Sheshan — Shunem

Sheshan

Sheshan - she'-shan (sheshan; Sosan): A Jerahmeelite whose daughter married his servant Jarha (1 Chronicles 2:31, 34-35). The genealogical list which follows embraces some very early names (compare Curtis,ICC , at the place).ISBE Sheshan.2

Sheshbazzar

Sheshbazzar - shesh-baz'-ar (shesh-batstsar or sheshbatstsar): Sheshbazzar is the Hebrew or Aramaic form of the Babylonian Shamash-aba-ucur, or Shamash-bana-ucur: "Oh Shamash, protect the father." It is possible that the full name was Shamash-ban-zeri-Babili-ucur, "Oh Shamash, protect the father (builder) of the seed of Babylon." (See Zerubbabel, and Compare the Babylonian names Ashur-banaucur, Ban-ziri, Nabu-ban-ziri, Shamash-ban-apli, Shamash-apil-ucur, Shamash-ban-achi, and others in Tallquist's Neubabylonisches Namenbuch, and the Aramaic names on numbers 35, 44, 36, and 45 of Clay's Aramaic Dockets.) If this latter was the full name, there would be little doubt that Sheshbazzar may have been the same person as Zerubbabel, since the former is called in Ezra 5:14 the governor of Judah, and the latter is called by the same title in Haggai 1:1, 14; 2, 21. It is more probable, however, that Sheshbazzar and Zerubbabel were different persons, and that Sheshbazzar was governor of Judah in the time of Cyrus and Zerubbabel in that of Darius. It is possible that Sheshbazzar came to Jerusalem in the time of Cyrus and laid the foundations, and that Zerubbabel came later in the time of Darius Hystaspis and completed the building of the temple (compare Ezra 2:68; 4:2; Haggai 1:14).ISBE Sheshbazzar.2

According to Ezra 1:8 Sheshbazzar was the prince (Hannasi) of Judah into whose hands Cyrus put the vessels of the house of the Lord which Nebuchadnezzar had brought forth out of Jerusalem and had put in the house of his gods. It is further said in Ezra 1:11 that Sheshbazzar brought these vessels with them of the captivity which he brought up from Babylon to Jerusalem. In Ezra 5:14 f it is said that these vessels had been delivered by Cyrus unto one whose name was Sheshbazzar, whom he had made governor (pechah), and that Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundations of the house of God which was in Jerusalem.ISBE Sheshbazzar.3

See SANABASSAR.ISBE Sheshbazzar.4

R. Dick WilsonISBE Sheshbazzar.5

Sheth

Sheth - See SETH.ISBE Sheth.2

Shethar

Shethar - she'-thar (~shethar]; Codex Vaticanus and Lucian, Sarsathaios; Codex Alexandrinus Sarestheos): One of the "seven princes" at the court of Ahasuerus (Esther 1:14); these princes "sat first in the kingdom" and had the right of entrance to the king's presence at any time, except when he was in the company of one of his wives. (According to Marquart, Fund., 69, Shethar comes from sh-r-sh-th-y with which the Persian siyatis, "joy," is to be compared.) The word has never really been satisfactorily explained; it is presumably Persian.ISBE Shethar.2

Shethar-bozenai, Shethar-boznai

Shethar-bozenai, Shethar-boznai - she'-thar-boz'-e-ni, she'-thar-boz'-ni, -boz'-na-i, (shethar boznay, meaning uncertain): The name of a Persian (?) official mentioned with Tattenai in connection with the correspondence with Darius relative to the rebuilding of the Temple (Ezra 5:3, 6; 6, 12; Codex Vaticanus Satharbouzan; Codex Alexandrinus Satharbouzanai, in Ezra 5:3; 6:13; Satharbouzanes, in 5:6; Satharbouzane, in 6:6; Lucian, throughout, Tharbouzanaios), called in 1 Esdras 6:3, 7, 27; 7:1 "Shathrabuzanes."ISBE Shethar-bozenai, Shethar-boznai.2

Among the conjectures as to the meaning and derivation of the name, the following may be mentioned: (1) Shethar-boznai may be a corruption of metharboznay = Mithrobouzanes, Old Persian Mithrobauzana--i.e. "Mithra is deliverer." (2) shathar is identical with the Old Persian Tsithra ("seed," "brilliance"); names have been found that are confounded with this word. (3) shethar bowzenay may be a title, but sethar, must then be read for shethar. (4) shethar boznay is equivalent to the Old Persian Sethrabuzana, "empire-delivering"; compare Encyclopedia Biblica, article "Shethar-boznai," and Brown, Driver, and Briggs, Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament.ISBE Shethar-bozenai, Shethar-boznai.3

Horace J. WolfISBE Shethar-bozenai, Shethar-boznai.4

Sheva

Sheva - she'-va (shewa'; Codex Vaticanus Saou; Codex Alexandrinus Saoul, Lucian, Soue):ISBE Sheva.2

(1) A son of Caleb by his concubine Maacah (1 Chronicles 2:49).ISBE Sheva.3

(2) See SHAVSHA.ISBE Sheva.4

Shew, Show

Shew, Show - sho: "Show" (so always the American Standard Revised Version) is simply a modernized spelling of "shew" (so always in the King James Version and generally in the English Revised Version), and it should be carefully noted that "shew" is never pronounced "shoo," not even in the combination "shewbread"; Compare "sew."ISBE Shew, Show.2

In the King James Version "shew" as a verb is the translation of a very large number of terms in the original. This number is reduced considerably by the Revised Version (British and American) (especially in the New Testament), but most of these changes are to secure uniformity of rendition, rather than to correct obscurities. The proper sense of the verb, of course, is "to cause a person to see" (Genesis 12:1, etc.) or "to cause a thing (or "person") to be seen" (Deuteronomy 4:35; Judges 4:22, etc.). "Seeing," naturally, can be taken as intellectual or moral (Jeremiah 38:21; Psalms 16:11, etc.), and can even be used for "hearing" (Isaiah 43:9, etc.; contrast the Revised Version (British and American) 1 Samuel 9:27). Hence, "shew" can be used as a general translation for the most various phrases, as "be shewed" for ginomai, "come to pass" (Acts 4:22, the Revised Version (British and American) "be wrought"); "shew forth themselves" for energeo, "be active" (Matthew 14:2, the Revised Version (British and American) "work"); "shew" for poieo "do" (Acts 7:36, the Revised Version (British and American) "having wrought"); for diegeomai, "relate" (Luke 8:39 the Revised Version (British and American) "declare"); for deloo, "make clear" (2 Peter 1:14, the Revised Version (British and American) "signify"), etc. In Song of Solomon 2:9 the King James Version (English Revised Version) "shewing himself" and the American Standard Revised Version (English Revised Version margin) "glanceth" both miss the poetry of the original: "His eyes shine in through the lattice" (tsuts, "blossom" "sparkle").ISBE Shew, Show.3

The King James Version's uses of the noun "shew" usually connote appearance in contrast to reality. So Luke 20:47, "for a shew" (prophasis, "apparent cause," the Revised Version (British and American) "pretence"); Colossians 2:23, "shew of wisdom" (so the Revised Version (British and American), logos, "word," "repute"); Galatians 6:12, "make a fair shew" (so the Revised Version (British and American), euprosopeo, "have a fair face"); Psalms 39:6, "vain shew" (so the American Standard Revised Version tselem, "image" the Revised Version margin "shadow"). However, in Sirach 43:1 (horama, "spectacle" (so the Revised Version (British and American))) and in Colossians 2:15 deigmatizo, "to display") "shew" = "spectacle." In Isaiah 3:9 "the shew of their countenance" is a bad translation for "their respect of persons" (so the Revised Version margin for hakkarath penehem). The "shewing" of the Baptist "unto Israel" (Luke 1:80 the King James Version, the English Revised Version) is of course his appearing to begin his ministry.ISBE Shew, Show.4

Burton Scott EastonISBE Shew, Show.5

Shewbread, Table of

Shewbread, Table of - (shulchan (Exodus 25:25-30, etc.); he trapeza kai he prothesis ton arton (Hebrews 9:2)): For construction, see TABERNACLE; TEMPLE. A rude representation of the table is given on the Arch of Titus in Rome. The bas-relief was measured by Professor Boni in 1905, and the height and width of the represented tables were found to be 48 centimeters, or nearly 19 inches. The table represented is, of course, that of Herod's temple, taken at the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD. See the author's article on "The Temple Spoils" inPEFS , 1906, 306 ff.ISBE Shewbread, Table of.2

The table of shewbread is to be distinguished from the altar of incense. It has become the fashion of the newer criticism to deny the existence of the altar of incense in preexilic times, and to explain the allusion to it in 1 Kings 6:20 as the table of shewbread (so in Ezekiel 41:22). The other references (1 Kings 6:22; 7:48; 9:25) are dismissed as interpolations. The procedure is radically vicious. The table of shewbread is not an "altar," though the altar is once spoken of as a "table" (Ezekiel 41:22). There was only one altar of incense (1 Kings 6:20), but (in 2 Chronicles 4:8) ten tables of shewbread.ISBE Shewbread, Table of.3

See SHEWBREAD.ISBE Shewbread, Table of.4

W. Shaw CaldecottISBE Shewbread, Table of.5

Shewbread, The

Shewbread, The - sho'-bred lechem ha-panim, "bread of the presence"; he prothesis ton arton (Hebrews 9:2); the American Standard Revised Version "showbread").ISBE Shewbread, The.2

See SHEW:ISBE Shewbread, The.3

1. The Term: The marginal reading of Exodus 25:30; 35:13, the Revised Version (British and American) "Presence-bread," exactly gives the meaning of the Hebrew. In 2 Chronicles 2:4 it is spoken of as the "continual showbread," because it was to be before Yahweh "alway" (Exodus 25:30).ISBE Shewbread, The.4

2. Mosaic Regulations: Later Judaism has much to say as to the number and size of the loaves, more properly thin cakes, which bore this name, together with many minute regulations as to the placing of the loaves, the covering of them with frankincense, and other ritualistic vapidities. All that the Mosaic legislation required was that, once in every week, there should be twelve cakes of unleavened bread, each containing about four-fifths of a peck of fine flour, placed in two piles upon a pure table with frankincense beside each pile and changed every Sabbath day (Leviticus 24:5-9). From the description of the table upon which the fiat cakes were to lie (Exodus 25:23-30; Exodus 37:10-16), it held a series of golden vessels comprising dishes, spoons, flagons and bowls. As it is unlikely that empty cups were set before Yahweh--they being described as "the vessels which were upon the table"--we may conclude that the table held presentation offerings of "grain and wine and oil," the three chief products of the land (Deuteronomy 7:13). The "dishes" were probably the salvers on which the thin cakes were piled, six on each. The "flagons" would contain wine, and the bowls (made with spouts, "to pour withal"), the oil; while the "spoons" held the frankincense, which was burned as a memorial, "even an offering made by fire unto Yahweh." The cakes themselves were eaten by the priests on every Sabbath day, as being among the "most holy" sacrifices. Each of the synoptists refers to the incident of David and his companions having eaten of the shewbread (hoi artoi tes protheseos), as told in 1 Samuel 21:4-6 (Matthew 12:4; Mark 2:26; Luke 6:4).ISBE Shewbread, The.5

3. On Journeyings: At such times as the removal of the tabernacle took place, the separate appointments of the table of incense were not parted from it, but were carried with it--dishes, spoons, bowls, and cups (Numbers 4:7). These, like the other furniture, were borne by the Kohathite Levites, but a few articles of lighter weight were in the personal care of the high priest. These comprised the oil for the candlestick, the sweet incense, the holy oil of consecration, and the meal for the continual bread offering (Numbers 4:7-8, 16). Small quantities of these alone would be borne from place to place, such as would be needed with the least delay to refurbish the vessels of the sanctuary on every reerection of the tent of meeting.ISBE Shewbread, The.6

4. Significance: With this view of the nature, we have a natural and adequate sense of the meanings and importance of the shewbread, in the economy of the temple ritual and service. It was a continual reminder to the worshippers of the truth that man does not live by bread alone, emphasized by the fact that these most holy offerings were afterward eaten. It was the Old Testament version of the prayer, "Give us this day our daily bread"; and in the fact that the holy table was never for a moment left without some loaves lying on it, we have the symbol of man's continued and unbroken dependence upon God. Even during the travels of the table of shewbread with the tabernacle, the "continual bread" was required to be in its place thereon (Numbers 4:7).ISBE Shewbread, The.7

It has been usual to say that "frankincense in golden urns stood beside the twelve loaves" (EB, IV, col. 4212). But this is a mere repetition of a Jewish legend, as spoons were the recognized holders of the frankincense to be burned (compare Numbers 7:14 ff). Such spoons formed a part of the equipment of the shewbread table, and on the removal of the week-old cakes the spoons were carried forth and the frankincense in them burned on the great altar on the Sabbath day. If this were done while the grain and wine and oil were being consumed, it would derive additional significance, as betokening the gratitude and adoration of the representative recipients of the bounties of Nature, just as the daily burning of incense in the holy place betokened the worship and adoration of the praying multitudes without the temple (Luke 1:10).ISBE Shewbread, The.8

See SHEWBREAD, TABLE OF.ISBE Shewbread, The.9

W. Shaw CaldecottISBE Shewbread, The.10

Shibah

Shibah - shi'-ba (shibh`ah, "seven"; horkos; Swete reads Phrear horkou, literally, "well of oath"; the King James Version Shebah): The name of the original well of Beer-sheba according to Genesis 26:33.ISBE Shibah.2

See BEERSHEBA.ISBE Shibah.3

Shibboleth

Shibboleth - shib'-o-leth (shibboleth): A test of speech applied by the men of Gilead to the Ephraimites, who wished to cross the Jordan, after defeat. If they pronounced the word cibboleth, their dialectic variety of speech betrayed them. (Judges 12:6). The word probably has the sense of stream or "flood" (compare Psalms 69:2).ISBE Shibboleth.2

Shibmah

Shibmah - shib'-ma (sibhmah).ISBE Shibmah.2

See SIBMAH.ISBE Shibmah.3

Shicron

Shicron - shik'-ron (shikkeron).ISBE Shicron.2

See SHIKKERON.ISBE Shicron.3

Shield

Shield - sheld.ISBE Shield.2

See ARMOR,IV , 1.ISBE Shield.3

Shiggaion

Shiggaion - shi-ga'-yon, shi-gi'-on (shiggayon): Occurs in the title of Psalms 7:1-17, and, in the plural, in the verse introducing Habakkuk's prayer (Habakkuk 3:1). Derived from a verb meaning "to wander," it is generally taken to mean a dithyramb, or rhapsody. This is not supported by the Greek VSS, but they are evidently quite at a loss.ISBE Shiggaion.2

