Joshua 18:22 — Word Study
WLCוּבֵ֧ית הָֽעֲרָבָ֛ה וּצְמָרַ֖יִם וּבֵֽית־ אֵֽל׃
BSABeth-arabahBêyth hâ-ʻĂrâbâh [house of the desert valley] ZemaraimTsᵉmârayim [double fleece of wool] BethelBêyth-ʼÊl [house of God, sacred place]
| Greek | English | Parsing |
|---|---|---|
| וּבֵ֧ית | and Beth | Conjunction, noun proper |
| הָֽעֲרָבָ֛ה | Arabah | Particle, noun proper |
| וּצְמָרַ֖יִם | and Zemaraim | Conjunction, noun proper |
| וּבֵֽית־ | and Beth- | Conjunction, noun proper |
| אֵֽל׃ | -el | Noun proper |
Every word in the verse. Click a row to open it in the panel on the left.
| BSB | Beth-arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel, |
| KJV | And Beth-arabah, and Zemaraim, and Beth-el, |
| ASV | and Beth-arabah, and Zemaraim, and Beth-el, |
| YLT | and Beth-Arabah, Zemaraim, and Beth-El, |
| WEB | Beth Arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel, |
| BBE | And Beth-arabah and Zemaraim and Beth-el |
All translations agree on the names of the cities listed in this verse.
The verse consists of a single main clause listing three cities, emphasizing their importance in the context of tribal allotments.
5 commentators on this verse
Gill, Jamieson, Ellicott, Cambridge & 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 18:22
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 Allotment of Cities to Benjamingenerated
Joshua 18:22 is part of a passage that details the cities allocated to the tribes of Israel, specifically focusing on those belonging to the tribe of Benjamin. This verse lists three cities, each with its own significance, as part of the broader narrative of land distribution among the tribes following their conquest of Canaan.
Cross References
| Reference | Text (BSB) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joshua 18:18 | Then it went on to the northern slope of Beth-arabah and went down into the valley. |
| 2 | Joshua 15:6 | went up to Beth-hoglah, proceeded north of Beth-arabah, and went up to the Stone of Bohan son of Reuben. |
| 3 | Genesis 10:18 | the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites. Later the Canaanite clans were scattered, |
| 4 | 2 Chronicles 13:4 | Then Abijah stood on Mount Zemaraim in the hill country of Ephraim and said, “Hear me, O Jeroboam and all Israel! |
| 5 | 1 Kings 12:29–32 | One calf he set up in Bethel, and the other in Dan. |
The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 5 references, hung on the phrase they belong to
The Key Word — בֵּית, Veithgenerated
The word בֵּית (Veith) means 'house' and is used here as part of the place name Beth-arabah, which translates to 'house of the desert valley.' This indicates a specific location that served as a geographical marker in ancient Israel.
In this verse, it functions as a proper noun, indicating a significant settlement. Its usage here emphasizes the importance of these locations in the context of the tribal allotments.
How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated
All translations agree on the rendering of בֵּית as 'Beth' in the context of Beth-arabah.
Sentence Structuregenerated
The structure of this verse is straightforward, consisting of a list of proper nouns connected by conjunctions. The main verb is implicit as the verse is part of a larger enumeration of cities.
Each city name stands as a noun phrase, contributing to the overall cataloging of locations significant to the tribe of Benjamin.
Septuagint Backgroundgenerated
The Septuagint translates the Hebrew בֵּית as καὶ (and), which reflects a straightforward translation choice. This choice shows continuity in the naming of places from Hebrew to Greek.
The Septuagint's rendering indicates a direct correspondence in the list format, though it may differ in word order.
In plain words — the whole versegenerated
Joshua 18:22 lists three cities: Beth-arabah, Zemaraim, and Bethel. These cities are part of the territory assigned to the tribe of Benjamin, highlighting their geographical and historical significance.
Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated
Beth-arabah, meaning 'house of the desert valley,' is a notable location in the territory of Benjamin.
Zemaraim is identified as a hill in the region of Ephraim, known for its name meaning 'double fleece of wool.'
Bethel, meaning 'house of God,' is significant as a place of worship and is associated with key biblical events, such as Jacob's vision.
