Joshua 15:38 — Word Study
WLCוְדִלְעָ֥ן וְהַמִּצְפֶּ֖ה וְיָקְתְאֵֽל׃
BSADilanDilʻân△ [Dilean, a city of gourds] MizpehMitspeh [a watchtower, a place of observation] JoktheelYoqthᵉʼêl [a stronghold of Edom, also known as Selah or Petra]
| Greek | English | Parsing |
|---|---|---|
| וְדִלְעָ֥ן | and Dilean | Conjunction, noun proper |
| וְהַמִּצְפֶּ֖ה | and Mizpah | Conjunction, particle, noun proper |
| וְיָקְתְאֵֽל׃ | and Joktheel | Conjunction, noun proper |
Every word in the verse. Click a row to open it in the panel on the left.
| BSB | Dilan, Mizpeh, Joktheel, |
| KJV | And Dilean, and Mizpeh, and Joktheel, |
| ASV | and Dilean, and Mizpeh, and Joktheel, |
| YLT | and Dilean, and Mizpeh, and Joktheel, |
| WEB | Dilean, Mizpah, Joktheel, |
| BBE | And Dilan, and Mizpeh, and Joktheel; |
The translations agree on the names of the cities listed in this verse.
The verse is a straightforward list of cities without additional clauses or verbs.
3 commentators on this verse
Gill, Jamieson, Whedon & 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 15:38
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 — Cities in the Territory of Judahgenerated
Joshua 15:38 lists cities that were part of the inheritance of the tribe of Judah. These cities were significant for their strategic locations and roles in the region. The verse is part of a larger section detailing the boundaries and cities allocated to each tribe, emphasizing the importance of these locations in ancient Israel.
Cross References
| Reference | Text (BSB) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Genesis 31:48–49 | Then Laban declared, “This mound is a witness between you and me this day.” Therefore the place was called Galeed. |
| 2 | Judges 20:1 | Then all the Israelites from Dan to Beersheba and from the land of Gilead came out, and the congregation assembled as one man before the LORD at Mizpah. |
| 3 | Judges 21:5 | The Israelites asked, “Who among all the tribes of Israel did not come to the assembly before the LORD?” For they had taken a solemn oath that anyone who failed to come up before the LORD at Mizpah would surely be put to death. |
| 4 | 1 Samuel 7:5–6 | Then Samuel said, “Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to the LORD on your behalf.” |
| 5 | 1 Samuel 10:17 | After this, Samuel summoned the people to the LORD at Mizpah |
The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 6 references, hung on the phrase they belong to
The Key Word — יָקְתְאֵל, ve.ya.ke.te.'Elgenerated
The name יָקְתְאֵל (Yoqth'el) refers to a stronghold in Edom, also known as Selah or Petra. The name signifies 'the blessedness of God', indicating its importance as a fortified location.
Joktheel's mention alongside other cities highlights its role as a defensive stronghold. The parsing as a noun proper indicates it is a specific place, further emphasizing its significance in the biblical narrative.
How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated
This study reads the verse in the Berean Standard Bible, which is the wording every comparison below is made against.
Sentence Structuregenerated
The finite verb structure is absent in this verse, as it consists of a simple list of noun phrases: וְדִלְעָ֥ן, וְהַמִּצְפֶּ֖ה, and וְיָקְתְאֵֽל. The conjunctions link these nouns, indicating they are part of the same category.
The structure emphasizes the cities as a collective group, showcasing their equal importance in the context of Judah's territory.
Septuagint Backgroundgenerated
The Septuagint translates וְדִלְעָ֥ן as δαλαλ, וְהַמִּצְפֶּ֖ה as μασφα, and וְיָקְתְאֵֽל as ιακαρεηλ. These translations maintain the names of the cities, reflecting their significance in both Hebrew and Greek contexts.
The choice of words in the Septuagint indicates a direct correspondence to the Hebrew names, preserving their identity across translations.
In plain words — the whole versegenerated
Joshua 15:38 lists three cities in Judah: Dilean, Mizpah, and Joktheel. Dilean is a city of gourds, Mizpah is a watchtower, and Joktheel is a stronghold known as Selah or Petra. These cities were important for their strategic locations.
Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated
Dilean is mentioned as a city in Judah, but its exact location is uncertain.
Mizpah means 'watchtower' and served as a place for observation and gathering.
Joktheel was a stronghold captured by King Amaziah and is associated with the cliffs of Petra.
These cities were part of the territory allocated to the tribe of Judah, highlighting their importance in the region.
