Shamgar, son of Anath ( he, ''Šamgar''), is the name of one or possibly two individuals named in the
Book of Judges. The name occurs twice:
#at the first mention, Shamgar is identified as a man who repelled
Philistine
The Philistines ( he, פְּלִשְׁתִּים, Pəlīštīm; Koine Greek (LXX): Φυλιστιείμ, romanized: ''Phulistieím'') were an ancient people who lived on the south coast of Canaan from the 12th century BC until 604 BC, when ...
incursions into
Israelite regions, and slaughtered 600 of the invaders with an
ox goad (
Judges 3:31);
#the other mention is within the
Song of Deborah, where Shamgar is described as having been one of the prior rulers, in whose days roads were abandoned, with travelers taking winding paths, and village life collapsing (
Judges 5:6).
Unlike the descriptions of Biblical Judges, the first reference to Shamgar has no introduction, conclusion, or reference to the length of reign,
['' Peake's Commentary on the Bible''] and it is not said that he judged Israel. The subsequent text follows on directly from the previous narrative.
In several ancient manuscripts this reference to Shamgar occurs after the accounts of
Samson rather than immediately after the account of
Ehud, in a way that is more narratively consistent; some scholars believe that this latter position is more likely to be the passage's original location.
[
The act of this Shamgar is similar to that of '' Shammah, son of Agee'', mentioned in the ''appendix'' of the Books of Samuel as being one of '' The Three'', a distinct group of warriors associated with ]King David
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
.[ The term usually translated as ''oxgoad'' is a biblical hapax legomenon,][ the translation into English being made on the basis of the Septuagint's translation into Greek.
The other mention of Shamgar, that in the Song of Deborah, connects Shamgar with a low period of Israelite society.
The Jewish Encyclopedia suspects him of having been a foreign oppressor of the Israelites, rather than an Israelite ruler.][ From the form of the name, it is suspected that Shamgar may actually have been a Hittite, a similar name occurring with ]Sangara Sangara may refer to:
* Sangara (King), ruler of Carchemish
* Sangara, Pakistan, village in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan.
* Sangara, Papua New Guinea
Sangara is a settlement in south-eastern Papua New Guinea. It is located to the east o ...
, a Hittite king of Carchemish; more recent scholars have hold that the name is of Hurrian origin and may well be ''Šimig-ari''.
The Bible also indicates that he was the "son" of ''Anath
Anat (, ), Anatu, classically Anath (; uga, 𐎓𐎐𐎚 ''ʿnt''; he, עֲנָת ''ʿĂnāṯ''; ; el, Αναθ, translit=Anath; Egyptian: '' ꜥntjt'') was a goddess associated with warfare and hunting, best known from the Ugaritic texts ...
'' (the name of a Canaanite deity). In recent years, arrowheads bearing the names ''ben-anat'' and Aramaic ''bar anat'', dating from the 11th to 7th centuries BC, have been discovered. This has led several recent scholars to theorize that the expression "son of Anath" probably designates a warrior title.
See also
* Gershom
References and citations
External links
*
{{Authority control
Judges of ancient Israel
Book of Judges
Massacres in the Bible
Anat
Heroes in mythology and legend
Warriors
Hurrian people