Shaphan: The Hyrax

Shaphan: The Hyrax

"Four things on earth are small, yet they are extremely wise: Ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer; hyraxes are creatures of little power, yet they make their home in the crags; locusts have no king, yet they advance together in ranks; a lizard can be caught with the hand, yet it is found in kings' palaces. 

Proverbs 30:24-28

The four small animals in these verses are given as examples from God's creation that are extremely wise. To understand why God considers these animals to be wise, we need to know more about the animals. The Hyrax is probably the least known. So, let's look at it in this study. This animal is a small mammal that lives in the mountains of the Middle East. It is also known as the Rock Badger or Coney. These small furry, rotund animals have short tails and look a little like a rabbit without the long ears. Actually though, they are more closely related to elephants and sea cows. Typically, they measure between 30 and 70 cm (12 and 28 in) long and weigh between 2 and 5 kg (4 and 11 lb).  At times, the Hyrax move their jaws in a chewing motion which looks like a cow or horse do after eating. However, the digestive system of the Hyrax does not work the same way as those other animals. These animals perform this motion when they are competing with other males for the attention of mates. The Bible mentions this kind of chewing motion in the hyrax. It also states that the hyrax is unclean and should not be eaten.

The hyrax, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you. 

Leviticus 11:5

However, of those that chew the cud or that have a divided hoof you may not eat the camel, the rabbit or the hyrax. Although they chew the cud, they do not have a divided hoof; they are ceremonially unclean for you.

Deuteronomy 14:7

These animals do not build nests or live in caves. They live in the crags or clefts of rock in the high mountains. The Hebrew word here translated as crags is sela. It means lofty, a craggy rock, literally or figuratively (a fortress): (ragged) rock or stone, or a stronghold. There are many places in the Bible where this word is used to describe the Lord. In fact, this is where the hymn, "Rock of Ages, cleft for me", comes from.

The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. 

Psalm 18:2

The Hyrax is known to live in these rocky places for protection from enemies. Its wisdom comes from the fact that it knows to depend upon the crags in the rocks for protection. The message for us is that as children of God, we should also depend on the Lord, our rock, for protection.

The high mountains belong to the wild goats; the crags are a refuge for the hyrax. 

Psalm 104:18

The Hebrew word for hyrax is shaphan. Besides these verses that describe the animal hyrax, there is a man in the Old Testament whose name is Shaphan. Why would someone be named after this little animal? We can’t know for sure but perhaps if we examine this man's life there may be a clue. Shaphan and his family depended on God, the Rock, for protection. Not only this, but his actions seem to indicate that he wanted to lead others to God for protection. Shaphan, his sons, and grandsons, lived in the Kingdom of Judah during the last years of its existence before it was conquered by the Babylonians. He was a trusted and respected man who worked in the royal government. When we first meet him, he had been appointed to be the secretary or scribe to the king. King Josiah was the king at that time. He was one of the few kings of Judah that was a good king.

Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years. His mother's name was Jedidah daughter of Adaiah; she was from Bozkath. He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD and followed completely the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right or to the left. 

2 Kings 22:1-2

The kings before Josiah had rebelled against the Lord. They had disregarded the commandments of the Lord and led Judah into the worship of idols. These previous kings had actually built places of worship to these idols and even used the Temple for this. So, when Josiah turned 18 years old, he decided that the temple had to be repaired. He sent Shaphan, his trusted secretary or scribe, to the temple with instructions for the high priest to begin the process of doing the repairs.

In the eighteenth year of his reign, King Josiah sent the secretary, Shaphan son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, to the temple of the LORD. He said: "Go up to Hilkiah the high priest and have him get ready the money that has been brought into the temple of the LORD, which the doorkeepers have collected from the people. Have them entrust it to the men appointed to supervise the work on the temple. And have these men pay the workers who repair the temple of the LORD— 

2 Kings 22:3-5

Scribes were very important people in those days. They held positions of trust because they dealt with official documents of the king and the finances of the kingdom. Hence, when the king needed something to be done, the scribe, in this case Shaphan, was the person that was sent. You might consider him to be the treasurer or Secretary of the Treasury. When Shaphan got to the temple, he met the high priest and gave him instructions. During this conversation, the high priest told Shaphan that he had found the Book of the Law.

Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, "I have found the Book of the Law in the temple of the LORD." He gave it to Shaphan, who read it.

