SHAREZER Persic, prince of fire ; Sept. Zapacrdp), a son Of Sennacherib, one of those who slew his father (2 Kings xix. 37 ; Is. :cowl 38). Another person of this name occurs in Zech. Vii. 2.—j. K.
SHARON (11-dri with the art. the plain ;' Zapthv ; in Is. lxv. ro, Spuu6s ; and in Cant. ii. r, ircatov ; Saron), a plain of Palestine extending along the sea-coast from the southern base of Carmel to Joppa. It was celebrated for its pas tures, and upon it Shitrai the Sharonite fed the herds of king David (1 Chron. xxvii. 29). Isaiah, when predicting the returning prosperity of Israel, says, Sharon shall be a fold for flocks (lxv. to). The language is very expressive. The best pas tures of the land were on this plain. So long as the curse rested on the country they were deserted ; but the very first evidence of returning blessings would be the return of the flocks to these pastures. Sharon was celebrated for its beauty as well as its richness (Is. xxxv. 2) ; and for its flowers as well as its pastures (Cant. ii. r.) ; and among the most graphic predictions of divine vengeance upon a sin-stained country NVaS the declaration, Sharon is like a wilderness' (Is. xx:dii. 9).
Sharon is once mentioned in the N. T. under its Greek form Saran. When Peter cured 2Eneas at Lydda, Luke says, all that dwelt at Lydda and Saron saw him, and turned unto the Lord' (Acts ix. 35). Reference may be made to a village in the plain, or more probably to the plain itself, as Lydda stood on its southern border.
Eusebius and Jerome mention two Sharons, the one between Tabor and Tiberias, and the other extending from Cmsarea on the sea-coast to Joppa (Onomast. s. v. Saran). The latter is doubtless the place referred to by the sacred writers (cf.
Jerome, ad Is. lxv. io and xxxiii. 9). Even now, though almost deserted, Sharon furnishes some of the richest pasture-lands in Palestine. It is abundantly watered by large fountains and streams descending from Cannel on the north, and the mountains of Sanaaria on the east. The writer has traversed it in several directions, and he was always struck with the luxuriance of its gmss and the beauty of its flowers (see Handbook, pp. 380, seq. ; Porter, Giant Cities, pp. 223, seq.) In Is. lxv. Io the Septuagint renders Sharon, Spunbs, which signifies a wooded region :' and this word appears to have been applied by Greek writers as a proper name to the plain (Joseph.
xiv. x3. 3 ; Bell. "nd. r3. 2 ; Strabo, xvi. p. 758 ; Reland, pp. 188, seq.) It was ap propriate, for not only do the oalc forests of Carmel stretch down into Sharon, but it is interspersed, especially on the north and east, with groves and extensive copses.
The scenery and physical features of the plain have already been described under the article PALESTINE.
Some have supposed that Lasharon, mentioned in Josh. is identical with Sharon. This, however, is very improbable. The point is ex amined m the article LASHARON.
2. A region situated on the east side of the Jor dan, mentioned in connection with Gilead and Bashan. The exact position is not defined, and the name only occurs in r Chron. v. 16. It seems probable that some plain is meant ; and as it was possessed by the Gadites, it may be that plain or plateau which extends eastward from Rabbath Ammon and Gerasa towards Bozrah.—J. L. P.