Sheol – Shewbread, Table Of

Sheol

she'-ol (she'ol):

1. The Name

2. The Abode of the Dead

(1) Not a State of Unconsciousness

(2) Not Removed from God's Jurisdiction

(3) Relation to Immortality

3. Post-canonical Period

1. The Name:

This word is often translated in the King James Version "grave" (e.g. Genesis 37:35; 1 Samuel 2:6; Job 7:9; Job 14:13; Psalms 6:5; Psalms 49:14; Isaiah 14:11, etc.) or "hell" (e.g. Deuteronomy 32:22; Psalms 9:17; Psalms 18:5; Isaiah 14:9; Amos 9:2, etc.); in 3 places by "pit" (Numbers 16:30,Numbers 16:33; Job 17:16). It means really the unseen world, the state or abode of the dead, and is the equivalent of the Greek Haides, by which word it is translated in Septuagint. The English Revisers have acted somewhat inconsistently in leaving "grave" or "pit" in the historical books and putting "Sheol" in the margin, while substituting "Sheol" in the poetical writings, and putting "grave" in the margin ("hell" is retained in Isaiah 14:1–32). Compare their "Preface." The American Revisers more properly use "Sheol" throughout. The etymology of the word is uncertain. A favorite derivation is from sha'al, "to ask" (compare Proverbs 1:12; Proverbs 27:20; Proverbs 30:15,Proverbs 30:16; Isaiah 5:14; Habakkuk 2:5); others prefer the sha'al, "to be hollow." The Babylonians are said to have a similar word Sualu, though this is questioned by some.

2. The Abode of the Dead:

Into Sheol, when life is ended, the dead are gathered in their tribes and families. Hence, the expression frequently occurring in the Pentateuch, "to be gathered to one's people," "to go to one's fathers," etc. (Genesis 15:15; Genesis 25:8,Genesis 25:17; Genesis 49:33; Numbers 20:24,Numbers 20:28; Numbers 31:2; Deuteronomy 32:50; Deuteronomy 34:5). It is figured as an under-world (Isaiah 44:23; Ezekiel 26:20, etc.), and is described by other terms, as "the pit" (Job 33:24; Psalms 28:1; Psalms 30:3; Proverbs 1:12; Isaiah 38:18, etc.), ABADDON (which see) or Destruction (Job 26:6; Job 28:22; Proverbs 15:11), the place of "silence" (Psalms 94:17; Psalms 115:17), "the land of darkness and the shadow of death" (Job 10:21 f). It is, as the antithesis of the living condition, the synonym for everything that is gloomy, inert, insubstantial (the abode of Rephaim, "shades," Job 26:5;, Proverbs 2:18; Proverbs 21:16; Isaiah 14:9; Isaiah 26:14). It is a "land of forgetfulness," where God's "wonders" are unknown (Psalms 88:10–12). There is no remembrance or praise of God (Psalms 6:5; Psalms 88:12; Psalms 115:17, etc.). In its darkness, stillness, powerlessness, lack of knowledge and inactivity, it is a true abode of death (see DEATH); hence, is regarded by the living with shrinking, horror and dismay (Psalms 39:13; Isaiah 38:17–19), though to the weary and troubled it may present the aspect of a welcome rest or sleep (Job 3:17–22; Job 14:12 f). The Greek idea of Hades was not dissimilar.

(1) Not a State of Unconsciousness.

Yet it would be a mistake to infer, because of these strong and sometimes poetically heightened contrasts to the world of the living, that Sheol was conceived of as absolutely a place without consciousness, or some dim remembrance of the world above. This is not the case. Necromancy rested on the idea that there was some communication between the world above and the world below (Deuteronomy 18:11); a Samuel could be summoned from the dead (1 Samuel 28:11–15); Sheol from beneath was stirred at the descent of the king of Babylon (Isaiah 14:9). The state is rather that of slumbrous semi-consciousness and enfeebled existence from which in a partial way the spirit might temporarily be aroused. Such conceptions, it need hardly be said, did not rest on revelation, but were rather the natural ideas formed of the future state, in contrast with life in the body, in the absence of revelation.