2 Kings 22:8

This was a very important discovery. The people of Judah had gone far astray from the things of the Lord. They had rebelled and were worshipping idols. The temple had become just another place to worship those idols. The Book of the Law was given by God to the Israelites through Moses. It described all of God's laws, decrees, commandments and rules including  how to worship God. The people of Judah had long ago forgotten about this book. Somewhere along the line, someone had just put this book on a shelf in the temple where it had been gathering dust. Unfortunately, this sounds much like many people today who may own a Bible but have not even looked at it for years. But when Shaphan got this book, he didn't just take it to the king but he read it. After reading it, he knew how important it was. He then returned to the king and told him that everything was going well with the repairs to the temple and, by the way, the priest gave me a book.

Then Shaphan the secretary went to the king and reported to him: "Your officials have paid out the money that was in the temple of the LORD and have entrusted it to the workers and supervisors at the temple." Then Shaphan the secretary informed the king, "Hilkiah the priest has given me a book." And Shaphan read from it in the presence of the king. When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his robes.

2 Kings 22:9-11

Interestingly, Shaphan didn't tell the king what had actually been found. He just said the high priest had given him a book. Shaphan knew how important this find was. But he also knew that every day he brought the king many documents to read and approve. He did not want the king to see this book as just another official document that the scribe brought him. So he told the king it was just a book. This might have intrigued the king just a bit into wondering what was in this book. His curiosity aroused, the king asked Shaphan to read some of it to him. Upon hearing what Shaphan read, the king immediately knew how important it was. From this point on in Josiah's reign, the Book of the Law guided his actions. Many of the celebrations and ceremonies that God had ordained years before were reinstated. The Passover was even celebrated again after years of neglect. All of these actions were meant to lead the Israelites back to God and his protection. Unfortunately, sometime later Shaphan died. Then after that, King Josiah was killed. Their deaths would mean the end of these reforms. However, Shaphan left several sons and grandsons who would carry on this work. He taught his family the decrees and commandments found in the Book of the Law. His sons and grandsons would continue to work for the kings of Judah but they also advised the officials to continue to seek the Lord for protection. When Josiah died, the people made his son Jehoahaz the king.

Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. His mother's name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah; she was from Libnah. He did evil in the eyes of the LORD, just as his predecessors had done.

2 Kings 23:31-32

Against the advice of others, Jehoahaz decided to not follow his father's guidance but to follow what the people of Judah wanted, to continue worshipping idols. One day, the Pharoah asked Jehoahaz to visit him in Syria. When the king arrived, he was captured and taken to Egypt where he would die. The Pharoah put his brother, Eliakim, in his place as the new king of Judah.

Pharaoh Necho made Eliakim son of Josiah king in place of his father Josiah and changed Eliakim's name to Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz and carried him off to Egypt, and there he died. Jehoiakim paid Pharaoh Necho the silver and gold he demanded. In order to do so, he taxed the land and exacted the silver and gold from the people of the land according to their assessments. 

2 Kings 23:34-35

Unfortunately, Jehoiakim was not a good king either. However, Shaphan's sons and grandsons were among his advisors. God's judgement on the kingdom of Judah was coming near. The Lord sent two prophets, Uriah and Jeremiah, to Judah to prophesy against the city. King Jehoiakim did not like what he heard.

(Now Uriah son of Shemaiah from Kiriath Jearim was another man who prophesied in the name of the LORD; he prophesied the same things against this city and this land as Jeremiah did. When King Jehoiakim and all his officers and officials heard his words, the king was determined to put him to death. But Uriah heard of it and fled in fear to Egypt. King Jehoiakim, however, sent Elnathan son of Akbor to Egypt, along with some other men. They brought Uriah out of Egypt and took him to King Jehoiakim, who had him struck down with a sword and his body thrown into the burial place of the common people.) Furthermore, Ahikam son of Shaphan supported Jeremiah, and so he was not handed over to the people to be put to death. 

Jeremiah 26:20-24

Uriah was captured and killed by the king. However, one of Shaphan's sons, Ahikam, was still an official in the government. He knew that the actions of the king went against what his father had taught him from the Book of the Law. So, he managed to save Jeremiah and protect him from being killed. God was using him to keep his prophet alive. Sometime later, Jeremiah was being kept in the temple. Since he could not personally go to the king, the Lord directed him to write a letter to the people of Judah and the king warning them of the judgement that was about to happen. Baruch then took this letter to the Temple.

