SHEMIṬṬAH – See Sabbatical Year and Jubilee.
SHEMONEH 'ESREH – The Three Groups. Collection of benedictions forming the second—the Shema' being the first—important section of the daily prayers at the morning ("Shaḥarit"), afternoon ("Minḥah"), and evening ("'Arbit") services, as well as of...
SHEMOT RABBAH – See Midrsash Haggadah.
SHEOL – Position and Form. Hebrew word of uncertain etymology (see Sheol, Critical View), synonym of "bor" (pit), "abaddon" and "shaḥat" (pit or destruction), and perhaps also of "tehom" (abyss).—Biblical Data: It connotes the place...
SHEPHATIAH – Name of several persons mentioned in the Old Testament. 1. Son of David and Abital; their fifth child. He was born while his father was still reigning at Hebron (II Sam. iii. 4; I Chron. iii. 3). 2. A Haruphite, and one of the...
SHEPHERD – In the early days of settlement in Palestine the chief occupation of the Israelites was that of shepherding. Traces of the importance of this occupation are found through the Old Testament. The shepherd's function was to lead...
SHERIRA B. ḤANINA – Gaon of Pumbedita; born about 900; died about 1000 (Abraham ibn Daud, "Sefer ha-Ḳabbalah," in Neubauer, "M. J. C." i. 66-67). He was the descendant, both on his father's and his mother's side, of prominent families, several...
SHESHBAZZAR – Prince of Judah, at the head of the first Jews that returned to Jerusalem after the Exile. In 539-538 B.C. Cyrus granted the exiles permission to return. At once a question must have arisen as to the legitimate successor of the...
SHESHET – Relations to Rab. Babylonian amora of the third generation; colleague of R. Naḥman bar Jacob, with whom he had frequent arguments concerning questions of religious law. His teacher's name is not definitely known; but Sheshet was...
SHESHET BENVENISTE – See Benveniste.
SHETADLAN – Representative of the Jewish community in Germany during the Middle Ages, and in Russia almost to the present day. When the government issued a decree against the Jews of any particular locality, the latter would send their...
SHEṬAR – For the conditions under which these were drawn up in ancient times see Deed. In medieval times the same principles were carried out, but as the deeds with which Jews were concerned were chiefly those determining the...
SHIB'AH – See Mourning.
SHIBBOLETH – Word occurring in different passages of the Bible, sometimes in the singular form, sometimes in the plural, , and once in the status constructus, . It means "flood" (Isa. xxvii. 12; Ps. lxix. 3, 16) or "ear of corn" (Job xxiv....
SHIELD – Like most peoples of antiquity, the Israelites used two kinds of shields—a large one which covered the whole body and was carried by the heavy-armed infantry, and a small, easily managed one, carried by the light-armed troops....
SHIELD OF DAVID – See Magen Dawid.
SHIGGAYON – Term used as the superscription of Ps. vii. 1, and, in the form , of Hab. iii. 1, although the Septuagint evidently reads (comp. Ps. lxi. 1). Aquila, Symmachus, Theodotion, and Jerome regarded the word as synonymous with (Ps....
SHILA OF KEFAR TAMARTA – Palestinian amora of the third century. In Palestinian sources he is called only by his personal name, but in the Babylonian Talmud the name of his home in Judea is always added, in order to distinguish him from an older...
SHILOAH – Locality mentioned in the Old Testament as "the waters of Shiloah" (Isa. viii. 6) and "the pool of Siloah" (Neh. iii. 15). Josephus writes the word Σιλωά, Σιλωᾶς, and Σιλωάμ, while the Arabic name is 'Ain Silwan. The pool was...
SHILOH – City of Ephraim, where were placed, after the settlement in Palestine, the Ark and the sanctuary of Yhwh at which the family of Eli officiated (I Sam. i. 3 et passim, iii. 1 et seq.). As the Ark was not taken back to Shiloh when...
SHIMEI – 1. Biblical Data: Benjamite of Bahurim, son of Gera, "a man of the family of the house of Saul" (II Sam. xvi. 5-14, xix. 16-23; I Kings ii. 8-9, 36-46). He is mentioned as one of David's tormentors during his flight before...
SHIN – Twenty-first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Its name appears to be connected with "shen" = "tooth" (see Alphabet). The sign ש represents two sounds: (1) a dental surd sibilant (indicated by a point on the left horn, ש, and...
SHINAR – Biblical Data: Name for Babylonia occurring eight times in the Old Testament. In Gen. x. 10 the beginning of Nimrod's kingdom is said to have been "Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar." In Gen. xi. 2,...
SHINNUY HA-SHEM – The custom of changing a person's name, as a tribute to his achievements, or as a sign that his condition will be improved, or particularly as an aid to his recovery from illness. Abram's name was changed to "Abraham" = "the...
SHIP, SHIP-BUILDER, AND SHIPPING – See Navigation.