Shemariah שְׁמַרְיָ֫הוּ

Shemariah is mentioned in Ezr.10.32 as one of the Israelites who had married foreign women during the Babylonian exile. This was part of a larger issue facing the Jewish community after their return to Jerusalem, as many had intermarried with the surrounding peoples. Ezra, a priest and scribe, called for the people to separate themselves from their foreign wives and children to maintain the purity and integrity of the Jewish faith. Shemariah, along with the other Israelites who had married foreign women, agreed to put away their wives in obedience to Ezra's directive.