Who was Shimron in the bible?
Shimron is the name of an Israelite listed among Issachar’s sons (Genesis 46:13) and a place named among Zebulun’s cities (Joshua 19:15), also giving rise to Shimronites (Numbers 26:24).
Clan Name
In Issachar’s census listing: “of Shimron, the family of the Shimronites.” (Numbers 26:24)
Learn More →Place Name
Among Zebulun’s cities: “Kattath, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah, and Bethlehem: twelve cities with their villages.” (Joshua 19:15)
Learn More →Shimron is the name borne in Scripture by an Israelite connected with the tribe of Issachar, and also by a town listed among the cities of Zebulun. In Hebrew the name is associated (by lexicon gloss) with the idea of “guardianship,” with a component term referring to something preserved.
Shimron in Scripture
The first appearance of the name is in a list of Jacob’s descendants, where Shimron is named among Issachar’s sons. The immediate setting is a set of family lists that move through several tribes and then summarize them as “the sons of Leah” born to Jacob.
“The sons of Issachar: Tola, Puvah, Iob, and Shimron.” (Genesis 46:13)
In the surrounding lines, the text places this within a broader catalogue of Jacob’s family: it mentions other tribes’ lines and then frames these names within Leah’s children.
“The sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.” (Genesis 46:11)
“The sons of Judah: Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah; but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul.” (Genesis 46:12)
“The sons of Zebulun: Sered, Elon, and Jahleel.” (Genesis 46:14)
“These are the sons of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob in Paddan Aram, with his daughter Dinah. All the souls of his sons and his daughters were thirty-three.” (Genesis 46:15)
“The sons of Gad: Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli.” (Genesis 46:16)
Within this narrative flow, Shimron is presented simply as one of Issachar’s sons, situated among other named sons, with the list contributing to the count of Leah’s descendants.
The name next appears as a place-name in a territorial list describing cities within Zebulun’s inheritance. The immediate context identifies borders and then enumerates towns, culminating in a summary statement that these are the cities belonging to Zebulun “according to their families.”
“The border turned around it on the north to Hannathon; and it ended at the valley of Iphtah El;” (Joshua 19:14)
“Kattath, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah, and Bethlehem: twelve cities with their villages.” (Joshua 19:15)
“This is the inheritance of the children of Zebulun according to their families, these cities with their villages.” (Joshua 19:16)
In this passage, “Shimron” refers not to a person but to one of the named locations counted among the “twelve cities with their villages” belonging to Zebulun.
The third use of the name is in a census-style register of Issachar’s families, where Shimron is the ancestor-name that gives rise to “the family of the Shimronites.” This section lists Issachar’s sons and associates each with a family group, and it concludes by giving a total for Issachar’s counted families.
“The sons of Issachar after their families: of Tola, the family of the Tolaites; of Puvah, the family of the Punites;” (Numbers 26:23)
“of Jashub, the family of the Jashubites; of Shimron, the family of the Shimronites.” (Numbers 26:24)
“These are the families of Issachar according to those who were counted of them, sixty-four thousand three hundred.” (Numbers 26:25)
The immediate neighboring lines show that this is part of a larger set of tribal enumerations, moving from Judah to Issachar and then to Zebulun.
“These are the families of Judah according to those who were counted of them, seventy-six thousand five hundred.” (Numbers 26:22)
“The sons of Zebulun after their families: of Sered, the family of the Seredites; of Elon, the family of the Elonites; of Jahleel, the family of the Jahleelites.” (Numbers 26:26)
“These are the families of the Zebulunites according to those who were counted of them, sixty thousand five hundred.” (Numbers 26:27)
Taken together, Genesis 46:13 identifies Shimron as a son of Issachar, and Numbers 26:24 reflects that the name also stands behind an Israelite family designation: “the family of the Shimronites.” Joshua 19:15, by contrast, uses Shimron as a town name within the cities of Zebulun.
Multiple Bearers
Scripture uses “Shimron” for (1) an Israelite individual within Issachar’s line and (2) a town in Zebulun’s territory.
As a person, Shimron appears in a genealogical listing:
“The sons of Issachar: Tola, Puvah, Iob, and Shimron.” (Genesis 46:13)
And in a later tribal-family register, his name is tied to a named clan:
“of Shimron, the family of the Shimronites.” (Numbers 26:24)
As a place, Shimron is one city among several listed for Zebulun:
“Kattath, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah, and Bethlehem: twelve cities with their villages.” (Joshua 19:15)
Name and Meaning
The name is written in Hebrew as שִׁמְרוֹן, transliterated Shimrown and pronounced “shim-rone’.” According to the lexicon’s derivation, it comes from a root connected with the original sense of “guardianship,” and it is linked with the component shemer (שֶׁמֶר), referring to something preserved—“the settlings.”
Observation
The three occurrences show how one name can function in different ways: Shimron is listed as a son within Issachar (Genesis 46:13), as the source-name for “the family of the Shimronites” in Israel’s tribal accounting (Numbers 26:24), and as a town among Zebulun’s “twelve cities with their villages” (Joshua 19:15).
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the name Shimron mean?
Shimron means “guardianship.”
How many times does Shimron appear in the Bible?
Shimron appears 3 times.
Who was Shimron?
Shimron is the name of an Israelite and also the name of a place in Palestine. Genesis 46:13 lists Shimron among the sons of Issachar, and Numbers 26:24 mentions the family of the Shimronites.
Where is Shimron mentioned among the sons of Issachar?
Genesis 46:13 says, “The sons of Issachar: Tola, Puvah, Iob, and Shimron.”
Explore Further
If you found this page about Shimron interesting and would like to discover more about other biblical characters, explore our comprehensive Encyclopedia of Biblical Characters. For those looking to delve deeper into the Greek origins of these names and terms, our Greek Lexicon is an invaluable resource.
Sources: Name and occurrence data from Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance and STEPBible reference data (CC BY). Scripture quotations from the World English Bible (public domain).
