Bible Dictionary
SHEPHUPHAM, SHEPHUPHAN
Shephupham or Shephuphan was the ancestor or representative name of a Benjamite family. Related forms include Muppim and Shuppim, and the original form of the name is uncertain.
Definition
Shephupham, also called Shephuphan, was the eponym or ancestral representative of a Benjamite family. Related forms of the name include Muppim and Shuppim, and the original form cannot be determined with confidence.
Biblical Usage
The name occurs in genealogical and tribal lists, and the descendants are called Shuphamites. The forms Muppim and Shuppim appear in related passages.
Historical Background
The underlying name may mean “a kind of serpent,” but the textual evidence makes it nearly impossible to establish the original form. Variations occur among Genesis, Numbers, and Chronicles.
Historical Bible Dictionaries
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>she-fu'-fam or she-fu'-fan (shephupham; Codex Vaticanus and Codex Alexandrinus Sophan; Lucian, Sophan (Nu 26:39 (43)); or Shephuphan, shephuphan; Codex Vaticanus Sopharphak, Codex Alexandrinus Sophan, Lucian, Seppham (1Ch 8:5), "a kind of serpent," Gray, HPN, 95): Eponym of a Benjamite family. The name occurs in Ge 46:21 as "Muppim" and in 1Ch 7:12,15; 26:16 as "Shuppim." It is almost impossible to arrive at the original form; the gentilic "Shuphamites" appears in Nu 26:39 (43).</p>