Shape – Shecaniah; Shechaniah

Shape

shap: In the King James Version the translation of eidos, "form," "appearance" (Luke 3:22; John 5:37), and of homoioma, "likeness," "resemblance" (Revelation 9:7). The meaning of these words is not so much "tangible shape," in which sense we use the word in modern English, but rather "aspect," "appearance," the looks of a thing or a person. This is even the case where the word is joined with the adjective somatikos, "bodily" as in the passage Luke 3:22, "The Holy Spirit descended in a bodily form (i.e. "in a corporeal appearance," the King James Version "in a bodily shape"), as a dove, upon him." The second passage also refers to the "appearance" of God, and cannot therefore be regarded as material shape: "Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his form" (the King James Version "shape") (John 5:37). As has been seen from the above quotations, the Revised Version (British and American) which retains the translation "shape" for homoioma, has translated eidos with "form," which also serves to render several other Greek synonyms, such as morphe (Mark 16:12; Philippians 2:6 f), morphosis (Romans 2:20; 2 Timothy 3:5), tupos (the Revised Version margin "pattern" Romans 6:17), and hupotuposis (the Revised Version (British and American) "pattern," 2 Timothy 1:13). In the King James Version The Wisdom of Solomon 18:1 "shape" translates morphe, the Revised Version (British and American) "form."

H. L. E. Luering

Shapham

sha'-fam (shapham; Sapham, Sabat): Name of a Gadite chief, who had the second place in command of his tribe (1 Chronicles 5:12). So far as the fragmentary genealogies are intelligible, they seem to indicate that Shapham and his chief, Joel, lived in the time of Saul and shared in the war against the Hagrites (1 Chronicles 5:7–10,1 Chronicles 5:18–22), but it is to be noted that these lists were first recorded between the years 750 and 740 BC, just before the eastern tribes were carried into captivity.

Shaphan

sha'-fan (shaphan, "rockbadger," English Versions of the Bible "coney"; Saphphan): An old totem clan name (so W.R. Smith; compare, however, the article TOTEMISM; Gray, Gray, Studies in Hebrew Proper Names, 103 ff, and Jacob's Studies in Biblical Archaeology, 84 ff).

(1) Son of Azaliah and scribe of King Josiah. He received from Hilkiah the Book of the Law which had been found in the Temple (2 Kings 22:3 2 Chronicles 34:8–28). It was from Shaphan's lips that Josiah heard the Law read. Shaphan was also one of those sent by the king to the prophetess Huldah (2 Kings 22:1–20; 2 Chronicles 34:1–33). He was undoubtedly one of the staunchest supporters of Josiah in his work of reform. He was the father of Ahikam (2 Kings 22:12; 2 Chronicles 34:20; Jeremiah 26:24), who befriended and protected the prophet Jeremiah. Another son, Elasah, was one of the two men entrusted by Jeremiah with his letter to the captives in Babylon (Jeremiah 29:3). A third son, Gemariah, vainly tried to prevent King Jehoiakim from burning "the roll" (Jeremiah 36:10,Jeremiah 36:11,Jeremiah 36:12,Jeremiah 36:25). The Micaiah of Jeremiah 36:11,Jeremiah 36:12, and Gedaliah, the governor of Judea after the captivity of 586 BC, were his grandsons (Jeremiah 39:14).

(2) Perhaps the father of Jaazaniah, one of the 70 men whom Ezekiel saw, in his vision of the Temple, sacrificing to idols (Ezekiel 8:11).

Horace J. Wolf

Shaphat

sha'-fat (shaphat):iah, one of the 70 men whom Ezekiel saw, in his vision of the Temple, sacrificing to idols (Ezekiel 8:11).

(1) The Simeonite spy (Numbers 13:5, Saphat).

(2) The father of the prophet Elisha (1 Kings 19:16; 2 Kings 3:11, Septuagint Saphath).

(3) A name in the royal genealogy of Judah (1 Chronicles 3:22).

(4) A Gadite (1 Chronicles 5:12).

(5) One of David's herdsmen (1 Chronicles 27:29).

Shapher

sha'-fer.

See SHEPHER.

Shaphir

sha'-fer (shaphir, "glittering"; kalos; the King James Version Saphir): One of a group of towns mentioned in Micah 1:10–15. From the association with Gath, Achzib (of Judah) and Mareshah, it would seem that the places mentioned were in Southwestern Palestine. According to Eusebius, in Onomasticon, there was a Sapheir, "in the hill country" (from a confusion with Shamir (Joshua 15:48), where Septuagint A has Sapheir) between Eleutheropolis and Ascalon. The name probably survives in that of three villages called es-Suafir, in the plain, some 3 1/2 miles Southeast of Ashdod (PEF, II, 413, Sh XV). Cheyne (EB, col. 4282) suggests the white "glittering" hill Tell ec-Cafi, at the entrance to the Wady ec-Sunt, which was known to the Crusaders as Blanchegarde, but this site seems a more probable one for GATH (which see).

