שָׁלִשָׁה
𐤔𐤋𐤔𐤄
Shalishah
H8031 noun
SILEX Entry
Definition
Proper noun: Shalishah – the name of a district or region located within the broader southern Levantine context, attested as the destination/region associated with agricultural produce but with boundaries and precise identification uncertain. The name is possibly associated with the numeral 'three' or 'third', potentially indicating a 'third district' or 'district of three', but is used specifically as a toponym in biblical texts.
Semantic Range
name of a district or region; possibly 'third district' or 'district of three'; toponym; unrelated to the standard noun or numeral uses outside place name contexts
Root / Etymology
Derived from the root שלש (to be three, third), with the feminine ending -ah; the term is directly related to the numeral, possibly indicating an ordinal or partitioned area. The direct root meaning is 'three' or 'third', while the lexical form functions as a place name rather than an ordinal.
Historical & Contextual Notes
Shalishah (שָׁלִשָׁה) is mentioned in 1 Samuel 9:4 as part of the route Saul took in search of his father's donkeys and in 2 Kings 4:42 as the origin of a man bringing bread to Elisha. The precise location remains uncertain, but it is likely a region of the northern or central hill country, sometimes associated by tradition with the coastal plain or southern hills, though archaeological identification is lacking. The name's link to 'three' remains speculative; it may reference a third district, a tripartite region, or possibly a tri-part political/administrative division. Modern English translations usually transliterate the name, but earlier tradition occasionally substitutes local place names. No cultic or tribal associations are specified nor are there indications that the population was exclusively Israelite. The use of 'Palestine' in Strong's reflects 19th-century terminology; the actual geo-political setting in the Hebrew Bible precedes later Roman provincial usages.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
feminine from שָׁלַשׁ; trebled land; Shalishah, a place in Palestine; Shalisha.
Bantu Hebrew
No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been submitted for this word yet.
+ Add Bantu Hebrew WordRoot Family
שלש (š-l-š) — three, third, divide into thirds, do thrice
| Strong's | Lemma | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|
| H7969 | שָׁלוֹשׁ | in the three |
| H7970 | שְׁלוֹשִׁים | in the thirty |
| H7991 | שָׁלִישׁ | in the third-rank officer |
| H7992 | שְׁלִישִׁי | in the third |
| H8027 | שָׁלַשׁ | the threefold one |
Word Forms
1 distinct form
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H8031-01 |
שָׁלִ֖שָׁה | shalishah | HNp |
of Shalishah | Third-District | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
1 total occurrence
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H8031-01 |
1 Samuel 9:4 | שָׁלִ֖שָׁה | shalishah | HNp |
of Shalishah | Third-District |