Smith's Bible Dictionary

Sele-ucus — Shechem

Sele-ucus

Sele-u’cus, the name of five kings of the Greek dominion of Syria, who are hence called Seleucidoe. Only one—the fourth—is mentioned in the Apocrypha.

Sele-u’cus IV. (Philopator), son of Antiochus the Great, whom he succeeded b.c. 187, “king of Asia,” 2 Maccabees 3:3, that is, of the provinces included in the Syrian monarchy, according to the title claimed by the Seleucidæ, even when they had lost their footing in Asia Minor. He took part in the disastrous battle of Magnesia, b.c. 190, and three years afterward, on the death of his father, ascended the throne. He was murdered b.c. 175, after a reign of twelve years, by Heliodorus, one of his own courtiers. Daniel 11:20. His son Demetrius I. (Soter), whom he had sent, while still a boy, as hostage to Rome, after a series of romantic adventures, gained the crown in 162 b.c. 1 Maccabees 7:1; 2 Maccabees 14:1. The general policy of Seleucus toward the Jews, like that of his father, 2 Maccabees 3:2, 2 Maccabees 3:3, was conciliatory, and he undertook a large share of the expenses of the temple service. 2 Maccabees 3:3, 2 Maccabees 3:6.

Sem

Sem. SHEM the patriarch. Luke 3:36.

Semachiah

Semachi’ah (Jehovah sustains him), one of the sons of SHEMAIAH, 9. 1 Chronicles 26:7.

Semei

Sem’ei (the Greek form of Shimei).

1. SHIMEI, 14. 1 Esdras 9:33.

2. SHIMEI 16. Esther 11:2.

3. The father of Mattathias in the genealogy of Jesus Christ. Luke 3:26.

Semein

Sem’ein. In the Revised Version of Luke 3:26 for Semei.

Semitic Languages

Semit’ic Languages. [SHEMITIC LANGUAGES; HEBREW.]

Sena-ah

Sen’a-ah (thorny). The “children (i.e., the inhabitants) of Senaah” are enumerated among the “people of Israel” who returned from the captivity with Zerubbabel. Ezra 2:35; Nehemiah 7:38. (b.c. 536.) The Magdal Senna of Eusebius and Jerome denotes a town seven miles north of Jericho (“Senna”).

Seneh

Se’neh (thorn), the name of one of the two isolated rocks which stood in the “passage of Michmash,” 1 Samuel 14:4, 6½ miles north of Jerusalem.

Senir

Se’nir (snow mountain), 1 Chronicles 5:23; Ezekiel 27:5, the Amorite name for Mount Hermon.

Sennacherib

Sennach’erib, or Sennache’rib (sin, the moon, increases brothers), was the son and successor of Sargon. [SARGON.] His name in the original is read as Tsinakki-irib, the meaning of which, as given above, indicates that he was not the first-born of his father. Sennacherib mounted the throne b.c. 702. His efforts were directed to crushing the revolt of Babylonia, which he invaded with a large army. Merodach-baladan ventured on a battle, but was defeated and driven from the country. In his third year, b.c. 700, Sennacherib turned his arms toward the west, chastised Sidon, and, having probably concluded a convention with his chief enemy, finally marched against Hezekiah, king of Judah. It was at this time that “Sennacherib came up against all the fenced cities of Judah, and took them.” 2 Kings 18:13. There can be no doubt that the record which he has left of his campaign against “Hiskiah” in his third year is the war with Hezekiah so briefly touched in vs. 2 Kings 18:13-16 of this chapter. In the following year (b.c. 699) Sennacherib made his second expedition into Palestine. Hezekiah had again revolted, and claimed the protection of Egypt. Sennacherib therefore attacked Egypt, and from his camp at Lachish and Libnah he sent an insulting letter to Hezekiah at Jerusalem. In answer to Hezekiah’s prayer an event occurred which relieved both Egypt and Judea from their danger. In one night the Assyrians lost, either by a pestilence or by some more awful manifestation of divine power, 185,000 men! The camp immediately broke up; the king fled. Sennacherib reached his capital in safety, and was not deterred by the terrible disaster which had befallen his arms from engaging in other wars, though he seems thenceforward to have carefully avoided Palestine. Sennacherib reigned 22 years, and was succeeded by Esar-haddon, b.c. 680. Sennacherib was one of the most magnificent of the Assyrian kings. He seems to have been the first who fixed the seat of government permanently at Nineveh, which he carefully repaired and adorned with splendid buildings. His greatest work is the grand palace at Kouyunjik. Of the death of Sennacherib nothing is known beyond the brief statement of Scripture that “as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword, and escaped into the land of Armenia.” 2 Kings 19:37; Isaiah 37:38.

Sennacherib on his Throne.

Senuah

Sen’uah (bristling, properly Hassenuah, with the definite article), a Benjamite. Nehemiah 11:9.

Seorim

Seo’rim (barley), the chief of the fourth of the twenty-four courses of priests. 1 Chronicles 24:8.

Sephar

Se’phar (a numbering). It is written, after the enumeration of the sons of Joktan, “And their dwelling was from Mesha as thou goest unto Sephar, a mount of the east.” Genesis 10:30. The Joktanites occupied the southwestern portion of the peninsula of Arabia. The undoubted identifications of Arabian places and tribes with their Joktanite originals are included within these limits, and point to Sephar, on the shore of the Indian Ocean, as the eastern boundary. The ancient seaport town called Zafár represents the biblical site or district.

Sepharad

Seph’arad (separated), a name which occurs in Obadiah 20 only. Its situation has always been a matter of uncertainty.

Sepharvaim

Sepharva’im (the two Sipparas) is mentioned by Sennacherib in his letter to Hezekiah as a city whose king had been unable to resist the Assyrians. 2 Kings 19:13; Isaiah 37:13, comp. 2 Kings 18:34. It is identified with the famous town of Sippara, on the Euphrates above Babylon, which was near the site of the modern Mosaib. The dual form indicates that there were two Sipparas, one on either side of the river. Berosus called Sippara “a city of the sun;” and in the inscriptions it bears the same title, being called Tsipar sha Shamas, or “Sippara of the Sun”—the sun being the chief object of worship there. Comp. 2 Kings 17:31.

