Shebarim
“The breaches or quarries”
Summary
A place near Ai to which the Israelites fled after their initial defeat, possibly referring to quarries or rocky crevices in the terrain.
☩The Defeat at Ai
Shebarim appears only once in Scripture, in the account of Israel's first disastrous attack on Ai following their victory at Jericho. The men of Ai chased the fleeing Israelites 'from before the gate even unto Shebarim, and smote them in the going down.' The defeat resulted from Achan's sin of taking devoted things from Jericho, which had brought God's curse upon Israel.
☩Meaning of the Name
The Hebrew 'ha-Shebarim' literally means 'the breaches' or 'the broken places.' Some scholars interpret this as referring to stone quarries in the area, while others suggest it describes fissures or rents in the soil that gradually deepened into a precipice or ravine leading down toward Gilgal. The use of the definite article suggests it was a well-known, specific location. The terrain around any proposed site for Ai was characterized by such broken, fissured ground.
Related Verses1 mention
Joshua· 1 verse
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Shebarim," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. IX (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.Andrew Robert Fausset, "Shebarim," in The Englishman's Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopædia (Hodder & Stoughton, 1878).
- 3.James Orr (ed.), "Shebarim," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. IV (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).