Bible Dictionary: Shelah

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Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary

Shelah

that breaks; that unties; that undresses

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Shelah

(a petition).

The youngest son of Judah. (Genesis 38:5,11,14,26; 46:10; Numbers 26:20; 1 Chronicles 2:3; 4:21) (B.C. before 1706.)
The proper form of the name of Salah. (1 Chronicles 1:18,24)

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Petition.

(1.) Judah's third son (Genesis 38:2, 5, 11, 14).

(2.) A son of Arphaxad (1 Chronicles 1:18).

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

SHELAH

she'-la (shelah; Sala):

(1) The youngest son of Judah and the daughter of Shua the Canaanite (Genesis 38:5, 11, 14, 26; Genesis 46:12 Numbers 26:20 (16); 1 Chronicles 2:3; 1 Chronicles 4:21). He gave his name to the family of the Shelanites (Numbers 26:20 (16)). Probably "the Shelanite" should be substituted for "the Shilonite" of Nehemiah 11:5 1 Chronicles 9:5.

(2) (shelach): The son or (Septuagint) grandson of Arpachshad and father of Eber (Genesis 10:24; Genesis 11:13 (12), 14, 15; 1 Chronicles 1:18, 24 Luke 3:35).

(3) Nehemiah 3:15 = "Shiloah" of Isaiah 8:6.

See SILOAM.

SILOAM; SILOAH; SHELAH; SHILOAH

si-lo'-am, si-lo'-am, si-lo'-a, she'-la, shi-lo'-a:

(1) me ha-shiloach (shiloach or shilloach is a passive form and means "sent" or "conducted") "the waters of (the) Shiloah" (Isaiah 8:6).

(2) berekhath ha-shelach, "the pool of (the) Shelah" (the King James Version "Siloah") (Nehemiah 3:15).

(3) ten kolumbethran tou (or ton) Siloam, "the pool of Siloam" (John 9:7).

(4) ho purgos en to Siloam, "the tower in Siloam" (Luke 13:4).

1. The Modern Silwan:

Although the name is chiefly used in the Old Testament and Josephus as the name of certain "waters," the surviving name today, Silwan, is that of a fairly prosperous village which extends along the steep east side of the Kidron valley from a little North of the "Virgin's Fountain" as far as Bir Eyyub. The greater part of the village, the older and better built section, belongs to Moslem fellahin who cultivate the well-watered gardens in the valley and on the hill slopes opposite, but a southern part has recently been built in an extremely primitive manner by Yemen Jews, immigrants from South Arabia, and still farther South, in the commencement of the Wady en Nar, is the wretched settlement of the lepers. How long the site of Silwan has been occupied it is impossible to say. The village is mentioned in the 10th century by the Arab writer Muqaddasi. The numerous rock cuttings, steps, houses, caves, etc., some of which have at times served as chapels, show that the site has been much inhabited in the past, and at one period at least by hermits. The mention of "those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and killed them" (Luke 13:4) certainly suggests that there was a settlement there in New Testament times, although some writers consider that this may have reference to some tower on the city walls near the Pool of Siloam.

2. The Siloam Aqueduct:

Opposite to the main part of Silwan is the "Virgin's Fount," ancient GIHON (which see), whose waters are practically monopolized by the villagers. It is the waters of this spring which are referred to in Isaiah 8:5, 6: "Forasmuch as this people have refused the waters of Shiloah that go softly,.... now therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the River."

