Shelah
Encyclopedia
According to the Bible
, Shelah/Shela was the youngest brother among Judah
's first three sons, and was born at Chezib.
had killed Shelah's two older brothers, namely Er and Onan
, Judah was unwilling to allow Tamar, who had been Er's wife, and who had had cohabited with Onan, to be married to Shelah; Judah's concern was that Tamar might be cursed, and so he told her to wait until Shelah had grown up, but when Shelah eventually did, Judah continued to neglect to give Tamar to him in marriage. In the Book of Chronicles, Shelah is identified as being the name of a clan, containing a subclan named Er, most likely named to honor his deceased eldest brother.
The sons of Shelah the son of Judah were:
These were the potters and those who dwell at Netaim and Gederah; there they dwelt with the king David
for his work.
According to biblical scholars
, the description of Shelah is an eponym
ous aetiological myth concerning fluctuations in the constituency of the tribe of Judah
, with Shelah representing the newest clan to become part of the tribe; the Book of Chronicles' description of Er as a descendant of Shelah, suggests that Er was in reality the name of a clan that was originally equal in status to the Shelah clan, but was later subsumed by it.
Scholars have argued that the Tamar narrative, of which the description of Shelah is a part, secondarily aims to either assert the institution of levirate marriage
, or present an aetiological myth for its origin; Shelah's role in the narrative would thus be as the example of a brother refusing to perform levirate marriage. Emerton
regards the evidence for this as inconclusive, though classical rabbinical writers argued that this narrative concerns the origin of levirate marriage.
Although, in the Gospel of Luke 3:35 Shelah is listed in the Genealogy of Jesus, that individual is not Shelah son of Judah (שלה), but rather a different individual of a similar sounding name (שלח). {Adam to David}}
, who was sent to a society known as the Thamud
, who lived in homes cut into mountains. The Qur'an's description of Saleh is fairly limited, although he is stated to have been born 9 generations after Noah
; according to the biblical Genealogy of Abraham, Abraham
was born about 10 generations after Noah, and therefore Shelah would have been born about 13 generations after Noah. The vague similarity in hypothetical time period, and the similarity of the names, has led to the opinion that the Qur'an's Saleh is the biblical Shelah; the equation, however, is controversial, since there is almost nothing in common between the Qur'anic narrative of Saleh and the Biblical narrative of Shelah. Many scholars of Islam equate the Thamud with the Edomites at Petra
, due to the mention of them living in rock-cut homes; the name of Saleh may derive from this origin - Petra's historic name was Se'lah, meaning rock in Hebrew, others believe it comes from the Arabic Word "صالح" (Sali'h) meaning the good one.
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
, Shelah/Shela was the youngest brother among Judah
Judah (Biblical figure)
Judah was, according to the Book of Genesis, the fourth son of Jacob and Leah, and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Judah. Biblical scholars, such as J. A...
's first three sons, and was born at Chezib.
Biblical narrative
In the text, after YahwehYahweh
Yahweh is the name of God in the Bible, the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Jews and Christians.The word Yahweh is a modern scholarly convention for the Hebrew , transcribed into Roman letters as YHWH and known as the Tetragrammaton, for which the original pronunciation is unknown...
had killed Shelah's two older brothers, namely Er and Onan
Onan
Onan is a minor biblical person in the Book of Genesis , who was the second son of Judah. Just like his older brother, Er, Onan died prematurely by YHWH's will for being wicked....
, Judah was unwilling to allow Tamar, who had been Er's wife, and who had had cohabited with Onan, to be married to Shelah; Judah's concern was that Tamar might be cursed, and so he told her to wait until Shelah had grown up, but when Shelah eventually did, Judah continued to neglect to give Tamar to him in marriage. In the Book of Chronicles, Shelah is identified as being the name of a clan, containing a subclan named Er, most likely named to honor his deceased eldest brother.
The sons of Shelah the son of Judah were:
- Er, the father of Lecah
- Laadah, the father of Mareshah, and the families of the house of the linen workers of the house of Ashbea
- Jokim, the men of Chozeba
- Joash
- Saraph, who ruled in Moab
- Jashubi-Lehem
These were the potters and those who dwell at Netaim and Gederah; there they dwelt with the king David
David
David was the second king of the united Kingdom of Israel according to the Hebrew Bible and, according to the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, an ancestor of Jesus Christ through both Saint Joseph and Mary...
for his work.