Sephela

Sephe’la, the Greek form of the ancient word has-Shefêlâh, the native name for the southern division of the low-lying flat district which intervenes between the central highlands of the holy land and the Mediterranean, the other and northern portion of which was known as Sharon. The name occurs throughout the topographical records of Joshua, the historical works, and the topographical passages in the prophets; always with the article prefixed, and always denoting the same region. In each of these passages, however, the word is treated in the Authorized Version not as a proper name, analogous to the Campagna, the Wolds, the Curse, but as a mere appellative, and rendered “the vale,” “the valley,” “the plain,” “the low plains,” and “the low country.” The Shefelah was and is one of the most productive regions of the holy land. It was in ancient times the cornfield of Syria, and as such the constant subject of warfare between Philistines and Israelites, and the refuge of the latter when the harvests in the central country were ruined by drought. 2 Kings 8:1-3.

Septuagint

Sep’tuagint (the seventy). The Septuagint or Greek version of the Old Testament appears at the present day in four principal editions:—

1. Biblia Polyglotta Complutensis, a.d. 1514–1517. 2. The Aldine Edition, Venice, a.d. 1518. 3. The Roman Edition, edited under Pope Sixtus V., a.d. 1587. 4. Fac-simile Edition of the Codex Alexandrinus, by H. H. Baber, a.d. 1816. [TARGUMS.] The Jews of Alexandria had probably still less knowledge of Hebrew than their brethren in Palestine; their familiar language was Alexandrian Greek. They had settled in Alexandria in large numbers soon after the time of Alexander, and under the early Ptolemies. They would naturally follow the same practice as the Jews in Palestine; and hence would arise in time an entire Greek version. But the numbers and names of the translators, and the times at which different portions were translated, are all uncertain. The commonly-received story respecting its origin is contained in an extant letter ascribed to Aristeas, who was an officer at the court of Ptolemy Philadelphus. This letter, which is addressed by Aristeas to his brother Philocrates, gives a glowing account of the origin of the Septuagint; of the embassy and presents sent by King Ptolemy to the high priest at Jerusalem, by the advice of Demetrius Phalereus, his librarian, 50 talents of gold and 70 talents of silver, etc.; the Jewish slaves whom he set free, paying their ransom himself; the letter of the king; the answer of the high priest; the choosing of six interpreters from each of the twelve tribes, and their names; the copy of the law, in letters of gold; the feast prepared for the seventy-two, which continued for seven days; the questions proposed to each of the interpreters in turn, with the answers of each; their lodging by the seashore; and the accomplishment of their work in seventy-two days, by conference and comparison. This is the story which probably gave to the version the title of the Septuagint, and which has been repeated in various forms by the Christian writers. But it is now generally admitted that the letter is spurious, and is probably the fabrication of an Alexandrian Jew shortly before the Christian era. Still there can be no doubt that there was a basis of fact for the fiction; on three points of the story there is no material difference of opinion, and they are confirmed by the study of the version itself:—

1. The version was made at Alexandria. 2. It was begun in the time of the earlier Ptolemies, about 280 b.c. 3. The law (i.e., the Pentateuch) alone was translated at first. The Septuagint version was highly esteemed by the Hellenistic Jews before the coming of Christ. Wherever, by the conquests of Alexander or by colonization, the Greek language prevailed, wherever Jews were settled, and the attention of the neighboring Gentiles was drawn to their wondrous history and law, there was found the Septuagint, which thus became, by divine Providence, the means of spreading widely the knowledge of the one true God, and his promises of a Saviour to come, throughout the nations. To the wide dispersion of this version we may ascribe in great measure that general persuasion which prevailed over the whole East of the near approach of the Redeemer, and led the Magi to recognize the star which proclaimed the birth of the King of the Jews. Not less wide was the influence of the Septuagint in the spread of the gospel. For a long period the Septuagint was the Old Testament of the far larger part of the Christian Church. Character of the Septuagint.—The Septuagint is faithful in substance, but not minutely accurate in details. It has been clearly shown by Hody, Frankel, and others that the several books were translated by different persons, without any comprehensive revision to harmonize the several parts. Names and words are rendered differently in different books. Thus the character of the version varies much in the several books; those of the Pentateuch are the best. The poetical parts are, generally speaking, inferior to the historical, the original abounding with rarer words and expressions. In the major prophets (probably translated nearly 100 years after the Pentateuch) some of the most important prophecies are sadly obscured. Ezekiel and the minor prophets (generally speaking) seem to be better rendered. Supposing the numerous glosses and duplicate renderings, which have evidently crept from the margin into the text, to be removed, and forming a rough estimate of what the Septuagint was in its earliest state, we may perhaps say of it that it is the image of the original seen through a glass not adjusted to the proper focus; the larger features are shown, but the sharpness of definition is lost. The close connection between the Old and the New Testament makes the study of the Septuagint most valuable, and indeed indispensable, to the theological student. It was manifestly the chief storehouse from which the apostles drew their proofs and precepts.

Sepulchre

Sepulchre. [BURIAL.]

Serah

Se’rah, the daughter of Asher, Genesis 46:17; 1 Chronicles 7:30, called in Numbers 26:46 SARAH. (b.c. about 1700.)

Seraiah

Sera’iah.