The contrast between the little stream flowing from the Gihon and the great Euphrates is used as a figure of the vast difference between the apparent strength of the little kingdom of Judah and the House of David on the one hand, and the might of "Rezin and Remaliah's son" and "all his glory." Although it is quite probable that in those days there was an open streamlet in the valley, yet the meaning of Shiloah, "sent" or "conducted," rather implies some kind of artificial channel, and there is also archaeological evidence that some at least of the waters of Gihon were even at that time conducted by a rock-cut aqueduct along the side of the Kidron valley (see JERUSALEM, VII, 5). It was not, however, till the days of Hezekiah that the great tunnel aqueduct, Siloam's most famous work, was made (2 Kings 20:20): "Hezekiah also stopped the upper spring of the waters of Gihon, and brought them, straight down on the west side of the City of David" (2 Chronicles 32:30); "They stopped all the fountains, and the brook (nachal) that flowed through the midst of the land, saying, Why should the kings of Assyria come, and find much water?" (2 Chronicles 32:4; Ecclesiasticus 48:17). Probably the exit of the water at Gihon was entirely covered up and the water flowed through the 1,700 ft. of tunnel and merged in the pool made for it (now known as the Birket Silwan) near the mouth of the Tyropceon valley. This extraordinary winding aqueduct along which the waters of the "Virgin's Fount" still flow is described in JERUSALEM, VII, 4 (which see). The lower end of this tunnel which now emerges under a modern arch has long been known as `Ain Silwan, the "Fountain of Siloam," and indeed, until the rediscovery of the tunnel connecting this with the Virgin's Fount (a fact known to some in the 13th century, but by no means generally known until the last century), it was thought this was simply a spring. So many springs all over Palestine issue from artificial tunnels-it is indeed the rule in Judea-that the mistake is natural. Josephus gives no hint that he knew of so great a work as this of Hezekiah's, and in the 5th century a church was erected, probably by the empress Eudoxia, at this spot, with the high altar over the sacred "spring." The only pilgrim who mentions this church is Antonius Martyr (circa 570), and after its destruction, probably by the Persians in 614, it was entirely lost sight of until excavated by Messrs. Bliss and Dickie. It is a church of extraordinary architectural features; the floor of the center aisle is still visible.

3. The "Pool of Siloam":

The water from the Siloam aqueduct, emerging at `Ain Silwan, flows today into a narrow shallow pool, approached by a steep flight of modern steps; from the southern extremity of this pool the water crosses under the modern road by means of an aqueduct, and after traversing a deeply cut rock channel below the scarped cliffs on the north side of el-Wad, it crosses under the main road up the Kidron and enters a number of channels of irrigation distributed among the gardens of the people of Silwan. The water here, as at its origin, is brackish and impregnated with sewage.

The modern Birket es-Silwan is but a poor survivor of the fine pool which once was here. Bliss showed by his excavations at the site that once there was a great rock-cut pool, 71 ft. North and South, by 75 ft. East and West, which may, in part at least, have been the work of Hezekiah (2 Kings 20:20), approached by a splendid flight of steps along its west side. The pool was surrounded by an arcade 12 ft. wide and 22 1/2 ft. high, and was divided by a central arcade, to make in all probability a pool for men and another for women. These buildings were probably Herodian, if not earlier, and therefore this, we may reasonably picture, was the condition of the pool at the time of the incident in John 9:7, when Jesus sent the blind man to "wash in the pool of Siloam."

This pool is also probably the Pool of Shelah described in Nehemiah 3:15 as lying between the Fountain Gate and the King's Garden. It may also be the "king's pool" of Nehemiah 2:14. If we were in any doubt regarding the position of the pool of Siloam, the explicit statement of Josephus (BJ, V, iv, 1) that the fountain of Siloam, which he says was a plentiful spring of sweet water, was at the mouth of the Tyropoeon would make us sure.

4. The Birket el Chamra:

A little below this pool, at the very mouth of el-Wad, is a dry pool, now a vegetable garden, known as Birket el Chamra ("the red pool"). For many years the sewage of Jerusalem found its way to this spot, but when in 1904 an ancient city sewer was rediscovered (see PEFS, 1904, 392-94), the sewage was diverted and the site was sold to the Greek convent which surrounded it with a wall. Although this is no longer a pool, there is no doubt but that hereabouts there existed a pool because the great and massive dam which Bliss excavated here (see JERUSALEM, VI, 5) had clearly been made originally to support a large body of water. It is commonly supposed that the original pool here was older than the Birket Silwan, having been fed by an aqueduct which was constructed from Gihon along the side of the Kidron valley before Hezekiah's great tunnel. If this is correct (and excavations are needed here to confirm this theory), then this may be the "lower pool" referred to in Isaiah 22:9, the waters of which Hezekiah "stopped," and perhaps, too, that described in the same passage as the "old pool."

