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Shittim

Biblical
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

The last encampment of Israel before crossing the Jordan, site of Baal-peor apostasy.

Detailed Definition
Shittim (Numbers 25; Joshua 2) marks both sin and preparation for conquest. In poetry, it symbolizes the danger of complacency before victory, the seduction of foreign worship, and the tension between holiness and desire at the threshold of promise.
Example
Example in poetry:
Shittim—last camp before crossing Jordan—inspires warning poetry: “At Shittim, Israel played the harlot with Moab—plague followed”; A modern poem: “My Shittim is the threshold of promise where I almost fell”; In a cautionary sonnet: “Balaam’s counsel worked through lust—Shittim teaches vigilance”; Historical reflection: “Blessed Phinehas, whose zeal stayed the plague at Shittim.”
Additional Notes
Shittim (Numbers 25:1; Joshua 2:1) was Israel’s final encampment east of the Jordan, where they engaged in idolatrous worship with Moabite women at Baal-peor, provoking a plague halted by Phinehas’ zeal. The name means “acacias,” referencing the local trees. In poetry, Shittim symbolizes moral vulnerability at the threshold of promise, the seduction of syncretism, and the catastrophic cost of spiritual compromise—ideal for exploring the tension between liberation and fidelity on the verge of fulfillment.
Also Known As
Abel-shittim
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