Joshua 18:26 — Word Study
WLCוְהַמִּצְפֶּ֥ה וְהַכְּפִירָ֖ה וְהַמֹּצָֽה׃
BSAMizpehMitspeh [a watchtower, lookout point] ChephirahKᵉphîyrâh [a city, town] MozahMôtsâh△ [fountain, spring]
| Greek | English | Parsing |
|---|---|---|
| וְהַמִּצְפֶּ֥ה | and Mizpah | Conjunction, particle, noun proper |
| וְהַכְּפִירָ֖ה | and Kephirah | Conjunction, particle, noun proper |
| וְהַמֹּצָֽה׃ | and Mozah | Conjunction, particle, noun proper |
Every word in the verse. Click a row to open it in the panel on the left.
| BSB | Mizpeh, Chephirah, Mozah, |
| KJV | And Mizpeh, and Chephirah, and Mozah, |
| ASV | and Mizpeh, and Chephirah, and Mozah, |
| YLT | and Mizpeh, and Chephirah, and Mozah, |
| WEB | Mizpeh, Chephirah, Mozah, |
| BBE | And Mizpeh and Chephirah and Mozah |
The translations agree on the names of the towns listed in this verse.
The verse consists of a single main clause listing three towns.
6 commentators on this verse
Gill, Jamieson, Ellicott, AdamClarke & 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 18:26
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 Inheritance of the Tribe of Benjamingenerated
Joshua 18:26 lists Mizpeh, Chephirah, and Mozah as part of the cities allotted to the tribe of Benjamin. This allocation is part of the broader narrative of the Israelites settling in the Promised Land, where each tribe received its inheritance. The mention of these towns highlights their importance in the region and their roles in the history of Israel.
Cross References
| Reference | Text (BSB) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Judges 10:17 | Then the Ammonites were called to arms and camped in Gilead, and the Israelites assembled and camped at Mizpah. |
| 2 | Joshua 9:17 | So the Israelites set out and on the third day arrived at their cities—Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim. |
| 3 | Ezra 2:25 | the men of Kiriath-jearim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, 743; |
The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 3 references, hung on the phrase they belong to
The Key Word — מִצְפֶּה, ve.ha.mitz.Pehgenerated
The word מִצְפֶּה (mitzpeh) is a noun meaning 'watchtower' and refers to a place in ancient Palestine. It is a proper noun with a geographical significance, indicating a location where one could observe their surroundings.
In this verse, Mizpeh represents a strategic point, likely used for protection and observation. The parsing indicates it is a proper noun, specifically a location, which aligns with its function as a watchtower.
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 this verse is straightforward, listing three noun phrases: וְהַמִּצְפֶּ֥ה, וְהַכְּפִירָ֖ה, and וְהַמֹּצָֽה. Each phrase is introduced by the conjunction 'and', connecting them as part of a list.
This simple enumeration emphasizes the importance of each town as part of the inheritance of the tribe of Benjamin.
Septuagint Backgroundgenerated
The Septuagint translates מִצְפֶּה as μασσημα, which retains the idea of a watchtower. This choice reflects the translators' understanding of the term's significance as a lookout point.
The translation choices for כְּפִירָה and מֹצָה also align with their meanings, indicating a consistent interpretation across the Hebrew and Greek texts.
In plain words — the whole versegenerated
Joshua 18:26 lists three towns: Mizpeh, Chephirah, and Mozah. Mizpeh means watchtower, Chephirah is a city associated with the Gibeonites, and Mozah means fountain or spring. These towns are part of the land given to the tribe of Benjamin.
Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated
Mizpeh means 'watchtower' and refers to a location where people could observe their surroundings.
Chephirah is a city assigned to the tribe of Benjamin and was associated with the Gibeonites.
Mozah means 'fountain' or 'spring', suggesting it was a place with a water source.
These towns are part of the inheritance of the tribe of Benjamin as they settled in the Promised Land.
Reflection Questionsgenerated
- What can we learn from the significance of place names in the Bible?
- How do these towns reflect the history of the tribe of Benjamin?
- What role do you think watchtowers played in ancient communities?
- How can understanding the geographical context enhance our reading of biblical texts?
Commentators on this verse — 6 expositors, verse by verse
Each of these wrote on Joshua 18:26 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.
John Gill1697–1771Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleAnd Mizpeh,.... Frequent mention is made of Mizpeh in Scripture; according to Fuller (t), it was about eight miles from Gibeah; it was near Ramathon, which Josephus says (u) was forty furlongs from
Read John Gill on Joshua 18 →Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's CommentaryAnd Mizpeh, and Chephirah, and Mozah, Mizpeh , [ wªha-Mitspeh (H4708), the watch-tower, pillar, or elevated place; Septuagint, Masseema] - a place of popular convention (Judges 20:1; Judges 20:3; 1 Samuel 7:5-16 : cf.
