7634. Shobyah

Lexical Summary

Shobyah: Shobyah

Original Word: שָׁבְיָה
Part of Speech: Proper Name Masculine
Transliteration: Shobyah
Pronunciation: sho-by-YAH
Phonetic Spelling: (shob-yaw')
KJV: Shachia (from the margin)
Word Origin: [feminine of the same as H7629 (שׁוֹבִי - Shobi)]

1. captivation
2. Shobjah, an Israelite

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

Shachia

Feminine of the same as Shobiy; captivation; Shobjah, an Israelite -- Shachia (from the margin).

see HEBREW Shobiy

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
see Sakeyah.

Brown-Driver-Briggs

שָֽׂכְיָה (so Baer Gi; variant reading שַׂכְיָא; van d. H. שָׁבְיָה; Kit^{HPt dubious})

proper name, masculine in Benjamin 1 Chronicles 8:10; Σαβια, Σεβια, ᵐ5^L Σεχια; ᵑ6 ᵑ9 Sechia.

Topical Lexicon

Identity

Shobiah (rendered “Sachia” in the Berean Standard Bible) appears once in Scripture, in 1 Chronicles 8:10, as a member of the tribe of Benjamin and a son of Shaharaim by the Moabite wife Hodesh.

Genealogical Setting

1 Chronicles 8 traces the Benjamite line from Benjamin himself through generations that survived exile and resettlement. Verses 8–10 record Shaharaim’s relocation to Moab and list the sons born there: “Jeuz, Sachia, and Mirmah. These were his sons, heads of families” (1 Chronicles 8:10). Shobiah is therefore remembered as a clan leader whose branch remained recognizably Benjamite despite living outside the land.

Historical Background

1. Migration to Moab probably arose from the turbulent period of the Judges or early monarchy when famine, warfare, and shifting alliances made trans-Jordan residence expedient (compare Ruth 1:1–2).
2. Chronicles, compiled for the post-exilic community, preserves Shobiah’s name to assure returning Israelites that every tribal family, even one nurtured in Moab, still belonged to the covenant people.

Theological Significance

• Covenant Preservation. Shobiah’s inclusion witnesses that God tracks His people in every place. Geographic distance never nullifies divine promises.
• Exile and Identity. Surrounded by references to “exile” (1 Chronicles 8:6–7), his name reinforces that captivity could not sever Israel’s inheritance—anticipating the New Testament assurance to scattered believers (1 Peter 1:1–4).
• Value of the Obscure. Though he performs no recorded exploit, Shobiah’s presence in Scripture underscores that every believer, known or unknown, is essential in God’s redemptive story.

Ministry Lessons

1. Record Faithfully. Congregations that maintain accurate rolls of members and workers imitate the chronicler’s zeal to remember God’s faithfulness through people.
2. Embrace the Marginalized. Born amid Moabite surroundings, Shobiah stands alongside purely Israelite kin, prefiguring the gospel’s demolition of ethnic barriers (Galatians 3:28).
3. Hope in Diaspora. Christians serving in hostile or distant settings can take heart: God preserves His own and weaves their accounts into His larger narrative of grace.

Contribution to Benjamite Legacy

Benjamin later produced King Saul and the Apostle Paul. The survival of even a single branch such as Shobiah’s safeguarded tribal continuity, ultimately supporting the lineage through which these prominent servants emerged.

Key Reference

1 Chronicles 8:10 – “Jeuz, Sachia, and Mirmah. These were his sons, heads of families.”

Forms and Transliterations

שָֽׂכְיָ֖ה שכיה śā·ḵə·yāh sacheYah śāḵəyāh

Englishman's Concordance

1 Chronicles 8:10
HEB: יְע֥וּץ וְאֶת־ שָֽׂכְיָ֖ה וְאֶת־ מִרְמָ֑ה
KJV: And Jeuz, and Shachia, and Mirma.
INT: Jeuz and Shachia Mirmah These

1 Occurrence

Strong's Hebrew 7634
1 Occurrence

śā·ḵə·yāh — 1 Occ.