(2) Not Removed from God's Jurisdiction.

It would be yet more erroneous to speak with Dr. Charles (Eschatology, 35 ff) of Sheol as a region "quite independent of Yahwe, and outside the sphere of His rule." "Sheol is naked before God," says Job, "and Abaddon hath no covering" (Job 26:6). "If I make my bed in Sheol," says the Psalmist, "behold thou art there" (Psalms 139:8). The wrath of Yahweh burns unto the lowest Sheol (Deuteronomy 32:22). As a rule there is little sense of moral distinctions in the Old Testament representations of Sheol, yet possibly these are not altogether wanting (on the above and others points in theology of Sheol).

See ESCHATOLOGY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT.

(3) Relation to Immortality.

To apprehend fully the Old Testament conception of Sheol one must view it in its relation to the idea of death as something unnatural and abnormal for man; a result of sin. The believer's hope for the future, so far as this had place, was not prolonged existence in Sheol, but deliverance from it and restoration to new life in God's presence (Job 14:13–15; Job 19:25–27; Psalms 16:10,Psalms 16:11; Psalms 17:15; Psalms 49:15; Psalms 73:24–26; see IMMORTALITY; ESCHATOLOGY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT; RESURRECTION). Dr. Charles probably goes too far in thinking of Sheol in Psalms 49 and 73 as "the future abode of the wicked only; heaven as that of the righteous" (op. cit., 74); but different destinies are clearly indicated.

3. Post-canonical Period:

There is no doubt, at all events, that in the postcanonical Jewish literature (the Apocrypha and apocalyptic writings) a very considerable development is manifest in the idea of Sheol. Distinction between good and bad in Israel is emphasized; Sheol becomes for certain classes an intermediate state between death and resurrection; for the wicked and for Gentiles it is nearly a synonym for Gehenna (hell). For the various views, with relevant literature on the whole subject, see ESCHATOLOGY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT; also DEATH; HADES; HELL, etc.

James Orr

Shepham

she'-fam (shepham; Sepphamar): A place, probably a hill town, on the ideal eastern boundary of Israel, named in Numbers 34:10, but omitted in Ezekiel 47:15–18. It lay between Hazar-enan and Harbel (Massoretic Text: "Hariblah"), which must have been in the neighborhood of Hermon. The word means a "naked" place, and doubtless indicates one of the barer midway ridges of Anti-Lebanon. It was probably the native place of Zabdi the Shiphmite, who was David's chief vine-gardener (1 Chronicles 27:27).

Shephatiah

shef-a-ti'-a, she-fat'-ya (shephaTyah, "Yah has judged"):

(1) A son of David, by Abital (2 Samuel 3:4; 1 Chronicles 3:3).

(2) A Benjamite, father of Meshullam, of Jerusalem (1 Chronicles 9:8).

(3) A Benjamite, who joined David at Ziklag (1 Chronicles 12:5).

(4) A prince of the Simeonites in the time of David (1 Chronicles 27:16).

(5) A son of King Jehoshaphat (2 Chronicles 21:2).

(6) A family, 372 of whom returned with Zerubbabel (Ezra 2:4; Nehemiah 7:9); 80 more males of this family, with their head, returned with Ezra (Ezra 8:8).

(7) A servant of Solomon, 392 of whose descendants returned with Zerubbabel (Ezra 2:57 Nehemiah 7:59 f); "Saphat" in 1 Esdras 5:9 and "Saphatias" in 1 Esdras 8:34.

(8) A Perezzite (Judahite), some of whose descendants dwelt at Jerusalem in the time of Nehemiah (Nehemiah 11:4).

(9) A son of Mattan, a contemporary of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 38:1).

