{{Short description, Biblical name Malchijah (Hebrew: מַלְכִּיָּה, also Malkijah, Malchiah, Melchiah, or Melchias) is a biblical name belonging to several persons mentioned in the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' Yahweh Yahweh *''Yahwe'', was the national god of ancient Israel and Judah. The origins of his worship reach at least to the early Iron Age, and likely to the Late Bronze Age if not somewhat earlier, and in the oldest biblical literature he poss ...

is King" or "the king is Yahweh".http://www.htmlbible.com/sacrednamebiblecom/kjvstrongs/CONHEB444.htm#S4441, Strong's Bible Disctionary, website, accessed November 4, 2006.

In 1 Chronicles

The first Malchijah mentioned in the Bible was a priest of ancient

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

after the order of Aaron, during the reign of King David in the 10th century BC. Malchijah led the fifth of the 24

priestly divisions The priestly divisions or sacerdotal courses ( he, מִשְׁמָר ''mishmar'') are the groups into which Jewish priests were divided for the purposes of their service in the Temple in Jerusalem. The 24 priestly divisions are first listed in ...

. The biblical passage of

1 Chronicles The Book of Chronicles ( he, דִּבְרֵי־הַיָּמִים ) is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Chronicles) in the Christian Old Testament. Chronicles is the final book of the Hebrew Bible, concluding the third sect ...

24 documents the division of the priests during the reign of King David. These priests were all descendants of Aaron, who had four sons: Nadab,

Abihu In the biblical books Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers, Nadab () and Abihu () were the two oldest sons of Aaron. According to Leviticus 10, they offered a sacrifice with "foreign fire" before the , disobeying his instructions, and were immedia ...

Eleazar Eleazar (; ) or Elʽazar was a priest in the Hebrew Bible, the second High Priest, succeeding his father Aaron after he died. He was a nephew of Moses. Biblical narrative Eleazar played a number of roles during the course of the Exodus, from cr ...

and

Ithamar In the Torah, Ithamar () was the fourth (and the youngest) son of Aaron the High Priest."Ithamar", '' Encyclopaedia Biblica'' Following the construction of the Tabernacle, he was responsible for recording an inventory to ensure that the constructed ...

. However, Nadab and Abihu died before Aaron and only Eleazar and Ithamar had sons. One priest,

Zadok Zadok (or Zadok HaKohen, also spelled Ṣadok, Ṣadoc, Zadoq, Tzadok, or Tsadoq; he, צָדוֹק הַכֹּהֵן, meaning "Righteous, Justified") was a Kohen (priest), biblically recorded to be a descendant from Eleazar the son of Aaron (). H ...

, from Eleazar's descendants and another priest, Ahimelech, from Ithamar's descendants were designated to help create the various priestly orders. Sixteen of Eleazar's descendants were selected to head priestly orders while only eight of Ithamar's descendants were so chosen. The passage states that this was done because of the greater number of leaders among Eleazar's descendants. Lots were drawn to designate the order of ministering for the heads of the priestly orders when they entered the

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

. Since each order was responsible for ministering during a different week, Malchijah's order was stationed as a watch at the

Tabernacle According to the Hebrew Bible, the tabernacle ( he, מִשְׁכַּן, mīškān, residence, dwelling place), also known as the Tent of the Congregation ( he, link=no, אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד, ’ōhel mō‘ēḏ, also Tent of Meeting, etc.), ...

during the fifth week of the year on the

Hebrew calendar The Hebrew calendar ( he, הַלּוּחַ הָעִבְרִי, translit=HaLuah HaIvri), also called the Jewish calendar, is a lunisolar calendar used today for Jewish religious observance, and as an official calendar of the state of Israel. ...

In Nehemiah

Persons with the name of Malchijah are also mentioned in Nehemiah. Malchijah, the son of Harim, is mentioned in

Nehemiah Nehemiah is the central figure of the Book of Nehemiah, which describes his work in rebuilding Jerusalem during the Second Temple period. He was governor of Persian Judea under Artaxerxes I of Persia (465–424 BC). The name is pronounced o ...

3:11 as a worker with Nehemiah and

Eliashib Eliashib ( ''’Elyāšîḇ'', " El restores") the High Priest is mentioned in Nehemiah 12:10,22 and 3:1, 20-21,13:28 and possibly the Book of Ezra of the Hebrew Bible as (grand)father (Nehemiah 12:22) of the high priest Johanan (Ezra 10:6). Some a ...

on the repairs to the walls of Jerusalem. Malchijah, the son of

Rechab Rechab ( ''Rēḵāḇ'') is the name of three men in the Bible: *One of the two "captains of bands" whom Saul's son Ish-bosheth took into his service, and who conspired to kill him. (2 Samuel 4:2) *A Kenite, mentioned as the father of Jehonadab ...

, was another worker mentioned in Nehemiah 3:14 with Nehemiah and Eliashib on the Jerusalem walls repair. Another reference to Malchijah as a goldsmith working with Nehemiah and Eliashib is mentioned in Nehemiah 3:31 and a Malchijah is named as one of those who stood with

Ezra Ezra (; he, עֶזְרָא, '; fl. 480–440 BCE), also called Ezra the Scribe (, ') and Ezra the Priest in the Book of Ezra, was a Jewish scribe ('' sofer'') and priest (''kohen''). In Greco-Latin Ezra is called Esdras ( grc-gre, Ἔσδρα ...

during the reading of the law in Nehemiah 8:4. In Nehemiah 12:42, another reference to one of these Malchijah's is mentioned again as Nehemiah's assistant during the dedication service of the restored walls of Jerusalem.

In Ezra

10:25, two sons of Parosh are named among those of Israel who had taken foreign wives.

In Jeremiah

A Malchiah or Melchiah was mentioned in the Book of Jeremiah, Chapter 21, Verse 1. Melchiah was a priest in the kingdom of

Zedekiah Zedekiah (), was the 20th and last king of Judah before the destruction of the kingdom by King Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon. His birth name was Mattaniah/Mattanyahu ( he, מַתַּנְיָהוּ, ''Mattanyāhū'', "Gift of God"; el, Μαθ� ...

, and the father of

Pashur Pashur or Pashhur (Hebrew: פשחור pash-''h''ur) was the name of at least two priests contemporary with the prophet Jeremiah and who are mentioned in the Book of Jeremiah. The name is of Egyptian origin, Pš-Ḥr. Pashur ben Immer Pashur the s ...

, the messenger who was charged with taking a message from the King to

Jeremiah Jeremiah, Modern: , Tiberian: ; el, Ἰερεμίας, Ieremíās; meaning " Yah shall raise" (c. 650 – c. 570 BC), also called Jeremias or the "weeping prophet", was one of the major prophets of the Hebrew Bible. According to Jewi ...

asking for God's intervention in the war against Nebuchadnezzar.

References

External links

Strong's Bible Dictionary

1 Chronicles 24 on Chabad.org with Rashi's commentaryHitchcock's Dictionary of Bible Names
Set index articles on Hebrew Bible people