Shittim

Shittim is a place name from the Hebrew Bible, commonly interpreted as meaning “the Acacia grove.” The term shittim is also used in biblical Hebrew to denote acacia trees or wood, notably the shittah wood used in the construction of the Tabernacle.

In the biblical narrative, Shittim is described as a location in the plains of Moab along the eastern bank of the Jordan River, opposite Jericho. The exact site is not definitively identified in modern geography, but scholars generally place it in the Moabite plains east of the Jordan, near the route of later events before the Israelite entry into Canaan.

Shittim appears as a significant gathering site during the wilderness period. The Israelites encamped there as they prepared to cross into Canaan, with Joshua and the Israelite leaders departing from Shittim to scout the land (seen in the transition from Numbers to Joshua). The area is also noted for the Baal Peor incident in Numbers 25, where some Israelites engaged in idolatry and immorality with Moabite women, prompting a divine plague that was halted by Phinehas.

Etymologically, the name reflects the landscape associated with acacia trees and wood, linking the place-name to the flora that presumably characterized the area. Shittim thus functions in biblical texts as both a geographic waypoint in the journey toward the Promised Land and a setting for key events that shape the narrative of Israel’s transition from wandering to conquest.