Shen
Shen is an ancient city mentioned in the Old Testament, located in the region of Samaria in modern-day Israel. Known today as Burj el Isaneh. It appears across 1 verse in Scripture.
Biblical History
Shen is mentioned only once in the Old Testament, in 1 Samuel 7:12, in the context of Samuel's great victory over the Philistines at Mizpah. After the Israelites fasted, prayed, and offered a whole burnt offering, the LORD thundered against the Philistines with a great noise, throwing them into confusion so that they were struck down before Israel. To commemorate this divine deliverance, Samuel erected a memorial stone between Mizpah and Shen, naming it Ebenezer — meaning "Stone of Help" — declaring, "Thus far the LORD has helped us." The exact location of Shen has long been debated. The name may mean "tooth" or "crag," possibly describing a prominent rocky feature in the landscape. Shen thus appears as a geographical landmark used to specify the precise location of the Ebenezer monument. Though referenced only in passing, its connection to the Ebenezer stone means it marks one of the most theologically significant moments in the pre-monarchic period — a national turning point when Israel acknowledged total dependence on divine intervention rather than military strength.
Archaeological & Historical Notes
Shen is tentatively identified with Burj el Isaneh, a site in the hill country of Samaria roughly northwest of Jerusalem, though this identification is not universally accepted and remains largely based on phonetic similarity and geographical proximity to Mizpah. No dedicated excavations have been conducted at the proposed site. The broader area between Mizpah (identified with Tell en-Nasbeh) and the coastal foothills contains numerous Iron Age sites, but none has yielded inscriptional or material evidence definitively linking it to the biblical Shen. The site's single-verse occurrence and purely topographical function in 1 Samuel 7 make precise identification extremely difficult with current evidence.
Verse Appearances (1)
1Sam
Sources: ISBE Encyclopedia · OpenBible Geocoding (CC BY) · Pleiades Gazetteer View all →