E. W. G. Masterman

Sharai

sha-ra'-i, sha'-ri (sharay): One of the sons of Bani who had married foreign wives (Ezra 10:40).

Sharaim

sha-ra'-im.

See SHAARAIM.

Sharar

sha'-rar.

See SACAR.

Share

shar.

See PLOW.

Sharezer

sha-re'zer (sar'etser, shar'etser): Corresponds to the Assyrian Shar-ucur, "protect the king"; found otherwise, not as a complete name, but as elements in personal names, e.g. Bel-shar-ucur, "may Bel protect the king," which is the equivalent of Belshazzar (Daniel 5:1). The name is borne by two persons in the Old Testament:

(1) The son of Sennacherib, king of Assyria, who with ADRAMMELECH (which see) murdered his father (2 Kings 19:37; Isaiah 37:38). The Babylonian Chronicle says concerning Sennacherib's death: "On the 20th day of Tebet Sennacherib, king of Assyria, was slain by his son in a revolt." This differs from the Old Testament account in that it speaks of only one murderer, and does not give his name. How the two accounts can be harmonized is still uncertain. Hitzig, (Kritik, 194 ff), following Abydenus, as quoted by Eusebius, completed the name of Sennacherib's son, so as to read Nergal-sharezer = Nergal-shar-ucur (Jeremiah 39:3,Jeremiah 39:13), and this is accepted by many modern scholars. Johns thinks that Sharezer (shar'etser or sar'etser) may be a corruption from Shar-etir-Ashur, the name of a son of Sennacherib (1-vol HDB, under the word). The question cannot be definitely settled.

(2) A contemporary of the prophet Zechariah, mentioned in connection with the sending of a delegation to the spiritual heads of the community to inquire concerning the propriety of continuing the fasts: "They of Beth-el had sent Sharezer and Regem-melech" (Zechariah 7:2). This translation creates a difficulty in connection with the succeeding words, literally, "and his men." The Revisers place in the margin as an alternative rendering, "They of Beth-el, even Sharezer .... had sent." Sharezer sounds peculiar in apposition to "they of Beth-el"; hence, some have thought, especially since Sharezer seems incomplete, that in the two words Beth-el and Sharezer we have a corruption of what was originally a single proper name, perhaps Bel-sharezer = Bel-shar-ucur = Bel-shazzar. The present text, no matter how translated, presents difficulties.

See REGEM-MELECH.

F. C. Eiselen

Sharon

shar'-un (ha-sharon, with the definite article possibly meaning "the plain"; to pedion, ho drumos, ho Saron):

(1) This name is attached to the strip of fairly level land which runs between the mountains and the shore of the Mediterranean, stretching from Nahr Ruben in the South to Mt. Carmel in the North. There are considerable rolling hills; but, compared with the mountains to the East, it is quite properly described as a plain. The soil is a deep rich loam, which is favorable to the growth of cereals. The orange, the vine and the olive grow to great perfection. When the many-colored flowers are in bloom it is a scene of rare beauty.

Of the streams in the plain four carry the bulk of the water from the western slopes of the mountains to the sea. They are also perennial, being fed by fountains. Nahr el-`Aujeh enters the sea to the North of Jaffa; Nahr Iskanderuneh 7 miles, and Nahr el-Mefjir fully 2 miles South of Caesarea; and Nahr ez-Zerqa, the "Crocodile River," 2 1/2 miles North of Caesarea. Nahr el-Falik runs its short course about 12 miles North of Nahr el-`Aujeh. Water is plentiful, and at almost any point it may be obtained by digging. Deep, finely built wells near some of the villages are among the most precious legacies left by the Crusaders. The breadth of the plain varies from 8 to 12 miles, being broadest in the Sharon. There are traces of a great forest in the northern part, which accounts for the use of the term drumos. Josephus (Ant., XIV, xiii, 3) speaks of "the woods" (hoi drumoi) and Strabo (xvi) of "a great wood." There is still a considerable oak wood in this district. The "excellency" of Carmel and Sharon (Isaiah 35:2) is probably an allusion to the luxuriant oak forests. As in ancient times, great breadths are given up to the pasturing of cattle. Over David's herds that fed in Sharon was Shitrai the Sharonite (1 Chronicles 27:29). In the day of Israel's restoration "Sharon shall be a fold of flocks" (Isaiah 65:10). Jerome speaks of the fine cattle fed in the pastures of Sharon, and also sings the praises of its wine (Comm. on Isaiah 33:1–24 and 65). Toward the Sharon no doubt there was more cultivation then than there is at the present day. The German colony to the North of Jaffa, preserving in its name, Sarona, the old Greek name of the plain, and several Jewish colonies are proving the wonderful productiveness of the soil. The orange groves of Jaffa are far-famed.