1. The king’s scribe or secretary in the reign of David. 2 Samuel 8:17. (b.c. 1043.)

2. The high priest in the reign of Zedekiah. 2 Kings 25:18; 1 Chronicles 6:14; Jeremiah 52:24. (b.c. 594.)

3. The son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite. 2 Kings 25:23; Jeremiah 40:8.

4. The son of Kenaz and brother of Othniel. 1 Chronicles 4:13, 1 Chronicles 4:14.

5. Ancestor of Jehu, a Simeonite chieftain. 1 Chronicles 4:35.

6. One of the children of the province who returned with Zerubbabel. Ezra 2:2. (b.c. 536.)

7. One of the ancestors of Ezra the scribe. Ezra 7:1.

8. A priest, or priestly family, who signed the covenant with Nehemiah. Nehemiah 10:2.

9. A priest, the son of Hilkiah. Nehemiah 11:11.

10. The head of a priestly house which went up from Babylon with Zerubbabel. Nehemiah 12:12.

11. The son of Neriah, and brother of Baruch. Jeremiah 51:59, Jeremiah 51:61. He went with Zedekiah to Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. (b.c. 594.) Perhaps he was an officer who took charge of the royal caravan on its march, and fixed the places where it should halt.

Seraphim

Seraphim (burning, glowing), an order of celestial beings, whom Isaiah beheld in vision standing above Jehovah as he sat upon his throne. Isaiah 6:2. They are described as having each of them three pairs of wings, with one of which they covered their faces (a token of humility); with the second they covered their feet (a token of respect); while with the third they flew. They seem to have borne a general resemblance to the human figure. ver. Isaiah 6:6. Their occupation was twofold—to celebrate the praises of Jehovah’s holiness and power, ver. Isaiah 6:3, and to act as the medium of communication between heaven and earth. ver. Isaiah 6:6.

Sered

Se’red (fear), the first-born of Zebulun. Genesis 46:14; Numbers 26:26. (b.c. about 1700.)

Sergius Paulus

Ser’gius Pau’lus was the proconsul of Cyprus when the apostle Paul visited that island with Barnabas on his first missionary tour. Acts 13:7, seq. (a.d. 44.) He is described as an intelligent man, truth-seeking, eager for information from all sources within his reach. Though at first admitting to his society Elymas the magician, he afterward, on becoming acquainted with the claims of the gospel, yielded his mind to the evidence of its truth.

Serpent

Serpent. The Hebrew word nâchâsh is the generic name of any serpent. The following are the principal biblical allusions to this animal: Its subtlety is mentioned in Genesis 3:1; its wisdom is alluded to by our Lord in Matthew 10:16; the poisonous properties of some species are often mentioned, see Psalm 58:4; Proverbs 23:32; the sharp tongue of the serpent is mentioned in Psalm 140:3; Job 20:16; the habit serpents have of lying concealed in hedges and in holes of walls is alluded to in Ecclesiastes 10:8; their dwelling in dry sandy places, in Deuteronomy 8:15; their wonderful mode of progression did not escape the observation of the author of Proverbs 30, who expressly mentions it as “one of the three things which were too wonderful for him.” ver. Proverbs 30:19. The art of taming and charming serpents is of great antiquity, and is alluded to in Psalm 58:5; Ecclesiastes 10:11; Jeremiah 8:17, and doubtless intimated by St. James, James 3:7, who particularizes serpents among all other animals that “have been tamed by man.” It was under the form of a serpent that the devil seduced Eve; hence in Scripture Satan is called “the old serpent.” Revelation 12:9, and comp. 2 Corinthians 11:3. Hence, as a fruit of the tradition of the Fall, the serpent all through the East became the emblem of the spirit of evil, and is so pictured even on the monuments of Egypt. It has been supposed by many commentators that the serpent, prior to the Fall, moved along in an erect attitude. It is quite clear that an erect mode of progression is utterly incompatible with the structure of a serpent; consequently, had the snakes before the Fall moved in an erect attitude, they must have been formed on a different plan altogether. The typical form of the serpent and its mode of progression were in all probability the same before the Fall as after it; but subsequent to the Fall its form and progression were to be regarded with hatred and disgust by all mankind, and thus the animal was cursed “above all cattle,” and a mark of condemnation was forever stamped upon it. Serpents are said in Scripture to “eat dust,” see Genesis 3:14; Isaiah 65:25; Micah 7:17; these animals, which for the most part take their food on the ground, do consequently swallow with it large portions of sand and dust. Throughout the East the serpent was used as an emblem of the evil principle, of the spirit of disobedience and contumacy. Much has been written on the question of the “fiery serpents” of Numbers 21:6, Numbers 21:8, with which it is usual to erroneously identify the “fiery flying serpent” of Isaiah 14:29 and Isaiah 30:6. The word “fiery” probably signifies “burning,” in allusion to the sensation produced by the bite. The Cerastes, or the Naia haje, or any other venomous species frequenting Arabia, may denote the “serpent of the burning bite” which destroyed the children of Israel. The snake that fastened on St. Paul’s hand when he was at Melita, Acts 28:3, was probably the common viper of England, Pelias berus. [See also ADDER; ASP.] when God punished the murmurs of the Israelites in the wilderness by sending among them serpents whose fiery bite was fatal, Moses, upon their repentance, was commanded to make a serpent of brass, whose polished surface shone like fire, and to set it up on the banner-pole in the midst of the people; and whoever was bitten by a serpent had but to look up at it and live. Numbers 21:4-9. The comparison used by Christ, John 3:14, John 3:15, adds a deep interest to this scene. To present the serpent form, as deprived of its power to hurt, impaled as the trophy of a conqueror, was to assert that evil, physical and spiritual, had been overcome, and thus help to strengthen the weak faith of the Israelites in a victory over both. Others look upon the uplifted serpent as a symbol of life and health, it having been so worshipped in Egypt. The two views have a point of contact, for the primary idea connected with the serpent is wisdom. Wisdom, apart from obedience to God, degenerates to cunning, and degrades and envenoms man’s nature. Wisdom, yielding to the divine law, is the source of healing and restoring influences, and the serpent form thus became a symbol of deliverance and health; and the Israelites were taught that it would be so with them in proportion as they ceased to be sensual and rebellious. Preserved as a relic, whether on the spot of its first erection or elsewhere, the brazen serpent, called by the name of Nehushtan, became an object of idolatrous veneration, and the zeal of Hezekiah destroyed it with the other idols of his father. 2 Kings 18:4. [NEHUSHTAN.]

