Mattan, Father of Shephatiah

Background and Family

Mattan appears in the biblical record as the father of Shephatiah, one of the four Judean officials who sought the death of the prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah 38:1). While the Bible does not explicitly state Mattan's tribe or specific occupation, the social standing of his son implies that Mattan was a man of status within Jerusalem. The name Mattan itself means "gift" or "giving" in Hebrew, a common name element in the Semitic world of the late 7th and early 6th centuries BC.

The Era of the Divided Monarchy

Mattan’s life corresponds with the final decades of the Divided Monarchy, specifically the period leading up to the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC. This was a time when the Davidic dynasty struggled to maintain sovereignty while caught between the warring interests of Egypt and Babylon. As a father of an influential official, Mattan would have witnessed the moral and political decline that characterized the reigns of Jehoiakim and Zedekiah.

Relationship to Other Biblical Figures

The primary biblical significance of Mattan is his genealogical link to Shephatiah. In Jeremiah 38, Shephatiah is grouped with Gedaliah son of Pashhur, Jucal son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malchijah. These men represented the "war party" in Jerusalem—officials who viewed Jeremiah’s prophecies of Babylonian victory as treasonous and demoralizing to the soldiers remaining in the city.

Because Shephatiah was active during the eleventh year of King Zedekiah (c. 588–587 BC), Mattan likely belonged to the preceding generation. If he was still alive during the events of Jeremiah 38, he would have been an elder during the catastrophic final siege of the city. However, the text uses his name primarily as an identifier for his son, a common practice in ancient Near Eastern records to distinguish specific individuals in the royal court.

Spiritual Significance

Though Mattan is mentioned only once, his presence in the text serves a historical and narrative purpose. He provides the ancestral context for those who opposed the divine word delivered through Jeremiah. In the broader theological narrative of the Book of Jeremiah, Mattan represents the established Judean families whose descendants rejected prophetic warnings in favor of political nationalism. The lack of further detail regarding Mattan highlights the biblical focus on his son’s actions, yet his name remains a permanent part of the record of Jerusalem’s final days.