Joshua 15:48 — Word Study
WLCוּבָהָ֑ר שָׁמִ֥יר וְיַתִּ֖יר וְשׂוֹכֹֽה׃
BSA[These were] in the hill countryhar [mountainous, of Judah] ShamirShâmîyr [a place in Palestine] JattirYattîyr [in the mountains] SocohSôwkôh [a town in the lowlands]
| Greek | English | Parsing |
|---|---|---|
| וּבָהָ֑ר | and in the hill country | Conjunction, preposition, noun common masculine singular absolute |
| שָׁמִ֥יר | Shamir | Noun proper |
| וְיַתִּ֖יר | and Jattir | Conjunction, noun proper |
| וְשׂוֹכֹֽה׃ | and Socoh | Conjunction, noun proper |
Every word in the verse. Click a row to open it in the panel on the left.
| BSB | These were in the hill country: Shamir, Jattir, Socoh, |
| KJV | ¶ And in the mountains, Shamir, and Jattir, and Socoh, |
| ASV | And in the hill-country, Shamir, and Jattir, and Socoh, |
| YLT | And in the hill-country: Shamir, and Jattir, and Socoh, |
| WEB | In the hill country, Shamir, Jattir, Socoh, |
| BBE | And in the hill-country, Shamir, and Jattir, and Socoh; |
Where they part company is in the description of the towns — see How Translations Differ.
The sentence is straightforward, presenting a main clause that establishes location followed by a list of towns.
7 commentators on this verse
Gill, Jamieson, Poole, Ellicott & more — read them ›
clause
The sentence as the grammar sees it Open the tree ›
Every word here is used elsewhere in the Old Testament.
Bars are logarithmic — אֵת, the commonest word in the Hebrew Bible, stands about 11,000 times, so a linear scale would leave everything else invisible. Click a row to open that word.
Deep Study — Joshua 15:48
Sections marked generated are written from the data on this page rather than by a named author. Everything else — the lexicon entries, the cross references, the manuscript readings, the counts — is quoted from its source unchanged.
Context — The Towns of Judahgenerated
Joshua 15:48 identifies specific towns in the hill country of Judah as part of the land allotted to the tribe of Judah. This verse is part of a broader narrative detailing the territorial divisions among the tribes of Israel, emphasizing the geographical context of these towns in relation to the mountainous landscape.
Cross References
| Reference | Text (BSB) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joshua 21:14 | Jattir, Eshtemoa, |
The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 1 reference, hung on the phrase they belong to
The Key Word — בְּ, u.va.Hargenerated
The Hebrew word בְּ (be) is a preposition meaning 'in' or 'at,' indicating location. In this verse, it connects the towns to their geographical setting in the hill country.
The word הַר (har) means 'mountain' or 'hill,' and is commonly used to describe elevated terrain. This term can refer to both literal mountains and figurative heights, emphasizing the elevated nature of the region.
How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated
This study reads the verse in the Berean Standard Bible, so the BSB is the wording every comparison below is made against.
Sentence Structuregenerated
The main clause is structured around the prepositional phrase בְּ (in), which introduces the location, followed by a noun phrase listing the towns: Shamir, Jattir, and Socoh. The sentence flows smoothly, presenting the towns as part of the same geographical area.
The word order emphasizes the location first, establishing the context before naming the specific towns, which are all proper nouns.
Septuagint Backgroundgenerated
The Septuagint translates the Hebrew בְּ as ἐν, which also means 'in.' This choice reflects a direct correspondence with the Hebrew meaning, maintaining the focus on location.
The Greek rendering does not introduce any new interpretive elements but aligns closely with the Hebrew text's geographical emphasis.
In plain words — the whole versegenerated
Joshua 15:48 lists three towns in the hill country of Judah: Shamir, Jattir, and Socoh. These towns are part of the land given to the tribe of Judah and are located in a mountainous region.
Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated
These towns represent part of the inheritance allocated to the tribe of Judah, highlighting their geographical and historical importance.
Yes, towns like Shamir and Socoh are mentioned in other passages, indicating their relevance in the history of Israel.
The 'hill country' refers to the elevated terrain of Judah, which is significant for its strategic and agricultural advantages.
Understanding the geographical context helps to grasp the distribution of land among the tribes and their historical settlements.
Reflection Questionsgenerated
- What do you think the significance of the hill country is for the tribe of Judah?
- How does knowing the geographical context of these towns enhance your understanding of the biblical narrative?
- In what ways do the locations of these towns reflect the history of Israel's settlement in the land?
