Shilshah is a name found in the King James Bible, appearing 1 time in the text.
Who This Was
Shilshah was a descendant of Ephraim, one of the sons of Joseph, and he is named in the tribal genealogy recorded in 1 Chronicles 7. The Chronicler, writing after the return from exile, gathered the family lines of Israel to show that the tribes retained their identity before God despite the upheaval of captivity. In that record, Shilshah appears among the descendants of Ephraim, set within a long list of fathers and sons that traces the growth of the tribe.
His name is found in 1 Chronicles 7:37, where the text reads: “Bezer, and Hod, and Shamma, and Shilshah, and Ithran, and Beera.” These men are listed together as members of the same family line, likely brothers or near relatives within the clan of Ephraim. The passage gives no narrative about Shilshah—no deed, no journey, no word of his own. He is simply one link in a chain of names, counted among the people of God.
What Scripture says of him is therefore brief: he belonged to Ephraim, he was enrolled in the genealogy of Israel, and his name was preserved for later generations. The source note confirms only that he was a descendant of Ephraim mentioned in these genealogies. Beyond this, the Bible is silent about his life, his character, and his days. He stands as a name in the sacred record, known to God though little known to us.
The Name
The Hebrew name Shilshah is of uncertain meaning. It is not one of the names whose sense is clearly established, and scholars have not reached a firm consensus on what it signifies. Some have suggested possible connections to roots involving threefoldness or a similar idea, but these remain conjectural rather than settled. Because the meaning is not clearly recoverable, it is best to say so plainly rather than assign a meaning the text does not give. What can be said is that it was a personal name borne by an Ephraimite man in the genealogies of Israel.
A Closing Thought
Most of us will never be remembered in a genealogy, let alone in Scripture. Shilshah’s entire legacy in the Bible is a single name in a long list—and yet God saw fit to preserve it. This is a quiet comfort: the Lord does not measure our worth by how much is written about us. He knows those who belong to Him, even when the world knows nothing of them. Faithfulness in an ordinary life is not wasted. The God who counts the stars also counts His people, and not one name among them is forgotten.
At a Glance
- Gender: Male
- Testament: Old
- Mentions in the KJV: 1
Where It Appears in Scripture
- 1 Chronicles 7:37 — Bezer, and Hod, and Shamma, and Shilshah, and Ithran, and Beera.