"The rose of Sharon" (Song of Songs 2:1) is a mistranslation: chabhatstseleth is not a "rose," but the white narcissus, which in season abounds in the plain.

Sharon is mentioned in the New Testament only in Acts 9:35.

(2) A district East of the Jordan, occupied by the tribe of Gad (1 Chronicles 5:16; here the name is without the article). Kittel ("Ch," SBOT) suggests that this is a corruption from "Sirion," which again is synonymous with Hermon. He would therefore identify Sharon with the pasture lands of Hermon. Others think that the mishor or table-land of Gilead is intended.

(3) In Joshua 12:18 we should perhaps read "the king of Aphek in Sharon." See LASSHARON. The order seems to point to some place Northeast of Tabor. Perhaps this is to be identified with the Sarona of Eusebius, Onomasticon, in the district between Tabor and Tiberias. If so, the name may be preserved in that of Sarona on the plateau to the Southwest of Tiberias.

W. Ewing

Sharonite

shar'-un-it (ha-sharoni; ho Saroneites): Applied in Scripture only to Shitrai (1 Chronicles 27:29).

See SHARON.

Sharuhen

sha-roo'-hen (sharuchen; hoi agroi auton): One of the cities in the territory of Judah assigned to Simeon (Joshua 19:6). In Joshua 15:32 it is called "Shilhim," and in 1 Chronicles 4:31, "Shaaraim" (which see).

Shashai

sha'-shi (shashay; Sesei): One of the sons of Bani who had married foreign wives (Ezra 10:40) = "Sesis" in 1 Esdras 9:34.

Shashak

sha'-shak (shashak): Eponym of a Benjamite family (1 Chronicles 8:14,1 Chronicles 8:25).

Shaul; Shaulites

sha'-ul, sha'-ul-its (sha'ul; Saoul):

(1) A king of Edom (Genesis 36:37 = 1 Chronicles 1:48).

(2) A son of Simeon (Genesis 46:10; Exodus 6:15; Numbers 26:13; 1 Chronicles 4:24). The clan was of notoriously impure stock, and, therefore, Shaul is called "the son of a Canaanitish woman" (Genesis 46:10; Exodus 6:15); the clan was of mixed Israelite and Canaanitish descent. The patronymic Shaulites is found in Numbers 26:13.

(3) An ancestor of Samuel (1 Chronicles 6:24 (Hebrews 9:1–28)); in 1 Chronicles 6:36 he is called "Joel."

Shaveh, Vale Of

sha'-ve (`emeq shaweh).

See KING'S VALE.

Shaveh-Kiriathaim

sha'-ve-kir-ya-tha'-im (shaweh qiryathayim; en Saue te polei): Here Chedorlaomer is said to have defeated the Emim (Genesis 14:5). the Revised Version margin reads "the plain of Kiriathaim." If this rendering is right, we must look for the place in the neighborhood of Kiriathaim of Moab (Jeremiah 48:1, etc.), which is probably represented today by el-Qareiyat, about 7 miles to the North of Dibon.

Shaving

shav'-ing (in Job 1:20, gazaz, usually galach; in Acts 21:24, xurao): Customs as to shaving differ in different countries, and in ancient and modern times. Among the Egyptians it was customary to shave the whole body (compare Genesis 41:14). With the Israelites, shaving the head was a sign of mourning (Deuteronomy 21:12; Job 1:20); ordinarily the hair was allowed to grow long, and was only cut at intervals (compare Absalom, 2 Samuel 14:26). Nazirites were forbidden to use a razor, but when their vow was expired, or if they were defiled, they were to shave the whole head (Numbers 6:5,Numbers 6:9,Numbers 6:18 ; compare Acts 21:24). The shaving of the beard was not permitted to the Israelites; they were prohibited from shaving off even "the corner of their beard" (Leviticus 21:5). It was an unpardonable insult when Hanun, king of the Ammonites, cut off the half of the beards of the Israelites whom David had sent to him (2 Samuel 10:4; 1 Chronicles 19:4).