These cities were part of the land allocated to the tribe of Benjamin, reflecting their historical and cultural heritage.
Reflection Questionsgenerated
- What do these cities tell us about the geography of ancient Israel?
- How do the names of these cities reflect their significance in the biblical narrative?
- What role did locations like Bethel play in the spiritual life of the Israelites?
- How can understanding these cities enhance our reading of the historical context of the Bible?
Commentators on this verse — 5 expositors, verse by verse
Each of these wrote on Joshua 18:22 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.
John Gill1697–1771Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleAnd Betharabah,.... Of the first of these, [See comments on Joshua 15:6]; and Zemaraim; one of the sons of Canaan was named Zemira, Genesis 10:18; by whom this city Zemaraim might be built, or
Read John Gill on Joshua 18 →Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's CommentaryAnd Betharabah, and Zemaraim, and Bethel, Beth-arabah - (see the note at Joshua 15:61.) Zemaraim , [Septuagint, Sara] - now es-Sumrah, in the Jordan valley, between Beth-arabah and Beth-el.
Read Robert Jamieson on Joshua 18 →Charles John Ellicott1819–1905Ellicott's Commentary for English ReadersTHE OF .(11-28) The lot of the tribe of the children of Benjamin.—It can have been by no accident that their lot came forth “between Judah and Joseph.” No wiser method could have been devised to secure an united Israel than thus to make Benjamin the link between the two most powerful and naturally rival tribes. In the story of Joseph, the brethren are reconciled through the mutual affection of Judah and Joseph for Benjamin as their father’s youngest and best-loved son. The position thus given to Benjamin under Joshua was still further developed by circumstances. The tribe was almost exterminated in the time of the judges; the survivors were united in marriage with women of Ephraim and…
Read Charles John Ellicott on Joshua 18 →CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges22. 4. Beth-arabah] See note above, Joshua 15:6. 5. Zemaraim is unknown. 6. Bethel, see Joshua 18:13.
Read Cambridge on Joshua 18 →Daniel Denison Whedon1808–1885Whedon's Commentary on the Bible22. Beth-arabah — Joshua 15:6. [Zemaraim — This place is without much doubt identical with the ruins five miles north of Jericho, called es-Sumrah.
Read Daniel Denison Whedon on Joshua 18 →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
Beth-arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel,
Beth Arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel,
Beth-arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel,
Beth Arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel,
Tyndale line
And Beth-arabah, and Zemaraim, and Beth-el,
and Beth-arabah, and Zemaraim, and Beth-el,
and Beth-arabah, and Zemaraim, and Beth-el;
And Beth-arabah, and Zemaraim, and Beth-el,
And Beth-arabah, and Zemaraim, and Beth-el,
Strictly literal
and Beth-Arabah, and Zemaraim, and Bethel,
and Beth-Arabah, Zemaraim, and Beth-El,
and Beth-Arabah, Zemaraim, and Beth-El,
And Beth-ha'arabah, and Zemarayim, and Beth-el,
Beth Arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel,
From the Latin
Betharaba and Samaraim and Bethel,
Simplified
Beth-arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel,
And Beth-arabah and Zemaraim and Beth-el
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 names of the cities listed, although the Septuagint's word order differs from the Hebrew. The main elements are preserved across both texts.
וּבֵ֧ית הָֽעֲרָבָ֛ה וּצְמָרַ֖יִם וּבֵֽית־ אֵֽל׃
3 of the 5 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 18:22
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.
בֵּית הָֽעֲרָבָה n.pr.loc. (place of the depression) reckoned to Judah, to Benjamin
base
H1026 בֵּית הָֽעֲרָבָה
1026 Beyth ha-`Arabah bayth haw-ar-aw-baw
from 1004 and 6160 with the article interposed; house of the
Desert; Beth-ha-Arabah, a place in Palestine:--Beth-arabah.
see HEBREW for 01004
see HEBREW for 06160
בֵּית הָֽעֲרָבָה (bet ha.a.ra.vah) — Beth-arabah.