See PSALMS, BOOK OF.ISBE Shiggaion.3

Shihon

Shihon - shi'-hon (shi'on).ISBE Shihon.2

See SHION.ISBE Shihon.3

Shihor

Shihor - shi'-hor (shichor, also written without a yodh (y) and waw (w) in Hebrew and incorrectly "Sihor" in English): A stream of water mentioned in connection with Egypt. Joshua (13:3) speaks of the "Shihor, which is before Egypt," a stream which commentators have thought to be "the brook of Egypt," the stream which separated Egypt from Palestine, now called Wady el-`Arish. Jeremiah (2:18 the King James Version) says, "What hast thou to do in the way to Egypt, to drink the waters of Sihor?" Commentators have thought Shihor in this case to be a name for the Nile. Both interpretations cannot be correct. Whatever the name South means, at least it did not denote a movable river. It must be the same stream in both these passages, and no identification of the stream can be correct that does not satisfy both of them. Professor Naville has recently shown conclusively (Proc. Soc. Biblical Arch., January, 1913) that neither of these interpretations is strictly correct, and has made clear the Biblical references to South. In the northeasternmost province of ancient Egypt, Khentabt ("Fronting on the East"), was a canal, a fresh-water stream drawn off from the Nile, called in the Egyptian language Shi-t-Hor, i.e. "the Horus Canal" (the -t- is an Egyptian feminine ending). There have been many changes in the branches and canals from the Nile in the Delta, and this one with many others has been lost altogether; but there is a tradition among the Bedouin of Wady el-`Arish to this day that once a branch of the Nile came over to that point. This Shi-t-Hor, "Stream of Horus," makes perfectly clear and harmonious the different references of Scripture to South. It was "before Egypt," as Josh describes it, and it was the first sweet water of Egypt which the traveler from Palestine in those days was able to obtain, as the words of Jeremiah indicate. "To drink the waters of South" meant to reach the supply of the fresh water of the Nile at the border of the desert. The two other references to South (1 Chronicles 13:5; Isaiah 23:3) are perfectly satisfied by this identification. The "seed of South" (Isaiah 23:3 the King James Version) would be grain from Egypt by way of the Shihor.ISBE Shihor.2

M. G. KyleISBE Shihor.3

Shihor-libnath

Shihor-libnath - shi'-hor-lib'-nath shichor libhnath; Codex Vaticanus to Seion kai Labanath; Codex Alexandrinus Seior, etc.): A place named on the boundary of Asher (Joshua 19:26). It seems to mark with Carmel the western limit, and may have been on the South of that mountain. Peshitta, Syriac, and Eusebius (Onomasticon) take this as two distinct names attaching to cities in this region. So far, however, no trace of either name has been found in the course of very careful exploration. More probably Shihor was the name of a river, "Libnath" distinguishing it from the Nile, which was called Shihor of Egypt. It may have been called Shihor because, like the Nile, it contained crocodiles. The boundary of Asher included Dor (TanTurah), so the river may be sought South of that town. Crocodiles are said still to be found in the Kishon; but this river runs North of Carmel. The Crocodeilon of Ptolemy (V. xv.5; xvi.2) and Pliny (v.19), which the latter makes the southern boundary of Phoenicia, may possibly be Nahr ez-Zerqa, which enters the sea about 5 miles South of TanTurah. Here also it is said the crocodile is sometimes seen. Perhaps therefore we may identify this stream with Shihor-libnath.ISBE Shihor-libnath.2

W. EwingISBE Shihor-libnath.3

Shikkeron

Shikkeron - shik'-er-on (shikkeron; the King James Version Shicron): A place mentioned in Joshua 15:11 as being on the northern border of Judah, between Ekron and Baalah, Jabneel being beyond, toward the sea. The site is unknown, but Rev. C. Hauser (PEFS, 1907, 289) suggests Tell es-Sellakeh, Northwest of `Akir, remarking that if this were the site the boundary would follow a natural course over the mountain to Jabneel.ISBE Shikkeron.2

Shilhi

Shilhi - shil'-hi (shilchi): Father of Jehoshaphat's mother (1 Kings 22:42 = 2 Chronicles 20:31; Codex Vaticanus and Codex Alexandrinus in 2 Chronicles, Salei, Codex Vaticanus in 1 Kings, Semeei; Codex Alexandrinus in 1 Kings, Salala; Lucian in both, Seleei). Cheyne (Encyclopaedia Biblica, article "Shilhi") ventures the supposition that "Shilhi" is a misreading for "Shilhim" (Joshua 15:32), and is therefore the name of place rather than that of a person; he holds it to be the name of the birthplace of Azubah, the king's mother.ISBE Shilhi.2

Shilhim

Shilhim - shil'-him shilchim (Joshua 15:32)): See SHAARAIM, (2). Possibly Azubah the mother of Jehoshaphat, who is called "the daughter of Shilhi" (1 Kings 22:42; 2 Chronicles 20:31), was a native of Shilhim.ISBE Shilhim.2

Shillem, Shillemites

Shillem, Shillemites - shil'-em, shil'-em-its (shillem, ha-shillemi): Shillem is found in Genesis 46:24, a son of Naphtali; Shillemites, his descendants, are mentioned in Numbers 26:49; SHALLUM (which see) is found in 1 Chronicles 7:13.ISBE Shillem, Shillemites.2

Shiloah

Shiloah - shi-lo'-a, shi-lo'-a (Isaiah 8:6).ISBE Shiloah.2

See SILOAM.ISBE Shiloah.3

Shiloh (1)

Shiloh (1) - shi'-lo (shiloh): The prophecy in Genesis 49:10, "The scepter shall not depart from Judah, .... until Shiloh come," etc., has been the subject of very diverse interpretations. the Revised Version margin gives as alternative renderings, " `Till he come to Shiloh having the obedience of the peoples' Or, according to the Syriac, `Till he come whose it is,' etc." (1) From the earliest times the passage has been regarded as Messianic, but the rendering in the text, which takes "Shiloh" as a proper name, bearing a meaning such as "peaceful" (compare Isaiah 9:6, "Prince of Peace"), labors under the difficulty that Shiloh is not found elsewhere as a personal name in the Old Testament, nor is it easy to extract from it the meaning desired. Further, the word was not personally applied to the Messiah in any of the ancient VSS, which rather assume a different reading (see below). Apart from a purely fanciful passage in the Talmud (compare Driver, Gen, 413), this application does not appear earlier than the version of Seb. Munster in the 16th century (1534). (2) The rendering, "till he come to Shiloh," where Shiloh is taken as the name of a place, not a person, is plausible, but is felt to yield no suitable sense in the context. It is, therefore, now also set aside by most recent scholars. (3) The 3rd rendering, which regards Shiloh as representing the Hebrew shelloh = shiloh for 'asher low, "whose (it is)," has in its favor the fact that this is evidently the reading presupposed in the Septuagint, the Peshitta, and the this is evidently the reading presupposed in the Septuagint, the Peshitta, and the Jewish Targums, and seems to be alluded to in Ezekiel 21:27, "until he come whose right it is." In this view the passage has still a Messianic reference, though critics argue that it must then be regarded as late in origin. Other interpretations need not detain us. See for details the full discussions in Hengstenberg's Christology, I, 54 ff, English translation, the commentaries of Delitzsch, Driver, and Skinner, on Genesis (especially ExcursusII in Driver), and the articles in the various Bible dictionaries.ISBE Shiloh (1).2

See also PROPHECY.ISBE Shiloh (1).3

James OrrISBE Shiloh (1).4

Shiloh (2)

Shiloh (2) - (The most usual form is shiloh, but it appears 8 times as shilo, and 3 times as Shilow; Selo, Selom): A town in the lot of Ephraim where Israel assembled under Joshua at the close of the war of conquest (Joshua 18:1). Here territory was allotted to the seven tribes who had not yet received their portions. A commission was sent out to "describe the land into seven portions"; this having been done, the inheritances were assigned by lot. Here also were assigned to the Levites their cities in the territories of the various tribes (Joshua 18:1-28 through Joshua 21:1-45). From Shiloh Reuben and Gad departed for their homes East of the Jordan; and here the tribes gathered for war against these two, having misunderstood their building of the great altar in the Jordan valley (Joshua 22:1-34). From Judges 18:31 we learn that in the period of the Judges the house of God was in Shiloh; but when the sanctuary was moved thither from Gilgal there is no indication. The maids of Shiloh were captured by the Benjamites on the occasion of a feast, while dancing in the vineyards; this having been planned by the other tribes to provide the Benjamites with wives without involving themselves in responsibility (Judges 21:21 ff). While the house of the Lord remained here it was a place of pilgrimage (1 Samuel 1:3). To Shiloh Samuel was brought and consecrated to God's service (1 Samuel 1:24). The sanctuary was presided over by Eli and his wicked sons; and through Samuel the doom of their house was announced. The capture of the ark by the Philistines, the fall of Hophni and Phinehas, and the death of the aged priest and his daughter-in-law followed with startling rapidity (1 Samuel 3:1-21; 1 Samuel 4:1-22). The sanctuary in Shiloh is called a "temple" (1 Samuel 1:9; 3:3) with doorpost and doors (1 Samuel 1:9; 3:15). It was therefore a more durable structure than the old tent. See TABERNACLE; TEMPLE. It would appear to have been destroyed, probably by the Philistines; and we find the priests of Eli's house at Nob, where they were massacred at Saul's order (1 Samuel 22:11 ff). The disaster that befell Shiloh, while we have no record of its actual occurrence, made a deep impression on the popular mind, so that the prophets could use it as an effective illustration (Psalms 78:60; Jeremiah 7:12:Jeremiah 14:1-22; 26:6). Here the blind old prophet Ahijah was appealed to in vain by Jeroboam's wife on behalf of her son (1 Kings 14:2, 4), and it was still occupied in Jeremiah's time (Jeremiah 41:5).ISBE Shiloh (2).2

The position of Shiloh is indicated in Judges 21:19, as "on the north of Beth-el, on the east side of the highway that goeth up from Beth-el to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah." This is very explicit, and points definitely to Seilun, a ruined site on a hill at the Northeast of a little plain, about 9 miles North of Beitin (Bethel), and 3 miles Southeast of Khan el-Lubban (Lebonah), to the East of the highway to Shechem (Nablus). The path to Seilun leaves the main road at Sinjil, going eastward to Turmus `Aya, then northward across the plain. A deep valley runs to the North of the site, cutting it off from the adjoining hills, in the sides of which are rock-hewn tombs. A good spring rises higher up the valley. There are now no vineyards in the district; but indications of their ancient culture are found in the terraced slopes around.ISBE Shiloh (2).3

The ruins on the hill are of comparatively modern buildings. At the foot of the hill is a mosque which is going quickly to ruin. A little distance to the Southeast is a building which seems to have been a synagogue. It is called by the natives Jami` el-`Arba`in, "mosque of the Forty." There are many cisterns.ISBE Shiloh (2).4

Just over the crest of the hill to the North, on a terrace, there is cut in the rock a rough quadrangle 400 ft. by 80 ft. in dimensions. This may have been the site of "the house of the Lord" which was in Shiloh.ISBE Shiloh (2).5

W. EwingISBE Shiloh (2).6

Shilonite

Shilonite - shi'-lo-nit (shiloni (2 Chronicles 9:29), shiloni (2 Chronicles 10:15; Nehemiah 11:5), Shilowniy; Selonei, Seloneites): This denotes an inhabitant of Shiloh, and applies (1) to Ahijah the prophet (1 Kings 11:29, etc.); and (2) to a family of the children of Judah, who, after the exile, made their home in Jerusalem (1 Chronicles 9:5; Nehemiah 11:5, the King James Version "Shiloni").ISBE Shilonite.2

Shilshah

Shilshah - shil'-sha shilshah; Codex Vaticanus and Codex Alexandrinus Saleisa; Lucian, Selemsan): An Asherite (1 Chronicles 7:37).ISBE Shilshah.2

Shimea

Shimea - shim'-e-a (shim`a'):ISBE Shimea.2

See SHAMMUA and SHAMMAH.ISBE Shimea.3

(1) Brother of David.ISBE Shimea.4

See SHAMMAH.ISBE Shimea.5

(2) Son of David (1 Chronicles 3:5, Codex Vaticanus Saman; but in 2 Samuel 5:14; 1 Chronicles 14:4, "Shammua").ISBE Shimea.6

(3) A Merarite Levite (1 Chronicles 6:30, Codex Vaticanus Somea; Codex Alexandrinus Sama, Lucian, Samaa).ISBE Shimea.7

(4) A Gershonite Levite (1 Chronicles 6:39 (24), Semaa).ISBE Shimea.8

Shimeah

Shimeah - shim'-e-a (shim'ah; Codex Vaticanus Semaa, Codex Alexandrinus Samea, Lucian, Samaa): A descendant of Jehiel, the "father" of Gibeon (1 Chronicles 8:32); in 1 Chronicles 9:38 he is called "Shimeam" (Codex Vaticanus, Codex Sinaiticus, Lucian; Samaa Codex Alexandrinus Sama; see Jewish Quarterly Review,XI , 110-13, section symbol section symbol 10-12).ISBE Shimeah.2

Shimeam

Shimeam - shim'-e-am.ISBE Shimeam.2

See SHIMEAH.ISBE Shimeam.3

Shimeath

Shimeath - shim'-e-ath (shim`ath, or shim`ath; the Septuagint in 2 Kings, Iemouath, Codex Vaticanus in 2 Chronicles, Sama, Codex Alexandrinus Samath, Lucian, Samaath): Father of Jozacar (2 Kings 12:21 (22)), one of the murderers of Joash, king of Judah. According to 2 Chronicles 24:26 Shimeath is an Ammonitess and the mother, not the father, of Jozacar. Many textual emendations have been suggested (compare HDB , article "Shimeath"), but they are unnecessary, as the Chronicler's revised version of the incident in Kings was a deliberate one. The Chronicler was a sturdy opponent of intermarriage, and in the story of the assassination of King Joash he saw an opportunity to strike a blow against the hated practice. In the older account in Kings the names of the conspirators are given as "Jozakar the son of shim`ath, and Jehozabad the son of shemer." The two names are both masculine; but the final taw (t) of the former looked to the Chronicler like the feminine ending and offered him his opportunity. In his account, the one of the two murderers (dastardly villains, even though the king had merited death) was "the son of (shim`ath), the Ammonitess" and the other was "the son of (shimrith), the Moabitess" (compare Torrey, Ezra Studies, 212 ff).ISBE Shimeath.2

Horace J. Wolf.ISBE Shimeath.3

Shimeathites

Shimeathites - shim'-e-ath-its shim`athim; Codex Vaticanus and Codex Alexandrinus Samathieim; Lucian, Samathein): A subdivision of the tribe of Caleb (1 Chronicles 2:55). In the three families mentioned in this passage Jerome saw three distinct classes of religious functionaries: Vulgate (Jerome's Latin Bible, 390-405 A.D.) canentes atque resonantes et in tabernaculis commorantes. The Targum has a similar explanation, except that the "Sucathites" are those "covered" with a spirit of prophecy. Bertheau (Handbuch zum Altes Testament) accepts Jerome's explanation, except that he regards the first class as gate-keepers (Aramaic tera` = Hebrew sha`ar). Wellhausen (DGJ, 30 f) finds underlying the three names tir`ah, a technical term for sacred music-making, shim`ah, the Halacha or sacred tradition. Buhl (HWB13) derives Shimeathites and Sucathites from unknown places. Keil interprets as descendants from the unknown Shemei (compare Curtis,ICC ). The passage is hopelessly obscure.ISBE Shimeathites.2

