Shammah

See Jehovah Shammah.

Sham´mah (astonishment), one of the three chief of the thirty champions of David. The exploit by which he obtained this high distinction, as described in 2Sa 23:11-12, is manifestly the same as that which in 1Ch 11:12-14, is ascribed to David himself, assisted by Eleazar the son of Dodo. The inference, therefore, is that Shammah’s exploit lay in the assistance which he thus rendered to David and Eleazar. It consisted in the stand which the others enabled David to make, in a field of lentiles, against the Philistines. Shammah also shared in the dangers which Eleazar and Jashobeam incurred in the chivalric exploit of forcing a way through the Philistine host to gratify David’s thirst for the waters of Bethlehem (2Sa 23:16).

Other persons of this name occur. 2. A son of Reuel (Gen 36:13; Gen 36:17). 3. A brother of David (1Sa 16:9; 1Sa 17:13), who is elsewhere called Shimeah (2Sa 13:3; 2Sa 13:32) and Shimma (1Ch 2:13). 4. One of David’s thirty champions, seemingly distinct from the chief of the same name (2Sa 23:33). 5. Another of the champions distinguished as Shammah the Harodite; he is called Shammoth in 1Ch 11:27, and Shamhuth in 1Ch 27:8. That three of the thirty champions should bear the same name is somewhat remarkable.

1. One of the three chiefs of David’s thirty heroes, who shared with David and Eleazar the honor of the exploit recorded in 2Sa 23:11,12 ; 1Ch 11:12-14 . Another feast is described in 2Sa 23:13- 17.\par 2. A brother of David, 1Sa 16:9 ; 17:13; elsewhere called Shimeah, 2Sa 13:3,22 ; 1Ch 2:13 .\par Others of this name are mentioned, Gen 36:13,17 ; 2Sa 23:25,33 ; 1Ch 11:27 ; 27:8.\par

Sham’mah. (astonishment).

1. The son of Reuel, the son of Esau. Gen 36:13; Gen 36:17; 1Ch 1:37. (B.C. about 1700).

2. The third son of Jesse, and brother of David. 1Sa 16:9; 1Sa 17:13. Called also Shimea, Shimeah and Shimma.

3. One of the three greatest of David’s mighty men. 2Sa 23:11-17. (B.C. 1061).

4. The Harodite, one of David’s mighties. 2Sa 23:25. He is called "Shammoth, the Harorite" in 1Ch 11:27, and "Shamhuth, the Izrahite." 1Ch 27:8.

5. In the list of David’s mighty men in 2Sa 23:32-33, we find "Jonathan, Shammah, the Hararite;" while in the corresponding verse of 1Ch 11:34 it is Jonathan. See Shamhuth; Shammoth.

1. Gen 36:13; Gen 36:17; 1Ch 1:37.

2. Jesse’s third son, SHIMEA, SHIMEAH, SHIMMA (1Sa 16:9; 1Sa 16:13); present at David’s anointing and at the battle with Goliath (1Sa 17:13). (See SHIMMA.)

3. One of David’s three mighties; son of Agee the Hararite. Single handed he withstood the Philistines in a field of lentils ("barley" according to 1Ch 11:13-14; 1Ch 11:27, where also by a copyist’s error Shammah is omitted and the deed attributed to Eleazar), when the rest fled before them and Jehovah by him wrought a great victory (2Sa 23:11-12). 2Sa 23:4. (See SHAMHUTH.)

5. 2Sa 23:32-33, instead of "Jonathan Shammah," should read "Jonathan son of Shage," or combining both as Kennicott suggests, "Jonathan son of Shamha" (1Ch 11:34).

[Sham’mah]

1. Son of Reuel, a son of Esau. Gen 36:13; Gen 36:17; 1Ch 1:37.

2. Son of Jesse and brother of David. 1Sa 16:9; 1Sa 17:13. Called SHIMEAH in 2Sa 13:3; and SHIMMA in 1Ch 2:13.

3. Son of Agee a Hararite and one of David’s mighty men. 2Sa 23:11.

4, 5. Two of David’s mighty men, one a Harodite and the other a Hararite. 2Sa 23:25; 2Sa 23:33.

