Original Word: שִׁפְלָה
Part of Speech: Noun Feminine
Transliteration: shiphlah
Pronunciation: shif-LAH
Phonetic Spelling: (shif-law')
KJV: low place
NASB: utterly
Word Origin: [feminine of H8216 (שֵׁפֶל - humble places)]

1. depression

low place

Feminine of shephel; depression -- low place.

see HEBREW shephel

Word Origin
from shaphel
Definition
humiliation
NASB Translation
utterly (1).

שִׁפְלָה noun feminine humiliation; — Isaiah 32:19 (of city).

General Sense of שִׁפְלָה

The term paints the picture of a place situated lower than its surroundings, whether a literal depression in the terrain or a figurative condition of being brought low. It therefore carries spatial, social, and spiritual overtones: a valley, a humbled state, or a divinely imposed abasement.

Biblical Occurrence

Isaiah 32:19 is the single canonical appearance: “But hail will level the forest, and the city will sink deeply into the valley.” (Berean Standard Bible). Here שִׁפְלָה sets the physical scene for judgment—an urban center collapses into a low place as the prophet announces the swift, leveling power of God.

Historical and Prophetic Setting

Isaiah 28–33 addresses Judah during political turbulence in the eighth century B.C. The complacent aristocracy (Isaiah 32:9–14) expected security through human alliance, but Isaiah insisted that only the coming reign of righteousness (Isaiah 32:1–8) could safeguard the nation. Within that discourse, שִׁפְלָה sounds a warning: worldly fortresses fall when the Lord arises. Archeologists note that Jerusalem’s topography includes the Tyropoeon and Kidron Valleys; Isaiah may be alluding to such landforms to depict the humiliation of the city’s pride.

Theological Themes

• Divine Humbling of Human Pride

– Scripture consistently couples God’s exaltation with human abasement (Proverbs 29:23; James 4:6). שִׁפְלָה in Isaiah 32:19 dramatizes the pattern: arrogance meets a forced descent.

• Judgment That Prepares Renewal

– The valley image forms a corridor between downfall and restoration. Immediately after the verse, Isaiah proclaims the Spirit’s outpouring (Isaiah 32:15–18). The low place becomes fertile ground once the Lord intervenes.

• Eschatological Foreshadowing

– Later prophets echo the motif. Zechariah 14:4 pictures end-time topographical upheaval; every mountain and island flee in Revelation 16:20. שִׁפְלָה hints that ultimate judgment will reorder creation to accommodate the reign of the Messiah.

Connections with Broader Biblical Imagery

• Valleys as Places of Decision and Deliverance—Joel 3:14 speaks of the “Valley of Decision,” while Psalm 23:4 comforts believers walking through the “valley of the shadow of death.”
• Lowliness preceding Exaltation—“Every valley shall be lifted up” (Isaiah 40:4), fulfilled anticipatively in John the Baptist’s ministry (Luke 3:5). The uplifting of valleys mirrors the gospel pattern: humiliation before glory (Philippians 2:8–9).

Ministry Applications

1. Preaching on Humility

– שִׁפְלָה underscores that spiritual vitality begins where pride collapses. Pastors can exhort hearers to voluntary humility before compulsory humbling arrives (1 Peter 5:6).

2. Intercession for Nations

– Isaiah shows national pride being driven into a valley. Prayer ministries should seek societal repentance that averts such judgment.

3. Urban Theology

– The term warns that cities are not invulnerable cultural idols. Christian planners and leaders must remember God’s sovereignty over human structures.

4. Personal Spiritual Formation

– Believers may identify personal “valleys” as opportunities for deeper dependence on the Lord, trusting that He “gives grace to the humble” (James 4:10).

Related Hebrew and Conceptual Parallels

• שְׁפֵלָה (Strong’s 8219) – the Judean lowland; supplies geographic texture to the metaphor.
• עָנָו / עֲנִי – words for the humble or afflicted, highlighting the heart posture God esteems.
• Greek ταπείνωσις (“humiliation,” Luke 1:48) – shows continuity of the low-high reversal theme from Old to New Testament.

Summary

Though appearing only once, שִׁפְלָה encapsulates a vital biblical principle: God brings the lofty down so He may raise up the lowly. Its lone occurrence in Isaiah 32:19 stands as a perpetual reminder that valleys—physical or spiritual—are stages for both judgment and grace.

וּבַשִּׁפְלָ֖ה ובשפלה ū·ḇaš·šip̄·lāh ūḇaššip̄lāh uvashshifLahInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts