Shuthelah
Shuthelah was a son of Ephraim and the ancestor of the Shuthelahite clan within the tribe of Ephraim.
Biography
Shuthelah was a son of Ephraim and the eponymous ancestor of the Shuthelahite clan within the tribe of Ephraim. He is listed in Numbers 26:35-36 as one of Ephraim's sons, and his line produced the Shuthelahite clan enumerated in the second census of Israel in the wilderness. The name Shuthelah also appears in the genealogy of 1 Chronicles 7:20, where he is presented as the first in a sequence of Ephraimite generations. Ephraim, the younger son of Joseph, was elevated above his older brother Manasseh by the deliberate blessing of Jacob (Genesis 48:14-20), and Ephraim's descendants became one of the most significant tribes in Israel, lending their name to the northern hill country and frequently representing the Northern Kingdom as a whole in prophetic literature.
Significance
As an eponymous tribal ancestor, Shuthelah embodies the covenant blessing channeled through Joseph and his son Ephraim. The formation of recognized clans within each tribe, marked by their own name and place in the census, demonstrates God's meticulous care in sustaining every branch of Israel's covenant family through the challenging wilderness period. Ephraim's prominence in Israel's subsequent history, both as a geographic region and as a prophetic symbol (Hosea, Jeremiah, and Isaiah all invoke Ephraim), gives Shuthelah's lineage retrospective theological weight. The Shuthelahites represent one stream of blessing flowing from Joseph's faithfulness and Jacob's prophetic vision, contributing to the vast tapestry of Israel's tribal life that God was preparing to plant in the Promised Land.
Verse Appearances (3)
Numbers
1Chr
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]