Hebrew word · H6068

עֲנָתוֹת

anatot

Anathoth

A town in the tribal territory of Benjamin, assigned to the priests (Josh 21:18; 1 Chr 6:60). It is usually placed about 4–5 km north-north-east of Jerusalem, near modern ʿAnata (the ancient site is often identified with Ras el-Kharrubeh).

Appears 15 times in 15 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

Anathoth = "answers to prayer"

a city of Benjamin allotted to the priest; located approximately 3 miles (5 km) from Jerusalem; birthplace of the prophet Jeremiah

Also named: an.to.ti (עַנְּתֹתִי "Anathoth" H6069)

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 1 Kings 2:26

Range of meaning

A town in the tribal territory of Benjamin, assigned to the priests (Josh 21:18; 1 Chr 6:60). It is usually placed about 4–5 km north-north-east of Jerusalem, near modern ʿAnata (the ancient site is often identified with Ras el-Kharrubeh). The name probably comes from the Canaanite goddess Anat, a reminder of the town's pre-Israelite past.

Against the English

Translations agree on 'Anathoth'. The difference is in 'your fields' (KJV, WEB, YLT, BSB, NIV) versus 'estate' or 'home' in some modern versions. 'Fields' keeps the picture of a family landholding.

Used elsewhere in the period

Jeremiah came from 'the priests who were in Anathoth' (Jer 1:1) and bought a family field there (Jer 32:7–9). Two of David's warriors came from there (2 Sam 23:27; 1 Chr 11:28). Men of Anathoth returned after the exile (Ezra 2:23; Neh 7:27).

From the study of Ezra 2:23

Range of meaning

A town name. In form it is a plural, often linked to the name of the Canaanite goddess Anat ('Anats', perhaps once the site of a shrine to her). By Israelite times it was simply a place name with no religious meaning left in it. The Hebrew Bible also uses it once as a personal name (1 Chr 7:8; Neh 10:19).

Against the English

All versions transliterate it as 'Anathoth'. Nothing is lost, except that English readers do not hear the town's associations.

Used elsewhere in the period

It was one of the towns given to the priests, Aaron's descendants, in Benjamin (Josh 21:18; 1 Chr 6:60). Solomon sent the priest Abiathar there in banishment (1 Kgs 2:26). Jeremiah was 'of the priests who were in Anathoth' (Jer 1:1). His own townsmen plotted against him, and he announced judgment on them (Jer 11:21–23). On the eve of Jerusalem's fall he bought a family field there as a sign that 'houses and fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land' (Jer 32:6–15). Isaiah 10:30 names it on an invader's route toward Jerusalem. The name survives in the modern village of ʿAnata. The ancient site is usually placed at nearby Ras el-Kharrubeh, about 4–5 km north-east of Jerusalem.

From the study of Jeremiah 11:21

Range of meaning

A town in Benjamin assigned to the priests (Joshua 21:18; 1 Chronicles 6:60). It is usually located at or near modern ʿAnata, about 3–5 km north-east of Jerusalem. The name may preserve a link to the goddess ʿAnat, though that is not certain.

Against the English

Translations simply transliterate the name. Without background, a reader will miss that this is Jeremiah's own priestly hometown.

Used elsewhere in the period

Jeremiah 1:1 ('Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, of the priests who were in Anathoth'); 1 Kings 2:26–27 (Solomon banishes the priest Abiathar to his estate in Anathoth, removing his family from the Jerusalem priesthood); Jeremiah 12:6 (his brothers and father's household betray him); Jeremiah 32:6–15 (he later buys a family field there); Ezra 2:23 and Nehemiah 7:27 (men of Anathoth among the returnees).

Where it appears

Joshua · 1

  1. Joshua 21:18 עֲנָתוֹת֙ Anathoth

    Anathoth, and Almon—four cities, together with their pasturelands.

