The name Jerahmeel (
Hebrewיְרַחְמְאֵל, Yəraḥməʾēl;
Greekιραμεηλ) appears several times in the
Tanakh. It means "He will obtain mercy of God",[1] "God pities",[2] "May God have compassion",[3] "May God pity",[4]
or "Moon from God".[5]
Bearers of the name
There are probably three distinct persons of that name in the Tanakh.[1][2][3] In order of their lifetimes they are:
a son of the king,[6] sent with others by
Jehoiakim to arrest
Baruch the scribe and
Jeremiah the prophet, as given in
Jeremiah 36:26. An old
bulla with the inscription "Jerahmeel the king's son" has been found and considered authentic.[7]
The Jerahmeelites
The Jerahmeelites were a people, presumably descended from Jerahmeel number 1 above, living in the
Negev, who
David, while in service with the
Philistines, claimed to have attacked (
1 Samuel 27:10), but with whom he was really on friendly terms[4] (
1 Samuel 30:29).
Cheyne developed a theory that made the Jerahmeelites into a significant part of the history of Israel,[2] but most subsequent scholars have dismissed his ideas as fanciful.[8]
The Chronicles of Jerahmeel is a medieval document ascribed to the 12th century Jewish historian Jerahmeel ben Solomon, and is unrelated to any of the above.
References
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abAlfred Jones, Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names 1856, republished Kregel Publications 1990