Shaphan (Hebrew:שפן, which means "hyrax"), son of Azaliah, is the name of ascribe or court secretary mentioned several times in theHebrew Bible (2 Kings22:3–14 and25:22; and parallels in2 Chronicles34:8–20; see alsoJeremiah26:24;36:10–12;39:14;40:5 and following; and43:6).
Inthe Chronicler's account, Shaphan is one of three leaders sent by KingJosiah ofJudah to repair thetemple inJerusalem,[1] using the temple funds to commission the necessary work. When the chief TemplepriestHilkiah discovers an ancientTorah scroll, he gives it to Shaphan, who in turn brings it to King Josiah. Josiah reads it aloud to a crowd in Jerusalem, resulting in a great religious revival. Many scholars believe this was either a copy of the Book ofDeuteronomy or a text that became a part of Deuteronomy as we have it; as a result the event is known as theDeuteronomic reform.
According to the Bible, Shaphan had sons namedAhikam,[2] Elasah[3] andGemariah.[4] The latter appears not to be the same Gemariah named as a son ofHilkiah inJeremiah 29:3.[5] Assuming it is the same Shaphan, he also had a son named Jaazaniah, who is among the idol worshippers depicted in the vision of Ezekiel described inEzekiel 8:11.
Shaphan's grandson isGedaliah, the short-lived governor of Judah appointed byNebuchadnezzar after the destruction ofJerusalem in 586 BCE. Whether influenced by Shaphan's part in Josiah's reforms or not, both Ahikam and, later, Gedaliah appear to have played significant roles in protecting Jeremiah from persecution.[6]
During the excavations at theCity of David headed byIsraeliarcheologistYigal Shiloh, a number ofbullae were discovered instratum X, destroyed by the Babylonians in ca. 586 BCE. Bulla 2 reads:belonging to Gemaryahu ben Shaphan. Shiloh posited that the Gemaryahu of this bulla is to be identified with "Gemaryahu son of Shaphan the scribe" who is mentioned in a biblical text, a figure during the reign ofJehoiakim (r. 609-598 BCE).[7] If this is the case, it could confirm Gemaryahu alongside Ahikam as a son of Shaphan. However, archaeologistYair Shoham notes: "It should be borne in mind, however, that the names found on the bullae were popular in ancient times and it is equally possible that there is no connection between the names found on the bullae and the person mentioned in the Bible."[8]