Shur (Bible)
Shur or Sur (Hebrew: שור, romanized: Šūr),[a] is a location mentioned several times in the Hebrew Bible.
James K. Hoffmeier believes that the "way of Shur" was located along the Wadi Tumilat — an arable strip of land to the east of the Nile Delta, serving as the ancient transit route between Ancient Egypt and Canaan across the Sinai Peninsula.[3]
Biblical narrative
[edit] | This section uses texts from within a religion or faith system without referring to secondary sources that critically analyse them. (July 2026) |
 |
Genesis
[edit] | This section contains too many or overly lengthy quotations. (July 2026) |
When the servant Hagar ran away from her owner Sarah (Abram's wife),
"the Angel of the Lord found her ... by the well in the way to Shur" (Book of Genesis, Genesis 16:7, KJV).
Later, in Genesis 20, "Abraham journeyed toward the territory of the Negeb and lived between Kadesh and Shur; and he sojourned in Gerar".[4]
According to Genesis 25:18, the borders of the Ishmaelite tribes extended "from Havilah to Shur".[5]
Exodus
[edit] | This section contains too many or overly lengthy quotations. (July 2026) |
According to the Book of Exodus, Marah is located in the "wilderness of Shur":
"Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they went into the Desert of Shur. For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water."[6]
Samuel
[edit] | This section contains too many or overly lengthy quotations. (July 2026) |
Shur is also mentioned in 1 Samuel 15:7:
"Then Saul slaughtered the Amalekites from Havilah all the way to Shur, east of Egypt."[7]
Interpretation
[edit]Easton's Bible Dictionary (1893) says that Shur is "a part, probably, of the Arabian desert, on the north-eastern border of Egypt, giving its name to a wilderness extending from Egypt toward Philistia (Gen. 16:7; 20:1; 25:18; Ex. 15:22). The name was probably given to it from the wall which the Egyptians built to defend their frontier on the north-east from the desert tribes. This wall or line of fortifications extended from Pelusium to Heliopolis."[8]
On the Genesis account, H. E. Ryle observes that Hagar, being Sarai's Egyptian maidservant, would "probably [follow] the main trade route leading to her own country".[9]
Notes
[edit]- ↑ Sometimes rendered in translations as "Sur",[1] cf. Σούρ in the Septuagint, Sur in the Vulgate.[2]
References
[edit]- ↑ Genesis 16:7: Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
- ↑ Genesis 25:18: Vulgate
- ↑ James K. Hoffmeier, "Major Geographical Issues in the Accounts of the Exodus", in Israel: Ancient Kingdom Or Late Invention? Daniel Isaac Block, ed. B&H Publishing Group, 2008 ISBN 0805446796
- ↑ Genesis 20:1: English Standard Version
- ↑ Genesis 25:18: ESV
- ↑ Exodus 15:22–23: KJV
- ↑ Bible, New Living Translation
- ↑
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Easton, Matthew George (1897). "Shur". Easton's Bible Dictionary (New and revised ed.). T. Nelson and Sons.
- ↑ Ryle, H. E., Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges on Genesis 16, accessed on 20 April 2026
 | This article about a location mentioned in the Hebrew Bible is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information. |