So you go to the house of the LORD on a day of fasting and read to the people from the scroll the words of the LORD that you wrote as I dictated. Read them to all the people of Judah who come in from their towns. Perhaps they will bring their petition before the LORD and will each turn from their wicked ways, for the anger and wrath pronounced against this people by the LORD are great." Baruch son of Neriah did everything Jeremiah the prophet told him to do; at the LORD's temple he read the words of the LORD from the scroll. 

Jeremiah 36:6-8

Upon reaching the Temple, he went to the room of Gemariah another son of Shaphan. Baruch read the letter to the people that were there. When Gemariah's son Micahah, Shaphan's grandson, heard the letter, he immediately took it to the palace so that other officials and the king could hear it. The Shaphan family was doing their best to protect the people of Judah. Micaiah made sure that everyone he could possibly get to would listen and hear what the letter from Jeremiah said about warning the people of Judah.

When Micaiah son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, heard all the words of the LORD from the scroll, he went down to the secretary's room in the royal palace, where all the officials were sitting: Elishama the secretary, Delaiah son of Shemaiah, Elnathan son of Akbor, Gemariah son of Shaphan, Zedekiah son of Hananiah, and all the other officials. 

Jeremiah 36:11-12

Unfortunately, when the letter finally got to the king, he burned it. He did not believe what it said. About this time, Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, invaded Judah. For three years, King Jehoiakim paid tribute to Nebuchadnezzar. Then he rebelled against the king of Babylon. This eventually led to his death and he was replaced by Jehoiachin. He again like his father, did evil in the eyes of the Lord. After only a few months, Nebuchadnezzar invaded the city of Jerusalem.

Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. His mother's name was Nehushta daughter of Elnathan; she was from Jerusalem. He did evil in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father had done. 

2 Kings 24:8-9

Nebuchadnezzar conquered Jerusalem. He took King Jehoiachin, his family, his nobles and all the officials prisoners. In addition, he took all the treasures from the temple, the men in the army, and all the skilled workers and artisans back to Babylon.

Jehoiachin king of Judah, his mother, his attendants, his nobles and his officials all surrendered to him. In the eighth year of the reign of the king of Babylon, he took Jehoiachin prisoner. As the LORD had declared, Nebuchadnezzar removed the treasures from the temple of the LORD and from the royal palace, and cut up the gold articles that Solomon king of Israel had made for the temple of the LORD. He carried all Jerusalem into exile: all the officers and fighting men, and all the skilled workers and artisans—a total of ten thousand. Only the poorest people of the land were left. Nebuchadnezzar took Jehoiachin captive to Babylon. He also took from Jerusalem to Babylon the king's mother, his wives, his officials and the prominent people of the land. The king of Babylon also deported to Babylon the entire force of seven thousand fighting men, strong and fit for war, and a thousand skilled workers and artisans. 

2 Kings 24:12-16

Then Nebuchadnezzar made Zedekiah the king of Judah. Again, this new king did evil in the eyes of the Lord. But, he reigned for eleven years.

Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother's name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah; she was from Libnah. He did evil in the eyes of the LORD, just as Jehoiakim had done. 

2 Kings 24:18-19

During that time, Jeremiah was living in the city. The Lord directed him to write a letter to the Judeans who were then in exile in Babylon. The letter basically told the people there they should lead normal lives. They should build houses, plant gardens, marry, have children and increase in numbers. If they did this, they would be protected by God.

He entrusted the letter to Elasah son of Shaphan and to Gemariah son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to King Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon. It said: This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: "Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper." 

Jeremiah 29:3-7

Jeremiah entrusted this letter to Elasah, another son of Shaphan to take to Babylon. Jeremiah knew the family of Shaphan were dedicated to the Lord. He could trust they would get this job done. They were once again called on to help and protect the people of Judah now living in Babylon.  A short time after this, Nebuchadnezzar returned and marched against Jerusalem.

So in the ninth year of Zedekiah's reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his whole army. He encamped outside the city and built siege works all around it. The city was kept under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. By the ninth day of the fourth month the famine in the city had become so severe that there was no food for the people to eat. Then the city wall was broken through, and the whole army fled at night through the gate between the two walls near the king's garden, though the Babylonians were surrounding the city. They fled toward the Arabah, but the Babylonian army pursued the king and overtook him in      the plains of Jericho. All his soldiers were separated from him and scattered, and he was captured. He was taken to the king of Babylon at Riblah, where sentence was pronounced on him. 