5. The Siloam Aqueduct:

The earliest known Hebrew inscription of any length was accidentally discovered near the lower end of the Siloam aqueduct in 1880, and reported by Dr. Schick. It was inscribed upon a rock-smoothed surface about 27 in. square, some 15 ft. from the mouth of the aqueduct; it was about 3 ft. above the bottom of the channel on the east side. The inscription consisted of six lines in archaic Hebrew, and has been translated by Professor Sayce as follows:

(1) Behold the excavation. Now this (is) the history of the tunnel: while the excavators were still lifting up

(2) The pick toward each other, and while there were yet three cubits (to be broken through).... the voice of the one called

(3) To his neighbor, for there was an (?) excess in the rock on the right. They rose up.... they struck on the west of the

(4) Excavation; the excavators struck, each to meet the other, pick to pick. And there flowed

(5) The waters from their outlet to the pool for a thousand, two hundred cubits; and (?)

(6) Of a cubit, was the height of the rock over the head of the excavators....

It is only a roughly scratched inscription of the nature of a graffito; the flowing nature of the writing is fully explained by Dr. Reissner's recent discovery of ostraca at Samaria written with pen and ink. It is not an official inscription, and consequently there is no kingly name and no date, but the prevalent view that it was made by the work people who carried out Hezekiah's great work (2 Kings 20:20) is now further confirmed by the character of the Hebrew in the ostraca which Reissner dates as of the time of Ahab.

Unfortunately this priceless monument of antiquity was violently removed from its place by some miscreants. The fragments have been collected and are now pieced together in the Constantinople museum. Fortunately several excellent "squeezes" as well as transcriptions were made before the inscription was broken up, so that the damage done is to be regretted rather on sentimental than on literary grounds.

E. W. G. Masterman

Greek

4527. Sala -- Shelah, an ancestor of Christ, also Salmon, an ...
... Shelah, an ancestor of Christ, also Salmon, an ancestor of Christ. Part of Speech:
Proper Noun, Indeclinable Transliteration: Sala Phonetic Spelling: (sal-ah ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/4527.htm - 6k

1443. Eber -- Heber, an ancestor of Christ
... Speech: Proper Noun, Indeclinable Transliteration: Eber Phonetic Spelling: (eb-er')
Short Definition: Eber Definition: Eber, father of Peleg and son of Shelah. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/1443.htm - 6k

Strong's Hebrew

7956. Shelah -- a son of Judah
... 7955, 7956. Shelah. 7957 . a son of Judah. Transliteration: Shelah Phonetic
Spelling: (shay-law') Short Definition: Shelah. Word ...
/hebrew/7956.htm - 6k

8024. Shelani -- descendant of Shelah
... descendant of Shelah. Transliteration: Shelani Phonetic Spelling: (shay-law-nee')
Short Definition: Shelanites. Word Origin from Shelah Definition desc. ...
/hebrew/8024.htm - 6k

7596. sheelah -- request, thing asked for
sheelah or shelah. 7595, 7596. sheelah or shelah. 7597 . request, thing
asked for. Transliteration: sheelah or shelah Phonetic ...
/hebrew/7596.htm - 6k

7974. Shelach -- a descendant of Shem
... Shelach. 7975 . a descendant of Shem. Transliteration: Shelach Phonetic Spelling:
(sheh'-lakh) Short Definition: Shelah. ... of Shem NASB Word Usage Shelah (9). ...
/hebrew/7974.htm - 6k

7975a. Shelach -- a reservoir in Jer.
... a reservoir in Jer. Transliteration: Shelach Short Definition: Shelah. Word Origin
from shalach Definition a reservoir in Jer. NASB Word Usage Shelah (1). ...
/hebrew/7975a.htm - 5k

7955. shalah -- thing amiss
... Word Origin (Aramaic) see shalu. shelah Definition see NH7596. thing amiss (Aramaic)
from a root corresponding to shalah; a wrong -- thing amiss. ...
/hebrew/7955.htm - 5k

