- Hebrew letters on the seals (scriptio plene): Shin-Vau-Kaf-Hey
- Note: All of the Old Testament usages of Shokoh were scriptio plene except for 2 verses (1Samuel 17:1 & 1Kings 4:10), which are distinguished in the Bible quotes below with "(sd)" for scriptio defectiva spelled Shin-Kaph-Hey; the plene version is spelled Shin-Vau-Kaph-Vau in Chronicles.
- Strong's Concordance number: 7755
- Goodrick/Kohlenberger's Concordance number: 8458
- Translations: bough, bushy, defense, fence, hedge, obstacle, protection, tabernacle, tent, thorn
Click on any of the drawings to see photos of actual impressions!
Type S2DR
Type S2DW
Type S2U
Type S4L
JOSHUA 15
Due to the significant differences between the Septuagint & Masoretic traditions of this text, click here for a side-by-side comparison.
1SAMUEL 17
1_Now the Philistines gathered their armies together to battle, and were gathered at Sochoh (sd), which belongs to Judah; they encamped between Sochoh and Azekah, in Ephes Dammim.
2_And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and they encamped in the Valley of Elah, and drew up in battle array against the Philistines.
1KINGS 4
7_And Solomon had twelve governors over all Israel, who provided food for the king and his household; each one made provision for one month of the year.
8_These are their names: Ben-Hur, in the mountains of Ephraim;
9_Ben-Deker, in Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth Shemesh, and Elon Beth Hanan;
10_Ben-Hesed, in Arubboth; to him belonged Sochoh (sd) and all the land of Hepher;
1CHRONICLES 2
55_And the families of the scribes who dwelt at Jabez were the Tirathites, the Shimeathites, and the Suchathites. These were the Kenites who came from Hammath, the father of the house of Rechab.
1CHRONICLES 4
17_The sons of Ezrah were Jether, Mered, Epher, and Jalon. And Mered's wife bore Miriam, Shammai, and Ishbah the father of Eshtemoa.
18_(His wife Jehudijah bore Jered the father of Gedor, Heber the father of Socho, and Jekuthiel the father of Zanoah.) And these were the sons of Bithiah the daughter of Pharaoh, whom Mered took.
2CHRONICLES 11
5_So Rehoboam dwelt in Jerusalem, and built cities for defense in Judah.
6_And he built Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa,
7_Beth Zur, Socho, Adullam,
8_Gath, Mareshah, Ziph,
9_Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah,
10_Zorah, Aijalon, and Hebron, which are in Judah and Benjamin, fortified cities.
11_And he fortified the strongholds, and put captains in them, and stores of food, oil, and wine.
2CHRONICLES 28
17_For again the Edomites had come, attacked Judah, and carried away captives.
18_The Philistines also had invaded the cities of the lowland and of the South of Judah, and had taken Beth Shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, Socho with its villages, Timnah with its villages, and Gimzo with its villages; and they dwelt there.
19_For the LORD brought Judah low because of Ahaz king of Israel, for he had encouraged moral decline in Judah and had been continually unfaithful to the LORD.
Refer to the Theories page for speculation on the identification of this inscription. Here are the modern Arabic names of the sites associated with the Biblical cities mentioned above (unfortunately, archeologists have named both sites "Tel Socoh/Sokoh"):
- Khirbet 'Abbad & Khirbet Shuweikeh (or Khirbet es-Shuweikeh, a ruin on the low southern end of Khirbet Abbad), northwest of Hebron
- Khirbet Shuweikeh, southwest of Hebron
