RECORDER (מַזְכִּ֥יר, meaning one who causes to remember—Hiphil from זָכַר֒, H2349). An important official in Israel who functioned as a herald.

The recorder was one of several important officials in the royal court of Israel. (For the names of the others, see the lists in 2 Sam 8:16-18 and 1 Chron 18:14-17; 2 Sam 20:23-26; 1 Kings 4:1-6). Though the Heb. term occurs nine times, the precise duties of this official are never mentioned. If the term is descriptive of the office, then the recorder might have been connected with the chronicling of state events. Yet this task seems to have been the function of the royal scribe (secretary). Another possibility is that it was a vocal office parallel to the Egyp. whm.w, “he who repeats, calls, announces”; i.e. the pharaoh’s herald. Among his tasks was that of official spokesman. This seems to be the case with Joah, son of Asaph, a recorder during the reign of Hezekiah. Along with two other officials, he represented King Hezekiah in negotiations with the Rabshakeh who represented the Assyrian king, Sennacherib (2 Kings 18:18, 37; Isa 36:3, 22). Another Joah, the son of Joahaz, was recorder during the reign of Josiah (2 Chron 34:8). Along with Shaphan and Maaseiah, he was delegated to pay the laborers who repaired the Temple during Josiah’s reform. Finally, Jehoshaphat was recorder during both the reigns of David and Solomon, but the nature of his office is not indicated (2 Sam 8:16; 20:24; 1 Kings 4:3; 1 Chron 18:15). The mention of recorders from David to Josiah indicates that the office continued until the end of the monachy.

Bibliography R. de Vaux, Ancient Israel (1965), 127-132.