Shema

Shema (meaning: rumour or hearing) is the name of several minor figures in the Old Testament. One Shema was a Reubenite, a descendant of Joel, listed in the genealogy of that tribe in 1 Chronicles 5:8. A second was a Benjamite, the son of Elpaal, who with his brother Beriah drove away the inhabitants of Gath (1 Chronicles 8:13). A third Shema stood at Ezra's right hand on the wooden platform during the public reading of the law to the restored community (Nehemiah 8:4). A town in the Negeb of Judah (Joshua 15:26) also bears this name.

It should be noted that Shema as a personal name is entirely distinct from the Shema (Hebrew: hear) of Deuteronomy 6:4 — Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one — which is the foundational confession of Jewish faith and liturgy. The personal name shares the same Hebrew root but carries no inherent connection to that central creed.