Hebrew word · H8125

שַׁמְשְׁרַי

veshamsherai

Shamsherai

A personal name that appears only here in the Bible. No meaning is secure. Some connect its first part to shemesh, 'sun', or to the similar name Shimshai (Ezra 4:8). Others think the name was blended with Shimri or Shemer during copying. The ending -ai is a common ending on Hebrew personal names.

Appears once in the Hebrew Old Testament. · Updated November 07, 2026

What it means

A man of the tribe of Benjamin living at the time of Divided Monarchy, only mentioned at 1Ch.8.26;

son of: Jeroham (H3395H);

brother of: Shehariah (H7841), Athaliah (H6271H), Jaareshiah (H3298), Elijah (H0452H) and Zichri (H2147J)

§ Shamsherai = "sunlike"

a Benjamite, son of Jeroham

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 1 Chronicles 8:26

Range of meaning: A personal name that appears only here in the Bible. No meaning is secure. Some connect its first part to shemesh, 'sun', or to the similar name Shimshai (Ezra 4:8). Others think the name was blended with Shimri or Shemer during copying. The ending -ai is a common ending on Hebrew personal names.
Against the English: Every English version simply transliterates it as 'Shamsherai', which is right for a name. No version offers a meaning, and none should.
Used elsewhere in the period: No other biblical occurrence. The Septuagint renders it as something like Samsari. There is no secure match in inscriptions.

Where it appears

1 Chronicles · 1

1 Chronicles 8:26 וְשַׁמְשְׁרַ֥י and Shamsherai

Shamsherai, Shehariah, Athaliah,

Here: The first of six sons of Jeroham, a Benjaminite, listed across verses 26–27. The name appears only here, and its meaning is uncertain. The leading 'and' (ve-) chains this verse onto the running list.

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