Joshua 15:23 — Word Study
WLCוְקֶ֥דֶשׁ וְחָצ֖וֹר וְיִתְנָֽן׃
BSAKedeshQedesh [a holy place, city of refuge] HazorChâtsôwr [a major Canaanite stronghold] IthnanYithnân△ [meaning 'hire' or 'payment']
| Greek | English | Parsing |
|---|---|---|
| וְקֶ֥דֶשׁ | and Kedesh | Conjunction, noun proper |
| וְחָצ֖וֹר | and Hazor | Conjunction, noun proper |
| וְיִתְנָֽן׃ | and Ithnan | Conjunction, noun proper |
Every word in the verse. Click a row to open it in the panel on the left.
| BSB | Kedesh, Hazor, Ithnan, |
| KJV | And Kedesh, and Hazor, and Ithnan, |
| ASV | and Kedesh, and Hazor, and Ithnan, |
| YLT | and Kedesh, and Hazor, and Ithnan, |
| WEB | Kedesh, Hazor, Ithnan, |
| BBE | And Kedesh, and Hazor, and Ithnan; |
The translations agree in naming the cities קֶדֶשׁ, חָצֹור, and יִתְנָן — see How Translations Differ.
A simple enumeration of cities, with no complex structure.
3 commentators on this verse
Gill, Jamieson, Ellicott & more — read them ›
clause
The sentence as the grammar sees it Open the tree ›
1 of 3 occurs nowhere else in the Old Testament — a word chosen on purpose.
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 15:23
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 Cities of Judahgenerated
Joshua 15:23 is part of a longer list detailing the cities given to the tribe of Judah. This verse specifically mentions three cities: Kedesh, Hazor, and Ithnan, which were established in the region and played important roles in the history of the Israelites. The listing of cities reflects the organization of land distribution among the tribes of Israel following their conquest of Canaan.
Cross References
| Reference | Text (BSB) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joshua 12:22 | the king of Kedesh, one; the king of Jokneam in Carmel, one; |
| 2 | Numbers 33:37 | They set out from Kadesh and camped at Mount Hor, on the outskirts of the land of Edom. |
| 3 | Deuteronomy 1:19 | And just as the LORD our God had commanded us, we set out from Horeb and went toward the hill country of the Amorites, through all the vast and terrifying wilderness you have seen. When we reached Kadesh-barnea, |
The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 3 references, hung on the phrase they belong to
The Key Word — קֶדֶשׁ, ve.Ke.deshgenerated
The word קֶדֶשׁ (Qedesh) refers to a holy place or sanctum, often associated with cities of refuge in ancient Israel. It is derived from a root meaning 'to be holy', indicating its significance as a sacred site.
Kedesh was given to the tribe of Naphtali and is noted for its fortified nature. In this context, it emphasizes the importance of having designated cities for safety and refuge.
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 structure of the verse is straightforward, consisting of a series of noun phrases: וְקֶ֥דֶשׁ, וְחָצ֖וֹר, and וְיִתְנָֽן. Each city is introduced by the conjunction וְ (and), indicating a simple enumeration.
The Hebrew word order places the cities in a list format, reflecting the method of naming locations in ancient texts.
Septuagint Backgroundgenerated
In the Septuagint, קֶדֶשׁ is rendered as καδης, which maintains the reference to a holy place. This choice reflects the translators' intention to convey the sacred nature of the city.
The Septuagint's rendering of חָצֹור as καὶ shows a direct connection to the term 'and', indicating a continuation of the list, while יִתְנָן is not directly represented, suggesting a possible loss or omission in the translation.
In plain words — the whole versegenerated
Joshua 15:23 lists three cities in the territory of Judah: Kedesh, Hazor, and Ithnan. Kedesh is known as a holy place, Hazor was a major Canaanite stronghold, and Ithnan means 'hire' or 'payment'. These cities were part of the land allotted to the tribes of Israel.
Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated
Kedesh was a city of refuge, providing safety for those who needed protection.
Hazor was a significant city in Canaan, known for its fortifications and strategic importance.
Ithnan means 'hire' or 'payment', reflecting perhaps its economic significance.
These cities were part of the land distribution among the tribes, each serving specific roles in the community.
Reflection Questionsgenerated
- What do you think it means for a place to be considered holy?
- How can we find refuge in our lives today, similar to the cities of refuge in ancient Israel?
- What role do names play in understanding the significance of places?
- How can we apply the concept of designated safe spaces in our communities today?
Commentators on this verse — 3 expositors, verse by verse
Each of these wrote on Joshua 15:23 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.
John Gill1697–1771Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleAnd Kedesh,.... The first of these cities seems to be Kadeshbarnea, which was to the south of the land, and on the borders of Edom, from whence the spies were sent, Numbers 32:8; and Hazor is another
Read John Gill on Joshua 15 →Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's CommentaryAnd Kedesh, and Hazor, and Ithnan, (6) And Kedesh , [Septuagint, Kadees] - supposed by Dr.