James Orr

Shephelah

shef-e'-la (ha-shephelah; sephela, saphela):

1. Name and References:

The word denotes "lowland," and is variously rendered in the King James Version. It is "vale" in Deuteronomy 1:7; Joshua 10:40; 1 Kings 10:27; 2 Chronicles 1:15; Jeremiah 33:13; "valley" in Joshua 9:1; Joshua 11:2,Joshua 11:16; Joshua 12:8; Joshua 15:33; Judges 1:9; Jeremiah 32:44; "low plain" in 1 Chronicles 27:28; 2 Chronicles 9:27; "plain" in Jeremiah 17:26; Obadiah 1:19; Zechariah 7:7; and "low country" in 2 Chronicles 28:18. the Revised Version (British and American) renders uniformly "lowland." As the word always occurs with the definite article, indicating a distinct district, it might have been well to retain it without translation. The boundaries of the district are clearly marked and include much broken country; the hills being low compared with the mountains to the East, but much higher than the plain that runs to the shore. If a translation was to be made, perhaps "lowlands" would have been the best, as applied to the "Lowlands" of Scotland, "which likewise are not entirely plain, but have their groups and ranges of hills" (HGHL, 203). In the wide sense the Shephelah included the territory originally given to the tribe of Dan, and also a considerable part of Western and Southwestern Judea. At an early day the tribes of Da and Simeon were practically absorbed by Judah, and hence, we find in Joshua 15:1–63 many cities in the Shephelah which belonged to that tribe (LB, I, 211).

2. Districts and Features:

(1) The sites of many ancient cities named in the Shephelah have been identified. They all lie within the strip of hill country that runs along the western base of the mountains of Judah, terminating in the North at the Valley of Aijalon. Once indeed the name appears to apply to the low hills North of this (Joshua 11:16, `the mount of Israel and its Shephelah'). Every other reference applies only to the South.

Principal G. A. Smith has pointed out the difference between the district to the N. and that to the S. of Aijalon (HGHL, 203 ff). "North of Ajalon the low hills which run out on Sharon are connected with the high mountains behind them. You ascend to the latter from Sharon either by long sloping ridges, such as that which today carries the telegraph wire and the high road from Jaffa to Nablus; or else you climb up terraces, such as the succession of ranges closely built upon one another by which the country rises from Lydda to Bethel. That is, the low hills west of Samaria are (to use the Hebrew phrase) 'ashedhoth, or slopes of the central range, and not a separate group. But South of Ajalon the low hills do not so hang upon the Central Range, but are separated from the mountains of Judah by a series of valleys, both wide and narrow, which run all the way from Ajalon to near Beersheba; and it is only when the low hills are thus flung off the Central Range into an independent group, separating Judea from Philistia, that the name Shephelah seems to be applied to them."

(2) On the East of the Shephelah, then, taking the name in this more limited sense, rises the steep wall of the mountain, into which access is gained only by narrow and difficult defiles. The hills of the Shephelah are from 500 to 800 ft. high, with nothing over 1,500. The formation is soft limestone. In the valleys and upland plains there is much excellent land which supports a fairly good population still. Wheat, barley and olives are the chief products. But ancient wine presses cut in the rocks testify to the culture of the vine in old times. The district is almost entirely dependent on the rain for its water-supply. This is collected in great cisterns, partly natural. The rocks are in many places honeycombed with caves.

The western boundary is not so definite as that on the East. Some have held that it included the Philistine plain. This contention draws support from the mention of the Philistine cities immediately after those of Judah, which are said to be in the Shephelah (Joshua 15:45 ; these verses can hardly be ruled out as of a later date). On the other hand the Philistines are said to have invaded the cities of the Shephelah (2 Chronicles 28:18), which implies that it was outside their country. In later times the Talmud (Jerusalem, Shebhi`ith 9 2) distinguishes the Mountain, the Shephelah, and the Plain. See, however, discussion in Buhl (GAP, 104, n.; and G. A. Smith, The Expositor, 1896, 404 ff).

