Joshua 19:4 — Word Study
WLCוְאֶלְתּוֹלַ֥ד וּבְת֖וּל וְחָרְמָֽה׃
BSAEltoladʼEltôwlad [God's generations] BethulBᵉthûwl△ [man of God, God destroys] HormahChormâh [devotion, a place of consecration]
| Greek | English | Parsing |
|---|---|---|
| וְאֶלְתּוֹלַ֥ד | and Eltolad | Conjunction, noun proper |
| וּבְת֖וּל | and Bethul | Conjunction, noun proper |
| וְחָרְמָֽה׃ | and Hormah | Conjunction, noun proper |
Every word in the verse. Click a row to open it in the panel on the left.
| BSB | Eltolad, Bethul, Hormah, |
| KJV | And Eltolad, and Bethul, and Hormah, |
| ASV | and Eltolad, and Bethul, and Hormah, |
| YLT | and Eltolad, and Bethul, and Hormah, |
| WEB | Eltolad, Bethul, Hormah, |
| BBE | And Eltolad and Bethul and Hormah |
Where they part company is in the transliteration of the names — see How Translations Differ.
The verse consists of a single main clause listing three cities without additional verbs or phrases.
5 commentators on this verse
Gill, Jamieson, Trapp, Ellicott & 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 19:4
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 Simeongenerated
Joshua 19:4 lists Eltolad, Bethul, and Hormah as cities in the territory of Simeon. These cities were part of the allocation made to the tribes of Israel after their conquest of Canaan. Each name carries significant meaning, reflecting aspects of faith and devotion, as well as the historical context of the Israelites' settlement.
Cross References
| Reference | Text (BSB) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joshua 15:30 | Eltolad, Chesil, Hormah, |
| 2 | Judges 1:17 | Then the men of Judah went with their brothers the Simeonites, attacked the Canaanites living in Zephath, and devoted the city to destruction. So it was called Hormah. |
The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 2 references, hung on the phrase they belong to
The Key Word — אֶלְתּוֹלַד, ve.'el.to.Ladgenerated
The name אֶלְתּוֹלַד (Eltolad) means 'God's generations.' It is a proper noun referring to a city in southern Judah, indicating a connection to divine lineage or heritage. The parsing shows it as a conjunction followed by a noun, highlighting its role as part of a list of cities.
The lexicons consistently identify Eltolad as a location without significant disagreement, suggesting its importance in the historical narrative of Israel's settlement.
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, listing three proper nouns connected by conjunctions. The finite verb is absent, as the focus is on naming the cities: וְאֶלְתּוֹלַ֥ד, וּבְת֖וּל, וְחָרְמָֽה.
The Hebrew word order places emphasis on each city, indicating their equal importance in the list of settlements.
Septuagint Backgroundgenerated
In the Septuagint, the Greek word ελθουλα corresponds to אֶלְתּוֹלַד, reflecting a direct translation of the city name. This suggests continuity in the identification of the location across both Hebrew and Greek texts.
The other cities, βουλα for בְּתוּל and ερμα for חָרְמָה, show a similar approach, maintaining their identity while adapting to the Greek language.
In plain words — the whole versegenerated
Joshua 19:4 lists three cities: Eltolad, Bethul, and Hormah. Eltolad means 'God's generations', Bethul means 'man of God' or 'God destroys', and Hormah means 'devotion'. These cities were part of the territory assigned to the tribe of Simeon.
Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated
Eltolad means 'God's generations', indicating a connection to divine lineage.
Bethul means 'man of God' or 'God destroys', and it highlights the spiritual significance of the location.
Hormah, meaning 'devotion', was a city that was conquered and dedicated to God, reflecting the Israelites' commitment.
These cities were part of the territory allotted to the tribe of Simeon, emphasizing their historical and geographical importance.
Reflection Questionsgenerated
- What do the names of these cities reveal about the values and beliefs of the Israelites?
- How can understanding the meanings of these cities enhance our reading of the book of Joshua?
- In what ways do the historical contexts of these locations inform our understanding of Israel's journey?
- How can we apply the concept of devotion, as seen in Hormah, to our own lives today?
Commentators on this verse — 5 expositors, verse by verse
Each of these wrote on Joshua 19:4 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.
