Hebrew word · H1886

דֹּתָן

bedotan

Dothan

Dothan (also Dōtayin, Gen 37:17). A town identified with Tell Dothan, on the southern edge of the Dothan valley, about 15 km north of Samaria.

Appears 3 times in 2 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

§ Dothan = "two wells"

a place in northern Palestine, 12 miles north of Samaria, the home of Elisha

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 2 Kings 6:13

Range of meaning

Dothan (also Dōtayin, Gen 37:17). A town identified with Tell Dothan, on the southern edge of the Dothan valley, about 15 km north of Samaria.

Against the English

All versions read 'Dothan'. What English readers miss is the geography.

Used elsewhere in the period

Gen 37:17–25: Joseph finds his brothers at Dothan, and a caravan of traders passes by on the road. Judith 4:6; 7:3 (as 'Dothaim') makes it a strategic pass guarding the approach to the hill country. Excavations at Tell Dothan (J. P. Free, 1953–64) found settlement in the Iron Age, the period of the kings.

Where it appears

Genesis · 2

  1. Genesis 37:17 דֹּתָ֑יְנָה בְּדֹתָֽן׃ Dothan towards, at Dothan

    “They have moved on from here,” the man answered. “I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’” So Joseph set out after his brothers and found them at Dothan.

2 Kings · 1

  1. 2 Kings 6:13 בְדֹתָֽן׃ in Dothan

    So the king said, “Go and see where he is, that I may send men to capture him.” On receiving the report, “Elisha is in Dothan,”

    Here: A town on a hill about 15 km (10 miles) north of Samaria, Israel's capital, guarding a pass on the main road into the hill country. The answer is just the place name.

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