Horace J. WolfISBE Shimeathites.3

Shimei

Shimei - shim'-e-i (shim`i, possibly "hear me (El)" or "(Jah)"; Semeei, Semei): A name of frequent occurrence throughout the Old Testament records, sometimes varying slightly in form in English Versions of the Bible. The King James Version has "Shimi" in Exodus 6:17; "Shimhi" in 1 Chronicles 8:21; "Shimeah" in 2 Samuel 21:21. the Revised Version (British and American) has "Shimeites" in Zechariah 12:13, where the King James Version has "Shimei," and Numbers 3:21 for the King James Version "Shimites." English Versions of the Bible has "Shema" in 1 Chronicles 8:13, 21 margin for the "Shimei" of 1 Chronicles 8:21. In all others of the many occurrences in the King James Version and the Revised Version (British and American) the form is "Shimei."ISBE Shimei.2

(1) A family name among the Levites before and after the exile, at least five of whom bore it: (a) Son of Gershon and grandson of Levi (Exodus 6:17; Numbers 3:18; 1 Chronicles 6:17; 7, 10). The text of 1 Chronicles 6:1-81 and 1 Chronicles 23:1-32 is corrupt, making difficult the tracing of the various genealogies and the identification of the several Shimeis. Evidently that of 1 Chronicles 23:9 is a scribe's error for one of the four sons of Ladan or Libni, whose names are given in the preceding verse. (b) An ancestor of Asaph the musician (1 Chronicles 6:42), possibly the same as (a) above, Jahath the son of South (compare 1 Chronicles 23:10) being by a copyist's error transposed so as to read as if he were the father of South (c) A descendant of the Merarite branch of the Levites (1 Chronicles 6:29). (d) One of the 288 trained singers in the service of the sanctuary under Asaph (1 Chronicles 25:17). (e) One of the Levites who helped to cleanse the Temple in Hezekiah's reformation (2 Chronicles 29:14). He was a descendant of Heman the musician. Hezekiah afterward appointed him with Conaniah to have chief oversight of "the oblations and the tithes and the dedicated things" which were brought into the chambers of Yahweh's house prepared for them (2 Chronicles 31:11-12). (f) A Levite who under Ezra put away his foreign wife (Ezra 10:23), "Semeis" in 1 Esdras 9:23.ISBE Shimei.3

(2) The best-known Bible character of this name is the Benjamite, of the family of Saul (2 Samuel 16:5-12; 2 Samuel 19:16-20; 1 Kings 2:8-9, 36-46), who met David at Bahurim as he was fleeing from Absalom, and in bitter and cowardly fashion cursed and attacked the hard-pressed king. Apparently David's flight to the Jordan led through a narrow ravine, on one side of which, or on the ridge above, stood Shimei in safety as he cast stones at David and his men, cursing as he threw (2 Samuel 16:5-6). His hatred of David who had displaced his royal kinsman Saul had smouldered long in his mean heart; and now the flame bursts out, as the aged and apparently helpless king flees before his own son. Shimei seizes the long-coveted opportunity to pour out the acid hate of his heart. But when David's faithful companions would cross the ravine to make quick work of Shimei, the noble king forbade them with these remarkable words: "Behold, my son, who came forth from my bowels, seeketh my life: how much more may this Benjamite now do it? let him alone, and let him curse; for Yahweh hath bidden him. It may be that Yahweh .... will requite me good for his cursing" (2 Samuel 16:11-12). After Absalom's overthrow, as the king was returning victorious and vindicated, Shimei met him at the Jordan with most abject confession and with vows of allegiance (2 Samuel 19:16-23).ISBE Shimei.4

The king spared his life; but shortly before his death charged his son Solomon to see that due punishment should come to Shimei for his sins: "Thou shalt bring his hoar head down to Sheol with blood" (1 Kings 2:9). When he came to the throne Solomon summoned Shimei and bade him build a house in Jerusalem, to which he should come and from which he must not go out on pain of death (1 Kings 2:36-38). Feeling secure after some years, Shimei left his home in Jerusalem to recapture some escaped slaves (1 Kings 2:39-41), and in consequence he was promptly dispatched by that gruesome avenger of blood, the royal executioner, "Benaiah the son of Jehoiada," who "fell upon him," as he had upon Adonijah and Joab, "so that he died" (1 Kings 2:46).ISBE Shimei.5

(3) Another Benjamite, mentioned with Rei as an officer in the king's bodyguard, who was faithful to David in the rebellion of Adonijah (1 Kings 1:8). Josephus reads Rei as a common noun, describing Shimei as "the friend of David." He is to be identified with the son of Elah (1 Kings 4:18), whom Solomon, probably because of his fidelity, named as one of the 12 chief commissary officers appointed over all Israel, "who provided victuals for the king and his household."ISBE Shimei.6

(4) A man of some prominence in the tribe of Benjamin (1 Chronicles 8:21), whose home was in Aijalon, where he was a "head of fathers' houses" (1 Chronicles 8:13); but his descendants lived in Jerusalem (1 Chronicles 8:28). In the King James Version he is called "Shimhi"; in 1 Chronicles 8:13 he is called "Shema."ISBE Shimei.7

(5) Another Benjamite, an ancestor of Mordecai (Esther 2:5), "Semeias" in Additions to Esther 11:2.ISBE Shimei.8

(6) A brother of David (2 Samuel 21:21, the King James Version "Shimeah"); in 1 Samuel 16:9 he is called "Shammah"; compare "Shimeah," "Shimea."ISBE Shimei.9

(7) A man of Judah, called "the Ramathite," who was "over the vineyards" in David's reign (1 Chronicles 27:27).ISBE Shimei.10

(8) A Simeonite living in the time of David (1 Chronicles 4:26-27), whose chief claim to distinction was that he was father of 16 sons and 6 daughters. The descendants of such a numerous progeny, not being able to maintain themselves in their ancestral home in Beer-sheba, in the days of Hezekiah fell upon Gerar, and dispossessed "the sons of Ham" (1 Chronicles 4:39, the Septuagint), and upon Mt. Seir, driving out the Amalekites (1 Chronicles 4:43).ISBE Shimei.11

(9) A man of Reuben, son of Gog (1 Chronicles 5:4).ISBE Shimei.12

(10), (11) Two men of "Israel," i.e. not priests or Levites, one "of the sons of Hashum" (Ezra 10:33), the other "of the sons of Bani" (Ezra 10:38), who put away their foreign wives at Ezra's command, in 1esdras called respectively "Semei" (Ezra 9:15) and "Someis" (Ezra 9:15).ISBE Shimei.13

(12) A brother of Zerubbabel (1 Chronicles 3:19).ISBE Shimei.14

The Shimeites were descendants of Shimei, grandson of Levi; compare (1) (a) above (Numbers 3:21; Zechariah 12:13).ISBE Shimei.15

Edward MackISBE Shimei.16

Shimeon

Shimeon - shim'-e-on (shim`on; elsewhere "Simeon"): One of the sons of Harim who had married foreign wives (Ezra 10:31; Codex Vaticanus and Codex Alexandrinus Semeon; Lucian, Sumeon = 1 Esdras 9:32, "Simon Chosameus").ISBE Shimeon.2

Shimhi

Shimhi - shim'-hi.ISBE Shimhi.2

See SHIMEIISBE Shimhi.3

Shimi, Shimites

Shimi, Shimites - shim'-i, shi'-mi, shim'-its.ISBE Shimi, Shimites.2

See SHIMEI.ISBE Shimi, Shimites.3

Shimma

Shimma - shim'-a.ISBE Shimma.2

See SHAMMAH.ISBE Shimma.3

Shimon

Shimon - shi'-mon (shimon; Codex Vaticanus Semion, Codex Alexandrinus Semeion; Lucian, Sami): A name in the Judahite genealogy (1 Chronicles 4:20).ISBE Shimon.2

Shimrath

Shimrath - shim'-rath (shimrath; Samarath): The last of nine sons of Shimei of the tribe of Benjamin (1 Chronicles 8:21).ISBE Shimrath.2

Shimri

Shimri - shim'-ri (shimri; various forms in the Septuagint): There are four Hebrews mentioned in the Bible who bear this name:ISBE Shimri.2

(1) A Simeonite, a son of Shemaiah and father of Jedaiah, a chief of his tribe (1 Chronicles 4:37).ISBE Shimri.3

(2) The father of Jediael, a bodyguard of King David (1 Chronicles 11:45).ISBE Shimri.4

(3) A son of Hosah, a Levite. He was appointed by David to be doorkeeper in the house of the Lord. He was made chief of the tribe, although not the firstborn of his family (1 Chronicles 26:10).ISBE Shimri.5

(4) One of the sons of Elizaphan, a Levite. He assisted in purifying the temple in the time of Hezekiah (2 Chronicles 29:13).ISBE Shimri.6

S. L. UmbachISBE Shimri.7

Shimrith

Shimrith - shim'-rith (shimrith, "guard," feminine): A Moabitess, the mother of Jehozabad, one of those that conspired against King Joash (2 Chronicles 24:26). Elsewhere (2 Kings 12:21) Jehozabad is described as the son of SHOMER (which see), the same name without the feminine ending.ISBE Shimrith.2

Shimron (1)

Shimron (1) - shim'-ron (shimron, "watch"): The 4th son of Issachar (Genesis 46:13; Numbers 26:24; 1 Chronicles 7:1), and ancestor of the Shimronites (Numbers 26:24).ISBE Shimron (1).2

Shimron (2)

Shimron (2) - (shimron; Codex Vaticanus Sumoon; Codex Alexandrinus Someron and other forms): A town whose king was tributary to Jabin king of Hazor, and who joined in the attempt to resist the invasion under Joshua (Joshua 11:1). It was in the territory allotted to Zebulun (Joshua 19:15). No sure identification is yet possible. The Septuagint and the Talmud both omit the "r" from the name; and Neubauer would identify it with Simonias (Vita, 24), the Simonia of the Talmud, which is now represented by Semuniyeh, a village about 5 miles West of Nazareth, on the edge of the plain (Geog. du Talm). Beit Lachm, named by Josephus along with it, is a short distance to the Northwest Es-Semeiriyeh, about 3 miles North of Acre, has also been suggested; but it is perhaps too far to the West.ISBE Shimron (2).2

W. EwingISBE Shimron (2).3

Shimron-meron

Shimron-meron - shim'-ron-me'-ron (shimron mer'on; Sumoon .... Mamroth, Codex Alexandrinus Samron .... Phasga .... Maron): A royal city of the Canaanites, the king of which was slain by Joshua (12:20). Here the name is followed by that of Achshaph, which also follows the name of Shimron in 11:1. This suggests that the two are in reality one, and that Shimron-meron may only be the full name. A royal Canaanite city, Sam-simuruna, is mentioned in the inscriptions of Sen-nacherib, Esar-haddon and Assur-bani-pal, which Schrader (KAT2, 163) would identify with this, and thinks it may now be represented by es-Semeiri-yeh.ISBE Shimron-meron.2

See SHIMRON.ISBE Shimron-meron.3

W. EwingISBE Shimron-meron.4

Shimshai

Shimshai - shim'-shi, shim'-sha-i (shimshay; Codex Vaticanus Samasa, Samae, Sameais Samesa; Codex Alexandrinus Samsai; Lucian, Samaias, throughout; in 1 Esdras 2:17 he is called "Semellius," the Revised Version (British and American) "Samellius"; a number of explanations of this name have been offered, but no one has been generally favored. One conjecture traces it to an Old Iranian caritative sh-sh-m-y conformed to shamash; another prefers the Old Bactrian simezhi = simaezhi; compare BDB , under the word The name looks as though it were derived from shemesh, "the sun"):A state secretary who, withREHUM (which see) and others, wrote to Artaxerxes to persuade him to prohibit the rebuilding of the temple (Ezra 4:8-9, 17, 23).ISBE Shimshai.2

Horace J. WolfISBE Shimshai.3

Shin, Sin

Shin, Sin - shen, sen "sh", "s": The 21st letter of the Hebrew alphabet; transliterated in this Encyclopedia as "sh" and "s". It came also to be used for the number 300. For name, etc., see ALPHABET.ISBE Shin, Sin.2

Shinab

Shinab - shi'-nab shin'abh; Samaritan: shin'ar; Sennaar): King of ADMAH (which see). He is mentioned with Shemeber, king of Zeboiim; he was attacked by Chedorlaomer and his allies (Genesis 14:2). The reading is very uncertain. If the incident narrated is founded on fact, Shinab may be identical with Sanibu, an Ammonite king in the time of Tiglath-pileser III (so French Delitzsch, Wo lag das Paradies? 294); or the name may be equated by the Assyrian Sin-sar-ucur (compare "Shenazzar"), and Shem-eber with the Assyrian Sumu-abi (Sayce, The Expository Times,VIII , 463). Jewish exegesis gives a sinister explanation of all four names (Genesis 14:2). The Midrash (Ber. Rab. 42) explains Shinab as sho'-ebh mammon, "one who draws money (wherever he can)." It is of interest to note that the names fall into two alliterative pairs and that each king's name contains exactly as many letters as that of his city. On the whole, however, the list leaves an impression of artificiality; as the names are not repeated in Genesis 14:8, it is highly probable that they are later additions to the text.ISBE Shinab.2

Horace J. WolfISBE Shinab.3

Shinar

Shinar - shi'-nar (shin`ar; Senaar Sen(n)aar):ISBE Shinar.2

1. IdentificationISBE Shinar.3

2. Possible Babylonian Form of the NameISBE Shinar.4

3. Sumerian and Other EquivalentsISBE Shinar.5

4. The Syriac Sen'arISBE Shinar.6

5. The Primitive Tongue of ShinarISBE Shinar.7

6. Comparison with the Semitic IdiomISBE Shinar.8

7. The Testimony of the Sculptures, etc., to the RaceISBE Shinar.9

8. The Sumerians Probably in Shinar before the SemitesISBE Shinar.10

9. The States of Shinar: (1) Sippar; (2) Kes; (3) Babylon; (4) Nippur; (5) Adab; (6) Surippak; (7) Umma; (8) Erech; (9) Lagas; (10) Larsa; (11) Ur; (12) Eridu; (13) The Land of the Sea; (14) Nisin, Isin, or Karrak; (15) Upa or Upia (Opis); (16) Other Well-known CitiesISBE Shinar.11