Shaving "with a razor that is hired" is Isaiah's graphic figure to denote the complete devastation of Judah by the Assyrian army (Isaiah 7:20).

James Orr

Shavsha

shav'-sha (shawsha'; in 2 Samuel 20:25, Kethibh, sheya', Kere, shewa', English Versions of the Bible "Sheva," are refuted by the Septuagint; in 2 Samuel 8:15–18, in other respects identical with Chronicles, "Seraiah" is found; the Septuagint varies greatly in all passages; it is the general consensus that Shavsha is correct): State secretary or scribe during the reign of David (1 Chronicles 18:16; 2 Samuel 20:25). He was the first occupant of this office, which was created by David. It is significant that his father's name is omitted in the very exact list of David's officers of state (1 Chronicles 18:14–17 parallel 2 Samuel 8:15–18); this fact, coupled with the foreign sound of his name, points to his being an "alien"; the assumption that the state secretary handled correspondence with other countries may explain David's choice of a foreigner for this post. Shavsha's two sons, Elihoreph and Ahijah, were secretaries of state under Solomon; they are called "sons of Shisha" (1 Kings 4:3), "Shisha" probably being a variant of "Shavsha."

Horace J. Wolf

Shawl

shol: the Revised Version (British and American) substitutes "shawls" for the King James Version "wimples" in Isaiah 3:22.

See DRESS.

Sheaf; Sheaves

shef, shevz ('alummah, `omer, `amir): When the grain is reaped, it is laid in handfuls back of the reaper to be gathered by children or those who cannot stand the harder work of reaping (Psalms 129:7). The handfuls are bound into large sheaves, two of which are laden at a time on a donkey (compare Nehemiah 13:15). In some districts carts are used (compare Amos 2:13). The sheaves are piled about the threshing-floors until threshing time, which may be several weeks after harvest. It is an impressive sight to see the huge stacks of sheaves piled about the threshing-floors, the piles often covering an area greater than the nearby villages (see AGRICULTURE). The ancient Egyptians bound their grain into small sheaves, forming the bundles with care so that the heads were equally distributed between the two ends (see Wilkinson, Ancient Egyptians, 1878, II, 424; compare Joseph's dream, Genesis 37:5–8). The sheaves mentioned in Genesis 37:10–12,Genesis 37:15 must have been handfuls. It is a custom in parts of Syria for the gatherers of the sheaves to run toward a passing horseman and wave a handful of grain, shouting kemshi, kemshi (literally, "handful"). They want the horseman to feed the grain to his horse. In Old Testament times forgotten sheaves had to be left for the sojourner (Deuteronomy 24:19); compare the kindness shown to Ru by the reapers of Boaz (Ruth 2:7,Ruth 2:15).

Figurative: "Being hungry they carry the sheaves" is a picture of torment similar to that of the hungry horse urged to go by the bundle of hay tied before him (Job 24:10). The joyful sight of the sheaves of an abundant harvest was used by the Psalmist to typify the joy of the returning captives (Psalms 126:6).

James A. Patch

Sheal

she'-al (she'al, "request"): One of the Israelites of the sons of Bani who had taken foreign wives (Ezra 10:29, Septuagint: Salouia; Septuagint, Lucian, Assael; /RAPC 1Es 9:30, "Jasaelus").

Shealtiel

she-ol'-ti-el (she'alti'el, but in Haggai 1:12,Haggai 1:14; Haggai 2:2, shalti'el; Septuagint and the New Testament always Salathiel, hence, "Salathiel" of 1 Esdras 5:5,48,56; 6:2; the King James Version of Matthew 1:12; Luke 3:27): 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). But, according to 1 Chronicles 3:17, Shealtiel was the oldest son of King Jeconiah; in 3:19 the Massoretic Text makes Pedaiah, a brother of Shealtiel, the father of Zerubbabel (compare Curtis, ICC).

Shear

sher.

See SHEEP; SHEEP TENDING.

Shear-Jashub

she-ar-ja'-shub or jash'-ub (she'ar yashubh, "a remnant shall return"; Septuagint ho kataleiphtheis Iasoub): The son of Isaiah, who accompanied him when he set out to meet Ahaz (Isaiah 7:3). The name like that of other children of prophets (compare "Immanuel," "Mahershalal-hash-baz," "Lo-ruhamah," etc.) is symbolic of a message which the prophet wishes to emphasize. Thus Isaiah uses the very words she'ar yashubh to express his oft-repeated statement that a remnant of Israel will return to Yahweh (Isaiah 10:21).

