Shelanites

The Shelanites are the descendants of Shelah, one of the sons of Judah, listed among the families of Israel in the wilderness census. The same family also appears in Chronicles under what looks to be the variant designation Shilonites.

Descendants of Shelah

In the Numbers census the families of Judah are enumerated by Shelah, Perez, and Zerah: "And the sons of Judah after their families were: of Shelah, the family of the Shelanites; of Perez, the family of the Perezites; of Zerah, the family of the Zerahites" (Nu 26:20). The Shelanites stand as the first-named branch of Judah in this listing.

The Shilonites

The post-exilic genealogy of the inhabitants of Jerusalem records a name carried by the same Judahite family under a slightly different form: "And of the Shilonites: Asaiah the firstborn, and his sons" (1Ch 9:5). Asaiah the firstborn heads the line in this notice.