- How can we apply the understanding of land and inheritance in our lives today?
Commentators on this verse — 7 expositors, verse by verse
Each of these wrote on Joshua 15:48 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.
John Gill1697–1771Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleAnd in the mountains,.... The hill country of Judea, as it is called Lu 1:39, in which were the following cities: Shamir: the Alexandrian copy of the Greek version reads Sophir as the name, of the
Read John Gill on Joshua 15 →Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's CommentaryAnd in the mountains, Shamir, and Jattir, and Socoh, And in the mountains , [ uwbaahaar (H2022)] - and in the mountain, the hill-country of Judah [Septuagint, kai en tee oreinee].
Read Robert Jamieson on Joshua 15 →Matthew Poole1624–1679Matthew Poole's Commentary on the Holy Biblei.e. In the higher grounds, called mountains or hills, in comparison of the sea-coast.
Read Matthew Poole on Joshua 15 →Charles John Ellicott1819–1905Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(48-51) Nine of these eleven are identified.
Read Charles John Ellicott on Joshua 15 →AdamClarkeAdam Clarke's Commentary on the BibleVerse 48. Socoh] See a town of this name, Joshua 15:35.
Read AdamClarke on Joshua 15 →CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges48–60. The Cities in the Mountains 48. And in the mountains] This section treats of the Cities in the Mountains or “the Hill Country,” (see above, Joshua 15:20), and includes five groups. Shamir] Group I. consists of eleven cities on the south-western portion of the “hill Country:”—
Read Cambridge on Joshua 15 →Daniel Denison Whedon1808–1885Whedon's Commentary on the Bible48. Mountains — The highlands of Judah were bounded by the lowlands on the west, the wilderness adjacent to the Dead Sea on the east, the Negeb on the south, and a line touching Jerusalem on the north.
Read Daniel Denison Whedon on Joshua 15 →The verse in English, compared — 17 translations, and where they part company
Every translation on this page is a decision someone had to make and commit to. Read down a column and you see one translator's judgement; read across a row and you see the range the Greek actually allows. The BSB is the wording the rest of this page is measured against, so it is listed first.
Modern formal
These were in the hill country: Shamir, Jattir, Socoh,
In the hill country, Shamir, Jattir, Socoh,
These were in the hill country: Shamir, Jattir, Socoh,
These cities were in the hill country: Shamir, Jattir, Socoh,
Tyndale line
¶ And in the mountains, Shamir, and Jattir, and Socoh,
And in the hill-country, Shamir, and Jattir, and Socoh,
And in the hill country, Shamir, and Jattir, and Socoh;
And in the mountains, Shamir, and Jattir, and Socoh,
And in the mountaines were Shamir, and Iattir, and Socoh,
Strictly literal
— And in the hill-country: Shamir, and Jattir, and Sochoh,
And in the hill-country: Shamir, and Jattir, and Socoh,
And in the hill-country: Shamir, and Jattir, and Socoh,
And in the mountains, Shamir, and Yattir, and Sochoh,
In the hill country, Shamir, Jattir, Sokoh,
From the Latin
And in the mountain Samir and Jether and Socoth,
Simplified
In the hill country: Shamir, Jattir, Socoh,
And in the hill-country, Shamir, and Jattir, and Socoh;
Counted from the translations carried on this site, not from a survey of every English Bible. A rendering shared by many versions is usually inherited rather than independently arrived at — the Tyndale line in particular runs through most of them.
The sentence as the grammar sees it — from the MACULA Hebrew treebank
This is not our own analysis: it is the scholarly syntax tree for the verse, showing how the clause actually holds together.
Boxes are the grammarian's groupings — clause, noun phrase, prepositional phrase.
The four witnesses to this verse — Masoretic, Septuagint, Samaritan, Qumran
The Masoretic Text and the Septuagint agree on the wording of this verse, with the Septuagint providing a direct word-for-word correspondence without altering the meaning.
וּבָהָ֑ר שָׁמִ֥יר וְיַתִּ֖יר וְשׂוֹכֹֽה׃
4 of the 4 words are matched. This is the word-by-word correspondence, not the Septuagint's own sentence — its word order and its articles are its own.
Four traditions, not one. “On the leather” means the letters physically survive on the scroll, as against letters an editor has supplied to fill a hole in it — a restoration is a scholar’s reading, not a reading of the manuscript. Words in [square brackets] are supplied; the notes count them apart from what survives.