Library

The Testament of Judah Concerning Fortitude, and Love of Money ...
... She bare me Er, and Onan, and Shelah; and the two of them the Lord smote that
they died childless: for Shelah lived, and his children are ye. ...
/.../iv the testament of judah concerning.htm

Chapter xxxviii
... Again she conceived and bore a son and she called his name Onan. Even once
more she bore a son and she called his name Shelah. It ...
/.../leupold/exposition of genesis volume 1/chapter xxxviii.htm

Chapter xi
... 12, 13. And Arpachshad lived thirty-five years and begat Shelah. And Arpachshad ...
daughters. 14, 15. And Shelah lived thirty years and begat Eber. And ...
//christianbookshelf.org/leupold/exposition of genesis volume 1/chapter xi.htm

C. The Genealogy of Jesus. Ch. 3:23-38
... the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, 35 the son of Serug, the
son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah, 36 the son ...
/.../erdman/the gospel of luke an exposition/c the genealogy of jesus.htm

Genealogy According to Luke.
... Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber [it is thought that the name "Hebrew" comes
from this man"Genesis 10:21; xl.15; Exodus 2:6], the son of Shelah, 36 the ...
/.../mcgarvey/the four-fold gospel/iv genealogy according to luke.htm

Chapter x
... And the sons of Aram: Uz and Hul and Gerber and Mash. And Arpachshad begat Shelah,
and Shelah begat Eber. "Elam" is the country east of the Tigris River. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/leupold/exposition of genesis volume 1/chapter x.htm

Chapter xlvi
... And the sons of Judah: Er and Onan and Shelah and Perez and Zerah"now Er and Onan
died in the land of Canaan"and the sons of Perez: Hezron and Hamul. ...
/...//christianbookshelf.org/leupold/exposition of genesis volume 1/chapter xlvi.htm

CHAPTER III.
... Thus, eg, Genesis 38:11: "Sit as a widow in thy fathers house, until Shelah [Pg
279] my son be grown;" Isaiah 47:8, where Babylon says, "I shall not sit as a ...
/.../hengstenberg/christology of the old testament/chapter iii.htm

Thesaurus

Shelah (18 Occurrences)
... Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. SHELAH. ... (3) Nehemiah 3:15 = "Shiloah" of
Isaiah 8:6. See SILOAM. SILOAM; SILOAH; SHELAH; SHILOAH. ...
/s/shelah.htm - 24k

Eber (16 Occurrences)
... Luke 3:35 the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the
son of Shelah, (WEB KJV WEY ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV). ...
/e/eber.htm - 12k

Arpach'shad (9 Occurrences)
... (See RSV). Genesis 10:24 And Arpachshad begot Shelah; and Shelah begot Eber. ... Genesis
11:12 And Arpachshad lived five and thirty years, and begot Shelah. ...
/a/arpach'shad.htm - 8k

Begot (119 Occurrences)
... Genesis 10:24 And Arphaxad begot Shelah; and Shelah begot Eber. (DBY JPS YLT). ... (DBY
JPS). Genesis 11:12 And Arphaxad lived thirty-five years, and begot Shelah. ...
/b/begot.htm - 30k

Arpachshad (6 Occurrences)
... (WEB JPS ASV BBE NAS). Genesis 10:24 Arpachshad became the father of Shelah.
Shelah became the father of Eber. (WEB JPS ASV BBE NAS). ...
/a/arpachshad.htm - 8k

Er (8 Occurrences)
... Genesis 46:12). (2) "Er the father of Lecah" is mentioned among "the sons
of Shelah the son of Judah" (1 Chronicles 4:21). (3) An ...
/e/er.htm - 9k

Siloah (1 Occurrence)
... Siloah, The pool of. Hebrews shelah; ie, "the dart", Nehemiah 3:15; with the art. ...
Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. SILOAM; SILOAH; SHELAH; SHILOAH. ...
/s/siloah.htm - 17k

Arphaxad (10 Occurrences)
... (KJV DBY WBS YLT NIV). 1 Chronicles 1:18 And Arphaxad begat Shelah, and Shelah begat
Eber. ... 1 Chronicles 1:24 Shem, Arphaxad, Shelah, (KJV DBY WBS YLT NIV). ...
/a/arphaxad.htm - 10k

