Shomeron
/ʃoʊˈmɛr.ən/noun
The biblical Hebrew name for Samaria, especially the ancient city that became the capital of the northern Kingdom of Israel.
Did you know?The Bible explains Shomeron as the name Omri gave the city after buying the hill from a man named Shemer, but scholars debate whether this story preserves the true original etymology.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Semitic
Proto-Semitic
*š-m-r
“A consonantal root associated with guarding, watching, or preserving.”
Biblical Hebrew
Hebrew
שֹׁמְרוֹן — Šōmrōn
“The name of the hill-city that became the capital of the northern Israelite kingdom; its connection with the root “to guard” is traditional but not certain.”
8th Century BCE
Hebrew
שֹׁמְרוֹן — Shomron
“The capital of the Kingdom of Israel, captured by Assyria in 722 BCE.”
Ancient Greek
Greek
Σαμάρεια — Samáreia
“Samaria, the Greek form of the place-name.”
Classical Latin
Latin
Samaria
“The region and city known as Samaria.”
Modern English
English
Shomeron
“A scholarly or transliterated form of the biblical Hebrew name for Samaria.”