Shual

The name Shual occurs twice in the UPDV — once as a person, listed among the descendants of Asher, and once as a region traversed by a Philistine raiding party in the days of Saul.

Shual Son of Zophah

In the Asherite genealogy of 1 Chronicles 7, Shual is named third in the list of Zophah's five sons: "The sons of Zophah: Suah, and Harnepher, and Shual, and Beri, and Imrah," (1 Chr 7:36). The genealogy supplies the only datum about him — his place in the line of descent.

The Land of Shual

The other occurrence is geographical. As the Philistines harass Israel from their camp at Michmash, they send out raiders in three directions, and one of those directions is the land of Shual: "And the spoilers came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies: one company turned to the way that leads to Ophrah, to the land of Shual;" (1 Sam 13:17). The land of Shual is named only as a destination paired with Ophrah on the route taken by the first of three Philistine raiding companies, with no further description of its boundaries or inhabitants.