10. Shinar and Its ClimateISBE Shinar.12

11. Sculpture in ShinarISBE Shinar.13

12. The First Nation to Use Writing in Western AsiaISBE Shinar.14

13. The System Employed, with an ExampleISBE Shinar.15

1. Identification: The name given, in the earliest Hebrew records, to Babylonia, later called Babel, or the land of Babel (babhel, 'erets babhel). In Genesis 10:10 it is the district wherein lay Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, cities which were the "beginning" of Nimrod's kingdom. In 11:2 Shinar is described as the land of the plain where migrants from the East settled, and founded Babel, the city, and its great tower.ISBE Shinar.16

2. Possible Babylonian Form of the Name: Though sometimes identified with the Babylonian Sumer, the connection of Shinar with that name is doubtful. The principal difficulty lies in the fact that what might be regarded as the non-dialectical form singar (which would alone furnish a satisfactory basis of comparison) is not found, and would, if existent, only apply to the southern portion of Babylonia. The northern tract was called Akkad, after the name of its capital city (see ACCAD). The Greek form Sen(n)aar shows that, at the time the Septuagint translation was made, there was no tradition that the `ayin was guttural, as the supposed Babylonian forms would lead us to expect. As the Biblical form Shinar indicates the whole of Babylonia, it corresponds with the native (Sumerian) Kingi-Ura, rendered "Sumer and Akkad," from which, by changing "K" into "Sh" (found in Sumerian), Shinar may have been derived, but this explanation is not free from difficulties.ISBE Shinar.17

3. Sumerian and Other Equivalents: This two-fold designation, Kingi-Ura, is that which is commonly used in the inscriptions of the earlier kings, though it cannot then have indicated always the whole country, but only such parts of it as acknowledged their overlordship. Later on the corresponding term seems to have been Kar-Dunias ("the territory of the god Dunias," to all appearance a term introduced by the Kassite rulers). Nabonassar and his successors seem to have contented themselves with the title "king of Babylon," rule in the city implying also the dominion over the whole country. Often, however, the equivalent term for Babylonia is Ehi, probably an abbreviation of Eridu, and here standing for the land belonging to that sacred city--"the good city," a type of Paradise, Babylonia being, in fact, situated upon the edinu, or "plain."ISBE Shinar.18

See EDEN.ISBE Shinar.19

4. The Syriac Sen'ar: All these comparisons tend to show that the Babylonian equivalent of Shinar is not any of the above, and as yet has not, in fact, been found. This is also implied by the fact, that Sen'ar was used in Syriac for the country around Bagdad, and in ancient times included (it may be supposed) the plain upon which the ruins of Babylon stand. Sen'ar was therefore in all probability an ancient Babylonian designation of the tract, now lost, but regarded by the Hebrews as synonymous with Babylonia.ISBE Shinar.20

5. The Primitive Tongue of Shinar: From the inscriptions it would seem that the primitive language of Shinar was not Semitic, but the agglutinative idiom now named Sumerian--a tongue long regarded as Turanian, and having, it is thought, Turko-Chinese affinities--gal, "to be," Turkish ol-mak; ama (ana), "mother," Turkish ana; abba, "old man," Turkish baba, "father"; (h)e, "house," Turkish ev, etc. The Chinese affinities seem less close, but the following may be quoted: a(y)a "father," Chinese ye (Amoy ia); ge, "night," Chinese ye; gu, "to speak," Chinese yu; shu, "hand," Chinese sheu; kin, "business," Chinese kung, "work"; etc. Chinese and Turkish, however, have had time to pass through many changes since Sumerian was current in Shinar. Many words of the Sumerian language were borrowed by the Semitic Babylonians, and a few (like hekal, "temple," Semitic (h)egal, "great house") entered the other Semitic languages.ISBE Shinar.21

6. Comparison with the Semitic Idiom: Halevy's contention, that Sumerian is simply "an allography" for the expression of Sera Babylonian, seems to be untenable, as they differ not only in words, but also in grammar; moreover, Sumerian had a dialect, called by the natives "woman's tongue." For the rest, the principal differences between Sumerian and Semitic Babylonian are: (1) post-positional suffixes instead of prepositions; (2) verbs with long strings of prefixes and infixes to express the persons and regimens, instead of a prefix and a suffix; (3) compound words, both nouns and verbs, are common instead of being exceedingly rare. Sumerian seems to have borrowed several words from Semitic Babylonian.ISBE Shinar.22

7. The Testimony of the Sculptures, etc. to the Race:ISBE Shinar.23

Not only the language, but also the sculptures which they have left, point to the probability that the earlier inhabitants of Shinar belonged to a different race from the later. The Semites of Babylonia were to all appearance thick-set and muscular, but the Sumerians, notwithstanding the stumpy figures which their statues and bas-reliefs show, seem to have been slim--in any case, their warriors, in the better basreliefs, as well as the figures of the god Nin-Girsu (formerly known as "the god with the firestick"), and the engraved cylinders, have this type. Moreover, the sculptures and cylinder-seals show that certain classes--priests or the like--were clean shaven, in marked contrast to Semitic usage elsewhere. Their deities, however, always had hair and beard, implying that they came from a different, though possibly related, stock. These deities were very numerous, and it is noteworthy that, though those with Sumerian names may be counted by hundreds, those with Semitic names are only to be reckoned by tens.ISBE Shinar.24

8. The Sumerians Probably in Shinar before the Semites:ISBE Shinar.25

Though there is no certain indication which race entered Shinar first, it is to be noted that Nimrod, presumably Shinar's first king and the founder of its great cities, was a son of Cush (Genesis 10:8), and the name of Shinar seems to have existed before the foundation of Babel (Babylon) and its tower (Genesis 11:2). In the native sculptures, moreover, the non-Semitic type precedes the Semitic; and in the inscriptions the non-Semitic idiom precedes that of the Semitic tranlation. Everything points, therefore, to the Sumerians having been in Babylonia before the Semitic inhabitants.ISBE Shinar.26

9. The States of Shinar: At the earliest period to which our records refer the Sumerians of Shinar were divided into a number of small states, of which the following may be regarded as the principal:ISBE Shinar.27

(1) Sippar: Sippar or Sippar-Aruru (-Ya'ruru), possibly including Accad (Genesis 10:10), some distance Southwest of Bagdad. It is the modern 'Abu-habbah, "father of grain." Though it seems to have fallen early under the dominion of the Semites, it was at first Sumerian, as its native name, Zimbir, and the ideographic writing thereof show. According to Berosus, who calls it Pantabiblion, one of its earliest kings was Amelon or Amillarus, who reigned 13 sari, or 46,800 years. Later on came Evedoreschus, the native Enwe-duran-ki, renowned as a priest favored by the gods. His descendants, if of pure race, inherited the divine grace which he enjoyed. It is said to have been in Sippara (Sippar) that Ut-napistim, the Babylonian Noah, buried the records before entering the ark.ISBE Shinar.28

(2) Kes: About 18 miles North of Babylon lay Kes, now Oheimer--a foundation which seems to have preceded Babylon as the capital of Shinar. Its early queen, Azag-Bau, is said to have been the wife of a wine-merchant and to have reigned 100 years.ISBE Shinar.29

(3) Babylon: Babylon, for which see BABEL; BABYLON. As one of its early kings, Berosus mentions Alorus, "the shepherd of the people," as having reigned for 10 sari, or 36,000 years. The state of Babylon probably included Cuthah. (Tel Ibrahim), which once had kings of its own, and possessed a special legend of the Creation. Belonging to Babylon, also, was the renowned city Borsippa, now Birs, or the Birs Nimroud, the traditional site of the Tower of Babel.ISBE Shinar.30

See BABEL, TOWER OF.ISBE Shinar.31

(4) Nippur: Some distance Southeast of Babylon lay Nippur or Niffur, now Niffer (Noufar), identified by the rabbis with the "Calneh" of Genesis 10:10. It was a place of considerable importance, and the seat of the worship of Enlil and Ninlil, later, also, of their son Ninip and his spouse (see CALNEH). The American excavations on this site have thrown a flood of light upon almost every branch of Assyriological research.ISBE Shinar.32

(5) Adab: Adab, now called Bismaya, the city of Mah, the goddess of reproduction. One of the earliest rulers of Adab was seemingly called Lugal-dalu, of whom a fine statue, discovered by the American explorers, exists. It was apparently renowned as a necropolis.ISBE Shinar.33

(6) Surippak: South and a little West of Adab was Surippak, now Fara. This was the birthplace of the Babylonian Noah, Ut-napistim, son of Opartes (Umbara-Tutu), a Chaldean of Larancha. The coming of the Flood was revealed to Ut-napistim here.ISBE Shinar.34

(7) Umma: Practically East of Fara lay Umma or Gisuh (or Giuh), now Jokha. This city was apparently of considerable importance, and the traditional rival of Lagas.ISBE Shinar.35

(8) Erech: South of Fara lay Unuga, Semitic Uruk, the Biblical ERECH (which see), now Warka. Its most celebrated king, after Gilgames, was Lugal-zaggi-si, one of the opponents of the rulers of Lagas.ISBE Shinar.36

(9) Lagas: Some distance East of Warka was the territory of Lagas, now Tel-loh--a little state, rather in accessible, but of considerable importance to the antiquarian, which is a testimonial to the advance in civilization which it had made. Its kings and viceroys were among the most renowned, though apparently unknown outside their own domains. The most celebrated were the reformer Uru-ka-gina and viceroy Gudea, to whom many erections in the city were due. (See Gudea's remarkable statue in the Louvre.)ISBE Shinar.37

(10) Larsa: Somewhat to the Southeast of Warka lay Larsa, the "Ellasar" of Genesis 14:1 (which see). This center of learning maintained its independence even after the other states had been absorbed by Hammurabi and his dynasty into the Babylonian empire.ISBE Shinar.38

(11) Ur: To the Southeast of Warka and Senqara lies the site of the ancient UR OF THE CHALDEES (which see) now Mugheir. It was renowned for its temple to the moon, and for the kings known as the dynasty of Ur: Sur-Engur, Dungi, Bur-Sin, Gimil-Sin, and Ibi-Sin.ISBE Shinar.39

(12) Eridu: South of the Ur lay Eridu, or, in full, Guruduga, "the good city," wherein, apparently, lay the earthly Paradise. This is identified with the present `Abu-shahrein, and was the seat of Ea or Enki, god of the sea and of fertilizing streams. According to the tradition, it was there that the "dark vine" grew--a type, seemingly, of the tree of life. The later kings of Babylon sometimes bear the title "king of Eridu," as though rulers of the domain of Paradise.ISBE Shinar.40

(13) The Land of the Sea: The Land of the Sea (that bordering on the Persian Gulf), in which, seemingly, the Chaldeans afterward settled, seems to have played an important part in the early history of Shinar. Berosus speaks of its king Ammenon, who reigned 12 sari, or 43,200 years, and in whose time the Musarus Oannes, or Annedotus, arose out of the Persian Gulf. Like others referred to in the legends which Berosus refers to, he was half-man and half-fish. It is thought that these incidents, though evidently mythical, point to the introduction of civilization into Babylonia, from this point.ISBE Shinar.41

See also JONAH; JONAH,THE BOOK OF .ISBE Shinar.42

(14) Nisin, Isin, or Karrak: Nisin, Isin, or Karrak, seat of the worship of Nin-Karraga, was also an important state governed by its own kings.ISBE Shinar.43

(15) Upe or Upia (Opis): Upe or Upia, the Greek Opis, apparently obtained renown at a very early date, its kings being given in the great chronological list before those of Kis.ISBE Shinar.44

(16) Other Well-known Cities: Other well-known cities, possibly state-capitals, were Larak, Greek Laranche; Amarda, one of the centers of the worship of Nergal; Asnunna, a province East of the present Bagdad; Dilmu, now Dailem; Nuru, Ennigi, and Kakra, seemingly centers of the worship of Hadad; Tilmun, at the head of the Persian Gulf, and including the island of Bahrein; the province of Sabu; Seseb or Bagdadu, possibly the modern Bagdad; and several others.ISBE Shinar.45

10. Shinar and Its Climate: Whether the country was in the same seemingly uncared-for state in ancient times as at present is unknown; but one cannot help admiring the courage of the original immigrants into such a district, for example, as that of Lagas. This, which belongs to the southern region, is very inaccessible on account of the watercourses and marshes. Like the whole of Shinar in general, it is more or less dried up in summer, and unhealthy for Europeans. The alterations in the waterways, owing to changes in the irrigation-channels, must then, as now, have hindered communication. Sharp cold, with frost, succeeds the heat of summer, and from time to time sand-storms sweep across the plain. Notwithstanding the destruction sometimes wrought, the floods were always welcomed in consequence of the fruitfulness which followed, and which was such as to make Babylonia one of the most fertile tracts known.ISBE Shinar.46

11. Sculpture in Shinar: The reference to the Sumerian sculptures in (7) above will have shown that the inhabitants of the Plain of Shinar possessed an art of no mean order and of some antiquity, even at the time when it first presents itself to our notice. It is true that many specimens are crude and uncouth, but this is probably due to the sculptors having been, often enough, the slaves of their material. Their stones were frequently more or less pebble-shaped, and they had neither the skill nor the tools to reduce them to better proportions--moreover, reduction of bulk would have meant a diminution of their importance. The broad, squat figures which they produced, however, gave them bad models for their bas-reliefs, and it was long ere this defect was removed, notwithstanding the superior work produced by their seal-engravers during and after the 4th millennium BC.ISBE Shinar.47

12. The First Nation to Use Writing in Western Asia:ISBE Shinar.48

But in all probability special renown will always be attached to the non-Semitic inhabitants of Shinar as the inventors, or at least the earliest users known to us, of the cuneiform script. It may be objected that the system which they introduced was cumbersome and imperfect, but they knew of nothing simpler, and modern Chinese, with which their script has been compared, is far less practical. Briefly, the system may be described as syllabic for the prefixes and suffixes, and ideographic for the roots. To show this the following transcribed example will probably suffice:ISBE Shinar.49

13. The System Employed, with an Example: E nu-DU URU nu-DIM, A house was not built, a city was not constructed;ISBE Shinar.50

URU nu-DIM ADAM nu-mun-GAR, A city was not constructed, a community he had not founded;ISBE Shinar.51

ABZU nu-DU GURUDUGA nu-DIM, The abyss was not built, Eridu was not constructed;ISBE Shinar.52

E AZAGA DINGIRene KI-DURA-bi nu-DIM, The holy house of the gods, its seat was not constructed;ISBE Shinar.53

Su-NIGIN KURKURAgi AABBAama, The whole of the lands was sea.ISBE Shinar.54

The nominal and verbal roots of the above extract from the bilingual account of the Creation are in capitals, and the pronominal prefixes and suffixes, with a couple of lengthenings which determine the pronunciations of the nouns, in small letters. This will not only give an idea of the poetical form of the Sumerian legend of the Creation by Merodach and Aruru, but also show how short and concise, as a language, was the speech of Shinar, before Semitic supremacy.ISBE Shinar.55