Read Robert Jamieson on Joshua 18 →Charles John Ellicott1819–1905Ellicott's Commentary for English ReadersTHE OF .(11-28) The lot of the tribe of the children of Benjamin.—It can have been by no accident that their lot came forth “between Judah and Joseph.” No wiser method could have been devised to secure an united Israel than thus to make Benjamin the link between the two most powerful and naturally rival tribes. In the story of Joseph, the brethren are reconciled through the mutual affection of Judah and Joseph for Benjamin as their father’s youngest and best-loved son. The position thus given to Benjamin under Joshua was still further developed by circumstances. The tribe was almost exterminated in the time of the judges; the survivors were united in marriage with women of Ephraim and…
Read Charles John Ellicott on Joshua 18 →AdamClarkeAdam Clarke's Commentary on the BibleVerse 26. And Mizpeh] This place is celebrated in the sacred writings. Here the people were accustomed to assemble often in the presence of the Lord, as in the deliberation concerning the punishment to be inflicted on the men of Gibeah, for the abuse of the Levite's wife. Judges 20:1-3. Samuel assembled the people here to exhort them to renounce their idolatry, 1 Samuel 7:5-6. In this same place Saul was chosen to be king, 1 Samuel 10:17. It was deemed a sacred place among the Israelites; for we find, from 1Mac 3:46, that the Jews assembled here to seek God, when their enemies were in possession of the temple.
Read AdamClarke on Joshua 18 →CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges26. 4. Mizpeh] Not the same as the Mizpeh of ch. Joshua 15:38, but either (a) the modern Neby Samwîl, or (b) the tower of Scopus. Here (a) the war against Benjamin was resolved on (Judges 20.); here (b) Samuel judged the people (1 Samuel 7:5-15), and (c) chose Saul as king (1 Samuel 10:17). 5. Chephirah, see note above, Joshua 9:17; Joshua 6. Mozah and
Read Cambridge on Joshua 18 →Daniel Denison Whedon1808–1885Whedon's Commentary on the Bible26. Mizpeh — Probably the modern Neby Samwil. See note on 1 Samuel 7:5. Chephirah — See Joshua 9:17.
Read Daniel Denison Whedon on Joshua 18 →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
Mizpeh, Chephirah, Mozah,
Mizpeh, Chephirah, Mozah,
Mizpeh, Chephirah, Mozah,
Mizpah, Kephirah, Mozah,
Tyndale line
And Mizpeh, and Chephirah, and Mozah,
and Mizpeh, and Chephirah, and Mozah,
and Mizpeh, and Chephirah, and Mozah;
And Mizpeh, and Chephirah, and Mozah,
And Mizpeh, and Chephirah, and Mozah,
Strictly literal
and Mizpeh, and Chephirah, and Mozah,
and Mizpeh, and Chephirah, and Mozah,
and Mizpeh, and Chephirah, and Mozah,
And Mizpeh, and Kephirah, and Mozah,
Mizpah, Kephirah, Mozah,
From the Latin
And Mesphe, and Caphara, and Amosa,
Simplified
Mizpah, Kephirah, Mozah,
And Mizpeh and Chephirah and Mozah
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 reads וְהַמִּצְפֶּ֥ה וְהַכְּפִירָ֖ה וְהַמֹּצָֽה׃, and the Septuagint matches all three words, confirming the consistency of these names across different manuscript traditions.
וְהַמִּצְפֶּ֥ה וְהַכְּפִירָ֖ה וְהַמֹּצָֽה׃
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 18:26
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.
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
כְּפִירָה (Kphiyrah) refers to a city associated with the Gibeonites, later given to the tribe of Benjamin. The name is derived from a feminine form of a related word meaning 'lioness.' It appears in various contexts within the Old Testament, specifically as a geographical location.
כְּפִירָה n.pr.loc. city of the Hivites subsequently assigned to Benjamin.
base
H3716 כְּפִירָה
3716 Kphiyrah kef-ee-raw'
feminine of 3715; the village (always with the art.);
Kephirah, a place in Palestine:--Chephirah.
see HEBREW for 03715
כְּפִירָה (ke.phi.rah) — Chephirah.
§ Chephirah = "lioness"
a city of the Gibeonites subsequently assigned to the tribe of Benjamin
Conj | Art | N-proper — Conjunction · particle · noun properHC/Td/Npl
מֹצָה (Motsah) refers to a location in Benjamin, specifically noted as a town in Joshua 18:26. The term is derived from the active participle of another Hebrew word meaning 'drained.' It is also associated with the meaning 'fountain' in some contexts.
מֹצָה n.pr.loc. in Benj., Jos 18:26
ref
H4681 מֹצָה
4681 Motsah mo-tsaw'
active participle feminine of 4680; drained; Motsah, a place
in Palestine:--Mozah.
see HEBREW for 04680
מֹצָה (mo.tsah) — Mozah.
§ Mozah = "fountain"
one of the towns in Benjamin
Conj | Art | N-proper — Conjunction · particle · noun properHC/Td/Npl
mo'-za (ha-motsah; Codex Vaticanus Amoke; Codex Alexandrinus Amosa): A town in the territory of Benjamin named after Mizpeh and Chephirah (Jos 18:26). It may be represented by the modern Beit Mizzeh, the heavy "ts" of the Hebrew letter (tsade) passing into the light "z" of the Arabic, a not unusual change. The name means "place of hard stone." The village lies to the North of Quloniyeh (possibly Emmaus), about 4 miles Northwest of Jerusalem.
Mozah
An issuing of water, a city of Benjamin (Josh. 18:26).
(fountain), one of the cities in the allotment of Benjamin, (Joshua 18:26) only, named between hae-Cephirah and Rekem.
unleavened