Joshua 15:24 — Word Study
WLCזִ֥יף וָטֶ֖לֶם וּבְעָלֽוֹת׃
BSAZiphZîyph [a Judahite, son of Jehallelel] TelemṬelem [meaning oppression] BealothBᵉʻâlôwth [mistresses, a town in south Judah, also known as Baalath-beer]
| Greek | English | Parsing |
|---|---|---|
| זִ֥יף | Ziph | Noun proper |
| וָטֶ֖לֶם | and Telem | Conjunction, noun proper |
| וּבְעָלֽוֹת׃ | and Bealoth | Conjunction, noun proper |
Every word in the verse. Click a row to open it in the panel on the left.
| BSB | Ziph, Telem, Bealoth, |
| KJV | Ziph, and Telem, and Bealoth, |
| ASV | Ziph, and Telem, and Bealoth, |
| YLT | Ziph, and Telem, and Bealoth, |
| WEB | Ziph, Telem, Bealoth, |
| BBE | Ziph, and Telem, and Bealoth; |
Where they part company is in the rendering of the names, but all versions agree on the same three towns.
The verse consists of a simple list of three proper nouns, indicating a straightforward cataloging of locations.
5 commentators on this verse
Gill, Jamieson, Ellicott, AdamClarke & 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 15:24
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 Judahgenerated
Joshua 15:24 lists towns in the territory of Judah, which was allotted to the tribe of Judah after the Israelites entered the Promised Land. This verse is part of a larger section that details the boundaries and cities of the tribes, emphasizing the geographical and historical significance of these locations.
Cross References
| Reference | Text (BSB) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 Samuel 23:14–19 | And David stayed in the wilderness strongholds and in the hill country of the Wilderness of Ziph. Day after day Saul searched for him, but God would not deliver David into his hand. |
| 2 | Psalm 54:1 | Save me, O God, by Your name, and vindicate me by Your might! |
| 3 | 1 Samuel 15:4 | So Saul summoned the troops and numbered them at Telaim—200,000 foot soldiers and 10,000 men of Judah. |
The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 3 references, hung on the phrase they belong to
The Key Word — זִיף, zifgenerated
The name זִיף (zif) refers to both a person and a city in Judah, meaning 'battlement'. The parsing as a proper noun indicates its importance as a geographical marker in the biblical narrative.
Ziph is noted for its connection to the tribe of Judah and appears multiple times in the biblical text, emphasizing its significance in the history of Israel.
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 list of three proper nouns connected by conjunctions. The finite verb is implicit, as it is a list rather than a complete sentence.
The nouns are presented in a sequence, indicating a catalog of places, which is typical in biblical texts that enumerate locations.
Septuagint Backgroundgenerated
The Septuagint translates זִיף as μαιναμ, וָטֶלֶם as Telem, and וּבְעָלֽוֹת as βαλμαιναν. This shows a close correspondence between the Hebrew and Greek, though the Greek may reflect a different order or emphasis.
The choice of words in the Septuagint suggests a consistent understanding of these locations, although the exact rendering may differ from the Hebrew.
In plain words — the whole versegenerated
Joshua 15:24 lists three towns in Judah: Ziph, Telem, and Bealoth. Each town has its own significance, with Ziph meaning battlement, Telem meaning oppression, and Bealoth referring to mistresses or a town known as Baalath-beer.
Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated
Ziph means 'battlement' and refers to a town in Judah.
Telem means 'oppression' and is associated with a person and a town in Judah.
Bealoth means 'mistresses' and is a town in southern Judah, also known as Baalath-beer.
They represent the geographical and historical context of the tribe of Judah in the biblical narrative.
Reflection Questionsgenerated
- What do the names of these towns reveal about the history of Judah?
- How do the meanings of these names reflect the experiences of the people in that region?
- In what ways do you see the significance of geographical locations in your own life?
- How can understanding the context of these towns enhance your reading of the Bible?
Commentators on this verse — 5 expositors, verse by verse
Each of these wrote on Joshua 15:24 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.
