🔼The name Shual: Summary
- Meaning
- Jackal, Fox
- Etymology
- From the noun שועל (shu'al), jackal or fox.
🔼The name Shual in the Bible
The name Shual belongs to one man and one district mentioned in the Bible:
- Shual the man is a son of Zophah, son of Hepher of Asher (1 Chronicles 7:36).
- Shual the district is mentioned in the ongoing skirmishes between Israel and the Philistines in the early days of the reign of Saul (1 Samuel 13:17). It's not known where this land of Shual might have been but it's possibly related to the land of Shaalim (1 Samuel 9:4) and the Danite town named Shaalabbin (Joshua 19:42).
🔼Etymology of the name Shual
The name Shual is the same as the noun שועל (shu'al), meaning fox or jackal:
שעל
The unused verb שעל (sha'al) probably had to do with being low or concave. Its derived nouns are used a mere few times: noun שעל (sho'al) appears to describe a cupped or hollow hand and noun משעול (mish'ol) apparently describes a hollow road between vineyards. Noun שועל (shu'al) describes a fox or jackal, which was apparently proverbially known as a hollow-backed, sneaky, begging low life.
🔼Shual meaning
For a meaning of the name Shual, NOBSE Study Bible Name List reads Jackal and Jones' Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names has Fox. BDB Theological Dictionary does not translate our name but does confirm that it is identical to the noun שועל (shu'al), meaning fox or jackal.