Sheariah

she-a-ri-a, she-ar'-ya (she`aryah; Saraia): A descendant of Saul (1 Chronicles 8:38; 1 Chronicles 9:44).

Shearing House

sher'-ing (beth `eqedh ha-ro`im, "house of binding of the shepherds"; Codex Vaticanus Baithakath (Codex Alexandrinus Baithakad) ton poimenon): Here in the course of his extinction of the house of Ahab, Jehu met and destroyed 42 men, "the brethren of Ahaziah king of Judah" (2 Kings 10:12–14). Eusebius (in Onomasticon) takes the phrase as a proper name, Bethacath, and locates the village 15 miles from Legio in the plain. This seems to point to identification with Beit Kad, about 3 miles East of Jenin.

Sheath

sheth.

See SWORD.

Sheba (1)

she'-ba (shebha'; Saba):

(1) Sheba and Dedan are the two sons of Raamah son of Cush (Genesis 10:7).

(2) Sheba and Dedan are the two sons of Jokshan the son of Abraham and Keturah (Genesis 25:3).

(3) Sheba is a son of Joktan son of Eber who was a descendant of Shem (Genesis 10:28).

From the above statements it would appear that Sheba was the name of an Arab tribe, and consequently of Semitic descent. The fact that Sheba and Dedan are represented as Cushite (Genesis 10:7) would point to a migration of part of these tribes to Ethiopia, and similarly their derivation from Abraham (Genesis 25:3) would indicate that some families were located in Syria. In point of fact Sheba was a South-Arabian or Joktanite tribe (Genesis 10:28), and his own name and that of some of his brothers (e.g. Hazarmaveth = Hadhramaut) are place-names in Southern Arabia.

The Sabeans or people of Saba or Sheba, are referred to as traders in gold and spices, and as inhabiting a country remote from Palestine (1 Kings 10:1 Isaiah 60:6; Jeremiah 6:20; Ezekiel 27:22; Psalms 72:15; Matthew 12:42), also as slave-traders (Joel 3:8), or even desert-rangers (Job 1:15; Job 6:19; compare CIS 84 3).

By the Arab genealogists Saba is represented as great-grandson of Qachtan (= Joktan) and ancestor of all the South-Arabian tribes. He is the father of Chimyar and Kahlan. He is said to have been named Saba because he was the first to take prisoners (shabhah) in war. He founded the capital of Saba and built its citadel Marib (Mariaba), famous for its mighty barrage.

1. History: The authentic history of the Sabeans, so far as known, and the topography of their country are derived from South-Arabian inscriptions, which began to be discovered about the middle of the last century, and from coins dating from about 150 BC to 150 AD, the first collection of which was published in 1880, and from the South-Arabian geographer Hamdani, who was later made known to European scholars. One of the Sabean kings is mentioned on Assyrian inscriptions of the year 715 BC; and he is apparently not the earliest. The native monuments are scattered over the period extending from before that time until the 6th century AD, when the

Sabean state came to an end, being most numerous about the commencement of our era. Saba was the name of the nation of which Marib was the usual capital. The Sabeans at first shared the sovereignty of South Arabia with Himyar and one or two other nations, but gradually absorbed the territories of these some time after the Christian era. The form of government seems to have been that of a republic or oligarchy, the chief magistracy going by a kind of rotation, and more than one "king" holding office simultaneously (similarly Deuteronomy 4:47 and often in the Old Testament). The people seem to have been divided into patricians and plebeians, the former of whom had the right to build castles and to share in the government.

2. Religion:

A number of deities are mentioned on the inscriptions, two chief being Il-Maqqih and Ta`lab. Others are Athtar (masculine form of the Biblical `ashtaroth), Rammon (the Biblical Rimmon), the Sun, and others. The Sun and Athtar were further defined by the addition of the name of a place or tribe, just as Baal in the Old Testament. Worship took the form of gifts to the temples, of sacrifices, especially incense, of pilgrimages and prayers. Ceremonial ablution, and abstinence from certain things, as well as formal dedication of the worshipper and his household and goods to the deity, were also religious acts. In return the deity took charge of his worshipper's castle, wells, and belongings, and supplied him with cereals, vegetables and fruits, as well as granted him male issue.

3. Civilization:

(1) The chief occupations of the Sabeans were raiding and trade. The chief products of their country are enumerated in Isaiah 60:6, which agrees with the Assyrian inscriptions. The most important of all commodities was incense, and it is significant that the same word which in the other Semitic languages means "gold," in Sabean means "perfume" (and also "gold"). To judge, however, from the number of times they are mentioned upon the inscriptions, agriculture bulked much more largely in the thoughts of the Sabean than commerce, and was of equal importance with religion.