SHAMMAH.—1. Son of Reuel, son of Esau, a tribal chief (Gen 36:13). 2. Third son of Jesse, present when Samuel sought a successor to Saul (1Sa 16:9); with Saul in the battlefield when David visited the camp (1Sa 17:13). He is the same as Shimeah, father of Jonadab (2Sa 13:3), the Shimea of 1Ch 2:16, and the Shimei, father of Jonathan who slew the giant (2Sa 21:21). In 1Ch 20:7 Jonathan is called son of Shimea. 3. Son of Agee, a Hararite, one of the three mighty men of David. Alone he held the field against the Philistines (2Sa 23:11). The parallel passage, 1Ch 11:10 f., wrongly attributes the feat to Eleazar. He is probably identical with ‘Shammah, the Harodite’ (Hararite) of 2Sa 23:25. 2Sa 23:38 should read ‘Jonathan son of Shammah, the Hararite.’ In 1Ch 11:34, ‘son of Shage’ is probably confused with ‘son of Agee.’ Read, with Lucian, ‘son of Jonathan.’ Shimei, son of Ela (1Ki 4:18), should also appear here if we accept Lucian’s reading of ‘Ela’ for ‘Agee’ (2Sa 23:11). 4. An officer in David’s employ, called Shammoth in 1Ch 11:27, and Shamhuth in 1Ch 27:8. Probably the same as No. 3.

J. H. Stevenson.

sham´a (שׁמּה, shammāh):

(1) The son of Reuel, the son of Esau, a tribal chief of Edom (Gen 36:13, Gen 36:17; 1Ch 1:37, Σομέ, Somé).

(2) The third son of Jesse and brother of David. Together with his two other brothers he fought under Saul in the campaign against the Philistines and was with the army in the valley of Elah when David slew Goliath (1Sa 17:13 ff). One redactor states that he was a witness of the anointing of David by Samuel (1Sa 16:1-13). He was the father of Jonadab, the friend of Amnon (2Sa 13:3 ff), and that Jonathan whose victory over a Philistine giant is narrated in 2Sa 21:20 ff was also his son. His name is rendered as “Shammah” (1Sa 16:9; 1Sa 17:13), “Shimeah” (2Sa 13:3, 2Sa 13:12), “Shimei” (2Sa 21:21), and “Shimea” (1Ch 2:13; 1Ch 20:7).

(3) The son of Agee, a Hararite, one of the “three mighty men” of David (2Sa 23:11, Septuagint Σαμαιά, Samaiá), who held the field against the Philistines. The parallel passage (1Ch 11:10 ff) ascribes this deed to Eleazar, the son of Dodo. The succeeding incident (2Sa 23:13 ff), namely, the famous act of three of David’s heroes who risked their lives to bring their leader water from the well of Bethlehem, has frequently been credited to Shammah and two other members of “the three”; but the three warriors are plainly said (2Sa 23:13) to belong to “the thirty”; 2Sa 23:33 should read “Jonathan, son of Shammah, the Hararite.” Jonathan, one of David’s “thirty,” was a son of Shammah; the word “son” has been accidentally omitted (Driver, Budde, Kittel, etc.). The parallel passage (1Ch 11:34) has “son of Shagee,” which is probably, a misreading for “son of Agee.” Lucian’s version, “son of Shammah,” is most plausible. “Shimei the son of Ela” (1Ki 4:18) should also appear in this passage if Lucian’s reading of “Ela” for “Agee” (2Sa 23:11) be correct.

(4) A Harodite (2Sa 23:25, 2Sa 23:33), i.e. probably a native of ‛Ain-ḥarod (‛Ain Jalūd, Jdg 7:1; see HAROD). One of “the thirty” and captain of Solomon’s 5th monthly course. In the parallel lists (1Ch 11:27) he is called “the Harorite” (this last being a scribal error for Harodite) and “Shamhuth the Izrahate” (1Ch 27:8).