Easton's Bible Dictionary The shining one, or sunny, the secretary of Rehum the chancellor, who took part in opposing the rebuilding of the temple after the Captivity (Ezra 4:8, 9, 17-23). Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia SHIMSHAI shim'-shi, shim'-sha-i (shimshay; Codex Vaticanus Samasa, Samae, Sameais Samesa; Codex Alexandrinus Samsai; Lucian, Samaias, throughout; in 1 Esdras 2:17 he is called "Semellius," the Revised Version (British and American) "Samellius"; a number of explanations of this name have been offered, but no one has been generally favored. One conjecture traces it to an Old Iranian caritative sh-sh-m-y conformed to shamash; another prefers the Old Bactrian simezhi = simaezhi; compare BDB, under the word The name looks as though it were derived from shemesh, "the sun"): A state secretary who, with REHUM (which see) and others, wrote to Artaxerxes to persuade him to prohibit the rebuilding of the temple (Ezra 4:8, 9, 17, 23). Horace J. Wolf

Multi-Version Concordance Shimshai (4 Occurrences) Ezra 4:8 Rehum the chancellor and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king in this sort: (WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV) Ezra 4:9 then wrote Rehum the chancellor, and Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their companions, the Dinaites, and the Apharsathchites, the Tarpelites, the Apharsites, the Archevites, the Babylonians, the Shushanchites, the Dehaites, the Elamites, (WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV) Ezra 4:17 Then sent the king an answer to Rehum the chancellor, and to Shimshai the scribe, and to the rest of their companions who dwell in Samaria, and in the rest of the country beyond the River: Peace, and so forth. (WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV) Ezra 4:23 Then when the copy of king Artaxerxes' letter was read before Rehum, and Shimshai the scribe, and their companions, they went in haste to Jerusalem to the Jews, and made them to cease by force and power. (WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)