Shalishah[a]orBaal-Shalisha is a place of uncertain identification mentioned in the Book of Kings (2 Kings 4:42) and the Talmud (Sanhedrin 12a).
Baal-Shalisha is translated as "lord or master of three things", or "the third idol, the third husband; or, that governs or presides over three" (Baal=lord/master; Shalisha="three things", "third", or "three").[1] This ancient place name is thought to be preserved in the Arabic name of the modern village of Kafr Thulth.[2]
According to Eusebius and Jerome, Baal-Shalisha was located 15 (Roman) miles north of Diopolis (Lydda).[1] Eusebius identified it with Baithsarisa,[3] the ancient Biblical village believed to have been located 3.5 miles (5.6 km) to the south of Kafr Thulth at a site known in modern times as Khirbat Sirisya (now Serisiyyah, a ruin located west of Mount Ephraim).[4] Another possibility is Khurbet Kefr Thulth (with Arabic Thulth comparable to the Hebrew Shalisha)[5] which is roughly northeast of there. The Jerusalem Talmud (Sanhedrin 1:2) identifies it as the earliest place each year for fruits to ripen.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). "Baal-shalisha". The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.
