SHAPHIR

(Shaʹphir) [Elegant; Polished; Agreeable].

A place, evidently in Judah, the inhabitants of which were included in Micah’s prophecy of judgment that was due to come upon Judah and Jerusalem. (Mic 1:11) In this section of the prophecy, Micah makes a frequent play on words in his usage of the place-names. (See BETH-EZEL.) A tentative identification of Shaphir is with Khirbet el-Kaum, about 15 km (9.5 mi) W of Hebron.