Serpent—denoting immortality.

The Viper.

Serug

Se’rug (branch), son of Reu and great-grandfather of Abraham. His age is given in the Hebrew Bible as 230 years. Genesis 11:20-23. (b.c. 2180.)

Servant

Servant. [SLAVE.]

Seth

Seth (compensation), Genesis 4:25; Genesis 5:3; 1 Chronicles 1:1, the third son of Adam, and father of Enos. (b.c. 3870.) Adam handed down to Seth and his descendants the promise of mercy, faith in which became the distinction of God’s children. Genesis 4:26.

Sethur

Se’thur (hidden), the Asherite spy, son of Michael. Numbers 13:13. (b.c. 1490.)

Seven

Seven. The frequent recurrence of certain numbers in the sacred literature of the Hebrews is obvious to the most superficial reader; but seven so far surpasses the rest, both in the frequency with which it recurs and in the importance of the objects with which it is associated, that it may fairly be termed the representative symbolic number. The influence of the number seven was not restricted to the Hebrews; it prevailed among the Persians, ancient Indians, Greeks, and Romans. The peculiarity of the Hebrew view consists in the special dignity of the seventh, and not simply in that of seven. The Sabbath being the seventh day suggested the adoption of seven as the coefficient, so to say, for the appointment of all sacred periods; and we thus find the 7th month ushered in by the Feast of Trumpets, and signalized by the celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles and the Great Day of Atonement; 7 weeks as the interval between the Passover and the Pentecost; the 7th year as the sabbatical year; and the year succeeding 7 × 7 years as the Jubilee year. Seven days were appointed as the length of the feasts of Passover and Tabernacles; 7 days for the ceremonies of the consecration of priests, and so on; 7 victims to be offered on any special occasion, as in Balaam’s sacrifice, Numbers 23:1, and especially at the ratification of a treaty, the notion of seven being embodied in the very term signifying to swear, literally meaning to do seven times. Genesis 21:28. Seven is used for any around number, or for completeness, as we say a dozen, or as a speaker says he will say two or three words.

Sha-albim

Sha-al’bim, or Sha-alab’bin (home of foxes), a town in the allotment of Dan. Joshua 19:42; Judges 1:35; 1 Kings 4:9. By Eusebius and Jerome it is mentioned in the Onomasticon as a large village in the district of Sebaste (i.e., Samaria), and as then called Selaba.

Sha-albonite The

Sha-al’bonite, The. Eliahba the Shaalbonite was one of David’s thirty-seven heroes. 2 Samuel 23:32; 1 Chronicles 11:33. He was a native of a place named Shaalbon, but where it was is unknown. (b.c. 1048.)

Shaaph

Sha’aph (division).

1. The son of Jahdai. 1 Chronicles 2:47.

2. The son of Caleb the brother of Jerahmeel, by his concubine Maachah. 1 Chronicles 2:49. (b.c. after 1445.)

Sha-araim

Sha-ara’im (two gates), a city in the territory allotted to Judah, Joshua 15:36; in Authorized Version incorrectly Sharaim. 1 Samuel 17:52. Shaaraim, one of the towns of Simeon, 1 Chronicles 4:31, must be a different place.

Sha-asgaz

Sha-as’gaz (servant of the beautiful), the eunuch in the palace of Xerxes who had the custody of the women in the second house. Esther 2:14. (b.c. about 525.)

Shabbethai

Shabbetha’i (sabbatical), a Levite in the time of Ezra. Ezra 10:15. It is apparently the same who with Jeshua and others instructed the people in the knowledge of the law. Nehemiah 8:7. (b.c. 450.)

Shachia

Shachi’a (announcement), a son of Shaharaim by his wife Hodesh. 1 Chronicles 8:10.

Shadda-i

Shad’da-i (the Mighty), an ancient name of God, rendered “Almighty” everywhere in the Authorized Version, is found in connection with êl, “God,” El Shaddai being then rendered “God Almighty.” By the name or in the character of El-Shaddai, God was known to the patriarchs, Genesis 17:1; Genesis 28:3; Genesis 43:14; Genesis 48:3; Genesis 49:25, before the name Jehovah, in its full significance, was revealed. Exodus 6:3. [GOD.]

Shadrach

Sha’drach (royal, or the great scribe), the Hebrew, or rather Chaldee, name of Hananiah. The history of Shadrach or Hananiah, as told in Daniel 1-3, is well known. After their deliverance from the furnace, we hear no more of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, except in Hebrews 11:33, Hebrews 11:34; but there are repeated allusions to them in the later apocryphal books, and the martyrs of the Maccabæan period seem to have been much encouraged by their example.

Shage

Sha’ge (erring), father of Jonathan the Hararite, one of David’s guard. 1 Chronicles 11:34. [See SHAMMAH, 5.] (b.c. about 1050.)

Shaharaim

Shahara’im (double dawn), a Benjamite. 1 Chronicles 8:8. (b.c. about 1445.)

Shahazimah

Shahaz’imah (toward the heights), one of the towns of the allotment of Issachar. Joshua 19:22 only.

Shalem

Sha’lem (safe). Genesis 33:18. Probably not a proper name, but a place. It is certainly remarkable that there should be a modern village bearing the name of Salim, three miles east of Nablûs, the ancient Shechem.

Shalim The land of

Sha’lim, The land of (the land of foxes), a district through which Saul passed on his journey in quest of his father’s asses. 1 Samuel 9:4 only. It probably was east of Shalisha.

Shalisha The land of

Shal’isha, The land of, one of the districts traversed by Saul when in search of the asses of Kish. 1 Samuel 9:4 only. It was a district near Mount Ephraim. In it perhaps was situated the place called Baal-shalisha, 2 Kings 4:42, 15 miles north of Lydda.

