8348. Sheshan
Lexical Summary
Sheshan: Sheshan

Original Word: שֵׁשָׁן
Part of Speech: Proper Name Masculine
Transliteration: Sheshan
Pronunciation: shay-SHAN
Phonetic Spelling: (shay-shawn')
KJV: Sheshan
NASB: Sheshan
Word Origin: [perhaps for H7799 (שׁוּשַׁן שׁוֹשָׁן שׁוֹשָׁן שׁוֹשַׁנָּה - lily)]

1. lily
2. Sheshan, an Israelite

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
Sheshan

Perhaps for shuwshan; lily; Sheshan, an Israelite -- Sheshan.

see HEBREW shuwshan

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
of uncertain derivation
Definition
a man of Judah
NASB Translation
Sheshan (5).

Brown-Driver-Briggs
שֵׁשָׁן proper name, masculine in Judah, 1 Chronicles 2:31 (twice in verse) (with one son), 1 Chronicles 2:34; 1 Chronicles 2:34; 1 Chronicles 2:35 (no sons, but daughters, compare Benz Kit); Σωσαν[μ], ᵐ5L Σισαν.

Topical Lexicon
Genealogical setting

Sheshan appears only in the chronicler’s record of the Jerahmeelite branch of the tribe of Judah (1 Chronicles 2:25-41). He is six generations removed from Hezron, Judah’s grandson, through Jerahmeel, Ram, and Appaim. The line runs: Hezron – Jerahmeel – Ram – Appaim – Ishi – Sheshan. Though tucked into an extended genealogy, his name becomes the pivot on which this entire sub-branch of Judah turns.

Scriptural occurrences

1 Chronicles 2:31

1 Chronicles 2:34 (twice)

1 Chronicles 2:35

“Now Sheshan had no sons, only daughters. But Sheshan had a servant, an Egyptian, named Jarha. So Sheshan gave his daughter in marriage to his servant Jarha, and she bore him Attai.” (1 Chronicles 2:34-35)

Family dynamics and intermarriage with Jarha

The chronicler pauses to describe Sheshan’s unusual household. Contrary to custom he lacked male heirs, yet preserved his name and inheritance by giving his unnamed daughter to Jarha, an Egyptian servant who had evidently embraced Israel’s God (cf. Exodus 12:48-49). This step legally grafted a Gentile into Judah while avoiding the extinction of Sheshan’s lineage. The narrative then traces twelve successive generations from Attai to Elishama (1 Chronicles 2:36-41), confirming the success of this decision and underscoring God’s providence in preserving every family within the covenant people.

Tribal and covenant implications

1. Inclusion of the foreigner. Jarha’s elevation from servant to son-in-law illustrates the Old Testament principle that covenant faith, not ethnicity alone, determined belonging (Deuteronomy 23:7-8; Isaiah 56:6-7).
2. Preservation of Judah’s tribal integrity. By recording Sheshan’s descendants, the chronicler shows that even marginal family lines were known, validating land rights and Levitical tithes after the exile.
3. Anticipation of later redemptive patterns. The marriage of an Egyptian to a Judahite woman prefigures the wider grafting of Gentiles into the messianic people seen fully in the New Testament (Romans 11:17).

Messianic and theological reflections

Although Sheshan’s line is not traced directly to Jesus Christ in Matthew 1 or Luke 3, his account echoes recurrent themes of Scripture:
• God’s sovereignty over infertility and family legacy (compare Sarah, Rebekah, and Hannah).
• The unexpected channels through which the Lord advances His purposes—here, through a daughter rather than a son, and through an Egyptian rather than a native Judahite.
• A foreshadowing of the Gospel’s reach beyond ethnic Israel, culminating in Revelation 5:9 where the redeemed come “from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.”

Ministry lessons and applications

1. Faithfulness in obscurity. Sheshan’s name is preserved not for heroic deeds but for faithfulness in stewarding his family line; believers called to unnoticed roles can take courage that their obedience matters to God.
2. Valuing daughters. By allowing inheritance through his daughter, Sheshan affirms the dignity and strategic importance of women within God’s purposes, anticipating New Testament teachings such as Galatians 3:28.
3. Welcoming outsiders. Modern ministry that offers belonging to those outside traditional circles mirrors Sheshan’s welcome of Jarha, demonstrating the character of the covenant-keeping God.

Forms and Transliterations
וּלְשֵׁשָׁ֛ן ולששן לְשֵׁשָׁ֛ן לששן שֵׁשָׁ֔ן שֵׁשָׁ֖ן שֵׁשָׁ֧ן ששן lə·šê·šān ləšêšān lesheShan šê·šān šêšān sheShan ū·lə·šê·šān ūləšêšān ulesheShan
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Interlinear GreekInterlinear HebrewStrong's NumbersEnglishman's Greek ConcordanceEnglishman's Hebrew ConcordanceParallel Texts
Englishman's Concordance
1 Chronicles 2:31
HEB: וּבְנֵ֤י יִשְׁעִי֙ שֵׁשָׁ֔ן וּבְנֵ֥י שֵׁשָׁ֖ן
NAS: of Ishi [was] Sheshan. And the son
KJV: of Ishi; Sheshan. And the children
INT: and the son of Ishi Sheshan and the son of Sheshan

1 Chronicles 2:31
HEB: שֵׁשָׁ֔ן וּבְנֵ֥י שֵׁשָׁ֖ן אַחְלָֽי׃
NAS: And the son of Sheshan [was] Ahlai.
KJV: And the children of Sheshan; Ahlai.
INT: Sheshan and the son of Sheshan Ahlai

1 Chronicles 2:34
HEB: וְלֹֽא־ הָיָ֧ה לְשֵׁשָׁ֛ן בָּנִ֖ים כִּ֣י
NAS: Now Sheshan had no
KJV: Now Sheshan had no sons,
INT: no had now Sheshan sons for

1 Chronicles 2:34
HEB: אִם־ בָּנ֑וֹת וּלְשֵׁשָׁ֛ן עֶ֥בֶד מִצְרִ֖י
NAS: daughters. And Sheshan had an Egyptian
KJV: but daughters. And Sheshan had a servant,
INT: lo daughters and Sheshan servant had an Egyptian

1 Chronicles 2:35
HEB: וַיִּתֵּ֨ן שֵׁשָׁ֧ן אֶת־ בִּתּ֛וֹ
NAS: Sheshan gave his daughter
KJV: And Sheshan gave his daughter
INT: gave Sheshan his daughter to Jarha

5 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 8348
5 Occurrences


lə·šê·šān — 1 Occ.
šê·šān — 3 Occ.
ū·lə·šê·šān — 1 Occ.

8347
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