Hebrew word · H131

אֲדֻמִּים

'adumim

Adummim

maʿăleh means a climb, ascent or pass, from ʿālâ 'go up.' ʾădummîm is a plural form linked to ʾādōm, 'red,' so the name means 'the red ones / red places.'

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

What it means

§ Adummim = "ruddy one: quieted ones?"

pass or ridge of hills, west of Gilgal

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 15:7

Range of meaning

maʿăleh means a climb, ascent or pass, from ʿālâ 'go up.' ʾădummîm is a plural form linked to ʾādōm, 'red,' so the name means 'the red ones / red places.'

Against the English

BSB, KJV, WEB and YLT translate 'ascent.' NIV says 'Pass of Adummim,' which gives the right picture of a route through the hills. None of them conveys that 'Adummim' means 'red.'

Used elsewhere in the period

It appears again in Joshua 18:17. The site is generally placed at Talʿat ed-Damm ('Ascent of Blood') near Khan el-Ahmar ('the Red Inn') on the Jerusalem–Jericho road, where reddish rock is exposed. Eusebius' Onomasticon and Jerome's Latin version of it (4th century AD) mention the place, and Jerome explains the name by the blood shed there by robbers. That is a later folk explanation, not the original meaning.

Where it appears

Joshua · 2

  1. Joshua 15:7 אֲדֻמִּ֔ים Adummim

    Then the border went up to Debir from the Valley of Achor, turning north to Gilgal, which faces the Ascent of Adummim south of the ravine. It continued along the waters of En-shemesh and came out at En-rogel.

    Here: 'Of the red [rocks].' The name probably refers to the reddish limestone along the road, a colour still visible there today.

  2. Joshua 18:17 אֲדֻמִּ֑ים Adummim

    From there it curved northward and proceeded to En-shemesh and on to Geliloth facing the Ascent of Adummim, and continued down to the Stone of Bohan son of Reuben.

    Here: "The red [rocks]", named for the reddish, iron-stained stone along the pass. The Arabic name Talʿat ed-Damm ("ascent of blood") and the modern Ma'ale Adummim both carry the name on.

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