Shallecheth

Shal’lecheth (overthrow), The gate, one of the gates of the “house of Jehovah.” 1 Chronicles 26:16. It was the gate “to the causeway of the ascent.” As the causeway is actually in existence, the gate Shallecheth can hardly fail to be identical with the Bab Silsileh or Sinsleh, which enters the west wall of the Haram about 600 feet from the southwest corner of the Haram wall.

Shallum

Shal’lum (retribution).

1. The fifteenth king of Israel, son of Jabesh, conspired against Zachariah, killed him, and brought the dynasty of Jehu to a close, b.c. 770. Shallum, after reigning in Samaria for a month only, was in his turn dethroned and killed by Menahem. 2 Kings 15:10-14.

2. The husband of Huldah the prophetess, 2 Kings 22:14; 2 Chronicles 34:22, in the reign of Josiah. (b.c. 630.)

3. A descendant of Shesham. 1 Chronicles 2:40, 1 Chronicles 2:41.

4. The third son of Josiah king of Judah, known in the books of Kings and Chronicles as Jehoahaz. 1 Chronicles 3:15; Jeremiah 22:11. [JEHOAHAZ.] (b.c. 610.)

5. Son of Shaul the son of Simeon. 1 Chronicles 4:25.

6. A high priest. 1 Chronicles 6:12, 1 Chronicles 6:13; Ezra 7:2.

7. A son of Naphtali. 1 Chronicles 7:13.

8. The chief of a family of porters or gate-keepers of the east gate of the temple. 1 Chronicles 9:17. (b.c. 1050.)

9. Son of Kore, a Korahite. 1 Chronicles 9:19, 1 Chronicles 9:31.

10. Father of Jehizkiah, an Ephraimite. 2 Chronicles 28:12.

11. One of the porters of the temple who had married a foreign wife. Ezra 10:24.

12. One of the sons of Bani. Ezra 10:42.

13. The son of Halohesh and ruler of a district of Jerusalem. Nehemiah 3:12.

14. The uncle of Jeremiah, Jeremiah 32:7; perhaps the same as 2.

15. Father or ancestor of Maaseiah, Jeremiah 35:4; perhaps the same as 9. (b.c. 630.)

Shallun

Shal’lun (retribution), the son of Colhozeh, and ruler of a district of the Mizpah. Nehemiah 3:15.

Shalmai

Shalma’i (my thanks). The children of Shalmai were among the Nethinim who returned with Zerubbabel. Ezra 2:46; Nehemiah 7:48. In Nehemiah SALMAI. (b.c. 536.)

Shalman

Shal’man (fire-worshipper), a contraction for Shalmaneser king of Assyria. Hosea 10:14. Others think it the name of an obscure Assyrian king, predecessor of Pul.

Shalmaneser

Shalmane’ser (fire-worshipper) was the Assyrian king who reigned probably between Tiglath-pileser and Sargon, b.c. 727–722. He led the forces of Assyria into Palestine, where Hoshea, the last king of Israel, had revolted against his authority. 2 Kings 17:3. Hoshea submitted and consented to pay tribute; but he soon after concluded an alliance with the king of Egypt, and withheld his tribute in consequence. In b.c. 723 Shalmaneser invaded Palestine for the second time, and, as Hoshea refused to submit, laid siege to Samaria. The siege lasted to the third year, b.c. 721, when the Assyrian arms prevailed. 2 Kings 17:4-6; 2 Kings 18:9-11. It is uncertain whether Shalmaneser conducted the siege to its close, or whether he did not lose his crown to Sargon before the city was taken.

Shama

Sha’ma (obedient), one of David’s guard. 1 Chronicles 11:44. (b.c. 1020.)

Shamariah

Shamari’ah (kept by Jehovah), son of Rehoboam. 2 Chronicles 11:19. (b.c. 973.)

Shamed

Sha’med (keeper), properly Shamer or Shemer; one of the sons of Elpaal the Benjamite. 1 Chronicles 8:12.

Shamer

Sha’mer (keeper).

1. A Merarite Levite. 1 Chronicles 6:46.

2. Shomer, an Asherite. 1 Chronicles 7:34.

Shamgar

Sham’gar (sword), son of Anath, judge of Israel. When Israel was in a most depressed condition, Shamgar was raised up to be a deliverer. With no arms in his hand but an ox-goad, Judges 3:31; comp. 1 Samuel 13:21, he made a desperate assault upon the Philistines, and slew 600 of them. (b.c. about 1290.)

Shamhuth

Sham’huth (desolation), the fifth captain for the fifth month in David’s arrangement of his army. 1 Chronicles 27:8. (b.c. 1020.)

Shamir

Sha’mir (a point or thorn).

1. A town in the mountain district of Judah. Joshua 15:48 only. It probably lay some eight or ten miles south of Hebron.

2. A place in Mount Ephraim, the residence and burial-place of Tola the judge. Judges 10:1, Judges 10:2. Perhaps Samur, half-way between Samaria and Jenin.

3. A Kohathite, son of Micah or Michal, the first-born of Uzziel. 1 Chronicles 24:24.

Shamma

Sham’ma (astonishment), one of the sons of Zophar, an Asherite. 1 Chronicles 7:37.

Shammah

Sham’mah (astonishment).

1. The son of Reuel the son of Esau. Genesis 36:13, Genesis 36:17; 1 Chronicles 1:37. (b.c. about 1700.)

2. The third son of Jesse, and brother of David. 1 Samuel 16:9; 1 Samuel 17:13. Called also Shimea, Shimeah, and Shimma. (b.c. 1068.)

3. One of the three greatest of David’s mighty men. 2 Samuel 23:11-17. (b.c. 1061.)

4. The Harodite, one of David’s mighties. 2 Samuel 23:25. He is called “Shammoth the Harorite” in 1 Chronicles 11:27, and “Shamhuth the Izrahite” ibid., 1 Chronicles 27:8.