T. G. PinchesISBE Shinar.56

Shine

Shine - shin: The Hebrew words 'ahal, 'or, halal, zahar, zarach, yapha`, naghah, `ashath and qaran are all translated "shine." All indicate either the direct or indirect diffusion of beams of light. In a direct and literal sense the word "shine" is used of the heavenly bodies, or of candles, and fire (Job 18:5; 25:5 the King James Version; Job 29:3; 31:26; 2 Kings 3:22). In a figurative sense it is used of reflected light or brightness, in any sense (Exodus 34:29 f,Exodus 35:1-35; Isaiah 60:1; Ezekiel 43:2; Daniel 12:3). God as the sun of righteousness is thus depicted in Psalms 50:2. The New Testament words astrapto, augazo, lampo and phaino are translated "shine." Thus literally it is said of the lightning that it shines (Matthew 24:27 the King James Version; Luke 17:24); the word is tropically applied to the life of faith or to men prominent in the kingdom of God (Matthew 5:16; John 5:35; 2 Corinthians 4:6; Philippians 2:15; 2 Peter 1:19); to the glory of God (Luke 2:9); to angelic appearances (Luke 24:4; Acts 12:7), or to Christ as He appeared to John on Patmos (Revelation 1:16).ISBE Shine.2

Henry E. DoskerISBE Shine.3

Shion

Shion - shi'-on (shi'on; Codex Vaticanus Siona, Codex Alexandrinus Seian): A town in the territory of Issachar, named with Shunem, Hapharaim and Anaharath (Joshua 19:19). It is possibly identical with Khirbet Sha'in, near `Ain esh-Sha'in, circa 4 miles Northwest of Mt. Tabor.ISBE Shion.2

Shiphi

Shiphi - shi'fi (shiph`i; Codex Vaticanus Saphal, Codex Alexandrinus Sephein, Lucian, Sophei): A Simeonite prince (1 Chronicles 4:37 (36)).ISBE Shiphi.2

Shiphmite

Shiphmite - shif'-mit.ISBE Shiphmite.2

See SHEPHAM; SIPHMOTH.ISBE Shiphmite.3

Shiphrah

Shiphrah - shif'-ra (shiphrah, "fairness," "beauty";. Septuagint Sepphora, the rendering also of tsipporah, in Exodus 2:21): The name of one of the Hebrew midwives (Exodus 1:15).ISBE Shiphrah.2

See also ZIPPORAH.ISBE Shiphrah.3

Shiphtan

Shiphtan - shif'-tan (shiphTan; Codex Vaticanus Sabatha; Codex Alexandrinus Sabathan, F, Saphatan, Lucian, ((S)ephatha): An Ephraimite prince (Numbers 34:24).ISBE Shiphtan.2

Shipmaster

Shipmaster - ship'-mas-ter.ISBE Shipmaster.2

See SHIPS AND BOATS; PHOENIX.ISBE Shipmaster.3

Shipmen

Shipmen - ship'-men.ISBE Shipmen.2

See SHIPS AND BOATS,II , 2, (3);III , 2.ISBE Shipmen.3

Ships and Boats

Ships and Boats - I. THE HEBREWS AND THE SEAISBE Ships and Boats.2

II. SHIPS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AND THE APOCRYPHAISBE Ships and Boats.3

1. Among the HebrewsISBE Ships and Boats.4

(1) In Early TimesISBE Ships and Boats.5

(2) During the MonarchyISBE Ships and Boats.6

(3) In Later TimesISBE Ships and Boats.7

2. Among Neighboring NationsISBE Ships and Boats.8

(1) EgyptISBE Ships and Boats.9

(2) Assyria and BabyloniaISBE Ships and Boats.10

(3) PhoeniciaISBE Ships and Boats.11

3. General ReferencesISBE Ships and Boats.12

III. SHIPS IN THE NEW TESTAMENTISBE Ships and Boats.13

1. In the GospelsISBE Ships and Boats.14

2. In the Acts of the ApostlesISBE Ships and Boats.15

3. In Other BooksISBE Ships and Boats.16

LITERATUREISBE Ships and Boats.17

In the Old Testament the following words are found:ISBE Ships and Boats.18

(1) The word most commonly used in Hebrew for "a ship" is 'oniyah (Proverbs 30:19; Jonah 1:3-4), of which the plural 'oniyoth is found most frequently (Judges 5:17; 1 Kings 22:48 f, and many other places).ISBE Ships and Boats.19

The collective term for "a navy of ships" is 'oni (1 Kings 9:26 f; 1 Kings 10:22, 'oni Tharshish, "a navy (of ships) of Tarshish"; but Isaiah 33:21, 'oni shayit, a "galley with oars").ISBE Ships and Boats.20

(2) tsi (Numbers 24:24; Ezekiel 30:9; Isaiah 33:21), tsi 'addir, "gallant ship"; Daniel 11:30, tsiyim Kittim, "ships of Kittim.'ISBE Ships and Boats.21

(3) cephinah, "innermost parts of the ship" the Revised Version (British and American), "sides of the ship" the King James Version (Jonah 1:5, the only place where the word is found).ISBE Ships and Boats.22

In Apocrypha ploion, is the usual word (Wisdom of Solomon 14:1; Ecclesiasticus 33:2, etc.), translated "vessel" in Wisdom of Solomon 14:1, but "ship" elsewhere. For "ship" Wisdom of Solomon 5:10 has naus. "Boat" in 2 Maccabees 12:3, 6 is for skaphos, and "navy" in 1 Maccabees 1:17; 2 Maccabees 12:9; 14:1 for stolos. In Wisdom of Solomon 14:6 Noah's ark is called a schedia, a "clumsy ship" (the literal translation "raft" in the Revised Version (British and American) is impossible).ISBE Ships and Boats.23

In the New Testament there are four words in use: (1) naus (Acts 27:41, the only place where it occurs, designating the large sea-going vessel in which Paul suffered shipwreck). (2) ploiarion, "a little boat" (Mark 3:9 and two other places, John 6:22 ff; John 21:8). (3) ploion, "boat" (Matthew 4:21-22 and many other places in the Gospels--the ordinary fishingboat of the Sea of Galilee rendered "boat" uniformly in the Revised Version (British and American) instead of "ship" the King James Version), "ship" (Acts 20:13, and all other places where the ship carrying Paul is mentioned, except Acts 27:41, as above). In James 3:4; Revelation 8:9; 18:17 ff, it is rendered "ship." (4) skaphe, "boat" (Acts 27:16, 30, 32, where it means the small boat of the ship in which Paul was being conveyed as a prisoner to Rome).ISBE Ships and Boats.24

Cognate expressions are: "shipmen," 'anshe 'oniyoth (1 Kings 9:27); nautai (Acts 27:27, 30 the King James Version, "sailors" the Revised Version (British and American)); "mariners," mallachim (Jonah 1:15; Ezekiel 27:9, 27, 29), shaTim (Ezekiel 27:8 the King James Version, "rowers" the Revised Version (British and American); Ezekiel 27:26, the King James Version and the Revised Version (British and American)); "pilot," chobhel (Jonah 1:6; Ezekiel 27:8, 27-28, 29); "sailing," "voyage," plous (Acts 21:7; Acts 27:9-10, the Revised Version (British and American) "voyage" in all verses).ISBE Ships and Boats.25

I. The Hebrews and the Sea. The Hebrews were a pastoral and agricultural people, and had no inducements to follow a seafaring life. They were possessed of a considerable seaboard along the Mediterranean, but the character of their coast gave little encouragement to navigation. The coast line of the land of Israel from Carmel southward had no bays and no estuaries or river-mouths to offer shelter from storm or to be havens of ships. Solomon landed his timber and other materials for the Temple at Joppa, and tradition has handed down what is called "Solomon's Harbor" there. The builders of the second temple also got timber from Lebanon and conveyed it to Joppa. It was Simon Maccabeus, however, who built its harbor, and the harbor at Joppa was "the first and only harbor of the Jews" (G. A. Smith, HGHL, 136). Caesarea in New Testament times was a place of shipping and possessed a harbor which Josephus declared to be greater than the Piraeus, but it was Herodian and more Greek and Roman than Jewish. It was mostly inhabited by Greeks (Josephus, BJ, III, ix, 1). Now Caesarea has disappeared; and Joppa has only an open roadstead where vessels lie without shelter, and receive and discharge cargo and passengers by means of boats plying between them and the shore. It was in other directions that Israel made acquaintance with the activities of the sea. Of internal navigation, beyond the fishing-boats on the Sea of Galilee which belong exclusively to the New Testament, the ferry boat on the Jordan (2 Samuel 19:18, `abharah) alone receives notice, and even that is not perfectly clear (the Revised Version margin "convoy," but a "ford" is doubtless meant). It is from Tyre and Egypt and even Assyria and Babylonia, rather than from their own waters, that the Hebrew prophets and psalmists drew their pictures of seafaring life.ISBE Ships and Boats.26

II. Ships in the Old Testament and Apocrypha. 1. Among the Hebrews: (1) In Early Times. In the early books of the Old Testament there are references connecting certain of the tribes, and these northern tribes, with the activities of the sea. In the "Blessing of Jacob" and in the "Blessing of Moses" Zebulun and Issachar are so connected (Genesis 49:13; Deuteronomy 33:19); and in Deborah's Song, which is acknowledged to be a very early fragment of Hebrew literature, Dan and Asher are also spoken of as connected with the life and work of the sea (Judges 5:17). The Oracle of Balaam (Numbers 24:24) looks forward to a day when a fleet from Kittim should take the sea for the destruction of Assyria. "Ships of Kittim" are mentioned in Daniel (Numbers 11:30). Kittim is referred to in the three greater Prophets (Isaiah 23:1, 12; Jeremiah 2:10; Ezekiel 27:6). The land of Kittim is Cyprus, and in the references in Isaiah it is associated with Tyre and the ships of Tarshish.ISBE Ships and Boats.27

(2) During the Monarchy. It is not till the time of the monarchy that the Hebrews begin to figure as a commercial people. Already in the time of David commercial relations had been established between Israel and Tyre (2 Samuel 5:11 f). The friendly cooperation was continued by Solomon, who availed himself not only of the cedar and the fir at Hiram's command on Lebanon, but also of the skilled service of Hiram's men to bring the timber from the mountains to the sea. Hiram also undertook to make the cedar and the fir into rafts (1 Kings 5:9, dobheroth, the King James Version "floats"; 2 Chronicles 2:16, raphcodhoth, "flotes" the King James Version, "floats" the Revised Version (British and American)) to go by sea and to deliver them to Solomon's men at the place appointed, which the Chronicler tells us was Joppa. From this cooperation in the building of the Temple there grew up a larger connection in the pursuit of sea-borne commerce. It was at Ezion-geber near to Eloth on the Red Sea, in the land of Edom which David had conquered, that Solomon built his fleet, "a navy of ships" (1 Kings 9:26-28). Hiram joined Solomon in these enterprises which had their center on the Red Sea, and thus the Phoenicians had water communication with the coasts of Arabia and Africa, and even of India. The same partnership existed for the commerce of the West. "For the king (Solomon) had at sea a navy of Tarshish with the navy of Hiram: once every three years came the navy of Tarshish, bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks" (1 Kings 10:22).ISBE Ships and Boats.28

Tarshish is the name of the Phoenician colony on the river Tartessus, called also Baetis, the modern Guadalquivir. It was the farthest limit of the western world as known to the Hebrews. Attempts have been made to identify it with Tarsus of Cilicia, but they are not convincing. It is conceived of in Hebrew literature as remote (Isaiah 66:19; Jonah 1:3; 4:2), as rich (Psalms 72:10; Jeremiah 10:9), as powerful in commerce (Ezekiel 38:13). Ships of Tarshish were no doubt ships actually built for the Tarshish trade (2 Chronicles 20:36 f; Jonah 1:3), but the expression became a general designation for large sea-going vessels to any quarter. Ships of Tarshish made a deep impression upon the imagination of the Hebrew people. The Psalmist takes it as a proof of the power of Yahweh that He breaks the ships of Tarshish with an east wind (Psalms 48:7). Isaiah includes them among the great and lofty objects of power and glory which the terror of the Lord would certainly overtake (Isaiah 2:16). Ezekiel regards them as the caravans that bore the merchandise of the mistress of the sea (Ezekiel 27:25). It is in ships of Tarshish that the prophet of the Return sees the exiles borne in crowds to Jerusalem as their natural home (Isaiah 60:9).ISBE Ships and Boats.29

From Solomon's time onward the kings of Judah retained their hold upon Eloth (1 Kings 22:48 f; 2 Chronicles 20:35-37) till it was seized by the Syrians in the days of Ahaz (2 Kings 16:6).ISBE Ships and Boats.30

(3) In Later Times. As Solomon had the cooperation of Hiram in securing material and craftsmen for the building of the first Temple, so Joshua and Zerubbabel by the favor of Cyrus obtained timber from Lebanon, and masons and carpenters from Sidon and Tyre for the building of the second. Again, cedar trees were brought from Lebanon by sea to Joppa, and thence conveyed to Jerusalem (Ezra 3:7).ISBE Ships and Boats.31

From Joppa Jonah fled to avoid compliance with God's command to go to Nineveh and preach repentance there (Jonah 1:1 ff). He found a ship bound for Tarshish as far toward the West as Nineveh to the East. The fare (cakhar) paid by him as a passenger, the hold of the ship in which he stowed himself away (cephinah), the crew (mallachim) the captain or shipmaster (rabh ha-chobhel), the storm, the angry sea, the terrified mariners and their cry to their gods, and the casting of Jonah overboard to appease the raging waters--all make a lifelike picture.ISBE Ships and Boats.32

It was in the time of Simon, the last survivor of the Maccabean brothers, that Joppa became a seaport with a harbor for shipping--"Amid all his glory he took Joppa for a haven, and made it an entrance for the isles of the sea" (1 Maccabees 14:5). When Simon reared his monument over the sepulcher of his father and brothers at Modin, he set up seven pyramids with pillars, upon which were carved figures of ships to be "seen of all that sail on the sea" (1 Maccabees 13:29). About this period we hear of ships in naval warfare. When Antiochus IV Epiphanes planned his expedition against Egypt, he had with other armaments "a great navy," presumably ships of war (1 Maccabees 1:17); and at a later time Antiochus VII speaks expressly of "ships of war" (1 Maccabees 15:3).ISBE Ships and Boats.33

2. Among Neighboring Nations: (1) Egypt. The Egyptians, like other nations of antiquity, had a great horror of the open sea, although they were expert enough in managing their craft upon the Nile. Pharaoh-necoh built up a powerful navy to serve him both in commerce and in war.ISBE Ships and Boats.34

