician in David's time (1 Chr 15:18, 20; 16:5).

Where it appears

1 Chronicles · 3

  1. 1 Chronicles 15:18 וּשְׁמִֽירָמ֡וֹת and Shemiramoth

    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.

    Here: A Levite musician. The name is rare and its meaning is uncertain; it may involve the ideas 'name' and 'height.'

  2. 1 Chronicles 15:20 וּשְׁמִֽירָמ֤וֹת and Shemiramoth

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

    Here: A Levite musician whose name is also attested in 2 Chronicles 17:8. Its meaning is uncertain. Suggestions include 'name of the heights' or 'name of the Exalted One'.

  3. 1 Chronicles 16:5 וּשְׁמִֽירָמ֡וֹת and Shemiramoth

    Asaph was the chief, Zechariah was second, then Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-edom, and Jeiel. They were to play the harps and lyres, while Asaph sounded the cymbals

2 Chronicles · 1

  1. 2 Chronicles 17:8 וּשְׁמִֽירָמ֡וֹת and Shemiramoth

    accompanied by certain Levites—Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tob-adonijah—along with the priests Elishama and Jehoram.

    Here: The meaning of this name is uncertain. In Chronicles it is also borne by a Levite musician in David's day (1 Chr 15:18, 20; 16:5), so it seems to have run in Levitical families.

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