Shion
Shion is an ancient city mentioned in the Old Testament, located in the region of Galilee in modern-day Israel. Known today as Sirin. It appears across 1 verse in Scripture.
Biblical History
Shion appears in a single verse of the Old Testament, Joshua 19:19, within the list of cities belonging to the tribal allotment of Issachar. It is listed alongside Hapharaim, Anaharath, and Rabbith as part of the first district enumeration in Issachar's territory. The tribe of Issachar occupied the Jezreel Valley and the southern slopes of the Galilee hills — some of the most fertile agricultural land in Canaan. Shion's position in this list places it in the northern extent of the central land, a region where the great battles of Israelite history would repeatedly be fought. Jacob's blessing of Issachar (Genesis 49:14-15) described the tribe as "a strong donkey crouching between two saddlebags" who "saw that rest was good and the land pleasant," suggesting a people whose agricultural prosperity led them to accept tributary servitude — perhaps a reflection of Shion and similar Issacharite towns remaining under Canaanite administrative pressures. The city's minimal biblical profile suggests it was a modest agricultural settlement rather than a major administrative or cultic center, yet its inclusion in the allotment list confirms its recognized place within the Israelite territorial organization of the settlement period.
Archaeological & Historical Notes
Shion is tentatively identified with Sirin (or Khirbet Shirin), a site in the lower Galilee region east of Nazareth, approximately in the tribal zone of Issachar near the Jezreel Valley. This identification is based primarily on phonetic similarity and geographical placement within the Joshua 19 boundary and town list. No dedicated excavations have been conducted at the proposed site. Survey evidence from the region indicates Iron Age occupation consistent with Israelite settlement in Issachar's territory, but no material evidence has specifically confirmed the Shion identification. The area around modern Sirin has not been the focus of sustained archaeological investigation, and the city remains one of the more obscure settlements in the Issachar allotment.
Verse Appearances (1)
Josh
Sources: ISBE Encyclopedia · OpenBible Geocoding (CC BY) · Pleiades Gazetteer View all →