See PHARAOH-NECOH.ISBE Ships and Boats.35

Of explicit references to Egyptian ships in the Old Testament there are but few. Isaiah speaks of "vessels of papyrus upon the waters" of the Upper Nile, on board of which are the messengers of Cush or Ethiopia returning to tell the tidings of the overthrow of Assyria to the inhabitants of those remote lands (18:2 the King James Version has "bulrushes" instead of "papyrus"). Ezekiel also, foretelling the overthrow of Egypt, speaks of messengers traveling with the news on swift Nile boats to strike terror into the hearts of the "careless Ethiopians" (30:9). When Job compares his days to "the swift ships" ("the ships of reed" the Revised Version margin), the allusion is most likely to Egypt's, these being skiffs with a wooden keel and the rest of bulrushes, sufficient to carry one person, or at most two, and light, to travel swiftly (9:26).ISBE Ships and Boats.36

(2) Assyria and Babylonia. The Assyrians and Babylonians were mainly an inland people, but their rivers gave them considerable scope for navigation. The Assyrian monuments contain representations of naval engagements and of operations on the seacoast. When Isaiah pictures Yahweh as a better defense of Judah than the rivers and streams of Assyria and Egypt are to their people he says, "There Yahweh will be with us in majesty, a place of broad rivers and streams, wherein shall go no galley with oars ('oni shayiT), neither shall gallant ship (tsi 'addir) pass thereby. .... Thy tacklings (ropes, cables) are loosed; they could not strengthen the foot of their mast, they could not spread the sail" (Isaiah 33:21, 23). Speaking of Yahweh's wonders to be performed toward His people after Babylon had been overthrown, the prophet declares: "Thus saith Yahweh, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: For your sake I have sent to Babylon, and I will bring down all of them as fugitives, even the Chaldeans, in the ships of their rejoicing" (Isaiah 43:14). In this case, however, the ships are not war ships, but more probably merchant ships, or ships for pleasure, sailing in the Euphrates.ISBE Ships and Boats.37

(3) Phoenicia. It was from the Phoenicians that the Mediterranean peoples learned seamanship and skill in navigation. It is fitting, therefore, that in his dirge over the downfall of the mistress of the sea, Ezekiel should represent Tyre as a gallant ship, well built, well furnished, and well manned, broken by the seas in the depths of the waters, fallen into the heart of the seas in the day of her ruin. Ezekiel's description (chapter 27, with Davidson's notes) brings together more of the features of the ship of antiquity than any other that has come down to us. Her builders have made her perfect in beauty with planks of fir or cypress, mast of cedar, oars of the oak of Bashan, benches or deck of ivory inlaid with boxwood, sail of fine linen with broidered work from Egypt, and an awning of blue and purple from the coastlands of Elisha (possibly Sicily). She is manned with oarsmen of Sidon and Arvad, pilots of the wise men of Tyre, calkers from Gebal to stop up the cracks and seams in her timbers, mariners and men of war from other lands who enhanced her beauty by hanging up the shield and helmet within her. She is freighted with the most varied cargo, the produce of the lands around, her customers, or as they are called, her traffickers, being Tarshish in the far West, Sheba and Arabia in the South, Haran and Asshur in the East, Javan, which is Greece, and Togarmah, which is Armenia, in the North.ISBE Ships and Boats.38

One or two of the particulars of this description may be commented upon. (a) As regards rigging, the Phoenician ships of the time of Ezekiel, as seen in Assyrian representations, had one mast with one yard and carried a square sail. Egyptian ships on the Red Sea about the time of the Exodus, from reliefs of the XIXth Dynasty, had one mast and two yards, and carried also one large square sail. The masts and yards were made of fir, or of pine, and the sails of linen, but the fiber of papyrus was employed as well as flax in the manufacture of sail-cloth. The sail had also to serve "for an ensign" (lenes, Ezekiel 27:7). "The flag proper," says Davidson (ad loc.), "seems not to have been used in ancient navigation; its purpose was served by the sail, as for example at the battle of Actium the ship of Antony was distinguished by its purple sail."ISBE Ships and Boats.39

(b) As regards the crew, in the two-banked Phoenician ship the rowers of the first bank work their oars over the gunwale, and those of the second through portholes lower down, so that each may have free play for his oar. The calkers were those who filled up seams or cracks in the timbers with tow and covered them over with tar or wax, after the manner of the instruction given to Noah regarding the Ark: "Thou .... shalt pitch it within and without with pitch" (Genesis 6:14).ISBE Ships and Boats.40

(c) As regards cargo, it is to be noted that "the persons of men," that is, slaves, formed an article of merchandise in which Javan, Tubal, and Meshech, countries to the North, traded with Tyre.ISBE Ships and Boats.41

3. General References: Of general references to shipping and seafaring life there are comparatively few in the Old Testament. In his great series of Nature-pictures in Psalms 104:1-35, the Psalmist finds a place for the sea and ships (Psalms 104:25 ff), and in Psalms 107:1-43 there is a picture of the storm overtaking them that go down to the sea in ships, and of the deliverance that comes to them when God "bringeth" them into their desired haven" (107:23 ff). In the Book of Proverbs the ideal woman who brings her food from far is like "the merchant ships" (31:14). In the same book the drunkard, because of his unnatural insensibility to danger, is likened to a man "that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast" (23:34); and among the inscrutable things of the world the writer includes "the way of a ship in the midst of the sea" (30:19). In Wisdom, human life is described "as a ship passing through the billowy water, whereof, when it is gone by, there is no trace to be found, neither pathway of its keel in the billows" (Wisd 5:10). The same book notes it as a striking example of the case of a divine and beneficent Providence that "men entrust their lives to a little piece of wood, and passing through the surge on a raft are brought safe to land" (Wisd 14:1-5). The Jews like the Egyptians and the Assyrians had a natural shrinking from the sea, and Ecclesiasticus interprets their feeling when he says: "They that sail on the sea tell of the danger thereof; and when we hear it with our ears, we marvel" (43:24).ISBE Ships and Boats.42

III. Ships in the New Testament. 1. In the Gospels: It is the fishing-boats of the Sea of Galilee which exclusively occupy attention in the Gospels. In the time of our Lord's ministry in Galilee the shores of the Sea were densely peopled, and there must have been many boats engaged in the fishing industry. Bethsaida at the northern end of the Lake and Tarichea at the southern end were great centers of the trade. The boats were probably of a size and build similar to the few employed on the Lake today, which are between 20 and 30 ft. in length and 7 ft. in breadth. The word "launch," of putting a boat or a ship into the sea, has disappeared from the Revised Version (British and American), except in Luke 8:22, where it is more appropriate to an inland lake. They were propelled by oars, but no doubt also made use of the sail when the wind was favorable (Luke 8:23), though the pictures which we have in the Gospels are mostly of the boatmen toiling in rowing in the teeth of a gale (Mark 6:48), and struggling with the threatening waves (Matthew 14:24). In the boat on which Jesus and the disciples were crossing the Lake after the feeding of the 5,000, Jesus was in the stern "asleep on the cushion" (Mark 4:38, the King James Version "a pillow"; Greek proskephalaion, "headrest"). More than once Jesus made special use of a boat. As He was by the seashore a great concourse of people from all parts made it desirable that "a small boat" (ploiarion) should be in attendance off the shore to receive Him in case of need, though He does not seem to have required it (Mark 3:9). On another occasion, when the crowds were still greater, He went into a boat and sat "in the sea" with the multitude on the sloping beach before Him (Mark 4:1; Luke 5:3). This boat is said in Luke's narrative to have been Simon's, and it seems from references to it as "the boat" on other occasions to have been generally at the disposal of Jesus.ISBE Ships and Boats.43

2. In the Acts of the Apostles: It is Paul's voyages which yield us the knowledge that we possess from Biblical sources of ships in New Testament times. They are recorded for us in the Acts by Luke, who, as Sir William Ramsay puts it, had the true Greek feeling for the sea (St. Paul the Traveler, 21). In Luke's writings there are many nautical terms, peculiar to him, used with great exactitude and precision.ISBE Ships and Boats.44

When Paul had appealed to Caesar and was proceeding to Rome in charge of Julius, the centurion, along with other prisoners, a ship of Adramyttium, a coasting vessel, carried the party from Caesarea along the Syrian coast, northward of Cyprus, past Cilicia and Pamphylia, to Myra of Lycia. There the centurion found a ship of Alexandria sailing for Italy, one of the great corn fleet carrying grain from Egypt for the multitudes of Rome. (After the capture of Jerusalem the emperor Titus returned to Italy in such a vessel, touching at Rhegium and landing at Puteoil.) The size of the vessel is indicated by the fact that there were 276 persons on board, crew and passengers all told (Acts 27:37). Luke has made no note of the name of this or of the previous vessels in which Paul had voyaged. Of the presumably larger vessel, also an Alexandrian corn ship bound for Rome, which had wintered in Melita, and which afterward took on board the shipwrecked party (Acts 28:11), "the sign" (parasemon) is given, and she is called "The Twin Brothers." The expression shows that it was in painting or relief; a figurehead, with the Twin Brothers represented, would be given by episemon. The cargo (phortion, Acts 27:10, the King James Version and the Revised Version (British and American) "lading") in this case was wheat (Acts 27:38), but another word is used, gomos, by Luke of a ship's load of varied wares (Acts 21:3; compare Revelation 18:11 ff).ISBE Ships and Boats.45

Of those engaged in handling the ship we find (Acts 27:11) the master (kubernetes), the owner (naukleros, although this expression seems not quite consistent with the ownership of a grain ship of the imperial service, and Ramsay's distinction between the words, making the former "sailing-master" and the latter "captain," may be better), the sailors (Acts 27:30, who treacherously sought to lower the ship's boat on the pretense of laying out anchors from the "foreship" or prow, and to get away from the doomed vessel).ISBE Ships and Boats.46

Of operations belonging to the navigation of the vessel in the storm there were (1) the taking on board of the ship's boat and securing it with ropes (Acts 27:16, in which operation Luke seems to have taken part; compare Acts 27:32), (2) the undergirding of the ship (Acts 27:17, using helps, that is taking measures of relief and adopting the expedient, only resorted to in extremities, of passing cables under the keel of the ship to keep the hull together and to preserve the timbers from starting), (3) the lowering of the gear (Acts 27:17, reducing sail, taking down the mainsail and the main yard), (4) throwing freight overboard and later casting out the tackling of the ship (Acts 27:19), (5) taking soundings (Acts 27:28), (6) letting go four anchors from the stern (Acts 27:29, stern-anchoring being very unusual, but a necessity in the circumstances), (7) further lightening the ship by throwing the wheat into the sea (Acts 27:38), (8) cutting the anchor cables, unlashing the rudders, hoisting up the foresail to the wind, and holding straight for the beach (Acts 27:40).ISBE Ships and Boats.47

Of the parts of the ship's equipment there are mentioned "the sounding lead" (bolis, though it is the verb which is here used), "the anchors" (agkurai, of which every ship carried several, and which at successive periods have been made of stone, iron, lead and perhaps other metals, each having two flukes and being held by a cable or a chain), "the rudders" (pedalia, of which every ship had two for steering, which in this case had been lifted out of the water and secured by "bands" to the side of the ship and unlashed when the critical moment came), "the foresail" artemon, not the mainsail, but the small sail at the bow of the vessel which at the right moment was hoisted to the wind to run her ashore), and "the boat" (skaphe, which had been in tow in the wake of the vessel, according to custom still prevalent in those seas--coasting-vessels being sometimes becalmed, when the crew get into the small boat and take the ship in tow, using the oars to get her round a promontory or into a position more favorable for the wind). The season for navigation in those seas in ancient times was from April to October. During the winter the vessels were laid up, or remained in the shelter of some suitable haven. The reason for this was not simply the tempestuous character of the weather, but the obscuration of the heavens which prevented observations being taken for the steering of the ship (Acts 27:20).ISBE Ships and Boats.48

3. In Other Books: In 2 Corinthians 11:25 Paul mentions among sufferings he had endured for Christ's sake that thrice he had suffered shipwreck, and that he had been "a night and a day in the deep," implying that he had been in danger of his life clinging to a spar, or borne upon a hurriedly constructed raft. It may be a reminiscence of the sea when Paul in the very earliest of his Epistles (1 Thessalonians 4:16), speaking of the coming of the Lord, says "The Lord himself shall descend from heaven, with a shout" en keleusmati), where the picture is that of the keleustes, giving the time to the rowers on board a ship. Although huperetes, was "an underrower" and huperesia, "the crew of a ship" as contrasted with kubernetes, "the sailing-master," the derived meaning of "servant" or "officer" has lost in the New Testament all trace of its origin (Matthew 5:25; Luke 1:2 and many passages; compare stellein, and sustellein, where the idea of "furling" or "shifting a sail" is entirely lost: 1 Corinthians 7:29; 2 Corinthians 8:20).ISBE Ships and Boats.49

Figurative:ISBE Ships and Boats.50

In Hebrews the hope of the gospel is figured as "an anchor .... sure and stedfast, and entering into that which is within the veil" (6:19, especially with Ebrard's note in Alford, at the place). James, showing the power of little things, adduces the ships, large though they be, and driven by fierce winds, turned about by a very small "rudder" (pedalion), as "the impulse of the steersman willeth" (James 3:4). In Revelation there is a representation of the fall of Babylon in language reminiscent of the fall of Tyre (Ezekiel 27:1-36), in which lamentations arise from the merchants of the earth who can no more buy her varied merchandise (ton gomon, "cargo" the Revised Version margin), and shipmasters and passengers and seafaring people look in terror and grief upon the smoke of her burning (Revelation 18:12-18).ISBE Ships and Boats.51

LITERATURE.ISBE Ships and Boats.52

The usual books on Greek and Roman antiquities furnish descriptions and illustrations. Works on the monuments like Layard, Nineveh, II, 379 ff; Maspero, Ancient Egypt and Assyria; Ball, Light from the East, and Reissner, Cairo Museum Catalogue, "Models of Ships and Boats," 1913, contain descriptions and figured representations which are instructive. On shipping and navigation in classical antiquity Smith of Jordanhill, Voyage and Shipwreck of Paul, is still the standard authority.ISBE Ships and Boats.53

T. NicolISBE Ships and Boats.54

Shisha

Shisha - shi'-sha (shisha'): One of Solomon's officers of state (1 Kings 4:3).ISBE Shisha.2

Shishak

Shishak - shi'-shak (shishaq (1 Kings 14:25); Sousakeim):ISBE Shishak.2

1. Shishak, 952-930 BC: Sheshonk or Sheshenq I, as he is called on the monuments, the founder of the XXIInd Dynasty, was in all probability of Libyan origin. It is possible that his claim to the throne was that of the sword, but it is more likely that he acquired it by marriage with a princess of the dynasty preceding. On the death of Pasebkhanu II, the last of the kings of the XXIst Dynasty, 952 BC, Shishak ascended the throne, with an efficient army and a well-filled treasury at his command. He was a warlike prince and cherished dreams of Asiatic dominion.ISBE Shishak.3

