Hebrew word · H6044

עָנִים

ve'anim

Anim

A proper name for a town. It may come from ʿayin, 'spring', in a plural form ('springs'), but the derivation is uncertain.

Appears once in the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

§ Anim = "fountains"

a town in the mountains of 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 15:50

Range of meaning

A proper name for a town. It may come from ʿayin, 'spring', in a plural form ('springs'), but the derivation is uncertain.

Against the English

Transliterated 'Anim' in all major versions.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Bible it appears only here. Eusebius' Onomasticon (4th century AD) mentions villages called Anaia/Anea south of Hebron, one Jewish and one Christian, usually linked with Anim. The site is commonly identified with Khirbet Ghuwein (et-Tahta / el-Foqa), south of as-Samuʿ.

Where it appears

Joshua · 1

  1. Joshua 15:50 וְעָנִֽים׃ and Anim

    Anab, Eshtemoh, Anim,

    Here: A town further south in the same district, appearing only here in the Bible. The name may come from a word for 'springs', but that is uncertain. The verse-ending mark closes this group of three names, and the list goes on in verse 51.

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