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Shebna THE NEW SCHAFF-HERZOG 388 l3hekinah as an upstart by the triple "here" in verse 16, as well as by the omission of his father's name; and in the account of the siege of Jerusalem by Sennacherib in 701 B.C. (Isa. xxxvi. 3,11, 22, xxxvii. 2; II Kings xviii.18, 26, 37, xix. 2) he appears in the subordinate position of an official scribe or mere minister, while Eliakim occupies the rank of the highest state of ficial. There is no reason for surprise that the very Shebna whom the prophet had threatened with dismissal and death in exile (Isa. xxii. 17-19) should accompany his superior, Eliakim, to treat with the Assyrian envoys at Hezekiah's command, and should even request the intercession of Isaiah (Isa. xxxvii. 2; II Kings xix. 2); and as it is improbable that there were two high officials during the reign of Hezekiah both of whom bore the name of Shebna, this same man is doubtless to be understood throughout. While it is evident from such passages as Jer. xviii. 7 aqq. that Isaiah's menacing words, which did not in the least constitute a formal proph ecy, did not require a literal fulfilment, there is no doubt that they were essentially realized in Shebna's degradation and his replacement by Eliakim. Since, in Isa. xxii. 20-21, Eliakim is described as a servant of the Lord, and as destined to be "a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah," it would appear, by implication, that Shebna was lacking in the fear of God and guilty of gross oppression, thus abusing his official position; and even were this the fault of his favorites, the evil influence of his band of parasites would necessarily end on his downfall. An erroneous exegesis assumes that Isaiah accuses Eliakim of nepotism and threatens his overthrow at the very moment of his rise to power; but, rightly understood, the phrase "in that day," in verses 20, 25, implies the simul taneous nature of Eliakim's elevation and Shebna's fall. In describing the prestige which Shebna was to confer upon his family, Isaiah compares him to a "nail in a sure place" (verses 23-24), likening the subordinate members of his house to various earthen vessels, which would be shattered if the nail should break. It has been maintained by B. L. Duhm (Das Buch Jesaia iibersetzt tutd erkldrt, G6ttingen, 1892, ad loc.) that only Isa. xxii. 15-18 are genuine, the remainder of the passage in question being added later, 19-23 by a friend of Eliakim, and 24-25 by one of his enemies; but the truth is that the whole pas sage is a genuine prophecy of Isaiah, who branded the powerful functionary at the head of the reigning house as its disgrace (verse 18), probably on the occasion of viewing the magnificent tomb which Shebna had built for himself. A. KAMPHAUsEN. BIBLIOGRAPHY: The full discussion of the subject is by A. Kamphausen in Zeitschrift fur Pastoral Theologie, xxiv. 557-573, 631-640, Eng. transl. in AJT, 1901, pp. 43-74; E. KSnig, in NXZ, 1902, pp. 621-631. SHEDD, JOHN HASKELL: Missionary to Persia; b. at Mt. Gilead, Ohio, July 9, 1833; d. at Urumia, Persia, Apr. 12, 1895. He was the son of the Rev. Henry Shedd, one of the pioneer home mis sionaries in Ohio; was graduated from Marietta College (1856) and from Andover Theological Semi nary (1859), was ordained Aug. 3, 1859, and sailed the same month on his way to Persia. as a mis-
sionary of the American Board in the Nestorian Mission. He served as a missionary from 1859 to 1870 under the American Board and from 1878 to 1895 under the Presbyterian Board, to which in 1870 the work for the Nestorians was transferred. From 1872 to 1878 he was a professor in Biddle University, Charlotte, N. C. Urumia, Persia, where he died, was his home during the whole of his missionary work.
Dr. Shedd's missionary work deserves special record along four lines. On his arrival on the field as a young missionary of unusual energy and ability he was restive at the limitation of the work to the Nestorians and he sought hard to have it extended to the Armenian and Moslem population of the field. Only the sudden break-down of another missionary prevented his opening a new station at Van, Turkey. These efforts, though not successful at the time, were among the influences that prepared for the later wide extension of the work, which has made the mission to the Nestorians a mission to Persia and given it a wider scope than yet belongs to any other of the missions to the oriental churches. Although his own work was confined mainly to the- Nestorians, he always planned and worked with the larger field in view. A second line was the effort to evangelize the mountain Nestorian tribes. No more difficult missionary field exists than the mountain region bounded by lines connecting Urumia, Van, Jezireh, and Mosul. Dr. Shedd was a worthy successor of Dr. Asahel Grant and the Rev. S. A. Rhea in this work. Between 1860 and 1870 he made no less than eighteen journeys through this wild and dangerous region, preaching, organizing, and planning. It would be unjust to say that these efforts resulted in failure, but the success was small. Another line of work in which Dr. Shedd's memory and influence will be lasting was the training of native workers. He always conceived of this as the primary purpose of missionary educational work, and largely for this reason he gave himself with energy from 1878 till his death to the work of Urumia College. The love and respect of his pupils for him were great and abiding. But the chief service he rendered the cause of missions was in the organization of the native Syrian Evangelical Church. In his plans and principles in this work he was ahead of his time. When a young missionary he criticized severely the policy of the mission in not placing responsibility on the natives. While averse to any violent break with the old Nestorian Church and never giving up hope of its revival, he thoroughly believed in an organized Evangelical body; and the organization of the Evangelical church provides for its complete ecclesiastical autonomy with an adapted Presbyterian government. It also provides for organized cooperation of the native church and the foreign missionaries in the work of all settled preachers and all village schools. This is carried on by executive boards of the native church, which control the work concurrently with the mission.
Presbyterian; b. at Acton, Mass., June 21, 1820; d. at New York Nov. 17, 1894. He was graduated from the University of Vermont, 1839; and from