Reflection Questionsgenerated
- What role did these cities play in the defense of Judah?
- How do the names of these cities reflect their functions?
- In what ways can we see parallels between these ancient cities and modern places of refuge?
- What can we learn from the historical significance of these locations in the biblical narrative?
Commentators on this verse — 3 expositors, verse by verse
Each of these wrote on Joshua 15:38 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.
John Gill1697–1771Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleAnd Dilean,.... Of the first of these nothing is to be said; and Mizpeh, of which name there were cities in other tribes; this in the tribe of Judah was in the times of Jerom (w) called Mapha, on the
Read John Gill on Joshua 15 →Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's CommentaryAnd Dilean, and Mizpeh, and Joktheel, Dilean , [ Dil`aan (H1810) gourd-field, or place of cucumbers; Septuagint, Dalad] - supposed by Van de Velde to be represented by the modern Tina, a small clay
Read Robert Jamieson on Joshua 15 →Daniel Denison Whedon1808–1885Whedon's Commentary on the Bible37-41. This second group of the cities in the Shephelah, sixteen in number, are now nearly all unknown. On Lachish and Eglon, see Joshua 10:3.
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
Dilan, Mizpeh, Joktheel,
Dilean, Mizpah, Joktheel,
Dilan, Mizpeh, Joktheel,
Dilean, Mizpah, Joktheel,
Tyndale line
And Dilean, and Mizpeh, and Joktheel,
and Dilean, and Mizpeh, and Joktheel,
and Dilan, and Mizpeh, and Joktheel;
And Dilean, and Mizpeh, and Joktheel,
And Dileam, and Mizpeh, and Ioktheel,
Strictly literal
and Dilean, and Mizpeh, and Joktheel,
and Dilean, and Mizpeh, and Joktheel,
and Dilean, and Mizpeh, and Joktheel,
And Dil'an, and Mizpeh, and Yoktheel,
Dilean, Mizpah, Joktheel,
From the Latin
Delean and Masepha and Jecthel,
Simplified
Dilean, Mizpeh, Joktheel,
And Dilan, and Mizpeh, and Joktheel;
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 וְדִלְעָ֥ן וְהַמִּצְפֶּ֖ה וְיָקְתְאֵֽל׃. The Septuagint matches these three words, showing agreement between the two texts.
וְדִלְעָ֥ן וְהַמִּצְפֶּ֖ה וְיָקְתְאֵֽל׃
3 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 15:38
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.
דִּלְעָן (dil`an) refers to a location in Judah, specifically a city mentioned in the Old Testament (Joshua 15:38). The name is associated with the meaning
דִּלְעָן n.pr.loc. a city of Judah, Jos 15:38.
done
H1810 דִּלְעָן
1810 Dil`an dil-awn'
of uncertain derivation; Dilan, a place in
Palestine:--Dilean.
דִּלְעָן (dil.an) — Dilean.
§ Dilean = "gourd"
one of the cities in the lowlands of Judah, site uncertain
Conj | N-proper — Conjunction · noun properHC/Npl
dil'-e-an (dil`an, "cucumber"): A town in the Shephelah of Judah named with Migdal-gad and Mizpeh (Jos 15:38, the English Revised Version "Dilan"), which lay probably on the North of Lachish and Eglon. It has not been identified.
(gourd), one of the cities in the lowlands of Judah. (Joshua 15:38) It has not been identified with certainty.
that is poor
→ A city of Judah Jos 15:38
מִצְפֶּה (mitspeh) means 'watchtower' and refers to several locations in ancient Palestine, including places in Judah, Moab, Benjamin, and Gilead. The entries note its association with the term 'Mizpah' and highlight its geographical significance, particularly in the Shephelah region.
מִצְפֶּה n.pr.loc.
in Shephelah of Judah
1 S 22:3
prob.
base
H4708 מִצְפֶּה
4708 Mitspeh mits-peh'
the same as 4707; Mitspeh, the name of five places in
Palestine:--Mizpeh, watch tower. Compare 4709.
see HEBREW for 04707
see HEBREW for 04709
מִצְפֶּה (mits.peh) — Mizpeh.
§ Mizpeh = "watchtower"
a city in the district of the Shephelah or lowlands of Judah
מִצְפֶּה (mits.peh) — Mizpeh.
Mizpeh = "watchtower"
a place in Moab on the east of the Jordan
Another name of qir (קִיר "Kir" H7024B)
מִצְפֶּה (mits.peh) — Mizpeh.
