Joshua 15:56 — Word Study
WLCוְיִזְרְעֶ֥אל וְיָקְדְעָ֖ם וְזָנֽוֹחַ׃
BSAJezreelYizrᵉʻêʼl [God sows, a city of growth] JokdeamYoqdᵉʻâm△ [in the southern mountains] ZanoahZânôwach [cast off, a city in Judah]
| Greek | English | Parsing |
|---|---|---|
| וְיִזְרְעֶ֥אל | and Jezreel | Conjunction, noun proper |
| וְיָקְדְעָ֖ם | and Jokdeam | Conjunction, noun proper |
| וְזָנֽוֹחַ׃ | and Zanoah | Conjunction, noun proper |
Every word in the verse. Click a row to open it in the panel on the left.
| BSB | Jezreel, Jokdeam, Zanoah, |
| KJV | And Jezreel, and Jokdeam, and Zanoah, |
| ASV | and Jezreel, and Jokdeam, and Zanoah, |
| YLT | and Jezreel, and Jokdeam, and Zanoah, |
| WEB | Jezreel, Jokdeam, Zanoah, |
| BBE | And Jezreel, and Jokdeam, and Zanoah; |
The translations agree on the names of the cities listed in this verse.
The verse consists of a single main clause listing the cities.
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 15:56
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 of Judahgenerated
Joshua 15:56 lists cities that were part of the territory allocated to the tribe of Judah. These cities, including Jezreel, Jokdeam, and Zanoah, highlight the geographical and cultural landscape of the region, each with its own unique significance and history.
Cross References
The Key Word — יִזְרְעֶאל, ve.yiz.re.'Elgenerated
The name יִזְרְעֶאל (yizre'el) means "God sows" and refers to a city in the Negev of Judah and another in Issachar. The term suggests a place where growth is nurtured, reflecting the agricultural richness of the area.
This city is significant not only geographically but also in its biblical narrative, being associated with various events in Israel's history.
How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated
The translations agree on the names of the cities listed in this verse.
Sentence Structuregenerated
The structure of the verse is straightforward, with a noun phrase as the subject. It lists three cities, each introduced by a conjunction, indicating a simple enumeration.
This construction emphasizes the collective identity of the cities within the context of Judah's territory.
Septuagint Backgroundgenerated
The Septuagint translates יִזְרְעֶאל as ιαριηλ, יָקְדְעָם as ιαρικαμ, and זָנוֹחַ as ζακαναϊμ. This choice shows a consistent effort to preserve the names while adapting them to Greek phonetics.
The Greek translations do not significantly alter the meanings of the names, maintaining their original significance.
In plain words — the whole versegenerated
Joshua 15:56 lists three cities: Jezreel, which means God sows; Jokdeam, meaning burning of a people; and Zanoah, which means cast off. These cities are part of the territory of Judah and reflect its diverse heritage.
Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated
Jezreel means 'God sows' and signifies a city associated with growth and agricultural abundance.
Jokdeam is mentioned as being in the southern mountains of Judah, though its exact location is unknown.
Zanoah means 'cast off', which may reflect its historical or geographical significance.
These cities represent the historical and cultural landscape of Judah, showcasing the region's diverse heritage.
Reflection Questionsgenerated
- How do the meanings of these city names reflect the culture of the people living in Judah?
- What significance do you think these cities held in the daily lives of the inhabitants?
- Can you find other biblical references to these cities and their importance in Israel's history?
- How does understanding the meanings of these names enhance your reading of the text?
Commentators on this verse — 3 expositors, verse by verse
Each of these wrote on Joshua 15:56 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.
John Gill1697–1771Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleAnd Jezreel,.... This Jezreel in the tribe of Judah is different from that which was once a royal seat of some of the kings of Israel, and from whence the famous valley of Jezreel or Esdraelon had
Read John Gill on Joshua 15 →Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's CommentaryAnd Jezreel, and Jokdeam, and Zanoah, Jezreel , [Septuagint, Iarieel] - a town, undiscovered in connection with the southern Carmel. Jokdeam , [Septuagint, Arikam] - unknown.
Read Robert Jamieson on Joshua 15 →Daniel Denison Whedon1808–1885Whedon's Commentary on the Bible56. Jezreel cannot be located. It was the country of Ahinoam. 1 Samuel 25:43. It must not be confounded with the city in the plain of Esdraelon. Joshua 15:57.
