Shittim
Shittim is a location mentioned in the Old Testament, located in the region of Transjordan in modern-day Israel. Known today as Tall el Hammam. It appears across 5 verses in Scripture.
Biblical History
Shittim — meaning "acacia trees" — was Israel's final encampment in Transjordan before crossing the Jordan River into Canaan, and it became the site of both catastrophic sin and significant preparations for conquest. Located in the plains of Moab opposite Jericho, Shittim is identified in Numbers 25:1 as the place where Israelite men began to engage in sexual immorality with Moabite women and to worship Baal of Peor — a crisis that brought divine plague and claimed twenty-four thousand lives. It was here that Phinehas the priest demonstrated zealous faithfulness, staying the plague (Numbers 25:6-13). Despite this moral catastrophe, Shittim also witnessed decisive preparations for the conquest: Joshua sent the two spies to Jericho from Shittim (Joshua 2:1), the tribes completed their census, the Levitical cities were assigned, and Moses delivered his final addresses recorded in Deuteronomy. After Moses' death on Mount Nebo, Joshua led Israel from Shittim to the Jordan's edge before the miraculous crossing (Joshua 3:1). Micah 6:5 invokes "from Shittim to Gilgal" as a summary of God's saving acts from the Jordan crossing to the first camp in Canaan. Joel 3:18 prophesies a future day when "a fountain shall come forth from the house of the LORD and water the Valley of Shittim."
Archaeological & Historical Notes
Shittim is most frequently identified with Tell el-Hammam, a large mound in the Jordan Valley of modern Jordan northeast of the Dead Sea, though this identification is contested — Tell el-Hammam has also been controversially proposed as the site of Sodom. Abel-shittim (Numbers 33:49), the fuller name of the camp, is alternatively identified with Tell el-Kefrein or Tell Iktanu in the same region. The Jordan Valley opposite Jericho has been extensively surveyed, revealing Late Bronze Age and Iron Age occupation consistent with the Israelite encampment period. Tell el-Hammam excavations (ongoing since 2005, directed by Steven Collins) have uncovered substantial Middle and Late Bronze Age remains and evidence of a massive destruction event, though the scholarly debate over its identification continues.
Verse Appearances (5)
Sources: ISBE Encyclopedia · OpenBible Geocoding (CC BY) · Pleiades Gazetteer View all →