Hebrew word · H3492

יַתִּיר

yatir

Jattir

A place name, probably from the root y-t-r 'to remain, be abundant' (compare yeter 'remainder, excess'). The meaning of the name is a guess.

Appears 4 times in 4 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. · Updated October 21, 2026

What it means

§ Jattir = "plenty"

a town in the mountains of Judah

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

Range of meaning: A place name, probably from the root y-t-r 'to remain, be abundant' (compare yeter 'remainder, excess'). The meaning of the name is a guess.
Against the English: 'Jattir' (KJV, BSB, WEB, YLT) follows the older German-influenced spelling, in which J stands for the Hebrew Y sound. Some scholars write 'Yattir'.
Used elsewhere in the period: It is listed among the priestly (Levitical) towns in Josh 21:14 and 1 Chr 6:57 (6:42 in Hebrew). David sent it gifts from the Amalekite plunder in 1 Sam 30:27, along with other southern Judean towns that had sheltered him. Eusebius' Onomasticon (4th century AD) knows it as a large Christian village called Iethira, 20 Roman miles from Eleutheropolis. The name survives in Khirbet 'Attir. Today's Yatir Forest on the edge of the Negev takes its name from the town.

Joshua · 2

Joshua 15:48 וְיַתִּ֖יר and Jattir

These were in the hill country: Shamir, Jattir, Socoh,

Here: "And Jattir." A town on the southern edge of the hills, usually placed at Khirbet 'Attir about 20 km south-southwest of Hebron. Later it was assigned to the priests as a Levitical town (Josh 21:14), and David sent it a share of his plunder (1 Sam 30:27).
Joshua 21:14 יַתִּר֙ Jattir

Jattir, Eshtemoa,

1 Samuel · 1

1 Samuel 30:27 בְּיַתִּֽר׃ [were] in Jattir

He sent gifts to those in Bethel, Ramoth Negev, and Jattir;

1 Chronicles · 1

1 Chronicles 6:57 יַתִּ֥ר Jattir

So the descendants of Aaron were given Hebron (a city of refuge), Libnah, Jattir, Eshtemoa,

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