שֶׁלֶף
𐤔𐤋𐤐
Shelef
H8026 noun
SILEX Entry
Definition
A personal name, Sheleph, listed as a descendant of Joktan in the genealogies of Genesis 10:26 and 1 Chronicles 1:20. The name likely means 'drawn out' or 'extracted.' In all attested biblical contexts, שֶׁלֶף refers specifically to the individual Sheleph and, by extension, to the clan or descendants associated with this figure.
Semantic Range
personal name (descendant of Joktan); never used as a common noun or verb; possible derived meaning: 'drawn out' (in the etymological sense only)
Root / Etymology
From the Hebrew root שָׁלַף (šalaf), meaning 'to draw out, pull out, extract.' שֶׁלֶף (sheleph) is a proper noun likely derived from this root, with the sense of 'one who is drawn out' or 'extracted.' However, the semantic connection between the root and the name is interpretive, as is commonly the case with personal names formed from verbal roots in Hebrew.
Historical & Contextual Notes
שֶׁלֶף appears exclusively as a personal name in the Hebrew Bible, specifically as one of the sons of Joktan whose lineage is traced in the so-called 'Table of Nations' in Genesis 10 and reiterated in 1 Chronicles 1. There is no evidence the term was used as a common noun or with the verbal sense of its root in the biblical texts. Later Jewish tradition and commentators sometimes associated Sheleph and his descendants with Arabian tribes, particularly in south-central Arabia, but these identifications are based on post-biblical interpretations and geographical conjecture, rather than clear biblical usage. English translations almost always leave the name untranslated (as 'Sheleph'), which accurately reflects the word's function in the biblical text as a proper name. The etymological connection to 'draw out' should not be over-read as describing character or role, as personal names often had opaque or nominalized meanings in ancient Israelite contexts.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
from שָׁלַף; extract; Sheleph, a son of Jokthan; Sheleph.
Bantu Hebrew
No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been submitted for this word yet.
+ Add Bantu Hebrew WordRoot Family
שלף (š-l-p) — to draw out, to pull out, to extract
| Strong's | Lemma | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|
| H8025 | שָׁלַף | he pulled out |
Word Forms
1 distinct form
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H8026-01 |
שָׁ֑לֶף | shalef | HNp |
Sheleph | Drawn-Out One | Shelef | 2 |
Occurrences in Scripture
2 occurrences
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H8026-01 |
Genesis 10:26 | שָׁ֑לֶף | shalef | HNp |
Sheleph | Drawn-Out One | Shelef |
H8026-01 |
1 Chronicles 1:20 | שָׁ֑לֶף | shalef | HNp |
Sheleph | Drawn-Out One | Shelef |