The map of this verse — what each word keeps company with
This is a map of two things, both counted rather than judged. Company kept: which words stand within three words of each of these, anywhere in the Hebrew Bible — the thicker the line, the more often the pair meet compared with chance. Built from: the words a word is made out of, taken from its own Strong’s entry. It is not a map of meaning: nothing here claims two words mean the same thing. Click any circle to see the numbers behind it.
Lexicons — every word in Joshua 15:48
One dossier per word, with every reference work grouped by kind — Hebrew lexicons, morphology, Bible dictionaries, topical chains and the English of the translators themselves. The verse sits at the head of each block with the word under study lit, so you never lose your place. The panel above gives the short answer; this is the long one, and it is the part of the page worth indexing.
Every entry below is the lexicographer's own text. On the Hebrew: Brown-Driver-Briggs entire and its gloss set, Strong's Hebrew Dictionary, and Tyndale House's Translators Brief lexicon. Where a cell says a work has no entry, that work genuinely has none for this word.
הַר (har) means 'mountain' or 'hill,' and can refer to a range of hills or hill-country. It is derived from a root that suggests elevation and can be used figuratively. The entries consistently highlight its geographical connotations without significant disagreement.
הַר 568 n.m. mountain, hill, hill-country
mountain, hill
hill-country, mountain-region
base
H2022 הַר mountain, hill, hill-country
2022 har har
a shortened form of 2042; a mountain or range of hills
(sometimes used figuratively):--hill (country), mount(-ain), X
promotion.
see HEBREW for 02042
הַר (har) — mountain: mount.
: mount/hill
hill, mountain, hill country, mount
הַר (har) — mountain: hill country.
: hill_country
hill, mountain, hill country, mount
A sub-meaning of har (הַר ": mount" H2022)
Conj | Prep | N-ms — Conjunction · preposition · noun common masculine singular absoluteHC/Rd/Ncmsa
kun'-tri ('erets, "land," sadheh, "field"; agros, "field," chora, "region"): The foregoing are the principal words rendered "country" in English Versions of the Bible, though we find also 'adhamah, "earth" (Jon 4:2); 'i, "island" (Jer 47:4 the King James Version); gelilah, "circuit" (Eze 47:8 the King James Version); chebhel, "rope" (De 3:14); maqom, "place" (Ge 29:26 the King James Version); nepheth,"hill" or "height" (Jos 17:11 the King James Version); genos, "race" (Ac 4:36 the King James Version); ge, "earth"…
→ LOVE OF Jud 5:1-31; 2Sa 10:12; Ne 1:1-11; 2:1-20; 5:1-18; Ps 137:1-6
The Jews held religion and country as one (a theocracy), therefore
See CHURCH, LOVE OF
→ See also PATRIOTISM
The Hebrew word שָׁמִיר (Shamir) refers to a name associated with two towns in ancient Palestine, one in the mountain district of Judah and another in Ephraim. It is also noted to mean 'a point' or 'thorn.' Additionally, a man named Shamir from the tribe of Levi is mentioned in 1 Chronicles 24:24.
שָׁמִיר n.pr.loc.
Ju 10:1, 2
Jos 15:48
ref
H8069 שָׁמִיר
8069 Shamiyr shaw-meer'
the same as 8068; Shamir, the name of two places in
Palestine:--Shamir. Compare 8053.
see HEBREW for 08068
see HEBREW for 08053
שָׁמִיר (sha.mir) — Shamir.
§ Shamir = "a point" or "thorn"
a town in the mountain district of Judah
שָׁמִיר (sha.mir) — Shamir.
§ Shamir = "a point" or "thorn"
a town in Ephraim where the judge Tola lived and was buried
שָׁמִיר (sha.mir) — Shamir.
A man of the tribe of Levi living at the time of Divided Monarchy, only mentioned at 1Ch.24.24;
son of: Micah (H4318J)
Another name of sha.mur (שָׁמוּר "Shamir" H8053)
§ Shamir = "a point" or "thorn"
1) a town in the mountain district of Judah
2) a town in Ephraim where the judge Tola lived and was buried
N-proper — Noun properHNpl
Shamir
A sharp thorn. (1.) One of the sons of Michah (1 Chr. 24:24).
(2.) A town among the mountains of Judah (Josh. 15:48); probably Somerah, 2 1/2 miles north-west of Debir.
(3.) The residence of Tola, one of the judges, on Mount Ephraim (Judg. 10:1, 2).
