SHUAL

(Shuʹal) [fox].

1. Son of Zophah and a headman in the tribe of Asher.—1 Chron. 7:36, 40.

2. A region associated with Ophrah, presumably to the N of Michmash. The Philistines encamped at Michmash made raids in the direction of Shual. (1 Sam. 13:16, 17) No exact location for Shual can presently be given.

SHUBAEL

(Shuʹba·el).

1. Descendant of Levi through Moses’ son Gershom. Another form of the name is Shebuel.—1 Chron. 24:20; 26:24; see SHEBUEL No. 1.

2. Son of Heman, also called Shebuel.—1 Chron. 25:4, 20; see SHEBUEL No. 2.

SHUHAH

(Shuʹhah) [pit].

Brother of Chelub in the tribe of Judah.—1 Chron. 4:11.

SHUHAM

(Shuʹham), Shuhamites (Shuʹham·ites).

The only son of Dan mentioned in the Bible. He was forefather of the Shuhamites, the only tribal family enrolled for Dan, and which numbered 64,400 at the end of the forty-year wilderness wandering. (Num. 26:42, 43) He is called Hushim at Genesis 46:23.

SHUHITE

(Shuʹhite).

Evidently a descendant of Shuah, a son of Abraham by his wife Keturah. (Gen. 25:2; 1 Chron. 1:32) Job’s companion Bildad is the only Shuhite named in the Scriptures.—Job 2:11; 8:1; 18:1; 25:1; 42:9.

SHULAMMITE

(Shuʹlam·mite).

The designation for the beautiful country girl who is the principal character of The Song of Solomon (6:13). Likely this title portrays her as from the city of Shunem (modern Solem). (Compare 1 Kings 1:3.) Lending support to this view is the fact that the Septuagint Version calls the girl the “Sunamite.” Also, the ecclesiastical writer Eusebius of the fourth century C.E. referred to Shunem as Shulem.

SHUMATHITES

(Shuʹmath·ites).

One of the families of Kiriath-jearim, likely descendants of Judah through Caleb and Shobal.—1 Chron. 2:19, 50, 52, 53; see ATROTH-BETH-JOAB.

SHUNAMMITE

(Shuʹnam·mite).

An inhabitant of Shunem. Abishag, the nurse of David in his old age, is called a “Shunammite.”—1 Ki. 1:3, 4, 15; 2:17, 21, 22; see ABISHAG.

A prominent woman of Shunem who showed hospitality to the prophet Elisha, regularly offering him food and lodging, is left unnamed. For her kindness, she was rewarded with a son. When, several years later, the boy died, the Shunammite woman rode some twenty miles (c. 32 kilometers), and upon finding Elisha at Mount Carmel, she expressed her bitter grief, saying: “Did I ask for a son through my lord? Did I not say, ‘You must not lead me to a false hope’?” Returning with her, the prophet prayed to Jehovah and the boy was restored to life.—2 Ki. 4:8-37.

Upon Elisha’s warning her of a coming famine, the Shunammite woman, apparently now a widow, together with her household, took up living among the Philistines for seven years. At the end of this time she returned, only to find her property confiscated. When the king learned of her past dealings with Elisha, all her belongings were returned.—2 Ki. 8:1-6.

SHUNEM

(Shuʹnem).

A city in the territory of Issachar (Josh. 19:17, 18) and not far from Jezreel and Mount Gilboa. (1 Sam. 28:4) Shunem is linked with modern Solem on the SW slope of Nebi Dahi and overlooking the low plain of Jezreel. The place lies about three miles (5 kilometers) N of Zerʽin (Jezreel) and some five miles (8 kilometers) N of the western end of the traditional site of Mount Gilboa.

It was at Shunem that the Philistines encamped before the battle that resulted in the death of King Saul. (1 Sam. 28:4) From Shunem came the beautiful Abishag (“the Shunammite”) who cared for aged King David (1 Ki. 1:3, 4) and, later, the prophet Elisha often lodged in the home of a hospitable couple there. (2 Ki. 4:8) It is believed that Shunem is referred to in an inscription of Thutmose III, the Tell el-Amarna tablets and an inscription of Sheshonk I (Shishak).

SHUNI

(Shuʹni), Shunites (Shuʹnites).

Third named of Gad’s seven sons. Shuni accompanied Jacob into Egypt in 1728 B.C.E., and, as his own offspring expanded in numbers, they formed the tribal family of the Shunites.—Gen. 46:8, 16; Num. 26:15.

SHUPHAMITES

(Shuʹpham·ites).

Benjamite descendants of Shephupham, a variant spelling of Shuppim and Shephuphan.—Num. 26:38, 39; 1 Chron. 7:12; 8:5; see SHUPPIM No. 1.

SHUPPIM

(Shupʹpim).

1. A descendant of Benjamin, perhaps through Bela and Ir(i). (1 Chron. 7:6, 7, 12) The introduction of Shuppim into the genealogies of Manasseh in verse 15 may indicate some unusual intertribal relationship. In Genesis 46:21 Shuppim is called Muppim, possibly due to the similarity of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet represented in English by sh and m. The name is also spelled Shephupha(m, n), and identifies the individual as founder of a Benjamite tribal family of Shuphamites.—Num. 26:39; 1 Chron. 8:5.

2. A gatekeeper appointed to the W of the sanctuary. (1 Chron. 26:16) Since the last three characters of his name in Hebrew (Sup·pimʹ) are identical to the last three characters of the previous term (behth ha-ʼasup·pimʹ), scholars suspect it to be a dittograph, that is, an unintentional scribal repetition, therefore not the name of a person, in this verse.—Compare verses 10 and 11.

SHUR

[wall].

A place or a region described as “in front of Egypt,” that is, on or to the E of Egypt. The context locates Shur in the NW portion of the Sinai Peninsula. (Gen. 25:18) After Israel crossed the Red Sea, Moses led them from the shores of the sea into the “wilderness of Shur.”—Ex. 15:22.

Earlier, it was at a fountain “on the way to Shur” that Jehovah’s angel spoke to Abraham’s Egyptian slave girl Hagar (who was likely fleeing back to Egypt). (Gen. 16:7) Later, Abraham moved from the region of Hebron (Gen. 13:18) and took up dwelling between Kadesh (Kadesh-barnea, S of Beer-sheba in the Negeb region) and Shur, though also residing for a time at Gerar, a Philistine town considerably N of Kadesh. (Gen. 20:1) The rangings of the desert-dwelling Ishmaelites took them as far as “Havilah near Shur.” (Gen. 25:18) King Saul successfully waged war against the Amalekites as far as Shur, but in David’s time the Amalekites, along with the Geshurites and Girzites, were still inhabiting a similar area.—1 Sam. 15:7; 27:8.

Some of these texts seem to point more to a particular place than just a general region. If this is the case, then the expression “wilderness of Shur,” used only once, might mean the wilderness in the proximity of a city or site named Shur. (Ex. 15:22; compare the reference to the “wilderness of Damascus” at 1 Kings 19:15, or to that of Ziph, 1 Samuel 23:14.) Efforts at determining the exact location of the place (or region) named Shur have been based primarily on the meaning of the name: “wall.” Some have endeavored to connect Shur with the ancient defense wall along the Isthmus of Suez that Egyptian inscriptions indicate was built very early in that nation’s history. Others think the term applies to a series of Egyptian fortresses along Egypt’s eastern frontier facing the Sinai Peninsula. Exodus 15:22, however, points to a location on the E side of the Red Sea, hence, to a place outside Egypt rather than within its boundaries.