שְׁפוֹ
Shepho or Shephi, an Idumaean
Definition
Shepho (also spelled Shephi) is a proper name referring to an individual from the lineage of Seir the Horite, who was an early inhabitant of the land of Edom (Genesis 36:20-21). As an Idumaean (Edomite), Shepho is listed among the 'chiefs' or clan leaders descended from Seir, indicating a position of tribal authority within the Horite people group prior to the rise of Esau's descendants in that region. The name appears in two parallel genealogical records: Genesis 36:23 and 1 Chronicles 1:40, where the Chronicler faithfully reproduces the earlier Genesis list. There are no differing meanings between the two biblical occurrences; the variation in spelling (Shepho vs. Shephi) is a common feature in the transmission of ancient names.
Biblical Usage
This word is used exclusively as a proper noun within Old Testament genealogies. It appears only twice, in parallel passages that document the pre-Israelite inhabitants of the land of Seir (Edom). The first instance is in the foundational genealogy of Genesis 36:23, part of the 'generations of Esau' which establishes the Edomite lineages. The second is in the retrospective genealogy of 1 Chronicles 1:40, which recaps the Genesis record. The usage is purely identificatory, serving to name a specific ancestral figure within a list of Horite chieftains.
Etymology
The name Shepho (שְׁפוֹ) or Shephi (שְׁפִי) derives from the Hebrew root שָׁפָה (shaphah, H8192), meaning 'to scrape' or 'to sweep bare.' It is related to the concept of baldness or a bare place. This etymological connection suggests the name may have originally described a physical characteristic (like baldness) or perhaps a geographical feature of the individual's homeland. The variant Shephi is directly comparable to the noun שְׁפִי (shephi, H8205), which explicitly means 'bareness' or 'baldness.'
Semantic Range
While the name Shepho itself is not theologically loaded, its inclusion in Scripture is significant. It appears in genealogies that God intentionally preserved to demonstrate His sovereign oversight of all nations, not just Israel. The detailed records of Edomite and Horite lineages (Genesis 36, 1 Chronicles 1) show that God's knowledge and purposes encompass all peoples. Understanding these names enriches Bible reading by highlighting the historical reliability and comprehensive scope of the biblical narrative, affirming that even obscure names are part of God's meticulously recorded story.
In its original context, the name Shepho identifies a chieftain of the Horites, the indigenous inhabitants of the mountainous land of Seir before the descendants of Esau (the Edomites) displaced them (Deuteronomy 2:12, 22). As a 'chief' (אַלּוּף, alluph), Shepho would have been a leader of a clan or a settlement. The genealogical lists in Genesis 36 served to map the political and tribal landscape of a neighboring nation, reflecting an ancient Near Eastern literary practice of documenting rival or related peoples. The name's possible meaning related to 'baldness' might reflect a personal trait or, more likely, a descriptive term for a barren hill or region associated with his clan.
Shephi (Shᵉphîy, H8205) — This is the alternate spelling/variant of the same proper name, used in 1 Chronicles 1:40. It is also a common noun meaning 'bareness' or 'bald hill.'
Word Details
How this works
Hebrew definitions are from Brown-Driver-Briggs (1906) and Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (1890), both public domain. BDB was groundbreaking for its era but reflects 19th-century assumptions about Semitic etymology. Modern scholarship (HALOT, DCH) has revised many entries. Use these definitions as a starting point for exploration, not as the final word on a term's meaning in context.
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