According to biblical scholars
Biblical criticism
Biblical criticism is the scholarly "study and investigation of Biblical writings that seeks to make discerning judgments about these writings." It asks when and where a particular text originated; how, why, by whom, for whom, and in what circumstances it was produced; what influences were at work...
, the description of Shelah is an eponym
Eponym
An eponym is the name of a person or thing, whether real or fictitious, after which a particular place, tribe, era, discovery, or other item is named or thought to be named...
ous aetiological myth concerning fluctuations in the constituency of the tribe of Judah
Tribe of Judah
According to the Hebrew Bible, the Tribe of Judah was one of the Tribes of Israel.Following the completion of the conquest of Canaan by the Israelite tribes after about 1200 BCE, Joshua allocated the land among the twelve tribes....
, with Shelah representing the newest clan to become part of the tribe; the Book of Chronicles' description of Er as a descendant of Shelah, suggests that Er was in reality the name of a clan that was originally equal in status to the Shelah clan, but was later subsumed by it.
Scholars have argued that the Tamar narrative, of which the description of Shelah is a part, secondarily aims to either assert the institution of levirate marriage
Levirate marriage
Levirate marriage is a type of marriage in which the brother of a deceased man is obligated to marry his brother's widow, and the widow is obligated to marry her deceased husband's brother....
, or present an aetiological myth for its origin; Shelah's role in the narrative would thus be as the example of a brother refusing to perform levirate marriage. Emerton
Regius Professor of Hebrew
The Regius Professorship of Hebrew, founded by Henry VIII, is a professorship at both Cambridge and Oxford Universities.- List of Regius Professors of Hebrew at Cambridge :...
regards the evidence for this as inconclusive, though classical rabbinical writers argued that this narrative concerns the origin of levirate marriage.
Although, in the Gospel of Luke 3:35 Shelah is listed in the Genealogy of Jesus, that individual is not Shelah son of Judah (שלה), but rather a different individual of a similar sounding name (שלח). {Adam to David}}
Possible Qur'anic references
The Qur'an refers to a prophet named SalehSaleh
Saleh or Salih was a prophet of ancient Arabia mentioned in the Qur'an, who prophesied to the tribe of the Thamud. He is mentioned nine times throughout the Qur'an and his people are frequently referenced as a wicked community who, because of their sins, were ultimately destroyed...
, who was sent to a society known as the Thamud
Thamud
The Thamūd were a people of ancient Arabia who were known from the 1st millennium BC to near the time of Muhammad. Although they are thought to have originated in southern Arabia, Arabic tradition has them moving north to settle on the slopes of Mount Athlab near Mada'in Saleh...
, who lived in homes cut into mountains. The Qur'an's description of Saleh is fairly limited, although he is stated to have been born 9 generations after Noah
Noah
Noah was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the tenth and last of the antediluvian Patriarchs. The biblical story of Noah is contained in chapters 6–9 of the book of Genesis, where he saves his family and representatives of all animals from the flood by constructing an ark...
; according to the biblical Genealogy of Abraham, Abraham
Abraham
Abraham , whose birth name was Abram, is the eponym of the Abrahamic religions, among which are Judaism, Christianity and Islam...
was born about 10 generations after Noah, and therefore Shelah would have been born about 13 generations after Noah. The vague similarity in hypothetical time period, and the similarity of the names, has led to the opinion that the Qur'an's Saleh is the biblical Shelah; the equation, however, is controversial, since there is almost nothing in common between the Qur'anic narrative of Saleh and the Biblical narrative of Shelah. Many scholars of Islam equate the Thamud with the Edomites at Petra
Petra
Petra is a historical and archaeological city in the Jordanian governorate of Ma'an that is famous for its rock cut architecture and water conduits system. Established sometime around the 6th century BC as the capital city of the Nabataeans, it is a symbol of Jordan as well as its most visited...
, due to the mention of them living in rock-cut homes; the name of Saleh may derive from this origin - Petra's historic name was Se'lah, meaning rock in Hebrew, others believe it comes from the Arabic Word "صالح" (Sali'h) meaning the good one.