Bible Dictionary
Shihor-Libnath
Shihor-libnath was a stream or boundary landmark of Asher, probably near Mount Carmel and the Mediterranean coast. Its exact identification is uncertain.
Definition
Shihor-libnath was a place or stream on the boundary of Asher. It appears to have marked the western limit of the tribe’s territory in the region of Carmel and the Mediterranean coast. The precise identification remains uncertain, though it has been associated with a stream possibly called Shihor because it contained crocodiles.
Biblical Usage
Shihor-libnath is named among the landmarks of Asher’s allotted boundary. The biblical record does not provide a separate narrative about the place.
Historical Background
It has been proposed that the name refers to Nahr ez-Zerqa, possibly the Crocodeilon of classical writers, south of Dor and entering the Mediterranean near the coast. Crocodiles were said still to occur in the stream or nearby waters.
Scripture References
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
Black-white, a stream on the borders of Asher, probably the modern Nahr Zerka, i.e., the “crocodile brook,” or “blue river”, which rises in the Carmel range and enters the Mediterranean a little to the north of Caesarea (Josh. 19:26). Crocodiles are still found in the Zerka. Thomson suspects “that long ages ago some Egyptians, accustomed to worship this ugly creature, settled here (viz., at Caesarea), and brought their gods with them. Once here they would not easily be exterminated” (The Land and the Book).
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>shi'-hor-lib'-nath shichor libhnath; Codex Vaticanus to Seion kai Labanath; Codex Alexandrinus Seior, etc.): A place named on the boundary of Asher (Jos 19:26). It seems to mark with Carmel the western limit, and may have been on the South of that mountain. Peshitta, Syriac, and Eusebius (Onomasticon) take this as two distinct names attaching to cities in this region. So far, however, no trace of either name has been found in the course of very careful exploration. More probably Shihor was the name of a river, "Libnath" distinguishing it from the Nile, which was called Shihor of Egypt. It may have been called Shihor because, like the Nile, it contained crocodiles. The boundary of Asher included Dor (TanTurah), so the river may be sought South of that town. Crocodiles are said still to be found in the Kishon; but this river runs North of Carmel. The Crocodeilon of Ptolemy (V. xv.5; xvi.2) and Pliny (v.19), which the latter makes the southern boundary of Phoenicia, may possibly be Nahr ez-Zerqa, which enters the sea about 5 miles South of TanTurah. Here also it is said the crocodile is sometimes seen. Perhaps therefore we may identify this stream with Shihor-libnath.</p><p>W. Ewing</p>