Read Robert Jamieson on Joshua 15 →Charles John Ellicott1819–1905Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(21) And the uttermost cities.—The cities of the tribe of Judah are given under four heads: (a) towards Edom; (b) in the Shephêlah, or plain of the coast (Joshua 15:33, &c.); (c) in the mountains (Joshua 15:48); (d) in the wilderness (Joshua 15:61). Of those in Joshua 15:21-32, the first twenty-nine, Conder identifies only four—viz., Adadah, Joshua 15:22 (Ad’adah); Kerioth Hezron (some see a trace of Kerioth in the sobriquet of Judas Is-cariot, the man of Kerioth), Joshua 15:25 (Hudîreh); Beer-sheba, Joshua 15:28 (Bîr es-seb’a); and Ain Rimmon, Joshua 15:32 ( Umm er-Rumânûn). It is not easy to say precisely how the twenty-nine are to be obtained from the thirty-three, but evidently some of…
Read Charles John Ellicott 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
Kedesh, Hazor, Ithnan,
Kedesh, Hazor, Ithnan,
Kedesh, Hazor, Ithnan,
Kedesh, Hazor, Ithnan,
Tyndale line
And Kedesh, and Hazor, and Ithnan,
and Kedesh, and Hazor, and Ithnan,
and Kedesh, and Hazor, and Ithnan;
And Kedesh, and Hazor, and Ithnan,
And Kedesh, and Hazor, and Ithnan,
Strictly literal
and Kedesh, and Hazor, and Jithnan,
and Kedesh, and Hazor, and Ithnan,
and Kedesh, and Hazor, and Ithnan,
And Kedesh, and Chazor, and Yithnan,
Kedesh, Hazor, Ithnan,
From the Latin
And Cades and Asor and Jethnam,
Simplified
Kedesh, Hazor, Ithnan,
And Kedesh, and Hazor, and Ithnan;
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 lists the cities as וְקֶ֥דֶשׁ וְחָצ֖וֹר וְיִתְנָֽן׃. The Septuagint matches two of the three cities, confirming the names of Kedesh and Hazor, but does not provide a corresponding term for Ithnan.
וְקֶ֥דֶשׁ וְחָצ֖וֹר וְיִתְנָֽן׃
2 of the 3 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 15:23
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.
קֶ֫דֶשׁ (Qedesh) refers to a sanctum or holy place and is the name of several locations in ancient Palestine, including cities of refuge and fortified cities. It is associated with regions in Galilee, Judah, and Naphtali, and is noted for its significance as a refuge city. The term is derived from a root meaning 'to be holy'.
קֶ֫דֶשׁ n.pr.loc. (sanctuary)
in Galilee
city of refuge in Issachar
in S. Judah
base
H6943 קֶ֫דֶשׁ
6943 Qedesh keh'-desh
from 6942; a sanctum; Kedesh, the name of four places in
Palestine:--Kedesh.
see HEBREW for 06942
קֶ֫דֶשׁ (qe.desh) — Kedesh.
§ Kedesh = "holy place"
a fortified Canaanite city allotted to Naphtali
קֶ֫דֶשׁ (qe.desh) — Kedesh.
Kedesh = "holy place"
a city in the extreme south of Judah
קֶ֫דֶשׁ (qe.desh) — Kedesh.
Kedesh = "holy place"
a city of refuge in Naphtali
Another name of qish.yon (קִשְׁיוֹן "Kishion" H7191)
קֶ֫דֶשׁ (qe.desh) — Kedesh.
Kedesh = "holy place"
a fortified Canaanite city allotted to Naphtali
Conj | N-proper — Conjunction · noun properHC/Npl
Kedesh
Sanctuary. (1.) A place in the extreme south of Judah (Josh. 15:23). Probably the same as Kadesh-barnea (q.v.).
(2.) A city of Issachar (1 Chr. 6:72). Possibly Tell Abu Kadeis, near Lejjun.
(3.) A “fenced city” of Naphtali, one of the cities of refuge (Josh. 19:37; Judg. 4:6). It was assigned to the Gershonite Levites (Josh. 21:32). It was originally a Canaanite royal city (Josh. 12:22), and was the residence of Barak (Judg. 4:6); and here he and Deborah assembled the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali before the…
(a sanctuary). In the extreme south of Judah, (Joshua 15:23) same as Kadesh and Kadesh-barnea. A city of Issachar, allotted to the Gershonite Levites. (1 Chronicles 6:72) The Kadesh mentioned among the cities whose kings were slain by Joshua, (Joshua 12:22) in company with Megiddo and Jokneam of Carmel, would seem to have been this city of Issachar. Kedesh; also Kedesh in Galilee; and once, (Judges 4:6) Kedesh-naphtali, one of the fortified cities of the tribe of Naphtali, named between Hazor and Edrei, (Joshua 19:37) appointed as a city of refuge, and allotted with its "suburbs" to the Gershonite Levites. (
חָצוֹר (Chatsowr) refers to a collective term for several locations, primarily a royal city in northern Canaan, known as Hazor, meaning "castle." It also denotes towns in the Negev and among the Benjamites, as well as a site in Arabia. The entries highlight its geographical significance in both Palestine and Arabia.
