Bible Location
Meaning: their change; their sleep · 3 cross references · Modern-day map available
Shunem was the Issacharite village north of Jezreel and south of Gilboa associated with Saul's final campaign and the hospitable Shunammite woman in Elisha's ministry. It is important because it joins royal crisis and prophetic compassion in one place. First appears in Josh 19:18.1
Place meaning
their change; their sleep
Coordinates
32.61, 35.33
First appears
Josh 19:18
AI summary: Shunem stands at the intersection of two very different biblical stories. It lies near the Philistine encampment before Saul's collapse, yet it is also the home of the woman whose hospitality to Elisha leads to the restoration of her son. The cross references present Shunem as a village of both looming battle and intimate prophetic mercy.1
Place meaning
their change; their sleep
Latitude
32.61
Longitude
35.33
Bible references
3
Two resting-places, a little village in the tribe of Issachar, to the north of Jezreel and south of Mount Gilboa (Josh. 19:18), where the Philistines encamped when they came against Saul (1 Sam. 28:4), and where Elisha was hospitably entertained by a rich woman of the place. On the sudden death of this woman’s son she hastened to Carmel, 20 miles distant across the plain, to tell Elisha, and to bring him with her to Shunem. There, in the “prophet’s chamber,” the dead child lay; and Elisha entering it, shut the door and prayed earnestly: and the boy was restored to life (2 Kings 4:8-37). This woman afterwards retired during the famine to the low land of the Philistines; and on returning a few years afterwards, found her house and fields in the possession of a stranger. She appealed to the king at Samaria, and had them in a somewhat remarkable manner restored to her (comp. 2 Kings 8:1-6). 3
Source note: this 1893 dictionary language reflects its period and may be culturally insensitive or outdated. It is presented as historical source material, not as ai-BIBLE’s language, interpretation, or endorsement.
AI-assisted summary prepared for ai-BIBLE and stored as page content, based on dictionary material, place metadata, and linked Bible cross references.
Alistair de Blacquiere-Clarkson, “ai-BIBLE Bible Names JSON Factsheet Aggregating Material from Smith’s Bible Dictionary & Hitcocks’s New and Complete Analysis of the Bible.” ai-BIBLE electronic edition, version 1.0.
M.G.Easton, Illustrated Bible Dictionary, ai-BIBLE electronic edition, version 1.0.
Robert Rouse, “Theographic Bible Information,” Theographic-Bible-Metadata, 2020, https://github.com/robertrouse/theographic-bible-metadata.