2. Patron of Jeroboam: He had not long been seated on the throne when Jeroboam the son of Nebat, of the tribe of Ephraim, whom Solomon had promoted but afterward had cause to suspect, fled from the displeasure of his sovereign to the court of Shishak (1 Kings 11:26 ff). There Jeroboam remained till the death of Solomon, when he returned to Canaan, and, on Rehoboam's returning an unsatisfactory answer to the people's demands for relief from their burdens, headed the revolt of the Ten Tribes, over whom he was chosen king with his capital at Shechem (1 Kings 12:25 ff). Whether there was not in the XXIst Dynasty some kind of suzerainty of Egypt over Palestine, when Solomon married Pharaoh's daughter and received with her Gezer as a dowry, seems not to be clearly established. It is, however, natural that Jeroboam's patron in the day of adversity should take sides with him against Rehoboam, now that the kingdom was divided. Active support of Jeroboam would be in the line of his dreams of an eastern empire.ISBE Shishak.4

3. Syrian Campaign: So it came to pass that in the 5th year of Rehoboam, Shishak came up against Jerusalem with 1,200 chariots, and 60,000 horsemen, and people without number out of Egypt, the Libyans, Sukkiim, and Ethiopians, and took the fenced cities of Judah, and came to Jerusalem. At the preaching of the prophet Shemaiah, Rehoboam and his people repented, and Jerusalem was saved from destruction, though not from plunder nor from servitude, for he became Shishak's servant (2 Chronicles 12:8). Shishak took away the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king's house, carrying off among the most precious of the spoils all the shields of gold which Solomon had made (1 Kings 14:25 ff; 2 Chronicles 12:1-9). From the Scripture narrative it does not appear that there was any occupation of Palestine by the Egyptian forces on this occasion.ISBE Shishak.5

4. Shishak's Record at Karnak: There is, however, a remarkable contemporary record of the campaign engraved on the south wall of the Temple of Amon at Karnak by Shishak himself. Not only is the expedition recorded, but there is a list of districts and towns of Palestine granted to his victories by Amon-Ra and the goddess of Thebes engraved there. A number of towns mentioned in the Book of Josh have been identified; and among the names of the list are Rabbath, Taanach, Gibeon, Mahanaim, Beth-horon and other towns both of Israel and Judah. That names of places in the Northem Kingdom are mentioned in the list does not imply that Shishak had directed his armies against Jeroboam and plundered his territories. It was the custom in antiquity for a victorious monarch to include among conquered cities any place that paid tribute or was under subjection, whether captured in war or not; and it was sufficient reason for Shishak to include these Israelite places that Jeroboam, as seems probable, had invited him to come to his aid. Among the names in the list was "Jud-hamalek"--Yudhmalk on the monuments--which was at first believed to represent the king of Judah, with a figure which passed for Rehoboam. Being, however, a place-name, it is now recognized to be the town Yehudah, belonging to the king. On the death of Shishak his successor assumed a nominal suzerainty over the land of Canaan.ISBE Shishak.6

LITERATURE.ISBE Shishak.7

Flinders Petrie, History of Egypt, III, 227 ff; Maspero, Struggle of the Nations, 772 ff; Nicol, Recent Archaeology and the Bible, 222-25.ISBE Shishak.8

T. NicolISBE Shishak.9

Shitrai

Shitrai - shit'-ri, shit-ra'-i, shit'-ra-i (shiTray): A Sharonite, David's chief shepherd (1 Chronicles 27:29).ISBE Shitrai.2

Shittah; Tree; Shittim Wood

Shittah; Tree; Shittim Wood - shit'a, (shiTTah; Septuagint xulon asepton; the Revised Version (British and American) ACACIA TREE (Isaiah 41:19)); (`ace shiTTim; the Revised Version (British and American) ACACIA WOOD (Exodus 25:5, 10, 13; 15, 26; 1, 6; Deuteronomy 10:3)): The word was originally shinTah, derived from the Arabic sanT, now a name confined to one species of acacia, Acacia nilotica (Natural Order, Leguminosae), but possibly was once a more inclusive term. The Acacia nilotica is at present confined to the Sinaitic peninsula and to Egypt. Closely allied species, the Acacia tortilis and Acacia seyal, both classed together under the Arabic name sayyal, are plentiful in the valleys about the Dead Sea from Engedi southward. Those who have ridden from `Ain Jidy to Jebel Usdum will never forget these most striking features of the landscape. They are most picturesque trees with their gnarled trunks, sometimes 2 ft. thick, their twisted, thorny branches, which often give the whole tree an umbrella-like form, and their fine bipinnate leaves with minute leaflets. The curiously twisted pods and the masses of gum arabic which exude in many parts are also peculiar features. The trees yield a valuable, hard, close-grained timber, not readily attacked by insects.ISBE Shittah; Tree; Shittim Wood.2

E. W. G. MastermanISBE Shittah; Tree; Shittim Wood.3

Shittim

Shittim - shit'-im (ha-shiTTim, "the acacias"; Sattein):ISBE Shittim.2

(1) This marked the last camping-ground of Israel before they crossed the Jordan to begin the conquest of Western Palestine. Here it was that the people fell into the snare set for them by the satanic counsel of Balaam, who thus brought upon them greater evil than all his prohibited curses could have done (Numbers 25:1 ff; Numbers 31:16). In Numbers 33:49 it is called Abel-shittim. It was from Shittim that Joshua sent the spies to view out the land and Jericho (Joshua 2:1); and from this point the host moved forward to the river (Joshua 3:1). The place is mentioned by Micah in a passage of some difficulty (Joshua 6:5): after "what Balaam the son of Beor answered," perhaps some such phrase as "remember what I did" has fallen out. This would then be a reference to the display of divine power in arresting the flow of Jordan until the host had safely crossed. Josephus places the camp "near Jordan where the city Abila now stands, a place full of palm trees" (Ant., IV, viii, 1). Eusebius, Onomasticon says Shittim was near to Mt. Peor (Fogor). It may possibly be identical with Khirbet el-Kefrain, about 6 miles South of the Jordan, on the lip of Wady Seiseban, where there are many acacias.ISBE Shittim.3

(2) In Joel 3:18 we read of the valley of Shittim which is to be watered by a fountain coming forth of the house of the Lord. It must therefore be sought on the West of the Jordan. The waters from the Jerusalem district are carried to the Dead Sea down the Wady which continues the Brook Kidron: Wady en-Nar. The acacia is found plentifully in the lower reaches of this valley, which may possibly be intended by the prophet.ISBE Shittim.4

W. EwingISBE Shittim.5

Shiza

Shiza - shi'-za (shiza; Saiza): A Reubenite, one of David's leading warriors (1 Chronicles 11:42).ISBE Shiza.2

Shoa

Shoa - sho'-a (shoa`; Soue): A people named in Ezekiel 23:23 in association with Babylonians, Chaldeans and Assyrians. Schrader identifies with the Sutu of the inscriptions (East of the Tigris).ISBE Shoa.2

Shobab

Shobab - sho'-bab (~shobhabh]; Sobab):ISBE Shobab.2

(1) One of the sons of David (2 Samuel 5:14; 1 Chronicles 3:5; 14:4).ISBE Shobab.3

(2) A son of Caleb (1 Chronicles 2:18).ISBE Shobab.4

Shobach

Shobach - sho'-bak (shobhakh; Sobak): Captain of the Syrian host (2 Samuel 10:16, 18); but "Shophach" (shophakh) in 1 Chronicles 19:16, 18.ISBE Shobach.2

Shobai

Shobai - sho'-bi, sho-ba'-i, sho'-ba-i (shobhay; Codex Vaticanus Abaou; Codex Alexandrinus Lucian, Sobai): The head of one of the families which returned from the Babylonian captivity (Ezra 2:42; Nehemiah 7:45).ISBE Shobai.2

Shobal

Shobal - sho'-bal (shobhal, "overflowing"; Sobal, with variants):ISBE Shobal.2

(1) An Edomite name mentioned in connection with Lotan, Zibeon and Anah, as that of a "son" of Seir (Genesis 36:20), the father of a clan (Genesis 36:23), and a Horite "duke" ('alluph) (Genesis 36:29; 1 Chronicles 1:38, 40).ISBE Shobal.3

(2) A Calebite, the father (possibly of the inhabitants) of Kiriath-jearim (1 Chronicles 2:50, 52).ISBE Shobal.4

(3) A Judahite, perhaps to be identified with (2) above (1 Chronicles 4:1 f).ISBE Shobal.5

Shobek

Shobek - sho'-bek (shobheq; Sobek): One of those who sealed the covenant under Nehemiah after the Babylonian captivity (Nehemiah 10:24).ISBE Shobek.2

Shobi

Shobi - sho'-bi (shobhi; Ouesbei): One of those who remained faithful to David during the rebellion of Absalom (2 Samuel 17:27).ISBE Shobi.2

Shochoh

Shochoh - sho'-ko (sokhoh, Codex Vaticanus Sokchoth; Codex Alexandrinus Okcho): This in 1 Samuel 17:1 the King James Version is a variant of SOCOH (which see).ISBE Shochoh.2

Shoe; Shoe-latchet

Shoe; Shoe-latchet - shoo, shoo'-lach-et (na`al, literally, "that which is fastened," with denominative verb na`al, "to provide with shoes" (2 Chronicles 28:15; Ezekiel 16:10); hupodema (Sirach 46:19; Matthew 3:11, etc.), from the verb hupodeo (Mark 6:9; Ephesians 6:15), "to bind under," sandalion, "sandal" (Judith 10:4; 16:9; Mark 6:9; Acts 12:8); the King James Version, the Revised Version margin also have "shoe" for min`al, "bar" (so the Revised Version (British and American) text) in Deuteronomy 33:25; the "latchet" is either serokh, "twisted thing" (Genesis 14:23; Isaiah 5:27), or himas, "leather thong" (Mark 1:7; Luke 3:16; John 1:27)): The na`al was a simple piece of leather tied on the foot with the serokh, so easy of construction that its low cost was proverbial (Amos 2:6; 8:6; Sirach 46:19; compare Genesis 14:23), and to be without it was a sign of extreme poverty (2 Chronicles 28:15; Isaiah 20:2). Women, however, might have ornamental sandals (Song of Solomon 7:1; Judith 16:9), and Ezekiel names "sealskin" (16:10) as a particularly luxurious material, but the omission of sandals from the list of Isaiah 3:18-23 shows that they were not commonly made articles of great expense. The hupodema was likewise properly a sandal, but the word was also used to denote a shoe that covered the foot. The contrast between hupodema in Matthew 10:10 and sandalion in Mark 6:9 seems to show that this meaning is not unknown in the New Testament, the "shoe" being regarded as an article of luxury (compare Luke 15:22). But in Matthew 3:11 and parallel's, only the sandal can be meant.ISBE Shoe; Shoe-latchet.2

Sandals were not worn indoors, so that putting them on was a sign of readiness for activity (Exodus 12:11; Acts 12:8; Ephesians 6:15), the more wealthy having them brought (Matthew 3:11) and fastened (Mark 1:7 and parallel's) by slaves. When one entered a house they were removed; all the more, naturally, on entering a sanctuary (Exodus 3:5; Joshua 5:15; Acts 7:33). Mourners, however, did not wear them even out of doors, as a sign of grief (Ezekiel 24:17, 23), perhaps for the same reason that other duties of the toilet were neglected (2 Samuel 12:20, etc.). A single long journey wore out a pair of sandals (Joshua 9:5, 13), and the preservation of "the latchet of their shoes" from being broken (Isaiah 5:27) would require almost miraculous help.ISBE Shoe; Shoe-latchet.3

Ruth 4:7 f states as a "custom in former times in Israel," that when any bargain was closed "a man drew off his shoe, and gave it to his neighbor." This was of course simply a special form of earnest-money, used in all transactions. In Deuteronomy 25:9 f the custom appears in a different light. If a man refused to perform his duty to his deceased brother's wife, the elders of the city were to remove his shoe and disgrace him publicly, "And his name shall be called in Israel, The house of him that hath his shoe loosed." The removal of the shoe is apparently connected with the rite in Ruth 4:7 as a renunciation of the man's privilege. But the general custom seems to have become obsolete, for the removal of the shoe is now a reproach.ISBE Shoe; Shoe-latchet.4

The meaning of Psalms 60:8 parallel Psalms 108:9, "Upon (margin "unto") Edom will I cast my shoe," is uncertain. `al, may mean either "upon" or "unto." If the former, some (otherwise unsubstantiated) custom of asserting ownership of land may be meant. If the latter, the meaning is "Edom I will treat as a slave," to whom the shoes are cast on entering a house.ISBE Shoe; Shoe-latchet.5

Burton Scott EastonISBE Shoe; Shoe-latchet.6

Shoham

Shoham - sho'-ham (shoham, "onyx"; Codex Vaticanus Isoam; Codex Alexandrinus Issoam): One of the sons of Merari (1 Chronicles 24:27).ISBE Shoham.2

Shomer

Shomer - sho'-mer (shomer):ISBE Shomer.2

(1) The father of one of the conspirators who killed Joash (2 Kings 12:21).ISBE Shomer.3

See SHIMEATH.ISBE Shomer.4

(2) One of the sons of Heber of the tribe of Asher (1 Chronicles 7:32).ISBE Shomer.5

See SHEMER.ISBE Shomer.6

Shophach

Shophach - sho'-fak.ISBE Shophach.2

See SHOBACH.ISBE Shophach.3

Shophan

Shophan - sho'-fan (shophan).ISBE Shophan.2

See ATROTH-SHOPHAN.ISBE Shophan.3

Shore

Shore - shor: (1) choph, always of the Mediterranean, variously translated "haven," "beach," "shore," "sea-shore," "coast," "sea coast" (Genesis 49:13; Deuteronomy 1:7; Joshua 9:1; Judges 5:17; Jeremiah 47:7; Ezekiel 25:16). (2) saphah, literally, "lip"; compare Arabic shafat, "lip"; of the sand upon the seashore, a figure of multitude (Genesis 22:17; Exodus 14:30; Joshua 11:4; Judges 7:12; 1 Samuel 13:5; 1 Kings 4:29); the shore of the Red Sea or Gulf of `Aqabah by Ezion-geber (1 Kings 9:26; 2 Chronicles 8:17); the brink of the River Nile (Genesis 41:3, 17); the edge (the King James Version "brink") of the valley of Arnon (Deuteronomy 2:36). (3) qatseh, literally, "end," "extremity," the uttermost part (the King James Version "shore") of the Salt Sea (Joshua 15:2); qetsh ha-'arets, "the end of the earth" (Psalms 46:9); compare Arabic 'aqaci-l-'ard, "the uttermost parts of the earth." (4) cheilos, literally, "lip," "as the sand which is by the seashore" (Hebrews 11:12). (5) aigialos, the beach (the King James Version "shore") of the Sea of Galilee (Matthew 13:2, 48; John 21:4); of the Mediterranean (Acts 21:5; Acts 27:39-40). (6) asson parelegonto ten Kreten, doubtful reading, "sailed along Crete, close in shore" (the King James Version "sailed along by Crete") (Acts 27:13).ISBE Shore.2

