Bible Word Study
שִׁיחוֹר לִבְנָת
Shîychôwr Libnâth · Shichor-Libnath, a stream of Palestine
שִׁיחוֹר לִבְנָת
Shichor-Libnath, a stream of Palestine
Definition
Shichor-Libnath is a proper name referring to a stream or river marking the southern boundary of the territory of Asher, as described in Joshua 19:26. The name is a compound, likely describing the water's appearance or nature. It is generally identified as a coastal river in the Carmel region, possibly the modern Nahr ez-Zerqa ('Blue River') or a nearby stream. As a geographical marker, its primary significance is in defining tribal allotments within the Promised Land.
Biblical Usage
This term is used only once in the Old Testament, in Joshua 19:26, within the context of listing the borders of the tribe of Asher. It functions solely as a geographical proper noun, specifying a boundary point: 'and it touched Carmel on the west, and Shihor-libnath.'
Etymology
The name is a compound of two elements: 'Shichor' (שִׁיחוֹר), derived from a root meaning 'dark' or 'black' (cf. H7883), and 'Libnath' (לִבְנָת), from the root לָבַן (H3835), meaning 'white' or 'to be white.' The combined meaning, 'darkish whiteness' or 'black-white,' may poetically describe the water's color, perhaps from sediment, or refer to the confluence of two differently colored streams.
Semantic Range
As a boundary marker, Shichor-Libnath was part of the tangible fulfillment of God's promise to allocate specific territories to the tribes of Israel (Joshua 13-19). Understanding its location, even if uncertain today, highlights the concrete, geographical nature of Israel's inheritance. The descriptive name may reflect ancient Near Eastern practices of naming landscape features by their observable physical characteristics. nahal (נַחַל, H5158) — A general term for a wadi or seasonal stream, whereas Shichor-Libnath is a specific proper name.
Word Details
How this works
Definitions are from the Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (BDB, 1906, public domain). Concordance and morphology data are from the OSHB (Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible).
Full methodology & sources →References
- Abbott-Smith, G. (1921) A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament. Edinburgh: T&T Clark. [Public Domain]
- Brown, F., Driver, S.R. and Briggs, C.A. (1906) A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament. Oxford: Clarendon Press. [Public Domain]
- Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Tyndale Brief lexicon of Extended Strongs for Greek (TBESG). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
- Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Translators Formatted full LSJ (TFLSJ). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
- Thayer, J.H. (1889) A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament. [Public Domain]
- Gesenius, W. (1846) Gesenius' Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament. [Public Domain]
- Dodson, J. (2010) Greek Lexicon. Biblical Humanities. [CC0]