Tamar (28 Occurrences)
... 38:6). After her husband's death, she was married to Onan, his brother (8), and
on his death, Judah promised to her that his third son, Shelah, would become ...
/t/tamar.htm - 21k

Shiloah (1 Occurrence)
... The waters of Shiloah. Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. SHILOAH. shi-lo'-a,
shi-lo'-a (Isaiah 8:6). See SILOAM. SILOAM; SILOAH; SHELAH; SHILOAH. ...
/s/shiloah.htm - 17k

Bible Concordance

Shelah (18 Occurrences)

Luke 3:35 the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah,
(WEB WEY ASV BBE NAS RSV NIV)

Genesis 10:24 Arpachshad became the father of Shelah. Shelah became the father of Eber.
(WEB JPS ASV BBE DBY NAS RSV NIV)

Genesis 11:12 Arpachshad lived thirty-five years and became the father of Shelah.
(WEB JPS ASV BBE DBY NAS RSV NIV)

Genesis 11:13 Arpachshad lived four hundred three years after he became the father of Shelah, and became the father of sons and daughters.
(WEB JPS ASV BBE DBY NAS RSV NIV)

Genesis 11:14 Shelah lived thirty years, and became the father of Eber:
(WEB JPS ASV BBE DBY NAS RSV NIV)

Genesis 11:15 and Shelah lived four hundred three years after he became the father of Eber, and became the father of sons and daughters.
(WEB JPS ASV BBE DBY NAS RSV NIV)

Genesis 38:5 She yet again bore a son, and named him Shelah: and he was at Chezib, when she bore him.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Genesis 38:11 Then Judah said to Tamar, his daughter-in-law, "Remain a widow in your father's house, until Shelah, my son, is grown up;" for he said, "Lest he also die, like his brothers." Tamar went and lived in her father's house.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Genesis 38:14 She took off of her the garments of her widowhood, and covered herself with her veil, and wrapped herself, and sat in the gate of Enaim, which is by the way to Timnah; for she saw that Shelah was grown up, and she wasn't given to him as a wife.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Genesis 38:26 Judah acknowledged them, and said, "She is more righteous than I, because I didn't give her to Shelah, my son." He knew her again no more.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Genesis 46:12 The sons of Judah: Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah; but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Numbers 26:20 The sons of Judah after their families were: of Shelah, the family of the Shelanites; of Perez, the family of the Perezites; of Zerah, the family of the Zerahites.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

1 Chronicles 1:18 Arpachshad became the father of Shelah, and Shelah became the father of Eber.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

1 Chronicles 1:24 Shem, Arpachshad, Shelah,
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

1 Chronicles 2:3 The sons of Judah: Er, and Onan, and Shelah; which three were born to him of Shua's daughter the Canaanitess. Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of Yahweh; and he killed him.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

1 Chronicles 4:21 The sons of Shelah the son of Judah: Er the father of Lecah, and Laadah the father of Mareshah, and the families of the house of those who worked fine linen, of the house of Ashbea;
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Nehemiah 3:15 The spring gate repaired Shallun the son of Colhozeh, the ruler of the district of Mizpah; he built it, and covered it, and set up its doors, its bolts, and its bars, and the wall of the pool of Shelah by the king's garden, even to the stairs that go down from the city of David.
(WEB JPS ASV BBE DBY NAS RSV)

Nehemiah 11:5 and Maaseiah the son of Baruch, the son of Colhozeh, the son of Hazaiah, the son of Adaiah, the son of Joiarib, the son of Zechariah, the son of the Shilonite.
(See NIV)

Subtopics

Shelah

Shelah: Son of Judah

Related Terms

Eber (16 Occurrences)

Arpach'shad (9 Occurrences)

Begot (119 Occurrences)

Arpachshad (6 Occurrences)

Er (8 Occurrences)

Siloah (1 Occurrence)

Arphaxad (10 Occurrences)

Tamar (28 Occurrences)