(2) The high position occupied by women among the Sabeans is reflected in the story of the Queen of Sheba and Solomon. In almost all respects women appear to have been considered the equal of men, and to have discharged the same civil, religious and even military functions. Polygamy does not seem to have been practiced. The Sabean inscriptions do not go back far enough to throw any light upon the queen who was contemporary with Solomon, and the Arabic identification of her with Bilqis is merely due to the latter being the only Sabean queen known to them. Bilqis must have lived several centuries later than the Hebrew monarch.

(3) The alphabet used in the Sabean inscriptions is considered by Professor Margoliouth to be the original Semitic alphabet, from which the others are derived. In other respects Sabean art seems to be dependent on that of Assyria, Persia and Greece. The coins are Greek and Roman in style, while the system of weights employed is Persian.

See further SABAEANS.

LITERATURE.

Rodiger and Osidander in ZDMG, volumes XX and XXI; Halevy in Journal Asiatique, Serie 6, volume IX; Corpus Inscriptionum Semiticarum, pt. IV, edition by J. and H. Derenbourg; Hamdani, edition by D. H. Muller, 1891; Mordtmann, Himyarische Inschriften, 1893; Hommel, Sudarabische Chresthomathie, 1893; Glaser, Abyssinien in Arabien, 1895; D. H. Muller, Sudarabische Alterthumer, 1899; Derenbourg, Les monuments sabeens, 1899. On the coins, Schlumberger, Le tresor de San'a, 1880; Mordtmann in Wiener numismatische Zeitschrift, 1880.

Thomas Hunter Weir

Sheba (2)

she'-ba (shebha`; Sabee, or Samaa): The name of one of the towns allotted to Simeon (Joshua 19:2). the King James Version mentions it as an independent town, but as it is not mentioned at all in the parallel list (1 Chronicles 4:28), and is omitted in Joshua 19:2 in some manuscripts, it is probable that the Revised Version (British and American) is correct in its translation "Beer-sheba or Sheba." Only in this way can the total of towns in this group be made 13 (Joshua 19:6). If it is a separate name, it is probably the same as SHEMA (which see).

E. W. G. Masterman

Sheba, Queen Of

See QUEEN OF SHEBA.

Shebah

she'-ba.

See SHIBAH.

Shebam

she'-bam.

See SEBAM.

Shebaniah

sheb-a-ni'-a, she-ban'-ya (shebhanyah, in 1 Chronicles 15:24, shebhanyahu):

(1) Name of a Levite or a Levitical family that participated in the religious rites that followed the reading of the Law (Nehemiah 9:4). The name is given in Nehemiah 10:10 among those that sealed the covenant.

(2) A priest or Levite who took part in the sealing of the covenant (Nehemiah 10:4; Nehemiah 12:14).

See SHECANIAH.

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

(4) A priest in the time of David (1 Chronicles 15:24).

Shebarim

sheb'-a-rim, she-ba'-rim (ha-shebharim; sunetripsan): After the repulse of the first attack on their city the men of Ai chased the Israelites "even unto Shebarim" (Joshua 7:5). the Revised Version margin reads "the quarries"; so Keil, Steuernagel, etc. Septuagint reads "until they were broken," i.e. until the rout was complete. The direction of the flight was of course from Ai toward Gilgal in the Jordan valley. No trace of such name has yet been found.

Shebat

she-bat' (shebhat): The 11th month of the Jewish year (Zechariah 1:7), corresponding to February.

See CALENDAR.

Sheber

she'-ber (shebher; Codex Vaticanus Saber, Codex Alexandrinus Seber): A son of Caleb by his concubine Maacah (1 Chronicles 2:48).

Shebna

sheb'-na (shebhna'; Somnas; but shebhnah, in 2 Kings 18:18,2 Kings 18:26; meaning uncertain (2 Kings 18:18,2 Kings 18:26,2 Kings 18:37; 2 Kings 19:2 = Isaiah 36:3,Isaiah 36:11,Isaiah 36:22; Isaiah 37:2; Isaiah 22:15)):