§ Beth-arabah = "house of the desert valley" or "place of the depression"
a place in Judah or in Benjamin
N-proper — Conjunction · noun properHC/Npl
Beth
Occurs frequently as the appellation for a house, or dwelling-place, in such compounds as the words immediately following:
the most general word for a house or habitation. It has the special meaning of a temple or house of worship Beth is more frequently employed in compound names of places than any other word.
House, forms a part of many compounds names of places, and sometimes means the place or dwelling; and at others the temple. This word becomes Beit in modern Arabic.
בֵּית הָֽעֲרָבָה n.pr.loc. (place of the depression) reckoned to Judah, to Benjamin
base
H1026 בֵּית הָֽעֲרָבָה
1026 Beyth ha-`Arabah bayth haw-ar-aw-baw
from 1004 and 6160 with the article interposed; house of the
Desert; Beth-ha-Arabah, a place in Palestine:--Beth-arabah.
see HEBREW for 01004
see HEBREW for 06160
בֵּית הָֽעֲרָבָה (bet ha.a.ra.vah) — Beth-arabah.
§ Beth-arabah = "house of the desert valley" or "place of the depression"
a place in Judah or in Benjamin
HTd/Npl — Particle · noun properHTd/Npl
ar'-a-ba, a-ra'-ba ha-`arabhah, ("the Arabah"): This word indicates in general a barren district, but is specifically applied in whole or in part to the depression of the Jordan valley, extending from Mount Hermon to the Gulf of Akabah. In the King James Version it is transliterated only once (Jos 18:18) describing the border of Benjamin. Elsewhere it is rendered "plain." But in the Revised Version (British and American) it is everywhere transliterated. South of the Dead Sea the name is still retained in Wady el-Arabah. In De 1:1; 2:8 (the King James Version "plain") the southern portion is referred to; in De 3:17; 4:49; Jos 3:16; 11:2; 12:3 and
Arabah
Plain, in the Revised Version of 2 Kings 14:25; Josh. 3:16; 8:14; 2 Sam. 2:29; 4:7 (in all these passages the A.V. has “plain”); Amos 6:14 (A.V. “wilderness”). This word is found in the Authorized Version only in Josh. 18:18. It denotes the hollow depression through which the Jordan flows from the Lake of Galilee to the Dead Sea. It is now called by the Arabs el-Ghor. But the Ghor is sometimes spoken of as extending 10 miles south of the Dead Sea, and thence to the Gulf of Akabah on the Red Sea is called the Wady el-Arabah.
(burnt up). Although this word appears in the Authorized Version in its original shape only in (Joshua 18:18) yet in the Hebrew text it is of frequent occurrence. It indicates more particularly the deep-sunken valley or trench which forms the most striking among the many striking natural features of Palestine, and which extends with great uniformity of formation from the slopes of Hermon to the Elanitic Gulf (Gulf of Akabah) of the Red Sea; the most remarkable depression known to exist on the surface of the globe. Through the northern portion of this extraordinary fissure the Jordan rushes through the lakes of Huleh and Gennesaret down its tortuous course to the deep chasm of the Dead Sea. This portion, about 150 miles in length, is known amongst the Arabs by the name of el-Ghor . The southern boundary of the (Ghor is the wall of…
→ See BETH-ARABAH
צְמָרַיִם (tsemarayim) refers to a location, specifically a hill in Ephraim, and is derived from the dual form of another Hebrew word meaning 'double fleece.' The entries consistently identify it as a proper noun, with no significant disagreement among the lexicons.
צְמָרַיִם n.pr.loc.
in Benj.
mt. in Ephraim
base
H6787 צְמָרַיִם
6787 Tsmarayim tsem-aw-rah'-yim
dual of 6785; double fleece; Tsemarajim, a place in
Palestine:--Zemaraim.
see HEBREW for 06785
צְמָרַיִם (tse.ma.ra.yim) — (Mount) Zemaraim.