5. In the list of David’s mighty men in 2 Samuel 23:32, 2 Samuel 23:33, we find “Jonathan, Shammah the Hararite”; while in the corresponding verse of 1 Chronicles 11:34 it is Jonathan.

Shamma-i

Sham’ma-i (desolate).

1. The son of Onam. 1 Chronicles 2:28, 1 Chronicles 2:32.

2. Son of Rekem. 1 Chronicles 2:44, 1 Chronicles 2:45.

3. One of the descendants of Judah. 1 Chronicles 4:17.

Shammoth

Sham’moth. [SHAMMAH.]

Shammua

Shammu’a (renowned).

1. The Reubenite spy, son of Zaccur. Numbers 13:4. (b.c. 1490.)

2. Son of David, by his wife Bathsheba. 1 Chronicles 14:4. (b.c. 1045.)

3. A Levite, the father of Abda. Nehemiah 11:17. The same as SHEMAIAH, 6.

4. The representative of the priestly family of Bilgah or Bilgai, in the days of Joiakim. Nehemiah 12:18. (b.c. about 500.)

Shammuah

Shammu’ah, son of David, 2 Samuel 5:14; elsewhere called Shammua and Shimea.

Shamsherai

Shamshera’i (sunlike), a Benjamite. 1 Chronicles 8:26.

Shapham

Sha’pham (bold), a Gadite of Bashan. 1 Chronicles 5:12. (b.c. 750.)

Shaphan

Sha’phan (coney), the scribe or secretary of King Josiah. 2 Kings 22:3, 2 Kings 22:14; 2 Chronicles 34:8, 2 Chronicles 34:20. (b.c. 628.) He appears on an equality with the governor of the city and the royal recorder. 2 Kings 22:4; 2 Chronicles 34:9.

Shaphat

Sha’phat (judge).

1. The Simeonite spy, son of Hori. Numbers 13:5. (b.c. 1490.)

2. The father of the prophet Elisha. 1 Kings 19:16, 1 Kings 19:19; 2 Kings 3:11; 2 Kings 6:31. (b.c. before 900.)

3. One of the six sons of Shemaiah in the royal line of Judah. 1 Chronicles 3:22. (b.c. 350.)

4. One of the chiefs of the Gadites in Bashan. 1 Chronicles 5:12. (b.c. 750.)

5. The son of Adlai, who was over David’s oxen in the valleys. 1 Chronicles 27:29. (b.c. 1020.)

Shapher

Sha’pher (brightness), Mount, Numbers 33:23, the name of a desert station where the Israelites encamped during the wanderings in the wilderness.

Shara-i

Shar’a-i (releaser), one of the sons of Bani. Ezra 10:40. (b.c. 457.)

Shara-im

Shar’a-im. [SHAARAIM.]

Sharar

Sha’rar (strong), the father of Ahiam the Hararite. 2 Samuel 23:33. In 1 Chronicles 11:35 he is called SACAR. (b.c. 1040.)

Sharezer

Share’zer (prince of fire) was a son of Sennacherib, whom, in conjunction with his brother Adrammelech, he murdered. 2 Kings 19:37. (b.c. after 711.)

Sharon

Sha’ron (a plain), a district of the holy land occasionally referred to in the Bible. 1 Chronicles 5:16; Isaiah 33:9. In Acts 9:35 called SARON. The name has on each occurrence, with one exception only, 1 Chronicles 5:16, the definite article; it would therefore appear that “the Sharon” was some well-defined region familiar to the Israelites. It is that broad, rich tract of land which lies between the mountains of the central part of the holy land and the Mediterranean—the northern continuation of the Shefelah. [PALESTINE.] The Sharon of 1 Chronicles 5:16, to which allusion has already been made, is distinguished from the western plain by not having the article attached to its name, as the other invariably has. It is also apparent from the passage itself that it was some district on the east of the Jordan, in the neighborhood of Gilead and Bashan. The name has not been met with in that direction.

Sharonite

Sha’ronite (belonging to Sharon), The. Shitrai, who had charge of the royal herds in the plain of Sharon, 1 Chronicles 27:29, is the only Sharonite mentioned in the Bible.

Sharuhen

Sharu’hen (refuge of grace), a town named in Joshua 19:6 only, among those which were allotted within Judah to Simeon. It is identified with Sheriah, a large ruin in the south country, northwest of Beersheba.

Shasha-i

Shash’a-i (noble), one of the sons of Bani in the time of Ezra. Ezra 10:40. (b.c. 457.)

Shashak

Sha’shak (longing), a Benjamite, one of the sons of Beriah. 1 Chronicles 8:14, 1 Chronicles 8:25. (b.c. after 1450.)

Shaul

Sha’ul (asked).

1. The son of Simeon by a Canaanitish woman, Genesis 46:10; Exodus 6:15; Numbers 26:13; 1 Chronicles 4:24, and founder of the family of the Shaulites. (b.c. 1712.)

2. One of the kings of Edom. 1 Chronicles 1:48, 1 Chronicles 1:49. In the Authorized Version of Genesis 36:37 he is less accurately called SAUL.

Shaveh

Sha’veh (plain), The valley of, described Genesis 14:17 as “the valley of the king,” is mentioned again in 2 Samuel 18:18 as the site of a pillar set up by Absalom.

Shaveh Kiriathaim

Sha’veh Kiriatha’im (plain of the double city), mentioned Genesis 14:5 as the residence of the Emim at the time of Chedorlaomer’s incursion. Kiriathaim is named in the later history, though it has not been identified; and Shaveh Kiriathaim was probably the valley in or by which the town lay.

Shavsha

Shav’sha (nobility), the royal secretary in the reign of David, 1 Chronicles 18:16; called also SERAIAH in 2 Samuel 8:17 and SHEVA in 2 Samuel 20:25, and in 1 Kings 4:3, SHISHA.