John Gill1697–1771Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleAnd Eltolad, and Bethul, and Hormah. These were all cities of Judah, Joshua 15:30; Eltolad is the same with Tolad, and Bethul with Bethuel, 1 Chronicles 4:29, and with Chesil, Joshua 15:30, mentioned
Read John Gill on Joshua 19 →Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's CommentaryAnd Eltolad, and Bethul, and Hormah, Bethul - or Beth-el (1 Samuel 30:27), or Bethuel (1 Chronicles 4:30) = Chesil (see the note at Joshua 15:30).
Read Robert Jamieson on Joshua 19 →John Trapp1601–1669Trapp's Complete Commentary on the Old and New TestamentsJoshua 19:2 And they had in their inheritance Beersheba, or Sheba, and Moladah, Joshua 19:3 And Hazarshual, and Balah, and Azem, Joshua 19:4 And Eltolad, and Bethul, and Hormah, Ver. 2-4, &c. These, though but bare names of places, should not be skipped over in our course of reading, as being a part of God’ s Holy Word: but to speak particularly of their signification or site, would be a work of more difficulty than use: and besides, it is but curiosity to search into those things whereof we can neither have proof nor profit.
Read John Trapp on Joshua 19 →Charles John Ellicott1819–1905Ellicott's Commentary for English ReadersXIX. OF SIMEON (Joshua 19:1-9). (1) Their inheritance was within the inheritance of the children of Judah.—The southern part of the inheritance of Judah was given up to Simeon. (See Judges 1:3; Judges 1:17.) In this fact a prophecy was fulfilled; for the effect of the allotment was to separate Simeon from the tribes with whom he had been united in the journey through the wilderness (viz., Reuben and Gad), who had cast off Simeon, and united themselves with the half tribe of Manasseh instead. Being also separated from Levi, Simeon was still further isolated: with the result that in the final separation of Israel and Judah, after Solomon’s death, the tribe of Simeon, though adhering to the…
Read Charles John Ellicott on Joshua 19 →CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges4. 6. Eltolad] See ch. Joshua 15:30 and 1 Chronicles 4:29; 1 Chronicles 7. Bethul, which in the parallel lists, ch. Joshua 15:30 and 1 Chronicles 4:30, appears under the forms of Chesil or Bethuel; 8. Hormah, or Zephath (Judges 1:17), reduced by Joshua, was originally included in the territory of Judah, see above, ch. Joshua 15:30;
Read Cambridge on Joshua 19 →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
Eltolad, Bethul, Hormah,
Eltolad, Bethul, Hormah,
Eltolad, Bethul, Hormah,
Eltolad, Bethul, Hormah,
Tyndale line
And Eltolad, and Bethul, and Hormah,
and Eltolad, and Bethul, and Hormah,
and Eltolad, and Bethul, and Hormah;
And Eltolad, and Bethul, and Hormah,
And Eltolad, and Bethul, and Hormah,
Strictly literal
and Eltolad, and Bethul, and Hormah,
and Eltolad, and Bethul, and Hormah,
and Eltolad, and Bethul, and Hormah,
And Eltolad, and Bethul, and Chormah,
Eltolad, Bethul, and Hormah.
From the Latin
And Eltholad, Bethul and Harma,
Simplified
Eltolad, Bethul, Hormah,
And Eltolad and Bethul and Hormah
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 of the cities listed in this verse, indicating a consistent transmission of this part of the text across different traditions.
וְאֶלְתּוֹלַ֥ד וּבְת֖וּל וְחָרְמָֽה׃
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 19:4
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.
The Hebrew word אֶלְתּוֹלַד (Eltowlad) refers to a city in southern Judah, meaning 'God's generations.' It is likely derived from the words for 'God' and a masculine form related to 'generations.' The entries consistently identify it as a proper location without significant disagreement.
אֶלְתּוֹלַד n.pr.loc. city in southern Judah
base
H513 אֶלְתּוֹלַד
513 'Eltowlad el-to-lad'
probably from 410 and a masculine form of 8435 (compare
8434); God (is) generator; Eltolad, a place in Palestine:--
Eltolad.
see HEBREW for 0410
see HEBREW for 08435
see HEBREW for 08434
אֶלְתּוֹלַד (el.to.lad) — Eltolad.
