Joshua 15:43 — Word Study
WLCוְיִפְתָּ֥ח וְאַשְׁנָ֖ה וּנְצִֽיב׃
BSAIphtahYiphtâch [Jiphtah, a judge of Israel] AshnahʼAshnâh [a town of Judah, meaning 'I will cause change'] NezibNᵉtsîyb△ [a garrison or pillar, a city in Judah near Philistia]
| Greek | English | Parsing |
|---|---|---|
| וְיִפְתָּ֥ח | and Iphtah | Conjunction, noun proper |
| וְאַשְׁנָ֖ה | and Ashnah | Conjunction, noun proper |
| וּנְצִֽיב׃ | and Nezib | Conjunction, noun proper |
Every word in the verse. Click a row to open it in the panel on the left.
| BSB | Iphtah, Ashnah, Nezib, |
| KJV | And Jiphtah, and Ashnah, and Nezib, |
| ASV | and Iphtah, and Ashnah, and Nezib, |
| YLT | and Jiphtah, and Ashnah, and Nezib, |
| WEB | Iphtah, Ashnah, Nezib, |
| BBE | And Iphtah, and Ashnah, and Nezib; |
Where they part company is in the interpretation of the names, but all versions agree on the list of cities.
The verse consists of a simple list of proper nouns 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 15:43
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 15:43 lists cities within the territory of Judah, emphasizing the importance of these locations in the historical and geographical context of Israel. This verse is part of a larger section that details the boundaries and cities allocated to the tribe of Judah, highlighting its significance among the tribes of Israel.
Cross References
The Key Word — יִפְתָּח, ve.yif.Tachgenerated
The name יִפְתָּח (Yiphtach) means 'he will open'. It refers to Jephthah, a judge of Israel known for his military leadership and tragic vow. His story is found in the book of Judges, where he is depicted as a hero who faced significant challenges.
The passive nature of the name indicates an action performed upon him, suggesting a divine influence in his role as a leader. His legacy is complex, marked by both victory and personal sacrifice.
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 finite verb is absent in this list of proper nouns, which are presented as a series of names. The structure reflects a straightforward enumeration of cities.
The Hebrew word order emphasizes the conjunctions, linking the names directly without additional verbs or modifiers, creating a simple and direct list.
Septuagint Backgroundgenerated
The Septuagint translates יִפְתָּח as ανωξ, suggesting a direct correspondence in meaning, maintaining the focus on the individual rather than the action.
This choice indicates a consistent interpretation of the name across both Hebrew and Greek texts, preserving the identity of Jephthah.
In plain words — the whole versegenerated
Joshua 15:43 lists three cities in the territory of Judah: Iphtah, Ashnah, and Nezib. Each of these names has historical significance, representing locations within the ancient land of Israel.
Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated
These cities represent the allocation of land to the tribe of Judah, which played a crucial role in the history of Israel.
Iphtah, or Jephthah, was a judge of Israel known for his leadership during a time of conflict.
Ashnah means 'I will cause change', reflecting its significance as a town in Judah.
Nezib refers to a garrison or pillar, indicating its role as a stronghold in the region.
Reflection Questionsgenerated
- What do the names of these cities tell us about the history of Judah?
- How does understanding the context of these locations enhance our reading of the book of Joshua?
- In what ways can the stories of figures like Iphtah influence our understanding of leadership?
- How do the meanings of these names reflect the cultural and historical significance of the land?
Commentators on this verse — 3 expositors, verse by verse
Each of these wrote on Joshua 15:43 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.
John Gill1697–1771Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleAnd Jiphtah,.... Jiphtah is nowhere else mentioned; and Ashnah; there was another Ashnah of this tribe, and which was in the vale also, met with already in Joshua 15:33; and Nezib was in Jerom's (a)
Read John Gill on Joshua 15 →Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's CommentaryAnd Jiphtah, and Ashnah, and Nezib, Jiphtah , [The Septuagint omits; but Tischendorf's manuscripts have Ieftha]. It was near Eleutheropolis (Beit-Jibrin); but the site has not been identified.
Read Robert Jamieson on Joshua 15 →Daniel Denison Whedon1808–1885Whedon's Commentary on the Bible[43. Nezib has been identified by Drs. Robinson and Porter with the ruins of Beit Nusib, about seven miles east of Eleutheropolis, on the way to Hebron.
