Bible Person

Irijah

Meaning: the fear of the Lord · Male · 2 cross references

Irijah is the guard officer who arrests Jeremiah at the Benjamin Gate on suspicion of defecting to the Babylonians. He belongs to the climate of fear, suspicion, and hostility that surrounds prophetic witness in Jerusalem's final crisis. First appears in Jer 37:13.1

AI summary: Irijah matters because the cross references place him in one of the small but revealing moments where political panic turns ordinary authority into an instrument against the prophet. His accusation helps push Jeremiah deeper into suffering and confinement, showing how truth can be entangled and misread in a collapsing regime. Taken together, the material presents Irijah as a gate official whose suspicion contributes to the persecution of Jeremiah.1

Central Figure

Irijah

Meaning: the fear of the Lord