Shawm

Shawm. In the Prayer-book version of Psalm 98:6, “with trumpets also and shawms” is the rendering of what stands in the Authorized Version “with trumpets and sound of cornet.” The Hebrew word translated “cornet” is treated under that head. The “shawm” was a musical instrument resembling the clarionet.

Sheal

She’al (asking), one of the sons of Bani who had married a foreign wife. Ezra 10:29. (b.c. 452.)

She-alti-el

She-al’ti-el (asked of God), father of Zerubbabel. Ezra 3:2, Ezra 3:8; Ezra 5:2; Nehemiah 12:1; Haggai 1:1, Haggai 1:12, Haggai 1:14; Haggai 2:2, Haggai 2:23. (b.c. about 580.)

She-ariah

She-ari’ah (valued by Jehovah), one of the six sons of Azel, a descendant of Saul. 1 Chronicles 8:38; 1 Chronicles 9:44.

Shearing-house The

Shearing-house, The, a place on the road between Jezreel and Samaria, at which Jehu, on his way to the latter, encountered forty-two members of the royal family of Judah, whom he slaughtered. 2 Kings 10:12, 2 Kings 10:14. Eusebius mentions it as a village of Samaria “in the great plain [of Esdraelon], 15 miles from Legeon.”

Shear-jashub

She’ar-ja’shub (lit. a remnant shall return), the symbolical name of the son of Isaiah the prophet. Isaiah 7:3.

Sheba

She’ba (an oath), the son of Biehri, a Benjamite, 2 Samuel 20:1-22, the last chief of the Absalom insurrection. The occasion seized by Sheba was the emulation between the northern and southern tribes on David’s return. 2 Samuel 20:1-2. Sheba traversed the whole of Palestine, apparently rousing the population, Joab following in full pursuit to the fortress Abel Beth-maachah, where Sheba was beheaded. 2 Samuel 20:3-22.

Sheba

She’ba (seven, or an oath).

1. A son of Raamah son of Cush. Genesis 10:7; 1 Chronicles 1:22.

2. A son of Joktan. Genesis 10:28; 1 Chronicles 1:22.

3. A son of Jokshan son of Keturah. Genesis 25:3; 1 Chronicles 1:32. We shall consider, first, the history of the Joktanite Sheba; and secondly, the cushite Sheba and the Keturahite Sheba together.

I. The Joktanites were among the early colonists of southern Arabia, and the kingdom which they there founded was for many centuries called the kingdom of Sheba, after one of the sons of Joktan. The visit of the queen of Sheba to King Solomon. 1 Kings 10:1, is one of the familiar Bible incidents. The kingdom of Sheba embraced the greater part of the Yemen, or Arabia Felix. It bordered on the Red Sea, and was one of the most fertile districts of Arabia. Its chief cities, and probably successive capitals, were Seba, San’a (Uzal), and Zafár (Sephar). Seba was probably the name of the city, and generally of the country and nation.

II. Sheba, son of Raamah son of Cush, settled somewhere on the shores of the Persian Gulf. It was this Sheba that carried on the great Indian traffic with Palestine, in conjunction with, as we hold, the other Sheba, son of Jokshan son of Keturah, who like Dedan appears to have formed, with the Cushite of the same name, one tribe.

Sheba

She’ba, one of the towns of the allotment of Simeon, Joshua 19:2, probably the same as Shema. Joshua 15:26.

Shebah

She’bah (an oath), the famous well which gave its name to the city of Beersheba. Genesis 26:33. [BEERSHEBA.]

Shebam

She’bam (fragrance), one of the towns in the pastoral district on the east of Jordan; demanded by and finally ceded to the tribes of Reuben and Gad. Numbers 32:3. It is probably the same as SHIBMAH, Numbers 32:38, and SIBMAH. Joshua 13:19; Isaiah 16:8-9; Jeremiah 48:32.

Shebaniah

Shebani’ah (increased by Jehovah).

1. A Levite in the time of Ezra. Nehemiah 9:4-5. He sealed the covenant with Nehemiah. Nehemiah 10:10. (b.c. 459.)

2. A priest or priestly family who sealed the covenant with Nehemiah. Nehemiah 10:4; Nehemiah 12:14. Called SHECHANIAH in Nehemiah 12:3.

3. Another Levite who sealed the covenant with Nehemiah. Nehemiah 10:12.

4. One of the priests appointed by David to blow with the trumpets before the ark of God. 1 Chronicles 15:24. (b.c. 1043.)

Shebarim

Sheb’arim (the breaches), a place named in Joshua 7:5 only, as one of the points in the flight from Ai.

Sheber

She’ber (breaking), son of Caleb ben Hezron by his concubine Maachah. 1 Chronicles 2:48. (b.c. after 1690.)

Shebna

Sheb’na (vigor), a person of high position in Hezekiah’s court, holding at one time the office of prefect of the palace, Isaiah 22:15, but subsequently the subordinate office of secretary. Isaiah 36:3; 2 Kings 19:2. (b.c. 713.)

Shebuel

Sheb’uel, or Shebu’el (captive of God).

1. A descendant of Moses, 1 Chronicles 23:16; 1 Chronicles 26:24, called also SHUBAEL. 1 Chronicles 24:20. (b.c. 1013.)

2. One of the fourteen sons of Heman the minstrel, 1 Chronicles 25:4; called also SHUBAEL. 1 Chronicles 25:20. (b.c. 1013.)

Shechaniah

Shechani’ah (dweller with Jehovah).

1. The tenth in order of the priests who were appointed by lot in the reign of David. 1 Chronicles 24:11. (b.c. 1014.)

2. A priest in the reign of Hezekiah. 2 Chronicles 31:15. (b.c. 925.)

Shechaniah

Shechani’ah (dweller with Jehovah).