3. The Five Valleys:

The Shephelah is crossed by five wide valleys which furnish easy access from the plain. These are of importance chiefly because from each of them a way, crossing the "foss," enters one of the defiles by which alone armies could approach the uplands of Judea. The hills of Judea are much steeper on the east than on the west, where they fall toward Philistia in long-rolling hills, forming the Shephelah.

(1) Vale of Aijalon:

The most noteworthy of these is the Vale of Aijalon. It winds its way first in a northeasterly direction, past the Beth-horons, then, turning to the Southeast, it reaches the plateau at el-Jib, the ancient Gibeon, fully 5 miles Northwest of Jerusalem. This is the easiest of all the avenues leading from the plain to the heights, and it is the one along which the tides of battle most frequently rolled from the days of Joshua (Joshua 10:12) to those of the Maccabees (1 Macc 3:16 ff, etc.). It occupies also a prominent place in the records of the Crusades.

(2) Wady ec-Surar:

Wady ec-Surar, the Valley of Sorek, crosses the Shephelah South of Gezer, and pursues a tortuous course past Beth-shemesh and Kiriath-jearim to the plateau Southwest of Jerusalem. This is the line followed by the Jaffa-Jerus Railway.

(3) Wady ec-Sunt:

Wady ec-Sunt runs eastward from the North of Tell ec-Safieh (Gath) up the Vale of Elah to its confluence with Wady ec-Sur which comes in from the South near Khirbet Shuweikeh (Socoh); and from that point, as Wady el-Jindy, pursues its way South of Timnah to the uplands West of Bethlehem.

(4) Wady el-`Afranj:

Wady el-`Afranj crosses the plain from Ashdod (Esdud), passes Beit Jibrin (Eleutheropolis), and winds up through the mountains toward Hebron.

(5) Wady el-Chesy:

Wady el-Chesy, from the sea about 7 miles North of Gaza, runs eastward with many windings, passes to the North of Lachish, and finds its way to the plateau some 6 miles Southwest of Hebron.

From the Shephelah thus opened the gateways by which Judea and Jerusalem might be assailed: and the course of these avenues determined the course of much of the history. It is evident that the shephelah lay open to attack from both sides, and for centuries it was the debatable land between Israel and the Philistines. The ark for a time sojourned in this region (1 Samuel 5:6 f). In this district is laid the scene of Samson's exploits (Judges 14:1–16:31). The scene of David's memorable victory over the giant was in the Wady ec-Sunt, between Socoh and Azekah (1 Samuel 17:1). David found refuge here in the cave of Adullam (1 Samuel 22:1). For picturesque and vivid accounts of the Shephelah and of the part it played in history see Smith, HGHL, 201 ff; A. Henderson, Palestine, Its Historical Geography, 1894.

W. Ewing

Shepher

she'-fer (shepher, "beauty"): A mount near which the Israelites encamped (Numbers 33:23 f).

See WANDERINGS OF ISRAEL.

