Hebrew word · H513

אֶלְתּוֹלַד

ve'eltolad

Eltolad

A place name. It most likely combines ʾel, 'God', with tôlad, from the root y-l-d, 'to bear, beget'. Suggested meanings include 'God has begotten' or 'God's offspring/kindred'. The exact meaning is uncertain.

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

What it means

§ Eltolad = "God's generations"

a city in southern Judah

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 15:30

Range of meaning

A place name. It most likely combines ʾel, 'God', with tôlad, from the root y-l-d, 'to bear, beget'. Suggested meanings include 'God has begotten' or 'God's offspring/kindred'. The exact meaning is uncertain.

Against the English

English versions transliterate it, and they agree.

Used elsewhere in the period

Joshua 15:30 and 19:4 (Simeon's towns). 1 Chronicles 4:29 has the shorter form 'Tolad'. The short form may suggest that the El- part could be dropped, or that the full name was a longer form of a simpler local name. The site has not been identified.

Where it appears

Joshua · 2

  1. Joshua 15:30 וְאֶלְתּוֹלַ֥ד and Eltolad

    Eltolad, Chesil, Hormah,

    Here: A town in Judah's far-southern (Negev) district. Joshua 19:4 later lists it among Simeon's towns. The name probably contains El, 'God', together with a form from the root 'to bear, beget'. Its location is not known.

  2. Joshua 19:4 וְאֶלְתּוֹלַ֥ד and Eltolad

    Eltolad, Bethul, Hormah,

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