Encyclopedia entry
Shur
An enclosure; a wall, a part, probably, of the Arabian desert, on the north-eastern border of Egypt, giving its name to a wilderness extending from Egypt toward Philistia (Gen. 16:7; 20:1; 25:18; Ex. 15:22). The name was probably given to it from the wall (or shur) which the Egyptians built to defend their frontier on the north-east from the desert tribes. This wall or line of fortifications extended from Pelusium to Heliopolis.
Also from Smith's (1884) +−
(a wall), a place just without the eastern border of Egypt. Shur is first mentioned in the narrative of Haggar’s flight from Sarah. (Genesis 16:7) Abraham afterward “dwelled between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourned in Gerar.” (Genesis 20:1) It is also called Ethami. The wilderness of Shur was entered in the Israelites after they had crossed the Red Sea. (Exodus 15:22,23) It was also called the wilderness of Etham. (Numbers 33:8) Shur may have been a territory town east of the ancient head of the Red Sea; and from its being spoken of as a limit, it was probably the last Arabian town before entering Egypt.
In the Bible
6
Verses where Shur is named. Berean Standard Bible (public domain).
- 1 Samuel 15:7
Then Saul struck down the Amalekites all the way from Havilah to Shur, which is east of Egypt.
- 1 Samuel 27:8
Now David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites. (From ancient times these people had inhabited the land extending to Shur and Egypt.)
- Exodus 15:22
Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea, and they went out into the Desert of Shur. For three days they walked in the desert without finding water.
- Genesis 16:7
Now the angel of the LORD found Hagar by a spring of water in the desert—the spring along the road to Shur.
- Genesis 20:1
Now Abraham journeyed from there to the region of the Negev and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he was staying in Gerar,
- Genesis 25:18
Ishmael’s descendants settled from Havilah to Shur, which is near the border of Egypt as you go toward Asshur. And they lived in hostility toward all their brothers.
Scripture on Shur
7
See all 7 +−
Shur references
12
Sources · Hitchcock's Bible Names (1869) · Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897) · Smith's Bible Dictionary (1884)
Public-domain text. Modernized only where archaic spelling impedes reading; original facts preserved. Verify against an authoritative modern reference before quoting.