Hebrew word · H2928

טֶ֫לֶם

vatelem

Telem

A place name here. The same form is a personal name in Ezra 10:24, where Telem is a gatekeeper. Its meaning is uncertain. If it is the same place as Telaim (1 Samuel 15:4), that name probably means 'lambs' (from Hebrew taleh, 'lamb'), which would suit sheep country on the edge of the steppe.

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

What it means

§ Telem = "oppression"

one of the cities in the extreme south of Judah in the Negeb

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 15:24

Range of meaning

A place name here. The same form is a personal name in Ezra 10:24, where Telem is a gatekeeper. Its meaning is uncertain. If it is the same place as Telaim (1 Samuel 15:4), that name probably means 'lambs' (from Hebrew taleh, 'lamb'), which would suit sheep country on the edge of the steppe.

Against the English

The English versions agree on 'Telem'.

Used elsewhere in the period

In 1 Samuel 27:8 the standard Hebrew text says David raided the peoples who lived in the land 'from of old (me'olam) toward Shur'. Some Greek manuscripts read a place name there instead, something like 'from Telam'. On that basis many scholars think the original was 'from Telem toward Shur'. That would put Telem on the route from the Negev toward the Egyptian frontier. Its site is unknown.

Where it appears

Joshua · 1

  1. Joshua 15:24 וָטֶ֖לֶם and Telem

    Ziph, Telem, Bealoth,

    Here: The prefix va- means 'and'. Telem is another Negev town. Many scholars think it is the same place as Telaim, where Saul gathered his army against the Amalekites (1 Samuel 15:4). That fits a town on the desert edge, near Amalekite country.

Ezra · 1

  1. Ezra 10:24 וָטֶ֖לֶם and Telem

    From the singers: Eliashib. From the gatekeepers: Shallum, Telem, and Uri.

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