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
Jezreel, Jokdeam, Zanoah,
Jezreel, Jokdeam, Zanoah,
Jezreel, Jokdeam, Zanoah,
Jezreel, Jokdeam, Zanoah,
Tyndale line
And Jezreel, and Jokdeam, and Zanoah,
and Jezreel, and Jokdeam, and Zanoah,
and Jezreel, and Jokdeam, and Zanoah;
And Jezreel, and Jokdeam, and Zanoah,
And Izreel, and Iokdeam, and Zanoah,
Strictly literal
and Jizreel, and Jokdeam, and Zanoah,
and Jezreel, and Jokdeam, and Zanoah,
and Jezreel, and Jokdeam, and Zanoah,
And Yizre'el, and Yokde'am, and Zanoach,
Jezreel, Jokdeam, Zanoah,
From the Latin
Jezrael and Jucadam and Zanoe,
Simplified
Jezreel, Jokdeam, Zanoah,
And Jezreel, and Jokdeam, and Zanoah;
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. The Septuagint matches all three Hebrew words, indicating a consistent transmission of the text.
וְיִזְרְעֶ֥אל וְיָקְדְעָ֖ם וְזָנֽוֹחַ׃
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 15:56
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.
יִזְרְעֶאל (yizre'el) means "God sows" and refers to both a city in the Negev of Judah and another in Issachar, located on the northwest spur of Mount Gilboa. It is also the name of a man, specifically the first son of the prophet Hosea. The entries indicate its geographical and personal significance, but do not present any notable disagreements.
יִזְרְעֶאל
n.pr.loc. (God soweth)
city in the Negeb of Judah
city in Issachar
n.pr.m.
Hosea’s son
Judahite name
base
H3157 יִזְרְעֶאל, יִזְרְעֵאל
3157 Yizr`e'l yiz-reh-ale'
from 2232 and 410; God will sow; Jizreel, the name of two
places in Palestine and of two Israelites:--Jezreel.
see HEBREW for 02232
see HEBREW for 0410
יִזְרְעֶאל (yiz.re.el) — Jezreel.
Jezreel = "God sows"
a city in the Nekeb of Judah
Also named: yiz.re.e.li (יִזְרְעֵאלִי "Jezreel" H3158)
יִזְרְעֶאל (yiz.re.el) — Jezreel.
Jezreel = "God sows"
a city in Issachar on the northwest spur of Mount Gilboa
Also named: yiz.re.e.li (יִזְרְעֵאלִי "Jezreelite" H3158H)
יִזְרְעֶאל (yiz.re.el) — Jezreel.
§ Jezreel = "God sows"
a city in Issachar on the northwest spur of Mount Gilboa
יִזְרְעֶאל (yiz.re.el) — Jezreel.
A man of the tribe of Judah living at the time of Egypt and Wilderness, only mentioned at 1Ch.4.3;
son of: Hur (H2354);
brother of: Uri (H0221), Shobal (H7732H), Salma (H8007H), Hareph (H2780), Ishma (H3457), Idbash (H3031), Hazzelelponi (H6753), Penuel (H6439H) and Ezer (H5829)
§ Jezreel = "God sows"
1) a descendant of the father or founder of Etam of Judah
Conj | N-proper — Conjunction · noun properHC/Npl
jez'-re-el, jez'-rel (yizre`e'l, "God soweth"):
(1) A city on the border of the territory of Issachar (Jos 19:18).
1. Territory:
It is named with Chesulloth and Shunem (modern Iksal and Solam). It remained loyal to the house of Saul, and is mentioned as part of the kingdom over which Abner set Ishbosheth (2Sa 2:9). From Jezreel came the tidings of Saul and Jonathan's death on Gilboa, which brought disaster to Mephibosheth (2Sa 4:4). The city plays no important part in the history till the time of Ahab. Attracted, doubtless, by the fine position and natural charms of the place, he made it one of his royal residences, building here a palace (1Ki 21:1). This was evidently on the…
Jezreel
God scatters. (1.) A town of Issachar (Josh. 19:18), where the kings of Israel often resided (1 Kings 18:45; 21:1; 2 Kings 9:30). Here Elijah met Ahab, Jehu, and Bidkar; and here Jehu executed his dreadful commission against the house of Ahab (2 Kings 9:14-37; 10:1-11). It has been identified with the modern Zerin, on the most western point of the range of Gilboa, reaching down into the great and fertile valley of Jezreel, to which it gave its name.