1 Kings · 1

  1. 1 Kings 2:26 עֲנָתֹת֙ Anathoth

    Then the king said to Abiathar the priest, “Go back to your fields in Anathoth. Even though you deserve to die, I will not put you to death at this time, since you carried the ark of the Lord GOD before my father David, and you suffered through all that my father suffered.”

    Here: A priestly town in Benjamin a few miles north-east of Jerusalem. It comes before the verb for emphasis: 'To Anathoth, go!' It means close by, but away from the court and the sanctuary.

1 Chronicles · 2

  1. 1 Chronicles 6:60 עֲנָת֖וֹת Anathoth

    And from the tribe of Benjamin they were given Gibeon, Geba, Alemeth, and Anathoth, together with their pasturelands. So they had thirteen cities in all among their families.

  2. 1 Chronicles 7:8 וַעֲנָת֖וֹת and Anathoth

    The sons of Becher: Zemirah, Joash, Eliezer, Elioenai, Omri, Jeremoth, Abijah, Anathoth, and Alemeth; all these were Becher’s sons.

Ezra · 1

  1. Ezra 2:23 עֲנָת֔וֹת Anathoth

    the men of Anathoth, 128;

    Here: A priestly town in Benjamin's territory, a few kilometres north-east of Jerusalem. It was the prophet Jeremiah's hometown. Any Israelite hearing the name would think of priests and of Jeremiah.

Nehemiah · 3

  1. Nehemiah 7:27 עֲנָת֔וֹת Anathoth

    the men of Anathoth, 128;

  2. Nehemiah 10:19 עֲנָת֖וֹת Anathoth

    Hariph, Anathoth, Nebai,

  3. Nehemiah 11:32 עֲנָת֥וֹת Anathoth

    in Anathoth, Nob, Ananiah,

    Here: A Benjaminite town a few kilometres north-east of Jerusalem, listed as one of the places where people of Benjamin settled after the return from exile. It was a priestly town, the home of the priest Abiathar and later of the prophet Jeremiah.

Isaiah · 1

  1. Isaiah 10:30 עֲנָתֽוֹת׃ Anathoth

    Cry aloud, O Daughter of Gallim! Listen, O Laishah! O wretched Anathoth!

Jeremiah · 6

  1. Jeremiah 1:1 בַּעֲנָת֔וֹת [were] at Anathoth

    These are the words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, one of the priests in Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin.

  2. Jeremiah 11:21 עֲנָת֔וֹת Anathoth

    Therefore this is what the LORD says concerning the people of Anathoth who are seeking your life and saying, “You must not prophesy in the name of the LORD, or you will die by our hand.”

    Here: Jeremiah's hometown, a priestly town in Benjamin a few miles north-east of Jerusalem (1:1). The threat is coming from his own kin and neighbours, not from strangers or the royal court.

  3. Jeremiah 11:23 עֲנָת֖וֹת Anathoth

    There will be no remnant, for I will bring disaster on the people of Anathoth in the year of their punishment.”

  4. Jeremiah 32:7 בַּעֲנָת֔וֹת [is] at Anathoth

    Behold! Hanamel, the son of your uncle Shallum, is coming to you to say, ‘Buy for yourself my field in Anathoth, for you have the right of redemption to buy it.’

  5. Jeremiah 32:8 בַּעֲנָת֜וֹת [is] at Anathoth

    Then, as the LORD had said, my cousin Hanamel came to me in the courtyard of the guard and urged me, ‘Please buy my field in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, for you own the right of inheritance and redemption. Buy it for yourself.’” Then I knew that this was the word of the LORD.

  6. Jeremiah 32:9 בַּעֲנָת֑וֹת [was] at Anathoth

    So I bought the field in Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel, and I weighed out seventeen shekels of silver.

    Here: Jeremiah's home village. It was a priestly town of Benjamin (Josh 21:18; Jer 1:1), about 5 km (3 miles) northeast of Jerusalem. At this moment it lay in territory held by the besieging Babylonian army.

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