Jahaziel, whose name means “beheld by God,” appears four times in the Bible and is given to four different men. Interestingly, all the men who go by the name of Jahaziel appear in the Chronicles. While we don’t pay much attention to 1 and 2 Chronicles, these books have surprises waiting to be uncovered—like the stories of these four men, who interacted with famous kings such as David and Jehoshaphat.
In this article, we’ll explore the men named Jahaziel, their life journeys, and the roles they each played in God’s ultimate story. Although we may not see the name Jahaziel appear soon in our Bible studies, we can still learn a great deal from even these minor characters in the Bible. Let’s dive in.
You probably remember from Sunday School that David didn’t have an easy path to becoming king. King Saul of Israel saw him as a threat and tried to kill him. David lived on the run for many years.
However, David didn’t live alone during his exile years. He acquired friends, including many fellow warriors, who helped him as he raided Canaanite tribes and stayed out of Saul’s way. We get a list of some of these men, including Jahaziel, in 1 Chronicles 12:1-7.
While we don’t get any extra details about Jahaziel’s battle record, we do get some telling details about the group as a whole:
“. . . they were among the warriors who helped him in battle; they were armed with bows and were able to shoot arrows or to sling stones right-handed or left-handed; they were relatives of Saul from the tribe of Benjamin.”
From these facts, we know two things.
First, Jahaziel was a great warrior. Very few soldiers could fight equally well with either hand. Some of Jahaziel’s comrades mentioned in 1 Chronicles 12 had a special distinction: Ishmaiah the Gibeonite was part of the Thirty, also known as David’s Mighty Warriors or his Mighty Men.
From 1 Chronicles 11 and 2 Samuel 21, we know that the Mighty Men had an impressive record: they fought alongside David in battle, earning the prestige of being his most trusted warriors. They could kill hundreds of people with a single weapon in one battle (2 Samuel 23:8). They killed lions (2 Samuel 23:20) and giants (2 Samuel 21:15-18). Some served as King David’s bodyguard (2 Samuel 23:23). David’s battle prowess meant he could protect himself better than most, so his guards had to be formidable men. While Jahaziel doesn’t appear in the lists of the Mighty Men, the fact that he fought alongside at least one of them says he was a formidable man, too.
Second, we know that Jahaziel came from the same tribe as King Saul—in fact, from the same family. Jahaziel followed God enough to go against a family member and follow God’s anointed king instead.
If Jahaziel had lived long enough to see David crowned king, he would have continued to be a valuable member of David’s forces. Israel continued to expand its land during David’s reign, becoming a prosperous nation. Jahaziel would’ve played a part in this; seeing Israel be blessed as the king he joined at Ziklag brought glory to God.
Not every Jahaziel was a warrior. Some worked as priests, especially the one in 1 Chronicles 16.
While we imagine some priests did multiple duties or helped each other out, every priest had an assigned duty in the temple (the Tabernacle during David's time). God assigned Jahaziel a really interesting duty: He was to blow the trumpet in front of the ark of the covenant.
For those unfamiliar, the ark housed God’s presence and was stationed in the Holy of Holies. The high priest could approach the ark once a year, but any mishaps in his duties could carry an instant death penalty. They couldn’t even touch the ark. People used poles that went through rings on the ark’s sides whenever they had to carry it.
Now, trumpets have different meanings in Israelite history. Sometimes, they operated as instruments of praise; other times, they were instruments of warning. Sometimes, they signaled a period of repentance; other times, they signaled hope.
Jahaziel would’ve manned such an instrument and would’ve played an important role in signaling the people for times of worship and repentance.
The joy element would have been especially important on the day King David gave him the job: 1 Chronicles 16 describes the celebrations when the ark was brought to stay in a tabernacle in Jerusalem. It would stay there for the rest of recorded history, eventually placed in the temple that David’s son Solomon built.
This seems to, sadly, be the least exciting Jahaziel of the bunch. He’s from the family of Hebron, a Kohathite.
What do we know about the Kohathites?
They were a group of Levites. For those who don’t know, the Levites comprised the “religious” tribe of Israel, who carried out the religious duties.
This group seemed to oversee the objects in the temple, including the lampstand and the table of shewbread.
Like the previous Jahaziel, this Jahaziel would have had certain duties. Unfortunately, we don’t know his assignment. But we do know that he would have been caring for something in the temple.
Jahaziel was also the first to work on a king different from David (the first two were with David). He worked under Solomon, one of the greatest kings of Israel’s history. Solomon brought a period of peace and renewed worship to Israel. Under Solomon, the Temple was built.
We can imagine Jahaziel had a sense of pride in the fact that he got to work in the temple instead of the tabernacle. He lived in a time when the ark had a glorious building to house it, not just a tent.
This Jahaziel is the first to get more than one verse written about him. During the time of King Jehoshaphat, a Levite had the Spirit of the Lord come over him. This sort of thing often happened in the Old Testament, where the Holy Spirit would briefly empower someone to do something.
There, he prophesies that Jehoshaphat will have the upper hand against Moab and Ammon, enemies of Israel who plagued them throughout their history.
In fact, the army wouldn’t even have to fight them. They’d find dead bodies in the morning after God set up ambushes against the armies of Moab and Ammon.
The words ring true, and the Israelites rejoice that God had once again saved them from destruction.
The many men named Jahaziel show us that God has diverse plans for his people. No one person has the same role. All the men worked under significant kings in Israel’s Golden Age and had a role in bringing the people back to God. Let’s break down our life lessons by each Jahaziel.
What can we learn from Jahaziel in 1 Chronicles 12?
God sometimes gifts people with incredible abilities in battle. Not only was he with David in battle, but he was among the elite fighters. God gifts many people as spiritual warriors. They fight against the powers and principalities that wage war against us.
What can we learn from Jahaziel in 1 Chronicles 16?
Music can mean a lot of different things. It can remind us to praise God in difficult times, bring us to repentance, stir our convictions, and remind us of the final days to come, where God will set everything right in the end. Jahaziel was an ancient form of choir participant or praise team member. Music has always played a big role in bringing people to God.
What can we learn from Jahaziel in 1 Chronicles 23?
Not only did God give every priest a role in the Temple, but the Temple itself was extremely important. It gave God a place to exist among his people. We see repeatedly that the people didn’t care or tend to his temple after Solomon's time. But during Solomon's time, Jahaziel would’ve cared for the Temple well. May we also care for the temple of the Holy Spirit inside us.
What can we learn from Jahaziel in 2 Chronicles 20?
Sometimes, we need an uplifting word during a very hard time. Although we should be wary of false prophets, we should also delight when the Spirit lays it on someone’s heart to give a true, Scripture-based word. Jahaziel’s words gave Israel the courage it needed to go into the next day and see its enemies defeated.
The many men named Jahaziel played a variety of roles in the Bible. From warrior to musician to temple keeper to prophet . . . they also obeyed God and set out to do what he had called them to do. May we, too, fully embrace our missions and do them to the best of our abilities.
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Hope Bolinger is an acquisitions editor at End Game Press, book editor for hire, and the author of almost 30 books. More than 1500 of her works have been featured in various publications. Check out her books at hopebolinger.com for clean books in most genres, great for adults and kids. Check out her editing profile at Reedsy.com to find out about hiring her for your next book project.
This article is part of our People of Christianity catalog that features the stories, meaning, and significance of well-known people from the Bible and history. Here are some of the most popular articles for knowing important figures in Christianity:
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