1. Position in Isaiah 22:

In Isaiah 22:15 Shebna is referred to as he "who is over the house," or household, apparently that of the king. The phrase is translated "steward of the house" in the Revised Version (British and American) of Genesis 43:16,Genesis 43:19; Genesis 44:1, and occurs also in 39:4, "overseer"; 44:4. It is used of an officer of the Northern Kingdom in 1 Kings 16:9; 1 Kings 18:3; 2 Kings 10:5. This officer is distinguished from him "that was over the city" in 2 Kings 10:5, and it is said in 2 Kings 15:5 that after his father Azariah was stricken with leprosy, "Jotham, the king's son, was over the household, judging all the people of the land." Again Isaiah 22:15 speaks of "this cokhen," a phrase that must apply to Shebna if the prophecy refers to him. This word is the participle of a verb meaning "to be of use or service," so "to benefit" in Job 15:3; Job 22:2; Job 34:9. The feminine participle is employed of Abishag in 1 Kings 1:2,1 Kings 1:4, where King James Version, margin translates "cherisher"; BDB renders it "servitor" or "steward" in Isaiah 22:15. It occurs also as a Canaanite gloss in the Tell el-Amarna Letters (Winckler, number 237,9). The cokhen was evidently a high officer: Shebna had splendid chariots (22:18), but what the office exactly was is not certain. The other reference to Shebna in the title of the prophecy would lead one to conclude that it denoted him "who was over the household," i.e. governor of the palace, probably, or major-domo. The word cokhen is thus a general title; others deny this, maintaining that it would then occur more frequently.

2. Shebna in 2 Kings 18 f:

In 2 Kings 18:1–37 f = Isaiah 36:1–22 f we find too a Shebna mentioned among the officers of Hezekiah. There he is called the copher, "scribe" or "secretary," i.e. a minister of state of some kind, whereas Eliakim is he "who is over the household." Is then the Shebna of Isaiah 22:1–25 the same as this officer? It is of course possible that two men of the same name should hold high office about the same time. We find a Joshua (ben Asaph) "recorder" under Hezekiah (2 Kings 18:18) and a Joshua (ben Joahaz) having the very same position under Josiah a century later (2 Chronicles 34:8). But such a coincidence is rare. Had there been two high officers of state bearing this name, it is most probable that they would somehow have been distinguished one from the other. Shebna's name is thought to be Aramaic, thus pointing to a foreign descent, but G. B. Gray, "Isa," ICC, 373 ff, denies this. We can perhaps safely infer that he was a parvenu from the fact that he was hewing himself a sepulcher in Jerusalem, apparently among those of the nobility, whereas a native would have an ancestral burial-place in the land.

However, in 2 Kings, Shebna is the scribe and not the governor of the palace. How is this to be explained? The answer is in Isaiah's prophecy.

3. Isaiah 22:15 ff:

The prophecy of Isaiah 22:1–25 divides itself into 3 sections. The words "against (not as the Revised Version (British and American) "unto") Shebna who is over the house," or palace, are properly the title of the prophecy, and should come therefore at the very beginning of verse 15.

(1) Isaiah 22:15–18 form one whole. In 22:16 the words "hewing him out a sepulchre," etc., should be placed immediately before the rest of the verse as 22:16a with the rest of the section is in the second person. We thus read (22:15-17): `Against Shebna who was over the house. Thus saith the Lord, Yahweh of hosts, Go unto this steward (Revised Version margin) that is hewing him out a sepulchre on high, graying a habitation for himself in the rock, (and say) What doest thou here and whom hast thou here that thou hast hewed thee out here a sepulchre? Behold, Yahweh of hosts, ....' etc. G.H. Box (Isaiah) would further transpose some parts of 22:17 f. Shebna is to be tossed like a ball into "a land wide of sides," i.e. a broad extensive land. He is addressed as a disgrace to the house of his royal master. The prophet's language is that of personal invective, and one asks what had made him so indignant. Some (e.g. Dillmann, Delitzsch) suggest that Shebna was the leader of a pro-Egyptian party, while others (e.g. Cheyne) believe that the party was pro-Assyrian (compare Isaiah 8:5–8 a). The actual date of the prophecy can only be inferred.

(2) Isaiah 22:19–23 contains a prophecy which states that Eliakim is to be given someone's post, apparently that of Shebna, if this section be by Isaiah; 22:23, however, is held by many to be a gloss. These verses are not so vehement in tone as the previous ones. Some maintain that the section is not by Isaiah (Duhm, Marti). It can, however, be Isaianic, only later in date than 22:15 ff, being possibly meant to modify the former utterance. The palace governor is to lose his office and to be succeeded by Eliakim, who is seen to hold that post in 2 Kings 18:1–37 f.

See ELIAKIM.

(3) Isaiah 22:24 f are additions to the two utterances by a later hand; they predict the ruin of some such official as Eliakim owing to his own family.

