Sheshai

Biblical Record

Sheshai was a descendant of Anak who lived in Hebron. He is mentioned three times in the Bible, and each time his name appears alongside those of Ahiman and Talmai.

• Numbers 13:22: When the twelve spies sent by Moses reached Hebron, "Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the children of Anak, were" there. In Numbers 13:28 and 33, the spies go on to report the fear they felt at the sight of the descendants of Anak.
• Joshua 15:14: Caleb "drove thence the three sons of Anak, Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai, the children of Anak" from Hebron.
• Judges 1:10: The tribe of Judah attacked the Canaanites in Hebron and "slew Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai."

Nothing further is known about Sheshai's life or character.

Significance Within the Bible

Sheshai's name represents the formidable inhabitants Israel encountered in the land of Canaan. Although most of the spies reported that the land could not be taken because of the descendants of Anak, the Book of Joshua records that Caleb took possession of that very city, Hebron (Joshua 14:12–14; 15:13–14). Sheshai is not mentioned in the New Testament.

Interpretations and Questions

• Driven out or killed: Joshua 15:14 states that Caleb "drove" them out, whereas Judges 1:10 states that Judah "slew" them. Judges 1:20 likewise records that Caleb "expelled thence the three sons of Anak." Some interpreters view these as accounts of the same event told from different perspectives; others suggest that Caleb fought as a member of the tribe of Judah and that his action was recorded as that of the tribe as a whole.
• Individuals or clans: Because the same three names recur from the spying mission through the conquest, some scholars regard them as the names of three clans among the descendants of Anak rather than of individuals.
• Depiction as a giant: Because the descendants of Anak are described as men of great stature (Numbers 13:33), Sheshai is sometimes portrayed as a giant, but the biblical text says nothing specific about his own physical build.

In Korean Churches

Sheshai is rarely treated as a subject in his own right. His name typically comes up only in sermons or Sunday school lessons on the story of the twelve spies or on Caleb's request, "give me this mountain" (Joshua 14:12), where he is mentioned as one of the descendants of Anak whom Caleb overcame.