Shepham
Shepham is an ancient city mentioned in the Old Testament, located in the region of Syria in modern-day Lebanon. Known today as Hermel. It appears across 3 verses in Scripture.
Biblical History
Shepham appears in three verses of the Old Testament, all within the context of God's instructions to Moses for defining the northern and eastern boundaries of the land Israel was to inherit. In Numbers 34:10-11, Shepham is described as a point on the northeastern border of Canaan: "Your eastern border shall run from Hazar-enan to Shepham, and the border shall go down from Shepham to Riblah on the east side of Ain." This boundary description places Shepham in the region northeast of Damascus, in the vicinity of the Anti-Lebanon range and the Bekaa Valley. The passage presents the ideal boundaries of the Promised Land as understood in the Mosaic tradition — boundaries that were never fully realized in Israelite history but that expressed the full scope of the divine grant. Shepham thus functions as a landmark of Israel's covenantal inheritance, a reminder of the land God had promised even if its full extent awaited eschatological fulfillment. Its geographical position near modern Hermel in the northern Bekaa Valley of Lebanon situates it at the far northern reach of the promised territory.
Archaeological & Historical Notes
Shepham is tentatively identified with the modern town of Hermel, situated in the northern Bekaa Valley of Lebanon near the Orontes River. The identification rests primarily on geographical context within the Numbers 34 boundary description rather than on direct archaeological or epigraphic evidence. Hermel is known for an ancient monumental stone tower, the so-called Hermel Monument (or Obelisk), a carved funerary monument of unclear origin, possibly from the Hellenistic or Roman period. No Bronze Age or Iron Age excavations at Hermel have produced material confirming the biblical identification. The broader Bekaa Valley has extensive ancient occupation, but Shepham remains one of the more elusive boundary markers of the Numbers 34 territorial description.
Verse Appearances (3)
1Chr
Sources: ISBE Encyclopedia · OpenBible Geocoding (CC BY) · Pleiades Gazetteer View all →