This name designates David's secretary or scribe, but appears with remarkable spelling variations across biblical texts. In 2 Samuel 20:25, manuscripts differ between Sheva (qere) and Sheva/Shia (ketiv). Parallel accounts elsewhere call the same official Seraiah, Shavsha, or Shisha, showing how the same person's name was preserved differently in various textual traditions. Such variation was common for administrative officials whose names might be foreign or less familiar to later copyists. The role—royal secretary—remained consistent even as the name's spelling fluctuated. Ancient scribes apparently struggled to standardize how this name should be written, resulting in the preserved variants.