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שֶׁפֶר

𐤔𐤐𐤓

Shefer

H8234 noun

SILEX Entry

Root שׁפר to be beautiful, to be fair, to be splendid

Definition

A proper noun designating a geographic location, Shepher, which appears as a station in the journey of the Israelites through the wilderness. The underlying noun form is linked to the sense of 'beauty,' 'pleasantness,' or 'good appearance,' though as a toponym, the term specifically designates a place and does not denote quality in contextual use.

Semantic Range

proper noun (place name); underlying sense of beauty or pleasantness when derived from the noun; as a toponym, no direct application of the adjective meaning

Root / Etymology

Derived from the Hebrew root שׁפר (sh-p-r), which relates to being beautiful, fair, or splendid. The place name appears to employ the noun form, suggesting 'the beautiful (place)' or 'the pleasant one.'

Historical & Contextual Notes

Shepher is mentioned in Numbers 33:23 as one of the stopping points during the Israelites' journey in the wilderness. The name is probably descriptive, referring to agreeable physical qualities of the location (such as its appearance or perhaps fertility). There is no certain identification of the site. While the root connotes 'beauty' or 'pleasantness,' as a toponym it functions simply to designate the location, not to describe its qualities in a literary sense. In later translations and some traditions, the place is rendered with English transliterations or approximations, but these carry no further historical or religious connotations beyond the geographic. The term is not used elsewhere as a common noun in the Hebrew Bible, and the historical usage is restricted to the context of the journey through the wilderness.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

the same as שֶׁפֶר; Shepher, a place in the Desert; Shapper.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

שׁפר (sh-p-r) — to be beautiful, to be fair, to be splendid

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H7782 שׁוֹפָר with the ram-horn
H8235 שִׁפְרָה Shiphrah
H8237 שַׁפְרוּר his splendid pavilion

Word Forms

1 distinct form

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H8234-01 שָֽׁפֶר shafer HNp Shepher Beautiful-Place 2

Occurrences in Scripture

2 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H8234-01 Numbers 33:23 שָֽׁפֶר shafer HNp Shepher Beautiful-Place
H8234-01 Numbers 33:24 שָׁ֑פֶר shafer HNp Shepher Beautiful-Place
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