Shemeber is a name found in the King James Bible, appearing 1 time in the text.
Who This Was
Shemeber was the king of Zeboiim, a city in the region around the Dead Sea during the time of Abraham. He is mentioned only once in Scripture, in Genesis 14:2, where he is listed among five kings who joined together in an alliance. These kings were Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar. Each ruled a distinct city, and together they represented the settlements of the plain.
The setting of Shemeber’s appearance is a time of conflict. Genesis 14 describes how these five kings had served Chedorlaomer, king of Elam, for twelve years, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled. As a result, Chedorlaomer and the kings allied with him came and made war against them. Shemeber, as king of Zeboiim, was one of the rulers who took part in that rebellion and subsequently in the battle that followed.
Scripture records nothing else about Shemeber—no words, no deeds beyond his participation in this coalition. He is named only as a king among kings, a leader whose city would later be numbered among those destroyed when judgment fell on Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns. His brief appearance ties him to a moment of political defiance and its consequences, and he remains a minor figure whose story is told in a single verse.
The Name
The meaning of the name Shemeber is not clearly recoverable from the Hebrew text. Various suggestions have been offered by scholars, but none is firmly established, and the name’s etymology remains uncertain. Because Scripture gives no explanation of the name and the Hebrew root is obscure, it is honest to say that we cannot confidently state what it meant. No meaning should be asserted as though it were certain.
A Closing Thought
Shemeber appears in a single verse, a king whose name we barely know and whose voice we never hear. Yet he stood among rulers who made choices, formed alliances, and faced the consequences of rebellion. Most of us will never be remembered by the world, but we are fully known by God. Our lives, however brief or obscure, are lived before Him. Like Shemeber, we may be named only in passing by history, but we are never overlooked by the One who numbers even the hairs of our head.
At a Glance
- Gender: Male
- Testament: Old
- Mentions in the KJV: 1
Where It Appears in Scripture
- Genesis 14:2 — That these made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar.