Hebrew word · H7609
שֶׁאֱרָה
she'erah
Sheerah
A woman's name found only here and in the town name Uzzen-sheerah. Two origins are proposed. (1) From she'ēr / sha'ărâ, 'flesh, blood relative, kinswoman' (Lev 18:12–17; BDB). (2) From the root sh-'-r, 'to remain, be left over', which gives she'ērît, 'remnant, survivors'.
Appears once in the Hebrew Old Testament. ·
What it means
A woman of the tribe of Ephraim living at the time of Divided Monarchy, only mentioned at 1Ch.7.24;
daughter of: Beriah (H1283H);
sister of: Rephah (H7506) and Resheph (H7566)
§ Sherah = "kinswoman"
daughter of Ephraim and foundress of the Beth-horons and of a town called after her Uzzen-sherah
Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).
In depth
From the study of 1 Chronicles 7:24
- Range of meaning
A woman's name found only here and in the town name Uzzen-sheerah. Two origins are proposed. (1) From she'ēr / sha'ărâ, 'flesh, blood relative, kinswoman' (Lev 18:12–17; BDB). (2) From the root sh-'-r, 'to remain, be left over', which gives she'ērît, 'remnant, survivors'.
- Against the English
English versions simply transliterate it, as 'Sheerah' or KJV's 'Sherah'. That is right for a proper name, but it hides whatever meaning the name might carry.
- Used elsewhere in the period
The Septuagint seems to have heard the 'remain' root somewhere in this line, rendering something like 'among the survivors'. Its text is uncertain, but this suggests ancient readers felt the link.
Where it appears
1 Chronicles · 1
-
1 Chronicles 7:24 שֶׁאֱרָ֔ה [was] Sheerah
His daughter was Sheerah, who built Lower and Upper Beth-horon, as well as Uzzen-sheerah.
Here: Her personal name. Hebrew needs no verb 'was' here: 'his daughter, Sheerah'. Its meaning is uncertain. It may be linked to she'ēr, 'kin, blood relative', or to the root sh-'-r, 'to remain, survive'.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.