Shaphan

Shaphan (Hebrew: שפן, which means hyrax) is the name of a scribe or court secretary mentioned several times in the Old Testament (II Kings 22:3-14 and 25:22; and parallels in 2 Chronicles 34:8-20; see also Jeremiah 26:24; 36:10-12; 39:14; 40:5 and following; and 43:6).

Biblical account

When the chief Temple priest Hilkiah discovers an ancient Torah scroll, he gives it to the scribe Shaphan, who in turn brings in to King Josiah. Josiah reads it aloud to a crowd in Jerusalem, resulting in a great religious revival. Many scholars believe this was either a copy of the Book of Deuteronomy or a text that became a part of Deuteronomy as we have it; as a result the event is known as the Deuteronomic reform.

According to the Bible, Shaphan had sons named Ahikam, Elasah and Gemariah. The latter appears not to be the same Gemariah named as a son of Hilkiah in Jeremiah 29:3. Assuming it is the same Shaphan, he also had a son named Jaazaniah, who is among the idol worshippers depicted in the vision of Ezekiel described in Ezekiel 8:11.