Shepham

Shepham (meaning: a treeless place or bare) was a location on the northeastern boundary of the promised land as defined by God through Moses in Numbers 34:10–11. The boundary line was to run from Hazar-enan to Shepham, then descend from Shepham to Riblah on the east side of Ain. This northeastern border description places Shepham somewhere in the region between the headwaters of the Jordan and the Syrian highlands north of Dan.

The precise identification of Shepham is uncertain. It appears only in this boundary text and in no narrative context. The fact that the boundary text of Numbers 34 describes an idealized or aspirational northern extent of the land — one never fully realized in Israel's actual settlement — means that Shepham's location matters primarily for understanding the scope of the divine promise rather than Israel's historical territory. The northeastern boundary of the promised land in this passage extends significantly further north than Israel ever consistently controlled.