John Gill1697–1771Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleZiph,.... Ziph was of the tribe of Judah in the south, on the borders of Eleutheropolis, as Jerom says (d) and was eight miles from Hebron to the east; and in his time a village was shown, where
Read John Gill on Joshua 15 →Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's CommentaryZiph, and Telem, and Bealoth, Ziph. Wilton rejects this from the lists as an interpolation, since there is apparently no equivalent for the name in the Septuagint, and on other grounds more or less satisfactory.
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 →AdamClarkeAdam Clarke's Commentary on the BibleVerse 24. Ziph] There were two cities of this name in the tribe of Judah, that mentioned here, and another Joshua 15:55. One of these two is noted for the refuge of David when persecuted by Saul; and the attempts made by its inhabitants to deliver him into the hands of his persecutor. See 1 Samuel 23:14-24.
Read AdamClarke on Joshua 15 →CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges24. Ziph] (b) With this town commences a second group of five cities:— (1) Ziph, not identified; (2) Telem, not identified—not to be confounded with Telaim, where Saul collected and numbered his forces before his attack on Amalek (1 Samuel 15:4); (3) Bealoth = Bealoth-beer, on the road towards Hebron; (4) Hazor-hadattah = “New Hazor;” (5) Kerioth-Hezron, which is Hazor; the names are to be joined together, like Kirjath-arba and Kirjath-jearim.
Read Cambridge 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
Ziph, Telem, Bealoth,
Ziph, Telem, Bealoth,
Ziph, Telem, Bealoth,
Ziph, Telem, Bealoth,
Tyndale line
Ziph, and Telem, and Bealoth,
Ziph, and Telem, and Bealoth,
Ziph, and Telem, and Bealoth;
Ziph, and Telem, and Bealoth,
Ziph, and Telem, and Bealoth,
Strictly literal
Ziph, and Telem, and Bealoth,
Ziph, and Telem, and Bealoth,
Ziph, and Telem, and Bealoth,
Ziph, and Telem, and Be'aloth,
Ziph, Telem, Bealoth.
From the Latin
Ziph and Telem and Baloth,
Simplified
Ziph, Telem, Bealoth,
Ziph, and Telem, and Bealoth;
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 זִ֥יף וָטֶ֖לֶם וּבְעָלֽוֹת׃, while the Septuagint matches two of the three words. This indicates a strong agreement between the two texts, with some variation in wording.
זִ֥יף וָטֶ֖לֶם וּבְעָלֽוֹת׃
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 15:24
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.
זִיף (ziyp) refers to Ziph, a city in southern Judah known for its location southeast of Hebron, described as a battlement. It is also the name of a man from the tribe of Judah, mentioned in the context of the Divided Monarchy. The entries indicate that Ziph has both geographical and personal significance in biblical texts.
זִיף n.pr.
n.pr.loc.
city S.E. from Hebron
city of southern Judah
n.pr.m. a son of יְהַלָּלְאֵל of Judah
base
H2128 זִיף
2128 Ziyph zeef
from the same as 2203; flowing; Ziph, the name of a place in
Palestine; also of an Israelite:--Ziph.
see HEBREW for 02203
זִיף (ziph) — Ziph.
§ Ziph = "battlement"
a city in southern Judah, between Ithnan and Telem
זִיף (ziph) — Ziph.
Ziph = "battlement"
a city of Judah, southeast of Hebron, between Carmel and Juttah in the highland district
Also named: zi.phi (זִיפִי "Ziphite" H2130)
זִיף (ziph) — Ziph.
A man of the tribe of Judah living at the time of Divided Monarchy, first mentioned at 1Ch.2.42;
son of: Mareshah@1Ch.2.42 (H4337)
§ Ziph = "battlement"
1) a son of Jehaleleel, a descendant of Judah, and brother of Ziphah
2) a city in southern Judah, between Ithnan and Telem
3) a city of Judah, southeast of Hebron, between Carmel and Juttah in the highland district
זִיף (ziph) — Ziph.
A man of the tribe of Judah living at the time of Divided Monarchy, only mentioned at 1Ch.4.16;
son of: Jehallelel (H3094);
brother of: Ziphah (H2129), Tiria (H8493) and Asarel (H0840)
§ Ziph = "battlement"
N-proper — Noun properHNpl
Ziph
Flowing. (1.) A son of Jehaleleel (1 Chr. 4:16).