§ Zemaraim = "double fleece of wool"
a hill in Ephraim
Conj | N-proper — Conjunction · noun properHC/Npl
zem-a-ra'-im (cemdrayim; Codex Vaticanus Sara; Codex Alexandrinus Semrim): A city in the territory of Benjamin. It is named between Betharabah and Bethel (Jos 18:22), and is probably to be sought East of the latter city. It is usual to identify it with es-Samra, a ruin about 4 miles North of Jericho. Mt. Zemaraim probably derived its name from the city, and must be sought in the neighborhood. On this height, which is said to be in Mt. Ephraim, Abijah, king of Judah, stood when making his appeal to the men of Israel under Jeroboam (2Ch 13:4). If the identification with es-Samra is correct, this hill must be in the uplands to the West, es-Samra being on the floor of the valley. Dillmann (Joshua, at the place) thinks Zemaraim cannot be so far East of Bethel, but may be found…
Zemaraim
(1.) A town of Benjamin (Josh. 18:22); now the ruin, rather two ruins, es-Sumrah, 4 miles north of Jericho.
(2.) A mount in the highlands of Ephraim, to the north of Jerusalem (2 Chr. 13:4-20). Here the armies of Abijah and Jeroboam engaged in a bloody battle, which issued in the total defeat of the king of Israel, who never “recovered strength again,” and soon after died.
(double fleece of wool), a town in the allotment of Benjamin, (Joshua 18:22) perhaps identical with Mount Zemaraim, mentioned in (2 Chronicles 13:4) only, which was "in Mount Ephraim," that is to say, within the general district of the highlands of that great tribe. (2 Chronicles 13:4)
wool; pith
בֵּֽיתְאֵל (Bethel) means 'house of God' and refers to a significant ancient location in Palestine, identified with Luz. It is described as a seat of worship situated in Ephraim on the border of Benjamin, as well as a place in the southern region of Judah.
בֵּֽיתְאֵל 71 n.pr.loc. Bethel
ancient place and seat of worship in Ephraim on border of Benjamin, identif. with Luz (former name)
place in south country of Judah, not far from Beersheba & Ziklag
base
H1008 בֵּֽיתְאֵל Bethel
1008 Beyth-'El bayth-ale'
from 1004 and 410; house of God; Beth-El, a place in
Palestine:--Beth-el.
see HEBREW for 01004
see HEBREW for 0410
בֵּֽיתְ־אֵל (bet-el) — Bethel.
§ Bethel = "house of God"
ancient place and seat of worship in Ephraim on border of Benjamin, identified with Luz (former name)
בֵּֽיתְ־אֵל (bet-el) — Bethel.
§ Bethel = "house of God"
a place in south country of Judah
N-proper — Conjunction · noun properHC/Npl
Beth
Occurs frequently as the appellation for a house, or dwelling-place, in such compounds as the words immediately following:
the most general word for a house or habitation. It has the special meaning of a temple or house of worship Beth is more frequently employed in compound names of places than any other word.
House, forms a part of many compounds names of places, and sometimes means the place or dwelling; and at others the temple. This word becomes Beit in modern Arabic.
בֵּֽיתְאֵל (Bethel) means 'house of God' and refers to a significant ancient location in Palestine, identified with Luz. It is described as a seat of worship situated in Ephraim on the border of Benjamin, as well as a place in the southern region of Judah.
בֵּֽיתְאֵל 71 n.pr.loc. Bethel
ancient place and seat of worship in Ephraim on border of Benjamin, identif. with Luz (former name)
place in south country of Judah, not far from Beersheba & Ziklag
base
H1008 בֵּֽיתְאֵל Bethel
1008 Beyth-'El bayth-ale'
from 1004 and 410; house of God; Beth-El, a place in
Palestine:--Beth-el.
see HEBREW for 01004
see HEBREW for 0410
בֵּֽיתְ־אֵל (bet-el) — Bethel.
§ Bethel = "house of God"
ancient place and seat of worship in Ephraim on border of Benjamin, identified with Luz (former name)
בֵּֽיתְ־אֵל (bet-el) — Bethel.
§ Bethel = "house of God"
a place in south country of Judah
HNpl — Noun properHNpl
See GOD, NAMES OF.
Strength, one of the names of God, especially in poetry,
Ge 33:18-20. It is very often found in proper names, as Bethel, Daniel, Elijah, etc. Eloi, like Eli, means, My God.