Shihor

Biblical References

Shihor appears four times in the Old Testament.

• Joshua 13:3: This passage lists the land that Joshua had not yet taken. It describes the territory "from Sihor, which is before Egypt, even unto the borders of Ekron northward," that is, the region of the five Philistine cities.
• 1 Chronicles 13:5: This verse records that David gathered all Israel together "from Shihor of Egypt even unto the entering of Hemath" in order to bring the ark of the covenant from Kirjath-jearim. Here Shihor marks the southern extremity of the land of Israel.
• Isaiah 23:3: This verse is part of a prophecy concerning Tyre. It sets "the seed of Sihor" alongside "the harvest of the river" (that is, the Nile) and says that Tyre, by shipping Egypt's grain across the sea, had become "a mart of nations."
• Jeremiah 2:18: In this rebuke of Judah, God pairs the way to Egypt, taken "to drink the waters of Sihor," with the way to Assyria, taken "to drink the waters of the river."

Shihor-libnath, mentioned in Joshua 19:26, is regarded as a different place name on the border of the tribe of Asher.

Background

The Hebrew form of the name is Shihor. Two explanations of its etymology have been proposed. One connects it with a Hebrew word meaning "to be black." The other derives it from an Egyptian place name meaning "Pool of Horus." Neither explanation has been established.

In Isaiah 23:3 Shihor is paired with the Nile, and in Jeremiah 2:18 it is paired with "the river" on the Assyrian side (commonly understood as the Euphrates). For this reason, Shihor in these two passages is generally read as a poetic expression for the Nile.

Views on the Location

In boundary passages such as Joshua 13:3 and 1 Chronicles 13:5, scholars differ on the precise identification of Shihor.

• Some identify it with the easternmost branch of the Nile Delta.
• Some identify it with a lake or channel near Egypt's northeastern frontier.
• Some identify it with the "river of Egypt" mentioned in other passages (commonly identified with the Wadi el-Arish in the northern Sinai Peninsula).

None of these views can be stated with certainty.

Significance in the Bible as a Whole

Shihor is used in two senses.

• Southern boundary: It designates the southern limit of the land of Israel, outlining the extent of the land God had promised.
• The power of Egypt: In Jeremiah 2:18 it symbolizes Egyptian power. Just before this, Jeremiah 2:13 rebukes the people for having forsaken God, "the fountain of living waters," and hewn out "broken cisterns, that can hold no water." In this context, going to drink the waters of Shihor signifies a political and spiritual choice to rely on a great power instead of on God. This theme also connects with the criticism of dependence on Egypt in Isaiah 30–31.

The name Shihor does not appear in the New Testament. In preaching, the contrast of "living waters" in Jeremiah 2 is sometimes connected with the "living water" of which Jesus spoke in John 4 and 7. This connection, however, is drawn by interpreters rather than made directly by the text.