Hebrew word · H8169

שַׁעַלְבִים

uvesha'alvim

Shaalbim

A proper name for a town. The most likely root is שׁוּעָל (shuʿal), 'fox' or 'jackal'. The Hebrew word covers both animals, which were common in the dry scrub of the low hills. With its ending, the name probably means 'place of foxes/jackals'.

Appears 3 times in 3 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

Shaalbim or Shaalabbin = "place of foxes"

a town in Dan occupied by the Amorites

Also named: sha.al.vo.ni (שַׁעַלְבֹנִי "Shaalbonite" H8170)

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 Joshua 19:42

Range of meaning

A proper name for a town. The most likely root is שׁוּעָל (shuʿal), 'fox' or 'jackal'. The Hebrew word covers both animals, which were common in the dry scrub of the low hills. With its ending, the name probably means 'place of foxes/jackals'. Many Canaanite and Israelite towns were named after local animals.

Against the English

The English versions just transliterate it. Most modern ones keep the -bin form used in this verse (Shaalabbin), and YLT has 'Shalabbin'. Readers may not notice that this is the same town as 'Shaalbim' in Judges and Kings.

Used elsewhere in the period

Judges 1:35 says the Amorites 'persisted in living in Har-heres, Aijalon and Shaalbim' until the house of Joseph forced them into labour gangs. 1 Kings 4:9 lists Shaalbim in Solomon's second district, together with Makaz, Beth-shemesh and Elon-beth-hanan. 2 Samuel 23:32 and 1 Chronicles 11:33 name 'Eliahba the Shaalbonite' among David's thirty warriors. The town is usually placed at Selbit (Khirbet Selbit, near today's Shaalvim), a few kilometres north-west of Aijalon. The old Arabic name seems to keep the ancient one.

Where it appears

Joshua · 1

  1. Joshua 19:42 וְשַֽׁעֲלַבִּ֥ין and Shaalabbin

    Shaalabbin, Aijalon, Ithlah,

    Here: A town in the low hills (the Shephelah) north-west of the Aijalon valley. Its name probably comes from shuʿal, 'fox' or 'jackal', so roughly 'place of foxes'. The 'and' carries on the list of Danite towns that began in verse 41.

Judges · 1

  1. Judges 1:35 וּבְשַֽׁעַלְבִ֑ים and in Shaalbim

    And the Amorites were determined to dwell in Mount Heres, Aijalon, and Shaalbim. But when the house of Joseph grew in strength, they pressed the Amorites into forced labor.

1 Kings · 1

  1. 1 Kings 4:9 וּבְשַֽׁעַלְבִ֖ים and in Shaalbim

    Ben-deker in Makaz, in Shaalbim, in Beth-shemesh, and in Elon-beth-hanan;

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