(2.) A town in Judah (Josh. 15:56), to the south-east of Hebron. Ahinoam, one of David’s wives, probably belonged to this place (
A city situated in the plain of the same name between Gilboa and Little Hermon, now generally called Esdraelon. [ESDRAELON] It appears in (Joshua 19:18) but its historical importance dates from the reign of Ahab, B.C. 918-897, who chose it for his chief residence. The situation of the modern village of Zerin still remains to show the fitness of his choice. Int he neighborhood, or within the town probably, were a temple and grove of Eastward, with an establishment of 400 priests supported by Jezebel. (1 Kings 16:33; 2 Kings 10:11) The palace of Ahab, (1 Kings 21:1; 18:46) probably containing his "ivory house," (1 Kings…
1. A celebrated city of Issachar, Jos 19:18, lying westward of Bethshean, 2Sa 4:4. Ahab had here a palace; and this city became famous on account of his seizure of Naboth’s vineyard, 1Ki 21:1-29; and the vengeance executed on Ahab, 2Ki 9:10,14-37 10:1-11. Jezreel was called Esdraela in the time of the Maccabees, and is now replaced by a small and ruinous Arab village, called Zerin, at the northwest point of mount Gilboa. Its elevated site gives one a fine view of the great plain of Esdraelon on the west, and the hills that border it; and towards the east it overhangs the wide and fertile "valley of Jezreel," Jos 17:16
יָקְדְעָם (Yoqd`am) refers to a location in Judah, translated as 'burning of a people.' It is mentioned in Joshua 15:56, though its exact site is unknown. The word is derived from roots meaning 'burning' and 'people,' indicating its etymological background.
יָקְדְעָם n.pr.loc. a city of Judah Jos 15:56; site unknown
ref
H3347 יָקְדְעָם
3347 Yoqd`am yok-deh-awm'
from 3344 and 5971; burning of (the) people; Jokdeam, a place
in Palestine:--Jokdeam.
see HEBREW for 03344
see HEBREW for 05971
יׇקְדְעָם (yoq.de.am) — Jokdeam.
§ Jokdeam = "burning of a people"
a city in the mountains of southern Judah; apparently south of Hebron
Conj | N-proper — Conjunction · noun properHC/Npl
jok'-de-am (yoqedhe`am): An unidentified city of Judah, named with Maon, Carmel and Ziph (Jos 15:56). It probably lay to the South of Hebron.
Jokdeam
A city in the mountains of Judah (Josh. 15:56).
crookedness, or burning, of the people
→ A city of the territory of the tribe of Judah Jos 15:56
זָנוֹחַ (zanowach) refers to Zanoah, a name for two locations in Judah, one in the low country and another possibly in the mountains. The word is derived from a root meaning 'rejected' and translates to 'cast off.' There is some ambiguity regarding the exact geographical placement of Zanoah.
זָנוֹחַ n.pr.loc.
Zanu‛a, SE. Ṣorea
a place in the mts.
base
H2182 זָנוֹחַ
2182 Zanowach zaw-no'-akh
from 2186; rejected; Zanoach, the name of two places in
Palestine:--Zanoah.
see HEBREW for 02186
זָנוֹחַ (za.no.ach) — Zanoah.
§ Zanoah = "cast off"
a city in the low country of Judah
זָנוֹחַ (za.no.ach) — Zanoah.
§ Zanoah = "cast off"
a city in the mountains of Judah, perhaps southwest of Hebron
Conj | N-proper — Conjunction · noun properHC/Npl
za-no'-a (zanoach; Codex Vaticanus Tano; Codex Alexandrinus Zano):
(1) A town in the Judean Shephelah, grouped with Eshtaol, Zorah and Ashnah (Jos 15:34). The Jews reoccupied the place after the exile (Ne 11:30). Here it is named between Jarmuth and Adullam. The inhabitants assisted in rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, repairing the valley gate (Ne 3:13). Eusebius (in Onomasticon) places it at Zanna, in the district of Eleutheropolis on the Jerusalem road. It is represented by the modern Zanu`a, about 10 miles North of Belt Jibrin (Eleutheropolis).
(2) (Codex Vaticanus Zakanaeim; Codex Alexandrinus Zano): A place in the mountains (Jos 15:56) of which Jekuthiel was the…
Zanoah
Marsh. (1.) A town in the low country or shephelah of Judah, near Zorah (Josh. 15:34). It was re-occupied after the return from the Captivity (Neh. 11:30). Zanu’ah in Wady Ismail, 10 miles west of Jerusalem, occupies probably the same site.
(2.) A town in the hill country of Judah, some 10 miles to the south-west of Hebron (Josh. 15:56).
(marsh). A town of Judah in the Shefelah or plain, (Joshua 15:34; Nehemiah 3:13; 11:30) possibly identical with Zanu’a . A town of Judah in the highland district, (Joshua 15:66) not improbably identical with Sanute , about 10 miles south of Hebron. In the genealogical lists of the tribe of Judah in 1 Chron., Jekuthiel is said to have been the father of Zanoah. ch. (1 Chronicles 4:18) As Zanoah is the name of a town of Judah, this mention of Bithiah probably points to some colonization of the place by Egyptians or by Israelites directly from Egypt.