(2.) A city in the south of Judah (Josh. 15:24), probably at the pass of Sufah.
(3.) A city in the mountains of Judah (Josh. 15:55), identified with the uninhabited ruins of Tell ez-Zif, about 5 miles south-east of Hebron. Here David hid himself during his wanderings (1 Sam. 23:19; Ps. 54, title).
(battlement), the name of two towns in Judah. In the south, named between Ithnan and Telem. (Joshua 15:24) It does not appear again in the history, nor has any trace of has been met with. In the highland district, named between Carmel and Juttah. (Joshua 15:55) The place is immortalized by its connection with David. (1 Samuel 23:14,15,24; 26:2) These passages show that at that time it had near it a wilderness (i,e, a waste pasture-ground) and a wood. The latter has disappeared but the former remains. The name of Zif if, found about three miles south of Hebron, attached to a rounded hill of some 100 feet in height, which is called Tell Zif . Son of Jehaleleel. (1 Chronicles…
A city of Judah, four miles south-east of Hebron; near it were wild fastness in which David for a long time lay hid, 1Sa 23:14,15.
this mouth or mouthful; falsehood
טֶ֫לֶם (Telem) refers to both a place in the Negev region of Judah and a man mentioned during the Exile and Return, specifically in Ezra 10:24. The word is associated with the concept of oppression, stemming from a root meaning to break up or treat violently. It also denotes a temple doorkeeper.
טֶ֫לֶם n.pr.loc. et pers.
n.pr.loc. in the Negeb of Judah
n.pr.m. one of the porters
base
H2928 טֶ֫לֶם
2928 Telem teh'-lem
from an unused root meaning to break up or treat violently;
oppression; Telem, the name of a place in Idumaea, also of a
temple doorkeeper:--Telem.
טֶ֫לֶם (te.lem) — Telem.
§ Telem = "oppression"
one of the cities in the extreme south of Judah in the Negeb
טֶ֫לֶם (te.lem) — Telem.
A man living at the time of Exile and Return, only mentioned at Ezr.10.24
§ Telem = "oppression"
1) a gatekeeper among the returning exiles in the time of Ezra
2) one of the cities in the extreme south of Judah in the Negeb
Conj | N-proper — Conjunction · noun properHC/Npl
Telem
Oppression. (1.) A porter of the temple in the time of Ezra (10:24).
(2.) A town in the southern border of Judah (Josh. 15:24); probably the same as Telaim.
(oppression). One of the cities in the extreme south of Judah, (Joshua 15:24) probably the same as Telaim. The name Dhullam is found in Van Deuteronomy Velde’s map, attached to a district immediately to the north of the Kubbet el-Baul , south of el Milh and Ar’arah --a position very suitable. A porter or doorkeeper of the temple in the time of Ezra. (Ezra 10:24) He is probably the same as TALMON in (Nehemiah 12:25)
their dew; their shadow
בְּעָלוֹת (be'alot) is a plural form meaning 'mistresses' and refers to a location called Bealoth, a town in southern Judah. It is associated with another name, Baalat-beer. The entries indicate that the term primarily denotes a place rather than a concept.
בְּעָלוֹת n.pr.loc. a city in the south of Judah
base
H1175 בְּעָלוֹת
1175 B`alowth beh-aw-loth'
plural of 1172; mistresses; Bealoth, a place in
Palestine:--Bealoth, in Aloth (by mistake for a plural from
5927 with prepositional prefix).
see HEBREW for 01172
see HEBREW for 05927
בְּעָלוֹת (be.a.lot) — Bealoth.
Baalath or Bealoth = "mistresses"
a town in south Judah
Another name of ba.a.lat be.er (בַּעֲלַת בְּאֵר "Baalath-beer" H1192)
Conj | N-proper — Conjunction · noun properHC/Npl
be'-a-loth (be`aloth; Baloth): An unidentified city of Judah in the Negeb (Jos 15:24).
Bealoth
Citizens, a town in the extreme south of Judah (Josh. 15:24); probably the same as Baalath-beer (19:8). In 1 Kings 4:16, the Authorized Version has “in Aloth,” the Revised Version “Bealoth.”
(ladies) a town in the extreme south of Judah. (Joshua 15:24)
cast under