See COAST; HAVEN; SAND.ISBE Shore.3

Alfred Ely DayISBE Shore.4

Shorten

Shorten - shor'-t'-n: The Hebrew word qatsar and the Greek koloboo literally indicate abbreviation of time or space (Psalms 89:45; Proverbs 10:27; Ezekiel 42:5); figuratively they point to limitation of power or of suffering (Numbers 11:23; Isaiah 50:2; 59:1; Matthew 24:22; Mark 13:20).ISBE Shorten.2

Shoshannim Eduth

Shoshannim Eduth - sho-shan'-im e'-duth.ISBE Shoshannim Eduth.2

See SONG; PSALMS.ISBE Shoshannim Eduth.3

Shoulder

Shoulder - shol'-der (shekhem, katheph, zeroa` or zerowa`, or zero`ah, shoq; omos, brachion (Sirach 7:31 only)): The meanings of the Hebrew words are rather varied. The first (shekhem) has perhaps the widest application. It is used for the part of the body on which heavy loads are carried (Genesis 21:14; 15, 45; Exodus 12:34; Joshua 4:5; Judges 9:48). King Saul's impressive personality is thus described: "There was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he: from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people" (1 Samuel 9:2; 10:23). To carry loads on the shoulder or to have "a staff on the shoulder" is expressive of subjection and servitude, yea, of oppression and cruel punishment, and the removal of such burdens or of the rod of the oppressor connotes delivery and freedom (Isaiah 9:4; 14:25).ISBE Shoulder.2

Figuratively:ISBE Shoulder.3

The shoulders also bear responsibility and power. Thus it is said of King Messiah, that "the government shall be upon his shoulder" (Isaiah 9:6) and "the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; and he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open" (Isaiah 22:22). Job declares that he will refute all accusations of unlawful conduct made against him, in the words: "Oh .... that I had the indictment which mine adversary hath written! Surely I would carry it upon my shoulder" (Job 31:35 f).ISBE Shoulder.4

The Hebrew word katheph comes very close in meaning to the above, though it is occasionally used in the sense of arm-piece and shoulder-piece of a garment. Like Hebrew shekhem, it is used to describe the part of the body accustomed to carry loads. On it the Levites carried the implements of the sanctuary (Numbers 7:9; 1 Chronicles 15:15; 2 Chronicles 35:3). Oriental mothers and fathers carried their children on the shoulder astride (Isaiah 49:22; compare Isaiah 60:4); thus also the little bundle of the poor is borne (Ezekiel 12:6-7, 12). The loaded shoulder is likely to be "worn" or chafed under the burden (Ezekiel 29:18). In the two passages of the New Testament in which we find the Greek equivalent of shoulder (omos, fairly common in Apocrypha), it corresponds most closely with this use (Matthew 23:4; Luke 15:5). Of the shoulders of animals the word katheph is used in Ezekiel 34:21 (of sheep, where, however, men are intended) and in Isaiah 30:6 (of asses).ISBE Shoulder.5

Stubborn opposition and unwillingness is expressed by "withdrew the shoulder" (Nehemiah 9:29), or "pulled away the shoulder" (Zechariah 7:11), where the marginal rendering is "they gave (or "turned") a stubborn shoulder." Contrast "bow the shoulder," i.e. "submit" (Baruch 2:21). Compare "stiffnecked"; see NECK. Somewhat difficult for the understanding of Occidentals is the poetical passage in the blessing of Moses: "Of Benjamin he said, The beloved of Yahweh shall dwell in safety by him; he covereth him all the day long, and he dwelleth between his shoulders" (Deuteronomy 33:12). The "shoulders" refer here to the mountain saddles and proclivities of the territory of Benjamin between which Jerusalem, the beloved of Yahweh, which belonged to Judah, lay nestling close upon the confines of the neighboring tribe, or even built in part on ground belonging to Benjamin.ISBE Shoulder.6

Much less frequently than the above-mentioned words. we find zeroa`, zero`ah, which is used of the "boiled shoulder of the ram" which was a wave offering at the consecration of a Nazirite (Numbers 6:19) and of one of the priestly portions of the sacrifice (Deuteronomy 18:3). In Sirach 7:31 this portion is called brachion, properly "arm," but both the King James Version and the Revised Version (British and American) translate "shoulder." Regarding the wave and heave offerings see SACRIFICE. the King James Version frequently translates Hebrew shoq, literally, "leg," "thigh" (which see) by "shoulder," which the Revised Version (British and American) occasionally retains in the margin (e.g. Numbers 6:20).ISBE Shoulder.7

H. L. E. LueringISBE Shoulder.8

Shoulder-blade

Shoulder-blade - shol'der-blad (shikhmah): "Then let my shoulder (kathephi) fall from the shoulder-blade (shikhmah), and mine arm (zeroa` be broken from the bone (qaneh)" (Job 31:22). The Hebrew word is the feminine form of shekhem (see SHOULDER). It is found only in this passage.ISBE Shoulder-blade.2

Shoulder-piece

Shoulder-piece - shol'-der-pes (katheph): The word designates the two straps or pieces of cloth which passed from the back of the ephod (see EPHOD) of the high priest over the shoulder and were fastened at the front. These shoulder-pieces seem to have been made of a precious texture of linen (or byssos) with threads of gold, blue, purple and scarlet, to which two onyx (or beryl) stones were attached bearing the names of six tribes of Israel each. These are called the "stones of memorial" (Exodus 39:18). On these straps there were also fastened the plaited or woven bands ("wreathed chains") from which, by means of two golden rings, the breastplate was suspended. It is by no means clear from the descriptions (Exodus 28:7, 12, 25; 4, 7, 18, 20) how we have to imagine the form and attachment of these shoulder-pieces. It has been thought that the ephod might be of Egyptian origin, which is not very probable, though V. Ancessi, Annales de philosophie chretienne, 1872, 45 ff, reproduces some representations from the great work of Lepsius, Denkmaler, where costly royal garments have two shoulder straps, like the ephod. Usually Egyptian garments have no shoulder strap, or at most one.ISBE Shoulder-piece.2

H. L. E. LueringISBE Shoulder-piece.3

Shovel

Shovel - shuv'-l: (1) rachath, is a wooden shovel used on the threshing-floor for winnowing the grain (Isaiah 30:24). (2) ya`, is used in various passages to indicate some instrument employed to carry away ashes from the altar (Exodus 27:3; 38:3; Numbers 4:14; 1 Kings 7:40, 45; 2 Kings 25:14; 2 Chronicles 4:11, 16; Jeremiah 52:18). It was very likely a small shovel like those used in connection with modern fireplaces for cleaning away the ashes (compare Hebrew ya`ah, "to sweep away") or for carrying live coals to start a new fire. (3) yathedh (Deuteronomy 23:13 the Revised Version margin)ISBE Shovel.2

James A. PatchISBE Shovel.3

Show

Show - sho.ISBE Show.2

See SHEW.ISBE Show.3

Showbread

Showbread - sho'-bred.ISBE Showbread.2

See SHEWBREAD.ISBE Showbread.3

Showbread, Table of

Showbread, Table of - See SHEWBREAD, TABLE OF.ISBE Showbread, Table of.2

Shower

Shower - shou'-er: (1) rebhibhim, a plural form apparently denoting gentle rain, usually used figuratively, as in Deuteronomy 32:2; Psalms 72:6; Micah 5:7. (2) geshem, used of gentle rain in Job 37:6: "shower of rain," the King James Version "small rain"; used of the flood in Genesis 7:12. Figuratively, of blessing, "showers of blessing" (Ezekiel 34:26); of destruction: "There shall be an overflowing shower in mine anger, and great hailstones in wrath to consume it" (Ezekiel 13:13). (3) zerem, usually storm or tempest (compare Isaiah 4:6; 28:2): "They are wet with the showers of the mountain" (Job 24:8). (4) ombros (Luke 12:54), Rain is unknown in Palestine in the long summer of 5 or 6 months. A few showers usually fall in September, succeeded by fine weather for some weeks before the beginning of the heavy and long-continued winter rains.ISBE Shower.2

Alfred Ely DayISBE Shower.3

Shrine

Shrine - shrin (@naos]): In Acts 19:24 small models of temples for Diana.ISBE Shrine.2

Shroud

Shroud - shroud (choresh, "bough"): Winding-sheet for the dead. See BURIAL. Used in the King James Version, the English Revised Version Ezekiel 31:3 in the rare old sense of "shelter," "covering." the American Standard Revised Version has "a forest-like shade" choresh, "wood," "wooded height") (Isaiah 17:9, etc.). Compare Milton, Comus, 147.ISBE Shroud.2

Shrub

Shrub - shrub (siach (Genesis 21:15)).ISBE Shrub.2

See BUSH, (2).ISBE Shrub.3

Shua; Shuah

Shua; Shuah - shoo'-a:ISBE Shua; Shuah.2

(1) (shua` "prosperity"): A Canaanite whose daughter Judah took to wife (Genesis 38:2, 12; 1 Chronicles 2:3).ISBE Shua; Shuah.3

See BATHSHUA.ISBE Shua; Shuah.4

(2) (shu`-a'', "prosperity"): Daughter of Heber, an Asherite (1 Chronicles 7:32).ISBE Shua; Shuah.5

(3) (shuach, "depression"): A son of Keturah by Abraham (Genesis 25:2; 1 Chronicles 1:32), and his posterity.ISBE Shua; Shuah.6

See BILDAD.ISBE Shua; Shuah.7

(4) A brother of Caleb (1 Chronicles 4:11).ISBE Shua; Shuah.8

See SHUHAH.ISBE Shua; Shuah.9

Shual

Shual - shoo'-al (shu`al): An Asherite (1 Chronicles 7:36).ISBE Shual.2

Shual, Land of

Shual, Land of - ('erets shu`al; he Sogal): From their encampment at Michmash the Philistines sent out marauding bands, one going westward toward Beth-horon, another eastward, "the way of the border that looketh down upon the valley of Zeboim." The pass to the South was held against them by Israel. The third party therefore went northward, turning "unto the way that leadeth to Ophrah, unto the land of Shual" (1 Samuel 13:17 f). Ophrah is probably identical with et-taiyibeh, a village which lies some 5 miles East of Beitin (Bethel). It is in this district therefore that the land of Shual must be sought, but no definite identification is possible.ISBE Shual, Land of.2

W. EwingISBE Shual, Land of.3

Shubael

Shubael - shoo'ba-el, shoo-ba'-el (shubha'el):ISBE Shubael.2

(1) A Levite, son of Amram (1 Chronicles 24:20); one of the leaders of song in the temple (1 Chronicles 25:20).ISBE Shubael.3

See SHEBUEL; Gray,HPN , 310.ISBE Shubael.4

(2) A son of Heman (1 Chronicles 25:4).ISBE Shubael.5

See SHEBUEL.ISBE Shubael.6

Shuhah

Shuhah - shoo'-ha (shuchah, "depression"): A brother of Caleb (1 Chronicles 4:11).ISBE Shuhah.2

Shuham

Shuham - shoo'-ham (shucham): Son of Dan, ancestor of the Shuhamites (Numbers 26:42 f). In Genesis 46:23 called "Hushim."ISBE Shuham.2

Shuhite

Shuhite - shoo'-hit (shuchi): Cognomen of Bildad, one of Job's friends (Job 2:11; 8:1; 18:1; 25:1; 42:9). The place referred to cannot be definitely located.ISBE Shuhite.2

See BILDAD;SHUAH .ISBE Shuhite.3

Shulammite

Shulammite - shoo'-la-mit (Song of Solomon 6:13, the King James Version "Shulamite").ISBE Shulammite.2

See SHUNAMMITE.ISBE Shulammite.3

Shumathites

Shumathites - shoo'-math-its (~shumathi]): One of the families of Kiriath-jearim (1 Chronicles 2:53).ISBE Shumathites.2

Shunammite

Shunammite - shoo'-na-mit (shunammith, shunammith; Codex Vaticanus Somaneitis; Codex Alexandrinus Soumanites): Applied to natives of Shunem.ISBE Shunammite.2

(1) Abishag, who was brought to minister to the aged king David, love for whom led Adonijah to his doom (1 Kings 1:3, 15; 2:17, etc.).ISBE Shunammite.3

(2) The woman, name unknown, whose son Elisha raised from the dead (2 Kings 4:12, etc.). Later when apparently she had become a widow, after seven years' absence on account of famine, in the land of the Philistines, she returned to find her property in the hands of others. Elisha's intervention secured its restoration (2 Kings 8:1-6).ISBE Shunammite.4

(3) The Shulammite (Song of Solomon 6:13). In this name there is the exchange of "l" for "n" which is common.ISBE Shunammite.5

W. EwingISBE Shunammite.6

Shunem

Shunem - shoo'-nem (shunem; Codex Vaticanus Sounan; Codex Alexandrinus Sounam): A town in the territory of Issachar named with Jezreel and Chesulloth (Joshua 19:18). Before the battle of Gilboa the Philistines pitched their camp here. They and the army of Saul, stationed on Gilboa, were in full view of each other (1 Samuel 28:4). It was the scene of the touching story recorded in 2 Kings 4:8-37, in which the prophet Elisha raises to life the son of his Shunammite benefactress. Eusebius (Onomasticon) describes it as a village called Sulem, 5 Roman miles South of Mt. Tabor. This points to the modern Solam, a village surrounded by cactus hedges and orchards on the lower southwestern slope of Jebel ed-Duchy ("Hill of Moreh"). It commands an uninterrupted view across the plain of Esdraelon to Mt. Carmel, which is about 15 miles distant. It also looks far across the valley of Jezreel to the slopes of Gilboa on the South. It therefore meets satisfactorily the conditions of Joshua and 1 Samuel. A question has, however, been raised as to its identity with the Shunem of 2 Kings 4:1-44. Elisha's home was in Samaria. Apparently Carmel was one of his favorite haunts. If he passed Shunem "continually" (2 Kings 4:9), going to and coming from the mountain, it involved a very long detour if this were the village visited. It would seem more natural to identify the Shunem of Elisha with the Sanim of Eusebius, Onomasticon, which is said to be in the territory of Sebaste (Samaria), in the region of Akrabatta: or perhaps with Salim, fully a mile North of Taanach, as nearer the line of travel between Samaria and Carmel.ISBE Shunem.2

There is, however, nothing to show that Elisha's visits to Shunem were paid on his journeys between Samaria and Carmel. It may have been his custom to visit certain cities on circuit, on business calling for his personal attention, e.g. in connection with the "schools of the prophets." Materials do not exist on which any certain conclusion can rest. Both Solam Salim are on the edge of the splendid grain fields of Esdraelon (2 Kings 4:18).ISBE Shunem.3

W. EwingISBE Shunem.4