חָצוֹר, חָצֹר n.pr.loc.
a royal city of northern Canaan
places in the Negeb
a Benjamite town
an Arabian locality
base
H2674 חָצוֹר, חָצֹר
2674 Chatsowr khaw-tsore'
a collective form of 2691; village; Chatsor, the name (thus
simply) of two places in Palestine and of one in Arabia:--
Hazor.
see HEBREW for 02691
חָצוֹר (cha.tsor) — Hazor.
Hazor = "castle"
a royal city of northern Palestine allotted to Naphtali
Also named: chets.ron (חֶצְרוֹן "Hezron" H2696J)
חָצוֹר (cha.tsor) — Hazor.
§ Hazor = "castle"
one of the cities of Judah in the extreme south
חָצוֹר (cha.tsor) — Hazor.
§ Hazor = "castle"
one of the cities of Judah in the extreme south
חָצוֹר (cha.tsor) — Hazor.
§ Hazor = "castle"
a town north of Jerusalem in which the Benjamites resided after the return from exile
חָצוֹר (cha.tsor) — Hazor.
§ Hazor = "castle"
a site in Arabia
Conj | N-proper — Conjunction · noun properHC/Npl
ha'-zor (chatsor; Nasor; Codex Sinaiticus, Asor, 1 Macc 11:67):
(1) The royal city of Jabin (Jos 11:1), which, before the Israelite conquest, seems to have been the seat of a wide authority (Jos 11:11). It was taken by Joshua, who exterminated the inhabitants, and it was the only city in that region which he destroyed by fire (11:11-13). At a later time the Jabin Dynasty appears to have recovered power and restored the city (Jud 4:2). The heavy defeat of their army at the hands of Deborah and Barak led to their final downfall (Jud 4:23). It was in the territory allotted to Naphtali (Jos 19:36). Hazor was one of the cities…
Hazor
Enclosed; fortified. (1.) A stronghold of the Canaanites in the mountains north of Lake Merom (Josh. 11:1-5). Jabin the king with his allied tribes here encountered Joshua in a great battle. Joshua gained a signal victory, which virtually completed his conquest of Canaan (11:10-13). This city was, however, afterwards rebuilt by the Canaanites, and was ruled by a king with the same hereditary name of Jabin. His army, under a noted leader of the name of Sisera, swept down upon the south, aiming at the complete subjugation of the country. This powerful army was met by the Israelites under Barak, who went forth by the advice of the prophetess Deborah. The result was one of the most remarkable victories for Israel recorded in the Old Testament (Josh. 19:36;
(castle). A fortified city, which on the occupation of the country was allotted to Naphtali. (Joshua 19:36) Its position was apparently between Ramah and Kedesh, ibid. (Joshua 12:19) on the high ground overlooking the Lake of Merom. There is no reason for supposing it a different place from that of which Jabin was king. (Joshua 11:1; Judges 4:2,17; 1 Samuel 12:9) It was the principal city of the whole of north Palestine. (Joshua 11:10) It was fortified by Solomon, (1 Kings 9:15) and its inhabitants were carried…
1. A chief city of northern Canaan, whose king Jabin, at the head of an allied host, was defeated by Joshua, Jos 11:1-13. Hazor revived, however, and for a time oppressed the Israelites; but was subdued by Barak, fortified by Solomon, and remained in the possession of Israel until the invasion of Tiglathpileser, Jos 19:36; Jud 4:2; 1Ki 9:15; 2Ki 15:29. It lay not far from Lake Merom.
2. A region in Arabia, laid waste by Nebuchadnezzar, Jer 49:28- 33. Its location is unknown.
יִתְנָ֑ן (yithnan) refers to a location, specifically a city in the Negev region of Judah, mentioned in Joshua 15:23. The name is associated with the meaning 'hire.' It is derived from a root that suggests extensiveness, but the exact etymology is uncertain.
יִתְנָ֑ן n.pr.loc. (etym. dub.) city in the Negeb of Judah Jos 15:23
base
H3497 יִתְנָ֑ן
3497 Yithnan yith-nawn'
from the same as 8577; extensive; Jithnan, a place in
Palestine:--Ithnan.
see HEBREW for 08577
יִתְנָ֑ן (yit.nan) — Ithnan.
§ Ithnan = "hire"
one of the towns in the extreme south of Judah
Conj | N-proper — Conjunction · noun properHC/Npl
ith'-nan (yithnan): A town in the South of Judah mentioned along with Hazor and Ziph (Jos 15:23), apparently the "Ethnan" of Jerome (Onom 118 13). Not identified.
(given), one of the towns in the extreme south of Judah. (Joshua 15:23) No trace of its existence has yet been discovered.
→ A town in the extreme south of Judah Jos 15:23