XXlo-land (shephelah; compare Arabic sufalat, "the lowest part"): The western part of Israel, including the maritime plain and the foothills. There has been an attempt to restrict the term to the foothills, at least as far as the more ancient documents are concerned, but there can be little doubt that the maritime plain should be included. the Revised Version (British and American) has "lowland" throughout for shephelah, while the King James Version has "low country" (2 Ch 26:10; 28:18), "low plains" (1 Ch 27:28; 2 Ch 9:27), "plain" (Jer 17:26; Ob 1:19; Zec 7:7), "vale" or "valley" (Dt 1:7; Josh 9:1; 10:40).
See COUNTRY; SHEPHELAH.
Alfred Ely Day