Shepherd

shep'-erd (ro`eh, ro`i; poimen, "a feeder"): The sheep owner frequently tends the flocks himself (Genesis 4:4; Genesis 30:40; compare Ezekiel 34:12), but more often he delegates the work to his children (Genesis 29:9; 1 Samuel 16:19; 1 Samuel 17:15) or relatives (Genesis 31:6). In such cases the sheep have good care because the keepers have a personal interest in the well-being of the animals, but when they are attended by a hireling (1 Samuel 17:20) the flocks may be neglected or abused (Isaiah 56:10,Isaiah 56:11; Ezekiel 34:8,Ezekiel 34:10; Zechariah 11:15,Zechariah 11:17; John 10:12). The chief care of the shepherd is to see that the sheep find plenty to eat and drink. The flocks are not fed in pens or folds, but, summer and winter, must depend upon foraging for their sustenance (Psalms 23:2). In the winter of 1910-11 an unprecedented storm ravaged Northern Syria. It was accompanied by a snowfall of more than 3 ft., which covered the ground for weeks. During that time, hundreds of thousands of sheep and goats perished, not so much from the cold as from the fact that they could get no food. Goats hunt out the best feeding-grounds, but sheep are more helpless and have to be led to their food (compare Numbers 27:16,Numbers 27:17); nor do they possess the instinct of many other animals for finding their way home (compare Ezekiel 34:6–8). Flocks should be watered at least once a day. Where there are springs or streams this is an easy matter. Frequently the nearest water is hours away. One needs to travel in the dry places in Syria or Palestine, and then enter the watered valleys like those in Edom where the flocks are constantly being led for water, to appreciate the Psalmist's words, "He leadcth me beside still waters." Sometimes water can be obtained by digging shallow wells (Genesis 26:18–22,Genesis 26:25,Genesis 26:32). The shepherd frequently carries with him a pail from which the sheep can drink when the water is not accessible to them. On the mountain tops the melting snows supply the needed water. In other districts it is drawn from deep wells (Genesis 29:2; John 4:6). The usual time for watering is at noon, at which time the flocks are led to the watering-places (Genesis 29:2,Genesis 29:3). After drinking, the animals lie down or huddle together in the shade of a rock while the shepherd sleeps. At the first sound of his call, which is usually a peculiar guttural sound, hard to imitate, the flock follow off to new feeding-grounds. Even should two shepherds call their flocks at the same time and the sheep be intermingled, they never mistake their own master's voice (John 10:3–5).

The shepherd's equipment is a simple one. His chief garment is a cloak woven from wool or made from sheepskins. This is sleeveless, and so made that it hangs like a cloak on his shoulders. When he sleeps he curls up under it, head and all. During the summer a lighter, short-sleeved `aba or coat is worn. He carries a staff or club (see STAFF), and a characteristic attitude is to make a rest for his arms by placing his staff on his shoulders against the back of his neck. When an especially productive spot is found, the shepherd may pass the time, while the animals are grazing, by playing on his pipe (Judges 5:16). He sometimes carries a sling (qela`) of goat's hair (1 Samuel 17:40). His chief belongings are kept in a skin pouch or bag (keli) (1 Samuel 17:40). This bag is usually a whole tawed skin turned wrong side out, with the legs tied up and the neck forming the opening. He is usually aided in the keeping and the defending of the sheep by a dog (Job 30:1). In Syria the Kurdish dogs make the best protectors of the sheep, as, unlike the cowardly city dogs, they are fearless and will drive away the wild beasts. The shepherd is often called upon to aid the dogs in defending the sheep (Genesis 31:39; 1 Samuel 17:34,1 Samuel 17:35; Isaiah 31:4; Jeremiah 5:6; Amos 3:12).

Figurative:

The frequent use of the word "shepherd" to indicate a spiritual overseer is familiar to Bible readers (Psalms 23:1; Psalms 80:1; Ecclesiastes 12:11; Isaiah 40:4; Isaiah 63:14; Jeremiah 31:10; Ezekiel 34:23; Ezekiel 37:24; John 21:15–17; Ephesians 4:11; 1 Peter 5:1–4). We still use the term "pastor," literally, "a shepherd." Leaders in temporal affairs were also called shepherds (Genesis 47:17 margin; Isaiah 44:28; Isaiah 63:11). "Sheep without a shepherd" typified individuals or nations who had forgotten Yahweh (Numbers 27:17; 1 Kings 22:17; 2 Chronicles 18:16; Ezekiel 34:5,Ezekiel 34:8; Zechariah 10:2; Matthew 9:36; Mark 6:34).

