Hebrew word · H7793

שׁוּר

shur

Shur

A place name for a desert region between southern Canaan and Egypt, in the north of the Sinai peninsula. A separate, ordinary Hebrew word with the same sound means "wall".

Appears 6 times in 6 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

§ Shur = "wall"

a place southwest of Palestine on the eastern border or within the border of Egypt; the Israelites passed through the wilderness of Shur after crossing the Red Sea

also 'wilderness of Etham'

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 Samuel 15:7

Range of meaning

A place name for a desert region between southern Canaan and Egypt, in the north of the Sinai peninsula. A separate, ordinary Hebrew word with the same sound means "wall".

Against the English

All versions keep the name "Shur". English gives no hint of the possible "wall" connection.

Used elsewhere in the period

Genesis 16:7 (the road to Shur); Genesis 20:1; Genesis 25:18; Exodus 15:22 (the wilderness Israel entered just after the sea crossing); 1 Samuel 27:8. The Egyptian Story of Sinuhe mentions "Walls of the Ruler", a line of forts on Egypt's eastern frontier, which is why many link the name to a wall, though this is unproven.

From the study of Genesis 16:7

Range of meaning

Šûr means 'wall'. As a place name it marks the wilderness region just east of Egypt's north-eastern frontier, in north-western Sinai. Shur is described as 'opposite Egypt' (Gen 25:18; compare 1 Sam 15:7). Abraham lives 'between Kadesh and Shur' (Gen 20:1). Israel enters the 'wilderness of Shur' right after crossing the sea (Exod 15:22). The 'road of Shur' was the inland route running south-west from the Negev (around Beersheba and Kadesh) across Sinai toward Egypt.

Against the English

English versions keep 'Shur' as a name, so the reader loses the sense 'wall' and, more importantly, does not realise that this road was the road home to Egypt.

Used elsewhere in the period

Many scholars connect the name with Egypt's chain of frontier forts on its eastern border. The Egyptian Story of Sinuhe (about 1900s BC) mentions the 'Walls of the Ruler', built to keep out Asiatic nomads. The link is plausible but not proven. Verse 14 places the spring 'between Kadesh and Bered', in the southern Negev or northern Sinai. Its exact site is unknown.

Where it appears

Genesis · 3

  1. Genesis 16:7 שֽׁוּר׃ Shur

    Now the angel of the LORD found Hagar by a spring of water in the desert—the spring along the road to Shur.

    Here: A region at Egypt's north-eastern edge, between southern Canaan and Egypt. Its name means 'wall'. The road to Shur was the road to Egypt, so the place name tells us Hagar, an Egyptian, was heading home.

  2. Genesis 20:1 שׁ֑וּר Shur

    Now Abraham journeyed from there to the region of the Negev and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he was staying in Gerar,

    Here: The wilderness of Shur, on the way to Egypt (16:7; 25:18; Exod 15:22). The name means 'wall' and may refer to Egypt's line of border forts. It marks the western end of the range.

  3. Genesis 25:18 שׁ֗וּר Shur

    Ishmael’s descendants settled from Havilah to Shur, which is near the border of Egypt as you go toward Asshur. And they lived in hostility toward all their brothers.

    Here: The desert on Egypt's northeastern frontier in the Sinai. The name means 'wall', possibly after Egypt's chain of border forts. It is the same road where Hagar, Ishmael's mother, met the angel (16:7).

Exodus · 1

  1. Exodus 15:22 שׁ֑וּר Shur

    Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea, and they went out into the Desert of Shur. For three days they walked in the desert without finding water.

1 Samuel · 2

  1. 1 Samuel 15:7 שׁ֔וּר Shur

    Then Saul struck down the Amalekites all the way from Havilah to Shur, which is east of Egypt.

    Here: The far end of the sweep, a desert region on the approach to Egypt. Its name matches a Hebrew word for "wall", which may or may not be the origin of the name.

  2. 1 Samuel 27:8 שׁ֖וּרָה Shur towards

    Now David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites. (From ancient times these people had inhabited the land extending to Shur and Egypt.)

    Here: "Toward Shur," the desert east of Egypt's border. The name means "wall" in Hebrew, and it marks the point where the land stops being Canaan's hinterland and approaches Egypt.

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