Shaalbim
שַׁעַלְבִים · “Shalabim” on the map
Where was biblical Shaalbim? At Khirbet Selbit, beside Kibbutz Sha'alvim, about 25 km northwest of Jerusalem. I mark it probable.
The Amorites held on to this town against the tribe of Dan. Only when the House of Joseph grew strong did they put the Amorites to forced labor.
By Aaron Shaffier, licensed Israel tour guide and mapmaker · About the mapmaker
- Site today
- Khirbet Selbit, beside Kibbutz Sha'alvim
- How sure
- Probable The best case we have, with real alternatives.
- Other names
- Shaalabbin, Sha'alvim, Selbit, Salbit, Selebi
- Location
- 31.8706° N, 34.9839° E (Google Maps)
How we know where it was
The Arab name Selbit is a close echo of Shaalbim. Jerome, writing in the early fifth century, calls the place Selebi in the territory of Dan. That links the ancient name to the Arabic one.
The neighbors fit too. The Bible always lists Shaalbim together with Ayalon, and Selbit is only about 5 km from Yalo, which is Ayalon. The name probably comes from shu'al, a fox, and the area was known for its foxes.
The Amorites of the valley pushed Dan back into the hills, and towns like this one are probably part of why some of the tribe later went looking for land in the far north. Under Solomon, Shaalbim belonged to the district of the governor Ben-Deker, one of the twelve districts that supplied the royal court.
The town did not disappear. A Samaritan synagogue from the 4th or 5th century CE was found here, with a mosaic thought to show Mount Gerizim.
No dig has exposed the biblical town. The case rests on the name, Jerome and the neighbors, and that makes it probable rather than certain.
Visiting today
Kibbutz Sha'alvim and its yeshiva sit beside the site. Little of the ancient town is visible, and the synagogue mosaic is not on display there.
Read it in the Bible
Verse numbers follow the Hebrew Bible. In a handful of chapters English Bibles count one verse off.
See Shalabim on the interactive map →
The whole Land on your wall
A hand-drawn map of Biblical Israel, with more than 160 places from Dan to Kadesh Barnea, printed on archival matte paper.
Free with every print: a companion ebook on every place on the map, a $19.99 value.
From $49.99 · Free US shipping
Get the print + free ebookNearby places
- Aijalon (Ayalon) 5 km southeast
- Gezer 6 km west
- Eshtaol 10 km south
- Zorah (Tzorah) 11 km south
- Timnah 12 km southwest
- Beth Horon 12 km east