Shephupham

SHEPHUPHAM shĭ fu’ fəm (שְׁפוּפָ֕ם, serpent). A son of Benjamin whose family was called Sheuphamites (Num 26:39). Shuppim rather than Shuphamites is listed along with Huppim in 1 Chronicles 7:12 as a son of Ir in the Benjamite tribe. Shephuphan (“serpent”), son of Bela, is the name of a descendant of Benjamin in another genealogical list (1 Chron 8:5). In the several genealogical lists of Benjamin there seems to be the tendency toward the use of pairs of names of similar sound with some variations occurring. For example, in the Numbers list there are Shephupham and Shuphamites (Num 26:39; KJV has Shupham and Shuphamites), and Hupham and Huphamites. In 1 Chronicles 7 there are the more abbreviated forms Shuppim and Huppim, as well as Hushim (7:12). Muppim and Huppim are among the sons of Benjamin (Gen 46:21). There seems to have been a trend toward stylization and simplification of names. Thus Shephupham and Shephuphan (a variant spelling for the name of the same man) are perhaps the earlier forms which were preserved with the later stylized forms.