Hebrew word · H1218

בׇּצְקַת

uvatzekat

Bozkath

A place name found only here and in 2 Kings 22:1. Older lexicons such as BDB tentatively link it to a root meaning 'to swell' and suggest something like 'swelling (of ground), elevation'. That is a possibility, not an established meaning.

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

§ Bozkath or Boscath = "rocky height"

a city in Judah in the lowlands toward the Philistines, home of Josiah's mother

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Joshua 15:39

Range of meaning

A place name found only here and in 2 Kings 22:1. Older lexicons such as BDB tentatively link it to a root meaning 'to swell' and suggest something like 'swelling (of ground), elevation'. That is a possibility, not an established meaning.

Against the English

KJV and most modern versions have 'Bozkath'. The KJV spells it 'Boscath' at 2 Kings 22:1.

Used elsewhere in the period

2 Kings 22:1 says King Josiah's mother was Jedidah, daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath. No ancient inscription is known to name the town, and its site has not been identified. Its place in this list puts it somewhere near Lachish and Eglon.

Where it appears

Joshua · 1

  1. Joshua 15:39 וּבָצְקַ֖ת and Bozkath

    Lachish, Bozkath, Eglon,

    Here: A small town near Lachish whose site is unknown. It was later remembered as the hometown of Adaiah, grandfather of King Josiah on his mother's side (2 Kings 22:1). 'And' links it to the list.

2 Kings · 1

  1. 2 Kings 22:1 מִבָּצְקַֽת׃ from Bozkath

    Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years. His mother’s name was Jedidah daughter of Adaiah; she was from Bozkath.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.