2 Kings 25:1-6

Nebuchadnezzar this time led his army to destroy the city. Most of the buildings were burned down, all the walls of the city were torn down, and the temple was destroyed. The king of Babylon took anything of value from the temple back to Babylon along with most of the rest of the people of Jerusalem. After that, only a few of the poorest people were left to tend the fields and orchards that remained. However, Nebuchadnezzar had heard about Jeremiah and his warnings to the people of Judah. So, he ordered that Jeremiah be saved.

Now Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had given these orders about Jeremiah through Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard: "Take him and look after him; don't harm him but do for him whatever he asks." So Nebuzaradan the commander of the guard, Nebushazban a chief officer, Nergal-Sharezer a high official and all the other officers of the king of Babylon sent and had Jeremiah taken out of the courtyard of the guard. They turned him over to Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, to take him back to his     home. So he remained among his own people. .

Jeremiah 39:11-14

The officers and officials of the king of Babylon freed Jeremiah from the courtyard of the guard and turned him over to Gedaliah. Gedaliah was the grandson of Shaphan. So, Jeremiah went to live with him. Once again, the family of Shaphan was involved in protecting the prophet of God, Jeremiah. Then the king of Babylon made Gedaliah the governor over the region surrounding Jerusalem. At the time, there were only a few poor people left who had remained to take care of the fields and orchards.

So Jeremiah went to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah and stayed with him among the people who were left behind in the land. When all the army officers and their men who were still in the open country heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam as governor over the land and had put him in charge of the men, women and children who were the poorest in the land and who had not been carried into exile to Babylon, they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah—Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of the Maakathite, and their men. 

Jeremiah 40:6-8

Gedaliah then took an oath to reassure people to not be afraid to serve the Babylonians. He encouraged people to settle down in the land and raise their crops. He told them he would remain in Mizpah and represent them to the king of Babylon.

Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, took an oath to reassure them and their men. "Do not be afraid to serve the Babylonians," he said. "Settle down in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go well with you. I myself will stay at Mizpah to represent you before the Babylonians who come to us, but you are to harvest the wine, summer fruit and olive oil, and put them in your storage jars, and live in the towns you have taken over." When all the Jews in Moab, Ammon, Edom and all the other countries heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant in Judah and had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, as governor over them, they all came back to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah, from all the countries where they had been scattered. And they harvested an abundance of wine and summer fruit. 

Jeremiah 40:9-12

When the people heard about Gedaliah and his oath, they started to return to the area from all over the region. They trusted him. Many had fled after the invasion by Babylon but they now felt safe to return. When they returned, they once again harvested their wine and summer fruit. But a few were still angry about the Babylonians and what they had done. One of those was Ishmael. The king of the Ammonites had sent him to kill Gedaliah. When he was told of this, Gedaliah did not believe Ishmael would do this.

Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers still in the open country came to Gedaliah at Mizpah and said to him, "Don't you know that Baalis king of the Ammonites has sent Ishmael son of Nethaniah to take your life?" But Gedaliah son of Ahikam did not believe them. Then Johanan son of Kareah said privately to Gedaliah in Mizpah, "Let me go and kill Ishmael son of Nethaniah, and no one will know it. Why should he take your life and cause all the Jews who are gathered around you to be scattered and the remnant of Judah to perish?" But Gedaliah son of Ahikam said to Johanan son of Kareah, "Don't do such a thing! What you are saying about Ishmael is not true." 

Jeremiah 40:13-16

Ishmael was of royal blood and was evidently related to King Zedekiah. He had been one of his royal officers. He came with ten men to Mizpah. While they were eating with Gedaliah, he murdered Gedaliah, all the men of Judah that were with him, and all the Babylonian soldiers that were there.

In the seventh month Ishmael son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, who was of royal blood and had been one of the king's officers, came with ten men to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah. While they were eating together there, Ishmael son of Nethaniah and the ten men who were with him got up and struck down Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, with the sword, killing the one whom the king of Babylon had appointed as governor over the land. Ishmael also killed all the men of Judah who were with Gedaliah at Mizpah, as well as the Babylonian soldiers who were there. 

Jeremiah 41:1-3

When Johanan heard what had happened, he came with his own army to fight Ishmael and his men.

When Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers who were with him heard about all the crimes Ishmael son of Nethaniah had committed, they took all their men and went to fight Ishmael son of Nethaniah. They caught up with him near the great pool in Gibeon. 

