Shur

About Shur

Shur is a wilderness region located between Canaan and Egypt, often mentioned in the context of travels and events in the patriarchal narratives and the early history of Israel. It first appears in the story of Hagar, who fled from Sarah and encountered the angel of the Lord near a spring on the way to Shur (Gen. 16:7). Later, Abraham settled between Kadesh and Shur, sojourning in Gerar (Gen. 20:1). The descendants of Ishmael, Abraham's son with Hagar, are described as dwelling from Havilah to Shur, east of Egypt (Gen. 25:18).

During the Exodus, after crossing the Red Sea, the Israelites went three days into the wilderness of Shur before reaching Marah, where God miraculously provided drinkable water (Exod. 15:22). In the time of King Saul, he defeated the Amalekites from Havilah to Shur, which is east of Egypt (1Sam. 15:7). Later, when David was fleeing from Saul, he and his men raided the Geshurites, Girzites, and Amalekites, who inhabited the land from Telam as far as Shur and Egypt (1Sam. 27:8).

The exact boundaries of the wilderness of Shur are not specified in the Bible, but it appears to have been a desert region stretching from the eastern border of Egypt toward Canaan. Its location along the route between these two regions made it a significant area for travel, trade, and military campaigns in biblical times.

Description from STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0, lightly reformatted. This is background reference material, not Scripture and not a FaithGraph editorial claim.