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
Iphtah, Ashnah, Nezib,
Iphtah, Ashnah, Nezib,
Iphtah, Ashnah, Nezib,
Iphtah, Ashnah, Nezib,
Tyndale line
And Jiphtah, and Ashnah, and Nezib,
and Iphtah, and Ashnah, and Nezib,
and Iphtah, and Ashnah, and Nezib;
And Jiphtah, and Ashnah, and Nezib,
And Iipthtah, and Ashnah, and Nezib,
Strictly literal
and Jiphthah, and Ashnah, and Nezib,
and Jiphtah, and Ashnah, and Nezib,
and Jiphtah, and Ashnah, and Nezib,
And Yiphtach, and Ashnah, and Nezib,
Iphtah, Ashnah, Nezib,
From the Latin
Jephtha and Esna and Nesib,
Simplified
Iphtah, Ashnah, Nezib,
And Iphtah, and Ashnah, and Nezib;
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 listed in this verse, with no differences in the words used. Both texts present the same three locations in Judah.
וְיִפְתָּ֥ח וְאַשְׁנָ֖ה וּנְצִֽיב׃
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 15:43
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.
יִפְתָּח (Yiphtach) means 'he will open' and refers to both a biblical figure and a location in Judah. Jephthah is noted as a judge of Israel who defeated the Ammonites, with a tragic vow involving his daughter. The word is derived from the root meaning to open, and its usage spans both personal and geographical references.
base
H3316 יִפְתָּח
3316 Yiphtach yif-tawkh'
from 6605; he will open; Jiphtach, an Israelite; also a place
in Palestine:--Jephthah, Jiphtah.
see HEBREW for 06605
יִפְתָּח (yiph.tach) — Iphtah.
§ Jephthah or Jiphtah = "he opens"
a city in Judah
יִפְתָּח (yiph.tach) — Jephthah.
A Judge living before Israel's Monarchy, first mentioned at Jdg.11.1;
son of: Gilead (H1568I)
Also named: Iephthae (Ἰεφθάε "Jephthah" G2422)
§ Jephthah or Jiphtah = "he opens"
1) a son of Gilead and a concubine and the judge who defeated the Ammonites; after the victory because of a vow taken before the battle he sacrificed his daughter as a burnt offering
2) a city in Judah
Conj | N-proper — Conjunction · noun properHC/Npl
if'-ta (yiphtach; the King James Version Jiphtah): An unidentified town in the Shephelah of Judah, named with Libnab, Ether and Ashan (Jos 15:43).
אַשְׁנָה (ashnah) refers to a name of two locations in Judah. The entries suggest it may derive from a root meaning related to change. It appears in the context of the Old Testament, specifically in Joshua 15:33.
אַשְׁנָה n.pr.loc. (the firm?) name of two cities in Judah.
v 43.
done
H823 אַשְׁנָה
823 'Ashnah ash-naw'
probably a variation for 3466; Ashnah, the name of two places
in Palestine:--Ashnah.
see HEBREW for 03466
אַשְׁנָה (ash.nah) — Ashnah.
§ Ashnah = "I will cause change"
a town in Judah
Conj | N-proper — Conjunction · noun properHC/Npl
the name of two cities, both in the lowlands of Judah: (1) named between Zoreah and Zanoah, and therefore probably northwest of Jerusalem, (Joshua 15:33) and (2) between Jiptah and Nezib, and therefore to the southwest of Jerusalem. (Joshua 15:43) Each, according, to Robinson’s map (1857), would be about 16 miles from Jerusalem.
change
→ Name of two towns in Judah Jos 15:33,43
נְצִיב (netsiv) refers to a location in Judah, specifically a city called Nezib, which is noted as being on the border of Philistia. The term can mean 'garrison' or 'pillar.' It is linked to Strong's H5333, indicating a connection to the concept of a station.
נְצִיב n.pr.loc. in Judah on border of Philist. Jos 15:43
ref
H5334 נְצִיב
5334 Ntsiyb nets-eeb'
the same as 5333; station; Netsib, a place in
Palestine:--Nezib.
see HEBREW for 05333
נְצִיב (ne.tsiv) — Nezib.
§ Nezib = "garrison" or "pillar"
a city in the lowlands of Judah on the border of Philistia
Conj | N-proper — Conjunction · noun properHC/Npl
ne'-zib (netsibh; Codex Vaticanus Naseib; Codex Alexandrinus Nesib): A town in the Judean Shephelah, mentioned along with Keilah and Mareshah (Jos 15:43). Eusebius, Onomasticon, places it 7 miles from Eleutheropolis (Beit Jibrin), on the road to Hebron. It is represented today by Beit Nasib, a village with ancient remains some 2 miles Southwest of Khirbet Kila (Keilah).
Nezib
A town in the “plain” of Judah. It has been identified with Beit Nuzib, about 14 miles south-west of Jerusalem, in the Wady Sur (Josh. 15:43).
(garrison, pillar), a city of Judah, (Joshua 15:43) only, in the district of the Shefelah or lowland, one of the same group with Keilah and Mareshah. To Eusebius and Jerome it was evidently known. They place it on the road between Eleutheropolis and Hebron, seven or nine miles from the former, and there it still stands under the almost identical name of Beit Nusib or Chirbeh Nasib .
standing-place