Shelah
SHEE-luh
Hebrew
Boy
In the King James Bible
- Meaning
- Request; Petition; Sent forth
- Origin
- Hebrew
- Is it in the Bible?
- Yes — Shelah appears in the King James Bible, including Genesis 38:11.
- First appears in
- Genesis — The patriarchs
- Peak US usage
- No recorded United States usage in the 1880–2008 records
- Spiritual meaning
- Shelah — the withheld son — teaches that broken promises create broken situations. Judah's failure to honor his word to Tamar triggered a crisis, reminding us that delayed obedience is a form of disobedience.
- King James verses
- Genesis 38:11
"Then said Judah to Tamar his daughter in law, Remain a widow at thy father's house, till Shelah my son be grown."
- Genesis 38:26
"And Judah acknowledged them, and said, She hath been more righteous than I; because that I gave her not to Shelah my son."
- Genesis 38:11