Jesus is spoken of as the good shepherd (John 10:14); chief shepherd (1 Peter 5:4); great shepherd (Hebrews 13:20); the one shepherd (John 10:16). "He will feed his flock like a shepherd, he will gather the lambs in his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and will gently lead those that have their young" (Isaiah 40:11) is a picture drawn from pastoral life of Yahweh's care over His children. A strong sympathy for helpless animals, though sometimes misdirected, is a marked characteristic of the people of Bible lands. The birth of offspring in a flock often occurs far off on the mountain side. The shepherd solicitously guards the mother during her helpless moments and picks up the lamb and carries it to the fold. For the few days, until it is able to walk, he may carry it in his arms or in the loose folds of his coat above his girdle.

See also SHEEP.

James A. Patch

Shephi, Shepho

she'-fi, she'-fo (shephi; Codex Vaticanus Sob, Codex Alexandrinus Sophar; Lucian, Sapphei (1 Chronicles 1:40); or Shepho, shepho; Codex Alexandrinus Soph; Lucian, Sophan (Genesis 36:23)): A Horite chief.

Shephupham, Shephuphan

she-fu'-fam or she-fu'-fan (shephupham; Codex Vaticanus and Codex Alexandrinus Sophan; Lucian, Sophan (Numbers 26:39 (Numbers 26:43)); or Shephuphan, shephuphan; Codex Vaticanus Sopharphak, Codex Alexandrinus Sophan, Lucian, Seppham (1 Chronicles 8:5), "a kind of serpent," Gray, HPN, 95): Eponym of a Benjamite family. The name occurs in Genesis 46:21 as "Muppim" and in 1 Chronicles 7:12,1 Chronicles 7:15; 1 Chronicles 26:16 as "Shuppim." It is almost impossible to arrive at the original form; the gentilic "Shuphamites" appears in Numbers 26:39 (43).

Sherah

she'-ra.

See SHEERAH.

Sherd

shurd.

See POTSHERD.

Sherebiah

sher-e-bi'-a, she-reb'-ya (sherebhyah, "God has sent burning heat"(?); the form is doubtful): A post-exilic priest and family. Sherebiah, who joined Ezra at the river Ahava (Ezra 8:18; the Septuagint omits), and had charge, along with eleven others, of the silver and gold and vessels for the Temple (Ezra 8:24, Codex Vaticanus and Codex Alexandrinus Saraia, Lucian, Sarabias). He aided in the exposition of the Law (Nehemiah 8:7), was among those who made public confession (Nehemiah 9:4) and sealed the covenant (Nehemiah 10:12 (Nehemiah 10:13)). His name also appears in Nehemiah 12:8,Nehemiah 12:24. In every passage listed above except 10:12 (13), Codex Vaticanus and Codex Alexandrinus read Sarabia, Lucian, Sarabias. In 1 Esdras 8:47 the name appears as "Asebebia," the Revised Version (British and American) "Asebebias"; in 1 Esdras 8:54, "Esebrias," the Revised Version (British and American) "Eserebias," and 1 Esdras 9:48, "Sarabias." Many of the companion-names on the lists are plainly ethnic (Cheyne).

Horace J. Wolf

Sheresh

she'-resh, sharesh; Codex Vaticanus Souros; Codex Alexandrinus Soros, Lucian, Phares, Phoros): A Machirite name in a genealogy of Manasseh (1 Chronicles 7:16).

Sherezer

she-re'-zer (Zechariah 7:2 the King James Version).

See SHAREZER.