§ Eltolad = "God's generations"
a city in southern Judah
Conj | N-proper — Conjunction · noun properHC/Npl
(God’s kindred), one of the cities in the south of Judah, (Joshua 15:30) allotted to Simeon, (Joshua 19:4) and in possession of that tribe until the time of David. (1 Chronicles 4:29)
the generation of God
בְּתוּל (Bthuwl) refers to a location in ancient Palestine, specifically a town in Simeon. It is associated with the meanings 'God destroys' or 'man of God.' The entries note its appearance in 1 Chronicles 4:30 and Joshua 19:4, but the exact site remains uncertain.
H1329 בְּתוּל v. II. בְּתוּאֵל
1329 Bthuwl beth-ool'
for 1328; Bethul (i.e. Bethuel), a place in
Palestine:--Bethuel.
see HEBREW for 01328
בְּתוּל (be.tul) — Bethul.
§ Bethul = "God destroys" or "man of God" or "dweller in God"
a town of Simeon in the south (also spelled 'Bethuel')
Conj | N-proper — Conjunction · noun properHC/Npl
beth'-ul, be'-thul (bethul):
See BETHUEL; CHESIL.
(dweller in God) a town of Simeon in the south named with Eltolad and Hormah, (Joshua 19:4) called also Chesil and Bethuel. (Joshua 15:30; 1 Chronicles 4:30)
חָרְמָה (Chormah) refers to a town in ancient Canaan, associated with the tribe of Simeon. It is described as a royal city and is linked to the concept of devotion. The town was conquered by Joshua and is also identified with another name, Zephath. The word is derived from a root meaning 'devoted'.
חָרְמָה n.pr.loc. (asylum)—a royal city of Canaanites, in the South, in tribe of Simeon
base
H2767 חָרְמָה (asylum)—a royal city of Canaanites, in the South, in tribe of Simeon
2767 Chormah khor-maw'
from 2763; devoted; Chormah, a place in Palestine:--Hormah.
see HEBREW for 02763
חׇרְמָה (chor.mah) — Hormah.
Hormah = "devotion"
a town of the Canaanites, conquered by Joshua, allotted to Judah, and located in the south of Judah
Another name of tse.phat (צְפַ֑ת "Zephath" H6857)
Conj | N-proper — Conjunction · noun properHC/Npl
hor'-ma (chormah): A city first mentioned in connection with the defeat of the Israelites by the Amalekites and the Canaanites, when, after the ten spies who brought an evil report of the land had died of plague, the people persisted, against the will of Moses, in going "up unto the place which Yahweh hath promised" (Nu 14:45; De 1:44). after the injury done them by the king of Arad, Israel took the city, utterly destroyed it, and called it Hormah, i,e. "accursed" (Nu 21:3). To this event probably the reference is in Jud 1:17; where Judah and Simeon are credited with the work. In Jos 12:14 it is named between Geder and…
Hormah
Banning; i.e., placing under a “ban,” or devoting to utter destruction. After the manifestation of God’s anger against the Israelites, on account of their rebellion and their murmurings when the spies returned to the camp at Kadesh, in the wilderness of Paran, with an evil report of the land, they quickly repented of their conduct, and presumed to go up “to the head of the mountain,” seeking to enter the Promised Land, but without the presence of the Lord, without the ark of the convenant, and without Moses. The Amalekites and the Canaanites came down and “smote and discomfited them even unto Hormah” (Num. 14:45). This place, or perhaps the watch-tower commanding it, was originally called Zephath (Judg. 1:17), the modern Sebaiteh. Afterwards (
(a place laid waste), or ZEPHATH, (Judges 1:17) was the chief town of a king of a Canaanitish tribe on the south of Palestine, which was reduced by Joshua, and became a city of the territory of Judah, (Joshua 15:30; 1 Samuel 30:30) but apparently belonged to Simeon. (1 Chronicles 4:30)
Destruction, Nu 21:1-3; also called Zephath; a city in the extreme south of Canaan, near which the rebellious Hebrews were defeated, in the second year after leaving Egypt, Nu 14:45; it was afterwards laid waste, Jud 1:16,17. The Simeonites repeopled it, Jos 19:4, and David sent them some of his spoils taken from the Amalekites, 1Sa 30:30.