Mizpeh = "watchtower"
a place in Benjamin; also 'Mizpah'
Another name of mits.pah (מִצְפָּה "Mizpah" H4709G)
מִצְפֶּה (mits.peh) — (Valley of) Mizpeh.
Combined with mits.pah (מִצְפָּה "Mizpah" H4709I)
§ Mizpeh = "watchtower"
a place near Mount Hermon
מִצְפֶּה (mits.peh) — Mizpah.
Mizpeh = "watchtower"
a place in Gilead
Another name of ra.mot gi.l.ad (רָמֹת "Ramoth" H7433)
Conj | Art | N-proper — Conjunction · particle · noun properHC/Td/Npl
Mizpah
Or Miz’peh, watch-tower; the look-out. (1.) A place in Gilead, so named by Laban, who overtook Jacob at this spot (Gen. 31:49) on his return to Palestine from Padan-aram. Here Jacob and Laban set up their memorial cairn of stones. It is the same as Ramath-mizpeh (Josh. 13:26).
(2.) A town in Gilead, where Jephthah resided, and where he assumed the command of the Israelites in a time of national danger. Here he made his rash vow; and here his daughter submitted to her mysterious fate (Judg. 10:17; 11:11, 34). It may be the same as Ramoth-Gilead (Josh. 20:8), but it is more likely that it is identical with the foregoing, the Mizpeh of
and Miz’peh (a watch-tower), the name of several places in Palestine. The earliest of all, in order of the narrative, is the heap of stones piled up by Jacob and Laban, (Genesis 31:48) on Mount Gilead, ver. (Genesis 31:25) to serve both as a witness to the covenant then entered into and as a landmark of the boundary between them. ver. (Genesis 31:52) On this natural watch-tower did the children of Israel assemble for the choice of a leader to resist the children of Ammon. (Judges 10:17) There the fatal meeting took place between Jephthah and his daughter on his return from the war. ch. (Judges 11:34) It seems most…
Mizpeh, a watch-tower; speculation
1. A city allotted to the tribe of Benjamin Jos 18:26
The Israelites assemble at Jud 20:1-3
And decree the penalty to be visited upon the Benjamites for their maltreatment of the Levite's concubine Jud 20:10
Assembled by Samuel so that he could reprove them for their idolatry 1Sa 7:5
They crown Saul king of Israel at 1Sa 10:17-25
A judgment seat of Samuel 1Sa 7:16
יָקְתְאֵל (Yoqth'el) refers to Joktheel, a location in the lowland of Judah. The name is associated with the meaning 'the blessedness of God' and is linked to the cliff known as Sela or Petra, which was captured by King Amaziah. The entries suggest its connections to other Hebrew words related to veneration.
יָקְתְאֵל n.pr.loc.
in the Shephelah of Judah
name given to סֶלַע (= Petra) by King Amaziah, its captor
base
H3371 יָקְתְאֵל
3371 Yoqth'el yok-theh-ale'
probably from the same as 3348 and 410; veneration of God
(compare 3354); Joktheel, the name of a place in Palestine,
and of one in Idumaea:--Joktheel.
see HEBREW for 03348
see HEBREW for 0410
see HEBREW for 03354
יׇקְתְאֵל (yoq.te.el) — Joktheel.
§ Joktheel = "the blessedness of God"
a city in the low country of Judah named next to Lachish
יׇקְתְאֵל (yoq.te.el) — Joktheel.
Joktheel = "the blessedness of God"
the name given to the cliff which was the stronghold of Edom by king Amaziah after capturing it; also called 'Selah' and 'Petra'
Another name of se.la (סֶ֫לַע "Sela" H5554)
Conj | N-proper — Conjunction · noun properHC/Npl
Joktheel
Subdued by God. (1.) A city of Judah near Lachish (Josh. 15, 38). Perhaps the ruin Kutlaneh, south of Gezer.
(2.) Amaziah, king of Judah, undertook a great expedition against Edom (2 Chr. 25:5-10), which was completely successful. He routed the Edomites and slew vast numbers of them. So wonderful did this victory appear to him that he acknowledged that it could have been achieved only by the special help of God, and therefore he called Selah (q.v.), their great fortress city, by the name of Joktheel (2 Kings 14:7).
(subdued by God). A city in the low country of Judah, (Joshua 15:38) named next to Lachish. "God-subdued," the title given by Amaziah to the cliff (Authorized Version Selah) --the stronghold of the Edomites-- after he had captured it from them. (2 Kings 14:7) The parallel narrative of (2 Chronicles 25:11-13) supplies fuller details.