(n point or thorn.) A town in the mountain district of Judah. (Joshua 15:48) only. It probably lay some eight or ten miles south of Hebron. A place in Mount Ephraim, the residence and burial-place of Tola the judge. (Judges 10:1,2) Perhaps Samur , half-way between Samaria and Jenin . A Kohathite, son of Micah or Michal, the first-born of Uzziel. (1 Chronicles 24:24)
Shamer, prison; bush; lees; thorn
יַתִּיר (yat.tir) refers to a town located in the mountains of Judah, known as Jattir. The name is associated with the meaning 'plenty.' The entries consistently identify it as a geographical location without significant disagreement among the lexicons.
יַתִּיר, יַתִּר n.pr.loc. town in Judah
base
H3492 יַתִּיר, יַתִּר
3492 Yattiyr yat-teer'
from 3498; redundant; Jattir, a place in Palestine:--Jattir.
see HEBREW for 03498
יַתִּיר (yat.tir) — Jattir.
§ Jattir = "plenty"
a town in the mountains of Judah
Conj | N-proper — Conjunction · noun properHC/Npl
jat'-er (yattir, and yattir): A town in the hill country of Judah, mentioned in conjunction with Shamir and Socoh (Jos 15:48); one of the cities given to the "children of Aaron the priest" (Jos 21:14; 1Ch 6:57). David after his victory over the Amalekites sent a present of the spoil from Ziklag "to them that were in Jattir" (1Sa 30:27).
It is now Khirbet `Attir, an important ruin, in the extreme South of the hill country, 5 miles Southeast of edh Dhariyeh and 20 miles Southeast of Belt Jibrin. This must Correspond to the "very large village Jethira" which is mentioned in Eusebius, Onomasticon (119 27; 133 3; 134 24, etc.) as 20 miles Southeast of Eleutheropolis (i.e. Beit…
Jattir
Pre-eminent, a city in the mountains of Judah (Josh. 15:48; 21:14).
(pre-eminent), a town of Judah in the mountain districts, (Joshua 15:48) one of the group containing Socho, Eshtemoa, etc. See also (Joshua 21:14; 1 Samuel 30:27; 1 Chronicles 6:57) By Robinson it is identified with ’Attir , six miles north of Molada and ten miles south of Hebron.
a remnant; excellent
שׂוֹכֹה (Sowkoh) refers to a name for two locations in Judah, described as a town in both the lowlands and the hill-country. The name is derived from a root meaning 'bushy.' Additionally, a man named Soco is mentioned in 1 Chronicles 4:18. The lexicons provide various spellings for the name, including Shocho and Sochoh.
שׂוֹכֹה, שׂוֹכוֹ n.pr.loc. in Judah
in Shephelah
in hill-country
base
H7755 שׂוֹכֹה, שׂוֹכוֹ
7755 Sowkoh so-ko'
or Sokoh {so-ko'}; or Sowkow {so-ko'}; from 7753; Sokoh or
Soko, the name of two places in Palestine:--Shocho, Shochoh,
Sochoh, Soco, Socoh.
see HEBREW for 07753
שׂוֹכֹה, שֹׂכֹה (s.vo.khoh) — Socoh.
§ Shocho or Shochoh or Sochoh or Shoco or Socoh = "bushy"
a town in the lowlands of Judah
שׂוֹכֹה (s.vo.khoh) — Socoh.
§ Shocho or Shochoh or Sochoh or Shoco or Socoh = "bushy"
a town in the mountain district of Judah
שׂוֹכֹוֹ (s.vo.khoh) — Soco.
A man of the tribe of Judah(?) living at the time of Divided Monarchy, only mentioned at 1Ch.4.18;
son of: Heber (H2268I)
§ Shocho or Shochoh or Sochoh or Shoco or Socoh = "bushy"
1) a town in the lowlands of Judah
2) a town in the mountain district of Judah
Conj | N-proper — Conjunction · noun properHC/Npl
the name of two towns in the tribe of Judah. In the district of the Shefelah. (Joshua 15:35; 1 Samuel 17:1; 2 Chronicles 11:7; 8:18) In the time of Eusebius it bore the name of Socchoth, and lay between eight and nine Roman miles from Eleutheropolis, on the road to Jerusalem. It may be identified with esh-Shuweikeh , in the western part of the mountains of Judah. From this village probably came Antigonus of Soco, who lived about the commencement of the third century B.C. Also a town of Judah, but in the mountain district. (Joshua 15:48) It has been discovered about 10 miles southwest of Hebron; bearing, like the other Socoh, the name of esh-Shuweikeh .
tents; tabernacles