שֵׁן (shen)
shen
Shen
N:N--LQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 1 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- N:N--L
Word Overview
The Hebrew noun shen, meaning "crag" or "rock," appears only once in the Old Testament, located in 1 Samuel 7:12. In this context, it designates a specific geographical landmark rather than serving as a common noun for stone or tooth.
This site is known as Ebenezer, where Samuel set up a stone to commemorate God’s help against the Philistines. The text identifies the location as "the crag of Shen," situated near Mizpah. This usage anchors the theological event in a tangible, physical place, marking the boundary between Israel’s defeat and their subsequent victory.
Because the word occurs solely here, its precise topographical details remain uncertain beyond its proximity to Mizpah. It stands as a unique marker in biblical history, preserving the memory of a specific moment where divine intervention was memorialized by a stone on a rocky outcrop.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word shen, meaning crag or rock, appears only once in Scripture, anchoring a moment of divine help in a physical place. In 1 Samuel 7:12, Samuel sets up a stone between Mizpah and the crag of Shen to mark where God delivered Israel from the Philistines. This single occurrence reminds us that God’s faithfulness is not abstract but grounded in real history and tangible landmarks.
For your life today, this word invites you to remember specific moments when God has helped you. Just as Samuel named the place Ebenezer, saying, “Yahweh helped us until now,” you can look back on your own journey and see God’s hand at work. These memories become sources of strength when new challenges arise.
Even though we may not have a physical rock to mark our victories, the principle remains: God meets us in our struggles and provides help that endures. Let this truth encourage you to trust Him in every season, knowing He has been faithful before and will be faithful again.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 1 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- <the>/ Shen1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- הַ/שֵּׁ֔ן1×
Key Verses
-
I Samuel 7:12
Then Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and called its name Ebenezer, saying, “Yahweh helped us until now.”
This verse uniquely uses shen to identify the crag of Shen as a geographical marker where Samuel erected Ebenezer to commemorate God's help.