1. A descendant of Zerubbabel. 1 Chronicles 3:21-22.

2. Some descendants of Shechaniah returned with Ezra. Ezra 8:3.

3. The sons of Shechaniah were another family who returned with Ezra. Ezra 8:5. (b.c. 459.)

4. The son of Jehiel, of the sons of Elam. Ezra 10:2.

5. The father of Shemaiah, 2. Nehemiah 3:29.

6. The son of Arah. Nehemiah 6:18.

7. The head of a priestly family who returned with Zerubbabel. Nehemiah 12:3.

Shechem

She’chem (back or shoulder).

1. An important city in central Palestine, in the valley between mounts Ebal and Gerizim, 34 miles north of Jerusalem and 7 miles southeast of Samaria. Its present name, Nablûs, is a corruption of Neapolis, which succeeded the more ancient Shechem, and received its new name from Vespasian. On coins still extant it is called Flavia Neapolis. The situation of the town is one of surpassing beauty. It lies in a sheltered valley, protected by Gerizim on the south and Ebal on the north. The feet of these mountains, where they rise from the town, are not more than five hundred yards apart. The bottom of the valley is about 1800 feet above the level of the sea, and the top of Gerizim 800 feet higher still. The site of the present city, which was also that of the Hebrew city, occurs exactly on the water-summit; and streams issuing from the numerous springs there flow down the opposite slopes of the valley, spreading verdure and fertility in every direction. Travellers vie with each other in the language which they employ to describe the scene that here bursts so suddenly upon them on arriving in spring or early summer at this paradise of the holy land. “The whole valley,” says Dr. Robinson, “was filled with gardens of vegetables and orchards of all kinds of fruits, watered by fountains which burst forth in various parts and flow westward in refreshing streams. It came upon us suddenly like a scene of fairy enchantment. We saw nothing to compare with it in all Palestine.” The allusions to Shechem in the Bible are numerous, and show how important the place was in Jewish history. Abraham, on his first migration to the land of promise, pitched his tent and built an altar under the oak (or terebinth) of Moreh at Shechem. “The Canaanite was then in the land;” and it is evident that the region, if not the city, was already in possession of the aboriginal race. See Genesis 12:6. At the time of Jacob’s arrival here, after his sojourn in Mesopotamia, Genesis 33:18; Genesis 34, Shechem was a Hivite city, of which Hamor, the father of Shechem, was the headman. It was at this time that the patriarch purchased from that chieftain “the parcel of the field” which he subsequently bequeathed, as a special patrimony, to his son Joseph. Genesis 33:19; Joshua 24:32; John 4:5. The field lay undoubtedly on the rich plain of the Mukhna, and its value was the greater on account of the well which Jacob had dug there, so as not to be dependent on his neighbors for a supply of water. In the distribution of the land after its conquest by the Hebrews, Shechem fell to the lot of Ephraim, Joshua 20:7, but was assigned to the Levites, and became a city of refuge. Joshua 21:20-21. It acquired new importance as the scene of the renewed promulgation of the law, when its blessings were heard from Gerizim and its curses from Ebal, and the people bowed their heads and acknowledged Jehovah as their king and ruler. Deuteronomy 27:11; Joshua 24:23-25. It was here Joshua assembled the people, shortly before his death, and delivered to them his last counsels. Joshua 24:1, Joshua 24:25. After the death of Gideon, Abimelech, his bastard son, induced the Shechemites to revolt from the Hebrew commonwealth and elect him as king. Judges 9. In revenge for his expulsion, after a reign of three years, Abimelech destroyed the city, and as an emblem of the fate to which he would consign it, sowed the ground with salt. Judges 9:34-35. It was soon restored, however, for we are told in 1 Kings 12 that all Israel assembled at Shechem, and Rehoboam, Solomon’s successor, went thither to be inaugurated as king. Here, at this same place, the ten tribes renounced the house of David, and transferred their allegiance to Jeroboam, 1 Kings 12:16, under whom Shechem became for a time the capital of his kingdom. From the time of the origin of the Samaritans, the history of Shechem blends itself with that of this people and of their sacred mount, Gerizim. [SAMARIA.] Shechem reappears in the New Testament. It is the SYCHAR of John 4:5, near which the Saviour conversed with the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well. The population of Nablûs consists of about 5000, among whom are 500 Greek Christians, 150 Samaritans, and a few Jews. The enmity between the Samaritans and Jews is as inveterate still as it was in the days of Christ. The Mohammedans, of course, make up the bulk of the population. The well of Jacob and the tomb of Joseph are still shown in the neighborhood of the town. The well of Jacob lies about a mile and a half east of the city, close to the lower road, and just beyond the wretched hamlet of Balâta. The Christians sometimes call it Bir es-Samariyeh—“the well of the Samaritan woman.” The well is deep—75 feet when last measured—and there was probably a considerable accumulation of rubbish at the bottom. Sometimes it contains a few feet of water, but at others it is quite dry. It is entirely excavated in the solid rock, perfectly round, 9 feet in diameter, with the sides hewn smooth and regular. Of all the special localities of our Lord’s life, this is almost the only one absolutely undisputed. The tomb of Joseph lies about a quarter of a mile north of the well, exactly in the centre of the opening of the valley between Gerizim and Ebal. It is a small, square enclosure of high whitewashed walls, surrounding a tomb of the ordinary kind, but with the peculiarity that it is placed diagonally to the walls, instead of parallel as usual. A rough pillar used as an altar, and black with the traces of fire, is at the head and another at the foot of the tomb. In the walls are two slabs with Hebrew inscriptions, and the interior is almost covered with the names of pilgrims in Hebrew, Arabic, and Samaritan. Beyond this there is nothing to remark in the structure itself. The local tradition of the tomb, like that of the well, is as old as the beginning of the fourth century.

2. The son of Hamor, the chieftain of the Hivite settlement of Shechem at the time of Jacob’s arrival. Genesis 33:19; Genesis 34:2-26; Joshua 24:32; Judges 9:28.

3. A man of Manasseh, of the clan of Gilead. Numbers 26:31.

4. A Gileadite, son of Shemida, the younger brother of the foregoing. 1 Chronicles 7:19.

Shechem (Nablûs, Sychar).