Hebrew word · H1810

דִּלְעָן

vedil'an

Dilean

Used only here, as a town name. The meaning is uncertain. One suggestion links it to a root found in later Hebrew dilaʿat ("gourd, pumpkin"), which would give something like "gourd-place" or "cucumber field". This is possible but not proven.

Appears once in the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

§ Dilean = "gourd"

one of the cities in the lowlands of Judah, site uncertain

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 15:38

Range of meaning

Used only here, as a town name. The meaning is uncertain. One suggestion links it to a root found in later Hebrew dilaʿat ("gourd, pumpkin"), which would give something like "gourd-place" or "cucumber field". This is possible but not proven.

Against the English

KJV, WEB, YLT (and most modern versions) have "Dilean". BSB has "Dilan", which simplifies the spelling but drops the trace of the guttural consonant ʿayin and the vowel that goes with it.

Used elsewhere in the period

It occurs nowhere else in the Bible and is not securely matched in any outside inscription. The Greek translations spell this town list in different ways.

Where it appears

Joshua · 1

  1. Joshua 15:38 וְדִלְעָ֥ן and Dilean

    Dilan, Mizpeh, Joktheel,

    Here: A town in the second group of towns in Judah's western foothills, the group around Lachish. Where it stood is unknown, and the meaning of its name is uncertain. The "and" at the front (wə-) ties it into the running list, as with every name in this list.

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