Who was Shua in the Bible?

Shua was a Canaanite man, known primarily as the father of a woman who married Judah, one of Jacob's sons. His daughter bore Judah three sons: Er, Onan, and Shelah (Genesis 38:2, 12).

Why is Shua significant in the Bible?

Shua's significance lies in his lineage, as his daughter's marriage to Judah produced a family line. This line is part of the ancestry leading to King David and, ultimately, to Jesus Christ as recorded in the genealogy (Matthew 1:3).

What key events involve Shua in the Bible?

The key event involving Shua is the arrangement of his daughter's marriage to Judah. Judah saw her, took her as his wife, and she conceived and bore three sons, establishing a branch of the tribe of Judah (Genesis 38:2-5).

Shua

Old TestamentPatriarchsMaleWifeMotherFather

Shua was the father of a Canaanite woman, the wife of Judah, and the mother of Er, Onan, and Shelah.

Shua

Biography

Shua was a Canaanite man whose daughter became the wife of Judah, the fourth son of Jacob (Genesis 38:2, 12). His daughter, unnamed in the Hebrew text but referred to simply as "the daughter of Shua," bore Judah three sons: Er, Onan, and Shelah. Shua is thus the maternal grandfather of this Judahite line and represents the Canaanite heritage interwoven into the genealogy of Judah during the patriarchal period. His daughter's marriage to Judah occurred when Judah departed from his brothers and settled near an Adullamite named Hirah. The text records that Shua's daughter died after the deaths of Er and Onan (Genesis 38:12), a detail that frames Judah's subsequent encounter with Tamar. Shua himself is not described beyond his role as the father-in-law of Judah.

Significance

Shua's significance lies in the complex genealogical and theological questions his daughter's marriage to Judah raises. This union illustrates the patriarchal period's ambiguous relationship with the command to avoid Canaanite intermarriage, a concern that would be formalized in later Mosaic law (Deuteronomy 7:3). The line descending from Judah and the daughter of Shua, specifically Shelah, became an established clan within the tribe of Judah (Numbers 26:20). Yet it is through Tamar, not the daughter of Shua, that the messianic line continues (Genesis 38; Matthew 1:3), demonstrating that God's redemptive purposes are not bound by human social arrangements or ethnic purity, but advance according to his own sovereign design.

Verse Appearances (3)

Genesis

Genesis 38:2 Genesis 38:12

1Chr

1Chr 2:3

References

Orr, J. (ed.) (1915) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Chicago: Howard-Severance Company. [Public Domain]
Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Translators Individualised Proper Names with all References (TIPNR). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
Wikidata contributors (n.d.) Wikidata. Available at: https://www.wikidata.org. [CC0]
Church of England (1769) The Holy Bible, Authorized (King James) Version. [Public Domain]

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