4. Date of the Prophecy:

There is nothing a priori against believing that these three sections are entirely independent one of another, but there seems to be some connection between (1) and (2), and again between (2) and (3). Now the question that has to be solved is that of the relation of Isaiah 22:15 ff with 2 Kings 18:1–37 f = Isaiah 36:1–22 f, where are given the events of 701 BC. We have the following facts:

(a) Shebna is scribe in 701, and Eliakim is governor of the palace;

(b) Shebna is governor of the palace in Isaiah 22:15, and is to be deposed;

(c) if Isaiah 22:18–22 be by Isaiah, Eliakim was to succeed Shebna in that post.

Omitting for the moment everything but (a) and (b), the only solution that is to any extent satisfactory is that Isaiah 22:15–18 is to be dated previous to 701 BC. This is the view preferred by G.B. Gray, in the work quoted And this is the most satisfactory theory if we take (2) above into consideration. The prophecy then contained in (1) had not been as yet fulfilled in 701, but (2) had come to pass; Shebna was no longer governor of the palace, but held the position of scribe. Exile might still be in store for him.

Another explanation is put forward by K. Fullerton in AJT, IX, 621-42 (1905) and criticized by E. Konig in X, 675-86 (1906). Fullerton rejects verses 24 f as not due to Isaiah, and maintains that Isaiah 22:15–18 was spoken by the prophet early in the reign of Manasseh, i.e. later than 2 Kings 18:1–37 f, "not so much as a prophecy, a simple prediction, as an attempt to drive Shebna from office. .... It must be admitted that Isaiah probably did not succeed. The reactionary party seems to have remained in control during the reign of Manasseh. .... Fortunately, the moral significance of Isaiah does not depend on the fulfillment of this or that specific prediction. We are dealing not with a walking oracle, but with a great character and a noble life" (p. 639). He then infers from the massacres of Manasseh (2 Kings 21:16) "that a conspiracy had been formed against him by the prophetic party which proposed to place Eliakim on the throne" (p. 640). Isaiah he thinks would not "resort to such violent measures," and so the character of Isaiah makes it questionable whether he was the author of 22:20-23. This part would then be due to the prophetic party "who went a step farther than their great leader would approve." This view assumes too much,

(a) that the terms in 22:20-23 refer to kingly power;

(b) that Eliakim was of Davidic descent, unless we have a man of non-Davidic origin aiming at the throne, which is again a thing unheard of in Judah; and

(c) that there was such a plot in the reign of Manasseh, of which we have no proof.

David Francis Roberts

Shebuel

she-bu'-el, sheb'-u-el (shebhu'el; Soubael):

(1) A son of Gershom and grandson of Moses (1 Chronicles 23:16). He was "ruler over the treasures" (1 Chronicles 26:24). In 1 Chronicles 24:20 he is called "Shubael," which is probably the original form of the name (see Gray, HPN, 310).

(2) A son of Heman (1 Chronicles 25:4), called in 1 Chronicles 25:20 "Shubael" (Septuagint as in 25:4).

Shecaniah; Shechaniah

shek-a-ni'-a, shekan'-ya (shekhanyah (in 1 Chronicles 24:11; 2 Chronicles 31:15, shekhanyahu); Codex Vaticanus Ischania, Sekenia):

(1) A descendant of Zerubbabel (1 Chronicles 3:21,1 Chronicles 3:22). This is the same Shecaniah mentioned in Ezra 8:3.

(2) "The sons of Shecaniah," so the Massoretic Text of Ezra 8:5 reads, were among those who returned with Ezra, but a name appears to have been lost from the text, and we should probably read "of the sons of Zattu, Shecaniah the son of Jahaziel" (compare 1 Esdras 8:32, "of the sons of Zathoes, Sechenias the son of Jezelus").

(3) Chief of the tenth course of priests (1 Chronicles 24:11).

(4) A priest in the reign of Hezekiah (2 Chronicles 31:15).

(5) A contemporary of Ezra who supported him in his opposition to foreign marriages (Ezra 10:2).

(6) The father of Shemaiah, "the keeper of the east gate" (Nehemiah 3:29).

(7) The father-in-law of Tobiah the Ammonite (Nehemiah 6:18).

(8) The eponym of a family which returned with Zerubbabel (Nehemiah 12:3). It is the same name which, by an interchange of "bh" and "kh", appears as Shebaniah (see SHEBANIAH, (2)) in Nehemiah 10:4,Nehemiah 10:12,Nehemiah 10:14.

Horace J. Wolf