Sherghat, Asshur, Assur

shur'-gat, sher'-gat: The name of the first capital city of Assyria is known by the Arabs as Qala' at Sherghat, or the Fortress of Sherghat. Its ancient name was Asshur or Assur (Genesis 10:11 margin). From it was derived the name of the country, Assyria, and of the people, Assyrians. The date of the founding of the city is not known. Apparently about 2000 BC a colony of Babylonians migrated northward along the Tigris River and settled upon the right shore about halfway between the Upper and Lower Zab, or halfway between the modern cities of Mosul and Bagdad. Assur, the local deity of the place, became the national god of Assyria. It is uncertain whether the deity gave the name to the city, or the city to the deity, but probably an early shrine of Assur stood there, and the people, building their city about it, became known as the Assyrians. At first the city was a Bah dependency, governed by priests from Babylonia. In time, as the city acquired a political significance, the power of the priesthood declined; allegiance to Babylonia ceased, and the Assyrian empire came into existence. About 1200 BC the political power had so increased that a new capital, Nimrud (Calah) was built to the North near the junction of the Upper Zab with the Tigris. In 722 BC the capital was transferred by Sargon to his new city, Dur-Sharrukin, and in 705 BC Sennacherib enlarged Nineveh, and it remained the capital city till the fall of the empire in 606 BC. Assur, however, as the seat of the national deity, never ceased to be the chief religious center.

The mounds of Assur are among the largest in Mesopotamia. They rise abruptly from the Tigris, which they follow for about half a mile, and extend a quarter of a mile inland. In the surrounding plain are other mounds, marking the sites of temples, and indicating that a part of the city was without the walls. At the northern end the mounds are surmounted by a high conical peak, which represents the tower or ziggurat of the temple of Assur.

Of the early excavators Layard and Rassam examined the ruins, but the fanaticism of the surrounding Arabs prevented extensive excavations. In 1904 Dr. W. Andrae, for the Deutsche Orientgesellschaft, began the systematic excavations which have been continued by Dr. P. Maresch for ten years. Discoveries of the greatest importance have been made. The city was found to have been surrounded on the land side by a double wall. The space between the walls, several rods in width, was occupied by houses, possibly the homes of the soldiers. The base of the outer wall was of stone; above it were mud bricks strengthened at intervals with courses of burned bricks. Along the outer upper edge was a parapet, protected by battlements. From the floor of the parapet small holes were bored vertically downward, so that the soldiers, without exposing themselves, might discharge their arrows at the enemy close to the base of the wall. Many of the holes are still visible. The wall was pierced with several gateways; the names "Gate of Assur," "Gate of the Tigris," "Gate of the Sun God" have survived. At the sides of the gateways were small chambers for the guards, and from them passageways led to the parapet above. The gates were reached by bridges which spanned the moat. Along the river side the city was protected by a high steep embankment, which was built partly of limestone, but chiefly of square bricks laid in bitumen.

The temple of Assur at the northern end of the city has been thoroughly excavated. With its outer and inner court and tower it conformed in its general plan to the older Babylonian temples. Several of the palaces of the early kings were discovered, but the best-preserved of the palaces was one which the excavators have called the residence of the mayor. It stood near the western edge of the city on the main street which ran from the western gate to the Tigris. It consisted of two courts surrounded by chambers. Grooves in the paved floor conducted fresh water to the kitchen, the baths and the chambers, and round tiles beneath the floor carried away the waste water to the arched city sewer and to the Tigris. To the rear of the mayor's house was a crowded residential quarter. The streets were very narrow and winding. The houses were exceedingly small; in some of them one could not lie at full length upon the floor. Among their ruins appeared little but stone mortars and broken pottery and other essential household implements.

Near the southern end of the city a most remarkable discovery was made. About a hundred monoliths, from 4 to 8 ft. high, were found still standing erect. On the side of each one, near the top, was an inscription of several lines, dedicating the stone to some individual who had been of great service to the state. They were not tombstones; apparently they had been erected during the lifetime of the people whom they honored. Of the greatest interest was one which bore the name of Sammuramat or Semiramis, the once supposed mythical queen of Nineveh. Its translation reads: "The column of Sa-am-mu-ra-mat, the palace wife of Samsi-Adad, king of the world, king of Assyria, the mother of Adad-Nirari, king of the world, king of Assyria, the .... of Shalmaneser, king of the four regions." The inscription not only makes Semiramis a historical character, but places her among the foremost rulers of Assyria.