Jeremiah 41:11-12

When the people that Ishmael had captured at Mizpah saw them coming they were glad. They knew they would be rescued and saved. Unfortunately, Ishmael and eight of his men managed to escape and went back to the Ammonites.

When all the people Ishmael had with him saw Johanan son of Kareah and the army officers who were with him, they were glad. All the people Ishmael had taken captive at Mizpah turned and went over to Johanan son of Kareah. But Ishmael son of Nethaniah and eight of his men escaped from Johanan and fled to the Ammonites.

Jeremiah 41:13-15

After the battle, the Judeans that remained were still afraid. They thought that the king of Babylon would still come after them because of the killing of Gedaliah. So, instead of going back to Mizpah, they went to Geruth Kimham which was near Bethlehem. They were on their way to Egypt to escape their perceived threat from the Babylonians. 

And they went on, stopping at Geruth Kimham near Bethlehem on their way to Egypt to escape the Babylonians. They were afraid of them because Ishmael son of Nethaniah had killed Gedaliah son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon had appointed as governor over the land. 

Jeremiah 41:17-18

Jeremiah had been caught up in all of this. Ishmael had taken him captive along with the other Judeans. This group were now the only ones left in the land out of all those who had once lived there. They were the last remnant. So, they asked Jeremiah to pray for the Lord and tell them where they should go.

Then all the army officers, including Johanan son of Kareah and Jezaniah son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least to the greatest approached Jeremiah the prophet and said to him, "Please hear our petition and pray to the LORD your God for this entire remnant. For as you now see, though we were once many, now only a few are left. Pray that the LORD your God will tell us where we should go and what we should do." 

Jeremiah 42:1-3

Jeremiah agreed to do that and went to the Lord. Ten days later God gave him a word for this last remnant.

Ten days later the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah. So he called together Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers who were with him and all the people from the least to the greatest. He said to them, "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your petition, says: 'If you stay in this land, I will build you up and not tear you down; I will plant you and not uproot you, for I have relented concerning the disaster I have inflicted on you. 

Jeremiah 42:7-10

"Remnant of Judah, the LORD has told you, 'Do not go to Egypt.' Be sure of this: I warn you today that you made a fatal mistake when you sent me to the LORD your God and said, 'Pray to the LORD our God for us; tell us everything he says and we will do it.' I have told you today, but you still have not obeyed the LORD your God in all he sent me to tell you. So now, be sure of this: You will die by the sword, famine and plague in the place where you want to go to settle." 

Jeremiah 42:19-22

The choice was clear. Jeremiah told them if they stayed in Judea, they would be blessed and God would build them up and not tear them down. But if they went to Egypt, they would die. After Jeremiah finished talking with the people, they gave him their answer.

When Jeremiah had finished telling the people all the words of the LORD their God—everything the LORD had sent him to tell them—Azariah son of Hoshaiah and Johanan son of Kareah and all the arrogant men said to Jeremiah, "You are lying! The LORD our God has not sent you to say, 'You must not go to Egypt to settle there.' But Baruch son of Neriah is inciting you against us to hand us over to the Babylonians, so they may kill us or carry us into exile to Babylon." So Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers and        all the people disobeyed the LORD's command to stay in the land of Judah. Instead, Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers led away all the remnant of Judah who had come back to live in the land of Judah from all the nations where they had been scattered. They also led away all those whom Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard had left with Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan—the men, the women, the children and the king's daughters. And they took Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch son of Neriah along with them. 

Jeremiah 43:1-6

Jeremiah would continue to preach the word of God to the Israelites when they were in Egypt. But it is thought that some years later, he died in the land of Egypt. He would have been 70 to 80 years of age. The remainder of the Judeans in Egypt died. After this, the only remnant of those who had once lived in Judea were the ones in exile in Babylon. They survived there because they believed the letter that Jeremiah had sent them via Elasah, the son of Shaphan.

This entire story started with one man, Shaphan. A man named after a small animal, a hyrax, that lives in the cleft of the rocks. Shaphan trusted in the Lord, the Rock. He was given the Book of the Law. He read it and passed it on to others including his sons and grandsons. Throughout this time at the end of the kingdom of Judah, God used this family to protect Jeremiah and many others. They were all ultimately protected by the Lord, the Rock. The same can be said for Christians today. If we trust in the Lord , we can be assured of his protection. He is our Rock.