BIBLE DICTIONARY + WORD STUDY
How to read this: there is rarely one magic “true meaning” hidden behind an English word. A lexicon records a word’s semantic range. The intended meaning is narrowed by grammar, sentence, author, historical usage and context.
HEBREW / ARAMAIC · H7643
se.vam — Sebam
§ Shebam or Shibmah or Sibmah = "fragrance" one of the towns in the pastoral district on the east of the Jordan in Moab; allotted to the tribes of Reuben and Gad
6 tagged verse occurrences · see every occurrence →Coolness; fragrance, a town in Reuben, in the territory of Moab, on the east of Jordan (Josh. 13:19); called also Shebam and Shibmah (Num. 32:3, 38). It was famous for its vines (Isa. 16:9; Jer. 48:32). It has been identified with the ruin of Sumieh, where there are rock-cut wine-presses. This fact explains the words of the prophets referred to above. It was about 5 miles east of Heshbon.
Source: Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897). Historical dictionary wording reflects the scholarship and language of its era.
