שָׁפִיר
𐤔𐤐𐤉𐤓
Shafir
H8208 noun
SILEX Entry
Definition
Proper name designating a town in the Shephelah region of Judah, possibly meaning 'beautiful' or 'pleasant.' Used as a toponym, it refers specifically to a geographic location mentioned as part of a list of settlements in biblical lament. The etymological sense ('beautiful, fair') may play on the meaning of the root, but the actual place name serves as an identifier rather than a descriptive adjective in its biblical occurrence.
Semantic Range
proper name of a Judahite town, literally 'beautiful'; associated wordplay in prophetic lament
Root / Etymology
Derived from the root שפר meaning 'to be beautiful, fair, pleasing.' שָׁפִיר is a feminine formation used as a proper noun, following the common pattern of toponyms based on root qualities or perceived characteristics of a location.
Historical & Contextual Notes
שָׁפִיר appears in Micah 1:11 as one of several Judahite towns listed in a lament predicting judgment. The primary usage refers to a historical settlement in the Judean foothills (Shephelah), though the precise archaeological location is uncertain. The text may employ a wordplay between the name and its root meaning 'beautiful,' contrasting the city's name with an impending shame or disaster. This illustrates a tendency in prophetic literature to exploit the literal meanings or associations of place names. Later translation traditions (including the Septuagint and Vulgate) transliterate or attempt to render the meaning, but the English 'Saphir' or 'Shaphir' is simply a transliteration of the Hebrew. The name is not reused for individuals or groups in the Hebrew Bible and does not develop into a common term with broader semantic range. English translations sometimes render it as 'Shaphir' but may obscure the underlying Hebrew meaning or literary wordplay present in Micah's prophetic oracle.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
from שָׁפַר; beautiful; Shaphir, a place in Palestine; Saphir.
Bantu Hebrew
No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been submitted for this word yet.
+ Add Bantu Hebrew WordRoot Family
שפר (sh-p-r) — to be beautiful, fair, pleasing
| Strong's | Lemma | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|
| H8209 | שַׁפִּיר | splendid |
| H8231 | שָׁפַר | she became splendid |
| H8232 | שְׁפַר | he was pleasing |
| H8233 | שֶׁפֶר | beauty |
| H8236 | שִׁפְרָה | Fair-one |
Word Forms
1 distinct form
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H8208-01 |
שָׁפִ֖יר | shafir | HNp |
of Shaphir | Beautiful-Town | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
1 total occurrence
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H8208-01 |
Micah 1:11 | שָׁפִ֖יר | shafir | HNp |
of Shaphir | Beautiful-Town |