The tombs of the kings and nobles were found deep in the ruins in the very center of the city. They were rectangular structures of cut stone, covered above with a rounded arch of burned bricks. In some cases the massive stone doors still turned in their sockets. The roofs of many of them had fallen in; others, which were intact, were filled with dust. From the tombs a vast amount of silver, gold and copper jewelry and stone beads and ornaments were recovered.

One of the chief temples of the city stood at short distance without the eastern wall. Nothing but its foundations remain. However, the temple was surrounded by a park, traces of which still exist. The soil of the surrounding plain is a hard clay, incapable of supporting vegetable life. Into the clay large holes, several feet in diameter, were dug and filled with loam. Long lines of the holes may still be traced, each marking the spot where a tree, probably the date palm, stood in the temple park.

A modern cemetery on the summit of the main mound is still used by the neighboring Arabs, and therefore it will likely prevent the complete excavation of this oldest of the capital cities of Assyria.

See further ASSYRIA.

E. J. Banks

Sheriff

sher'-if (Aramaic tiphtaye' "judicial," "a lawyer," "a sheriff" (Daniel 3:2 f]): Probably a "lawyer" or "jurist" whose business it was to decide points of law. At best, however, the translation "sheriff" is but a conjecture.

Sheshach

she'-shak (sheshakh, as if "humiliation"; compare shakhakh, "to crouch"): The general explanation is that this is "a cypherform of `Babel' (Babylon)" which is the word given as equivalent to "Sheshach" by the Targum (Jeremiah 25:26; Jeremiah 51:41; the Septuagint omits in both passages). By the device known as Atbas 'atbas, i.e. disguising a name by substituting the last letter of the alphabet for the first, the letter next to the last for the second, etc., sh-sh-k is substituted for babhel. This theory has not failed of opposition. Delitzsch holds that "Sheshach" represents Sis-ku-KI of an old Babylonian regal register, which may have stood for a part of the city of Babylon. (For a refutation of this interpretation see Schrader, KAT2, 415; COT, II, 108 f.) Lauth, too, takes "Sheshach" to be a Hebraization of Siska, a Babylonian district. Winckler and Sayce read Uru-azagga. Finally, Cheyne and a number of critics hold that the word has crept into the text, being "a conceit of later editors."

See further JEREMIAH, 6.

Horace J. Wolf

Sheshai

she'-shi (sheshay): One of the sons of Anak, perhaps an old Hebronite clan name. (Sayce combines the name with Sasu, the root sh-c-h, the Egyptian name for the Syrian Bedouins.) The clan lived in Hebron at the time of the conquest and was expelled by Caleb (Numbers 13:22, Codex Vaticanus Sessei; Codex Alexandrinus Semei; Joshua 15:14, Codex Vaticanus Sousei; Codex Alexandrinus Sousai; Judges 1:10, Codex Vaticanus Sessei; Codex Alexandrinus Geththi).

Sheshan

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

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,Haggai 1:14; Haggai 2:2,Haggai 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; Ezra 4:2; Haggai 1:14).

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 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.

See SANABASSAR.

R. Dick Wilson

Sheth

See SETH.

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.

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,Ezra 5:6; Ezra 6:6,Ezra 6:12; Codex Vaticanus Satharbouzan; Codex Alexandrinus Satharbouzanai, in Ezra 5:3; Ezra 6:13; Satharbouzanes, in Ezra 5:6; Satharbouzane, in Ezra 6:6; Lucian, throughout, Tharbouzanaios), called in 1 Esdras 6:3,7,27; 7:1 "Shathrabuzanes."

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.

Horace J. Wolf

Sheva

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

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

(2) See SHAVSHA.

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."

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 Songs 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").

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.

Burton Scott Easton

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" in PEFS, 1906, 306 ff.

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; 1 Kings 7:48; 1 Kings 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.

See SHEWBREAD.

W. Shaw Caldecott