Hebrew word · H7767

שׁוּנַמִּית

hashunamit

Shunammite

A word that names a person by her place of origin (a 'gentilic'): 'woman of Shunem'. Shunem lay in Issachar's territory (Josh 19:18), on the southern slope of the hill of Moreh above the Jezreel Valley, at modern Sulam.

Appears 8 times in 8 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

People descended from Shunam(?), first mentioned at 1Ki.1.3

§ Shunammite, of Shunen "double resting place"

an inhabitant of Shunem

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 Kings 1:3

Range of meaning

A word that names a person by her place of origin (a 'gentilic'): 'woman of Shunem'. Shunem lay in Issachar's territory (Josh 19:18), on the southern slope of the hill of Moreh above the Jezreel Valley, at modern Sulam.

Against the English

Most versions have 'the Shunammite'. KJV's 'a Shunammite' drops the Hebrew article, which in Hebrew turns the label into her standing title.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Philistines camped at Shunem before Saul's last battle (1 Sam 28:4). The wealthy 'Shunammite woman' who hosted Elisha is a different person (2 Kgs 4:8–37). The Septuagint spells it Sōmanitis. Some link her to the 'Shulammite' of Song of Songs 6:13 (7:1 in Hebrew); see debates.

Similar words

Where it appears

1 Kings · 5

  1. 1 Kings 1:3 הַשּׁ֣וּנַמִּ֔ית the Shunammite

    Then they searched throughout Israel for a beautiful girl, and they found Abishag the Shunammite and brought her to the king.

    Here: 'The woman from Shunem', a town in the territory of Issachar on the edge of the Jezreel Valley in the north. The definite article ('the') makes this her standing label, and she is called this throughout the story (1 Kgs 1:15; 2:17, 21, 22).

  2. 1 Kings 1:15 הַשּׁ֣וּנַמִּ֔ית the Shunammite

    So Bathsheba went to see the king in his bedroom. Since the king was very old, Abishag the Shunammite was serving him.

  3. 1 Kings 2:17 הַשּׁוּנַמִּ֖ית the Shunammite

    Adonijah replied, “Please speak to King Solomon, since he will not turn you down. Let him give me Abishag the Shunammite as my wife.”

  4. 1 Kings 2:21 הַשֻּׁנַמִּ֑ית the Shunammite

    So Bathsheba said, “Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to your brother Adonijah as his wife.”

  5. 1 Kings 2:22 הַשֻּׁנַמִּית֙ the Shunammite

    King Solomon answered his mother, “Why do you request Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Since he is my older brother, you might as well request the kingdom for him and for Abiathar the priest and for Joab son of Zeruiah!”

2 Kings · 3

  1. 2 Kings 4:12 לַשּׁוּנַמִּ֣ית <to> the Shunammite [woman]

    And he said to Gehazi his servant, “Call the Shunammite woman.” And when he had called her, she stood before him,

  2. 2 Kings 4:25 הַשּׁוּנַמִּ֥ית [is] the Shunammite [woman]

    So she set out and went to the man of God at Mount Carmel. When the man of God saw her at a distance, he said to his servant Gehazi, “Look, there is the Shunammite woman.

  3. 2 Kings 4:36 הַשֻּׁנַמִּ֣ית the Shunammite [woman]

    Elisha summoned Gehazi and said, “Call the Shunammite woman.” So he called her and she came. Then Elisha said, “Pick up your son.”

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.