Hebrew word · H3412

יַרְמוּת

yarmut

Jarmuth

Only a place name in the Bible. There are two towns called Jarmuth. One is this town in the Judean lowlands (Joshua 10:3, 5, 23; 12:11; 15:35; Nehemiah 11:29). The other is a Levite town in Issachar (Joshua 21:29). That suits a town on a hill.

Appears 7 times in 7 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

§ Jarmuth = "heights"

a Canaanitish city in the lowlands of Judah with a king and located between Hebron and Lachish

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 15:35

Range of meaning

Only a place name in the Bible. There are two towns called Jarmuth. One is this town in the Judean lowlands (Joshua 10:3, 5, 23; 12:11; 15:35; Nehemiah 11:29). The other is a Levite town in Issachar (Joshua 21:29). The name is usually traced to the root r-w-m or r-m-m, 'to be high', so it probably means something like 'height'. That suits a town on a hill.

Against the English

English versions all just transliterate it, so the name keeps its sound. Readers don't get its likely meaning or its link to the war story in Joshua 10, but that loss is normal for any place name.

Used elsewhere in the period

Tel Yarmut was excavated by the French team under Pierre de Miroschedji. In the Early Bronze Age (about 3000–2300 BC) it was one of the biggest fortified cities in the southern Levant. Settlement in the Late Bronze and Iron Ages was much smaller. A place called Yarimuta appears in the Amarna letters (Egyptian diplomatic letters, 14th century BC), but most scholars think that one was somewhere else, probably further north or on the coast.

From the study of Joshua 21:29

Range of meaning

A personal-style place name, probably from a root meaning 'be high', so 'height'. Two towns had this name: one in the Shephelah (the lowland hills) of Judah, whose king fought Joshua (Joshua 10:3, 5, 23; 15:35), and this one in Issachar.

Against the English

English versions all say 'Jarmuth', so a reader can easily confuse it with the Judean town of the same name.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Issachar town is called Remeth (רֶמֶת) in Joshua 19:21 and Ramoth (רָאמוֹת) in 1 Chronicles 6:73, all based on the same root r-m, 'high'. The Septuagint reading Remmath fits these forms. Its location is uncertain. One proposal is Kokab el-Hawa (Belvoir), on the high ridge above the Jordan Valley.

Where it appears

Joshua · 6

  1. Joshua 10:3 יַרְמ֜וּת Jarmuth

    Therefore Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem sent word to Hoham king of Hebron, Piram king of Jarmuth, Japhia king of Lachish, and Debir king of Eglon, saying,

    Here: Town in the low hills west of Judah (the Shephelah), usually identified with Khirbet Yarmuk, about 25 km (16 miles) southwest of Jerusalem.

  2. Joshua 10:5 יַרְמוּת֙ Jarmuth

    So the five kings of the Amorites—the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon—joined forces and advanced with all their armies. They camped before Gibeon and made war against it.

  3. Joshua 10:23 יַרְמ֔וּת Jarmuth

    So they brought the five kings out of the cave—the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon.

    Here: Jarmuth, a town in the low hill country west of Jerusalem (the Shephelah). It is usually identified with Tel Yarmut.

  4. Joshua 12:11 יַרְמוּת֙ Jarmuth

    the king of Jarmuth, one; the king of Lachish, one;

  5. Joshua 15:35 יַרְמוּת֙ Jarmuth

    Jarmuth, Adullam, Socoh, Azekah,

    Here: A town in the Judean lowlands, at Tel Yarmut (Khirbet Yarmuk), about 25 km (15 miles) southwest of Jerusalem. Its king, Piram, was one of the five Amorite kings defeated in Joshua 10, so the name reminds readers of that victory. The name probably comes from a root meaning 'high', which fits a town on a ridge.

  6. Joshua 21:29 יַרְמוּת֙ Jarmuth

    Jarmuth, and En-gannim—four cities, together with their pasturelands.

    Here: A town in Issachar's land. It is not the better-known Jarmuth in the lowlands of Judah (Joshua 10:3; 15:35). It is the same place called Remeth in Joshua 19:21 and Ramoth in 1 Chronicles 6:73. The name probably comes from a root meaning 'height'.

Nehemiah · 1

  1. Nehemiah 11:29 וּבְיַרְמֽוּת׃ and in Jarmuth

    in En-rimmon, Zorah, Jarmuth,

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