What is…
Shoa in the Bible
Hebrew: שׁוֹעַ —transliteration: Showa —meaning: opulence, wealth, noble
This ancient place is mentioned by Yahweh in the prophet Ezekiel’s writings about Jerusalem’s judgment by God. It is associated with Assyria, Babylon, and Chaldea.
“The word of Yahweh came to me again, saying… Jerusalem is Oholibah. …Therefore, O Oholibah, thus says Lord Yahweh,
‘Behold, I will arouse your lovers against you, those with whom your soul was disgusted, and I will bring them against you from every side: the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, Pekod and Shoa and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them; desirable choice men, governors and officials, all of them, officers and men of renown, all of them riding on horses.
They will come against you with weapons, chariots and wagons, and with an assembly of peoples. They will set themselves against you on every side with large shield and shield and helmet; and I will give the judgment to them, and they will judge you according to their judgments. And I will set My jealousy against you, that they may deal with you in wrath. —Ezek. 23:1-4, 22-25 LSB excerpt
It is suggested that Shoa may be the mountain district to the northeast of Babylonia, anciently the land of the Guti, or Kuti, the modern Kurdistan.
The plain lying between these mountains and the Tigris was called su-Edina, i.e., “the border of the plain.” This name was sometimes shortened into Suti or Su, and has been regarded as equivalent to Shoa (Ezek. 23:23).
Some think it refers to a place in the Kingdom of Babylon.
Some say the Shoa were nomads living east of the Tigris River and in the Syrian desert.
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