Mered מֶ֫רֶד
Son of Ezrah from the tribe of Judah.
Who is Mered in the Bible?
Mered was a son of Ezrah from the tribe of Judah, mentioned in the genealogies of 1 Chronicles 4:17-18. He is notable for having married two wives: Bithiah, identified as the daughter of Pharaoh, and a Judahite woman. With his Judahite wife, Mered fathered children including Miriam, Shammai, and Ishbah. His inclusion in the Chronicles genealogy, particularly his marriage to an Egyptian royal family member, illustrates the interconnections between Judah and Egypt during the Old Testament period and reflects the diverse family connections within Judah's tribal history.
Biography
Mered was a son of Ezrah from the tribe of Judah (1Ch.4.17). He is mentioned in the genealogy of Judah in the book of Chronicles. Mered had two wives: one was Bithiah, the daughter of Pharaoh, and the other was a Judahite woman (1Ch.4.18). The biblical text lists the children born to Mered and his Judahite wife, including Miriam, Shammai, and Ishbah (1Ch.4.17).
Family
Siblings
Partners
Offspring
- Miriam Tribe of Judah(?)Sister of ShammaiA descendant of Judah, mentioned in a genealogy.View full profile →
- Shammai Tribe of JudahSon of OnamSon of Onam; father of Nadab and AbishurView full profile →
- Ishbah Tribe of Judah(?)Son of MeredSon of Mered in the genealogy of JudahView full profile →
- Jered Tribe of Judah(?)Son of MeredSon of Mered, founder of Gedor.View full profile →
- Heber Tribe of Judah(?)Son of MeredSon of Mered, from the tribe of Judah.View full profile →
- Jekuthiel Tribe of Judah(?)Son of MeredSon of Mered, founder of Zanoah.View full profile →
In Scripture
1 biblical book1 Chronicles 2 verses
- 1 Chronicles 4:17
"The sons of Ezrah: Jether, Mered, Epher, and Jalon. And Mered’s wife Bithiah gave birth to Miriam, Shammai, and Ishbah the father of Eshtemoa."
- 1 Chronicles 4:18
"These were the children of Pharaoh’s daughter Bithiah. Mered also took a Judean wife, who gave birth to Jered the father of Gedor, Heber the father of Soco, and Jekuthiel the father of Zanoah."
Names & Aliases
| Form | Language | Script |
|---|---|---|
| Named | Hebrew | מֶ֫רֶד |
Mered
Revised Version, rightly following the orthography of the Hebrew which has here the Hebrew letter he (h) instead of 'aleph (') , as in the name of the well-known Ezra, saves us from confusing this Ezrah with the other by giving him the correct terminal letter. Moreover, even if the question of spelling were waived, the absence of the mention of children in any known passages of the life of the scribe Ezra should settle the question, since this passage (1Ch 4:17) is associated with progeny.
A difficulty meets us in 1Ch 4:18, where Mered is mentioned as taking to wife "Bithiah the daughter of Pharaoh." That Pharaoh is not the proper name of some individual but the official title of Egypt's sovereign seems evident from the fact that the King James Version margin and the Revised Version (British and American) text agree in translating the other wife of Mered as "the Jewess," rather than as a proper name Jehudijah, as if to distinguish the "Jewess" from the Egyptian. Probably "Hodiah" also is a corruption of Jehudijah in 1Ch 4:19, and should be translated again "the Jewess." Targums and traditions have so changed and transposed and "interpreted" this passage that a sufficiently confused text has become worse confounded, and the only solid fact that emerges is that once a comparatively obscure Judahite (though the founder of several towns--Gedor, Soco, Eshtemoa, etc., 4:18) married an Egyptian princess, whether as a captive or a freewoman we do not know.
See BITHIAH.
Henry Wallace
(1) Son of Uriah (Ezr 8:33), who was head of the 7th course of priests appointed by David (<ref osisRef="Bible:1Ch