Hebrew word · H7883

שִׁיחוֹר

shichor

Nile

Borrowed from Egyptian š-ḥr, usually explained as "Pool/Waters of Horus", the name of a waterway in the eastern Delta. In the Bible it marks Egypt's frontier facing Canaan (Josh 13:3; 1 Chr 13:5) or stands for the Nile and its produce (Isa 23:3).

Appears 4 times in 4 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

§ Shihor or Sihor = "dark"

a river or canal on east border of Egypt and a branch of the Nile

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 Jeremiah 2:18

Range of meaning

Borrowed from Egyptian š-ḥr, usually explained as "Pool/Waters of Horus", the name of a waterway in the eastern Delta. In the Bible it marks Egypt's frontier facing Canaan (Josh 13:3; 1 Chr 13:5) or stands for the Nile and its produce (Isa 23:3). Hebrew speakers may also have heard shachor, "black", in it, suggesting dark, silt-laden water.

Against the English

KJV "Sihor" and WEB "Shihor" keep the name but mean nothing to a modern reader. BSB and ESV "the Nile" give the sense but lose the precise local name for the Delta branch nearest Judah.

Used elsewhere in the period

Egyptian texts name š-ḥr in the eastern Delta (discussed in HALOT and the major Jeremiah commentaries). The Vulgate reads "muddy water" (from the "black" association). The Septuagint reads "Gihon", the Eden river identified with the Nile in Second Temple Jewish tradition (cf. Sir 24:27).

From the study of Joshua 13:3

Range of meaning

A proper name for a body of water linked with Egypt. In Isaiah 23:3 and Jeremiah 2:18 it stands in parallel with or for the Nile ('the waters of Shihor'). In Joshua 13:3 and 1 Chronicles 13:5 ('from Shihor of Egypt to Lebo-hamath') it marks the southwestern limit of Israel's ideal land. The name is widely explained as Egyptian pꜣ-š-ḥr, 'the pool/waters of Horus', a name attested for a waterway in the eastern Nile Delta. Hebrew hearers may also have heard their own word shāḥôr, 'black', fitting the dark Nile silt.

Against the English

KJV and YLT transliterate it as 'Sihor'. BSB, WEB and ESV have 'the Shihor'. Some modern versions add 'River' or 'Brook', and that addition already picks a side on what kind of water it was.

Used elsewhere in the period

Egyptian toponym lists of the New Kingdom name a 'Waters of Horus' on the eastern frontier, along the military road to Canaan called the 'Ways of Horus'. The Septuagint here does not transliterate the name but writes 'the uninhabited [land] facing Egypt', thinking of the desert edge. Jerome's Vulgate writes 'the turbid river which waters Egypt', drawing on the 'black/dark' sense.

Where it appears

Joshua · 1

  1. Joshua 13:3 הַשִּׁיח֞וֹר the Shihor

    from the Shihor east of Egypt to the territory of Ekron on the north (considered to be Canaanite territory)—that of the five Philistine rulers of Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron, as well as that of the Avvites;

    Here: 'The Shihor', a named body of water on Egypt's eastern frontier, probably an Egyptian name ('waters of Horus'). It marks the southwestern limit of the land Israel claimed.

1 Chronicles · 1

  1. 1 Chronicles 13:5 שִׁיח֥וֹר Shihor

    So David assembled all Israel, from the River Shihor in Egypt to Lebo-hamath, to bring the ark of God from Kiriath-jearim.

Isaiah · 1

  1. Isaiah 23:3 שִׁחֹ֔ר Shihor

    On the great waters came the grain of Shihor; the harvest of the Nile was the revenue of Tyre; she was the merchant of the nations.

Jeremiah · 1

  1. Jeremiah 2:18 שִׁח֑וֹר [the] Shihor

    Now what will you gain on your way to Egypt to drink the waters of the Nile? What will you gain on your way to Assyria to drink the waters of the Euphrates?

    Here: A name taken from Egyptian for a Nile waterway in the eastern Delta, on the side facing Judah. Paired here with "the River", it stands for the Nile and so for Egypt itself.

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