8343. Shashay

Lexical Summary

Shashay: Shashai

Original Word: שָׁשַׁי
Part of Speech: Proper Name Masculine
Transliteration: Shashay
Pronunciation: shah-SHAI
Phonetic Spelling: (shaw-shah'-ee)
KJV: Shashai
NASB: Shashai
Word Origin: [perhaps from H8336 (שֵׁשׁ שְׁשִׁי - fine linen)]

1. whitish
2. Shashai, an Israelite

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

Shashai

Perhaps from shesh; whitish; Shashai, an Israelite -- Shashai.

see HEBREW shesh

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
of uncertain derivation
Definition
an Isr. with a foreign wife
NASB Translation
Shashai (1).

Brown-Driver-Briggs

שָׁשַׁי proper name, masculine Jew with foreign wife Ezra 10:40; Σες(ε)ει.

Topical Lexicon

Entry

Biblical Occurrence

Shashai appears once in Scripture, in the post-exilic list of men who took foreign wives and then put them away under Ezra’s reform (Ezra 10:40).

Historical Setting

The event takes place in Jerusalem around 458 BC, during the early years of the Persian period. Ezra the priest had just arrived with authority from King Artaxerxes to teach and enforce the Law. When it was discovered that many returned exiles had intermarried with the surrounding peoples, a covenant of repentance was enacted (Ezra 10:3–5). Shashai is named among the descendants of Bani who submitted to this covenant.

Role in Ezra’s Reform

1. Public Accountability – By recording every culprit, including relatively obscure individuals such as Shashai, Scripture demonstrates that sin is dealt with personally and openly (Ezra 10:19, 44).
2. Separation for Holiness – The marriages violated clear commands against assimilation with idolatrous nations (Deuteronomy 7:3–4). Shashai’s inclusion shows that obedience must reach into private, family life.
3. Covenant Renewal – Each man “gave his hand in pledge to put away his wife” (Ezra 10:19), illustrating both the gravity of sin and the possibility of restoration through covenant faithfulness.

Theological Significance

• Purity of the Messianic Line – Protecting Israel from syncretism preserved the lineage through which the Messiah would come (compare Matthew 1:17).
• Corporate and Personal Repentance – While the assembly acted corporately, the text singles out individuals. The balance of community responsibility and individual decision is a consistent biblical pattern (Joshua 7:1, Acts 5:1–11).
• Written Memorial – The Spirit led Ezra to record names so that future generations would “learn not to sin” (1 Corinthians 10:11) and so that the returning community’s commitment to the Law could be verified.

Ministry Lessons

• Obedience Sometimes Requires Costly Reformation – Shashai had to dissolve a household relationship that contravened God’s revealed will (Luke 14:26).
• Genuine Repentance Is Measurable – Words were accompanied by concrete action; ministry today likewise calls for visible fruit (Matthew 3:8).
• God’s Grace in Discipline – Though painful, the correction preserved the community’s witness and prepared the way for revival under Nehemiah (Nehemiah 8:1–12).

Intertextual Connections

Deuteronomy 7:3–4; Psalm 106:35; Nehemiah 13:23–27; Malachi 2:11; 2 Corinthians 6:14; 1 Peter 1:15–16.

Legacy

Shashai’s lone appearance reminds readers that every believer, no matter how hidden, stands before God’s searching gaze. The name survives as a testimony that divine restoration often comes through meticulous, courageous obedience to the Word.

Forms and Transliterations

שָׁשַׁ֖י ששי šā·šay šāšay shaShai

Englishman's Concordance

Ezra 10:40
HEB: מַכְנַדְבַ֥י שָׁשַׁ֖י שָׁרָֽי׃
NAS: Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai,
KJV: Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai,
INT: Machnadebai Shashai Sharai

1 Occurrence

Strong's Hebrew 8343
1 Occurrence

šā·šay — 1 Occ.