Shaphir (Hastings' Dictionary)

One of the towns or villages — none of them very far from Eleutheropolis — which the prophet Micali addressed (Mic 1"). According to Eusebius and Jerome (Onom. ta^xlp, Saphir), it was a village of Judah in tlie hUl-conntry between Eleuthero- polis and Ascalon. Robinson {BMP'' ii. 34, note), van de Velde {S. and P. 159), and Conder, doubt- fully {PEF Mem. ii. 413), identify Shaphir with one of three mud villages, called es-SudJir, which stand near each other about 3i miles S.E. of Esdud, Ashdod.

This appears to be the place referred to in the Onomasticoti, but the identifica- tion is uncertain. On the possible identity of Shaphir with Shamir of Jos IS** see Nowack on Mic 1". C. W. Wilson. SHARAI {it ; B 2o/Koi), A 'Aooi, K SomCe).— One of the sons of Bani, who had married a foreign wife, Ezr 10«.