Shelah (name)

Shelah is the Latin transcription of two Hebrew names, sh-l-h (Hebrew: שֵׁלָה, Modern: Šela, Tiberian: Šēlāh, Petition) and sh-l-ch (שֶׁלַח). sh-l-h may also be transcribed as Shela.

Among early historical figures, this Hebrew name was used as a single name. For instance, the Biblical figures שלה ("Shelah" or "Shela") and שלח ("Salah" or "Shelah"),.[1]

Another Hebrew name that has been rendered as "Shela" is שילא, as exemplified by the early Third Century Babylonian Rabbi Rav Shela[2]

"Shelah" has also served as a pseudonym in the form of "Shelah haKadosh", referring to Isaiah Horowitz, a 16th-century Jewish mystic. In this case, the given name "Shelah" (של"ה) is a construct based on the initial letters of the Hebrew title of Horowitz' most influential work, Shenei Luhot HaBerit (שני לוחות הברית).

In modern times, "Shelah" (in the form sh-l-ch) has become a surname, as exemplified by Saharon Shelah (b. 1945 Jerusalem).