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Who was Shelah in the Bible?

Lived during the years in Egypt and the wilderness

Shelah was the third and youngest son of Judah, born to him in Chezib (Gen.38.5). Shelah appears in 14 verses across 3 books of the Bible.

The Bible uses the name Shelah for 2 different people. All 2 are below, each with its own passages.

Shelah in Genesis

Shelah was the third and youngest son of Judah, born to him in Chezib (Gen.38.5). After the deaths of his older brothers, Er and Onan, Judah promised Tamar, Er's widow, that Shelah would marry her when he grew up. However, Judah did not keep this promise (Gen.38.11,14,26). Shelah's descendants were called Shelanites (Num.26.20) and were one of the clans of Judah. They were included in the census of the tribe of Judah in the wilderness (Num.26.20) and in the genealogies of Judah (1Ch.2.3; 4.21). Shelah's descendants included potters and linen workers who lived in Judah (1Ch.4.21-23).

Definition text: STEPBible · Tyndale House Cambridge. Licensed CC BY 4.0. Lightly edited for length and formatting.

Compiled by Protos: the verse list on this page. Where one name belongs to more than one person or place, each of them gets a separate entry.

Shelah, son of Arpachshad

Shelah was the son of Arpachshad (or Arphaxad) and the grandson of Shem, according to Gen.10.24 and Gen.11.12. He was born when Arpachshad was 35 years old and lived for 433 years (Gen.11.12-15). Shelah was an ancestor of Abraham and is included in the genealogies of Genesis 10, 11, and 1Chronicles 1. In Luke's genealogy of Jesus, Shelah is mentioned as the son of Cainan, who was the son of Arpachshad (Luk.3.35-36). This differs from the Old Testament genealogies, which list Shelah as the son of Arpachshad. The reason for this discrepancy is uncertain, but it may reflect variant traditions or textual issues.

7 verses: 1 Chronicles 1:18, 1 Chronicles 1:24, Genesis 10:24, Genesis 11:12, Genesis 11:13, Genesis 11:14, Genesis 11:15

Definition text: STEPBible · Tyndale House Cambridge. Licensed CC BY 4.0. Lightly edited for length and formatting.

Where does Shelah appear in the Bible?

Shelah is referenced in 14 verses across 3 books. Every passage below is about this one, not just every verse the word turns up in.

Genesis 91 Chronicles 4Numbers 1

Showing the first 7 of 14.

Open all 14 references in Protos

What else appears in these passages?

These turn up in the same passages as Shelah.

EberJudahErOnanTamarTimnah

Common questions

How many people in the Bible are called Shelah?

Shelah refers to 2 different people in the Bible: Shelah in Genesis; Shelah, son of Arpachshad.

How many times does the Bible mention Shelah?

Shelah appears in 14 verses across 3 books, most often in Genesis, which accounts for 9 of them.

Which books of the Bible mention Shelah?

Genesis, 1 Chronicles, Numbers.

Where can I read every verse about Shelah?

This page lists 7 of them. Protos carries all 14, and opens this entry on the verse you are reading rather than in a separate tab.

Read it in context

Read Genesis with Shelah explained on the verse.

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