Hebrew word · H6316

פּוּט

put

Put

Three people-names. Put: most likely Libya (North Africa). Some suggest Punt on the Red Sea coast. Lud: most likely Lydia in western Asia Minor. Some argue for an African 'Ludim' connected with Egypt (Gen 10:13). Persia: the Iranian people, known in Assyrian records as Parsua/Parsumash.

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

What it means

Phut or Put = "a bow"

a nation and people of northern Africa; probably Libyans

Also named: pul (פּוּל "Pul" H6322H)

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 Ezekiel 27:10

Range of meaning

Three people-names. Put: most likely Libya (North Africa). Some suggest Punt on the Red Sea coast. Lud: most likely Lydia in western Asia Minor. Some argue for an African 'Ludim' connected with Egypt (Gen 10:13). Persia: the Iranian people, known in Assyrian records as Parsua/Parsumash.

Against the English

BSB settles 'Lud' as 'Lydia.' KJV, WEB and YLT keep the Hebrew 'Lud,' which leaves the identification open. Some modern versions render Put as 'Libya.'

Used elsewhere in the period

Lud and Put appear together as fighting peoples in Jeremiah 46:9 (in Egypt's army) and Ezekiel 30:5. Persia, Cush and Put appear together in Ezekiel 38:5. Herodotus (2.152–154) and Assyrian annals record Lydian and Ionian soldiers hired by Egypt's Psammetichus I. Old Persian royal inscriptions list 'Putaya' among the peoples of Libya.

From the study of Nahum 3:9

Range of meaning

A people and land of Africa, listed with Cush, Mizraim (Egypt) and Canaan as 'sons of Ham' (Genesis 10:6; 1 Chronicles 1:8). Elsewhere they are always soldiers or mercenaries: in Egypt's army (Jeremiah 46:9), in Tyre's army (Ezekiel 27:10), with Egypt's allies (Ezekiel 30:5), and in Gog's host (Ezekiel 38:5).

Against the English

Most English versions simply transliterate 'Put'. The Septuagint and some older versions render it 'Libyans' in other passages.

Used elsewhere in the period

Old Persian inscriptions of Darius list Putāyā, generally identified with Libya (Cyrenaica). Earlier scholars linked Put with Egyptian Pwnt (Punt), the incense land on the Red Sea or Horn of Africa coast.

Where it appears

Genesis · 1

  1. Genesis 10:6 וּפ֥וּט and Put

    The sons of Ham: Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan.

1 Chronicles · 1

  1. 1 Chronicles 1:8 פּ֥וּט Put

    The sons of Ham: Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan.

Jeremiah · 1

  1. Jeremiah 46:9 וּפוּט֙ and Put

    Advance, O horses! Race furiously, O chariots! Let the warriors come forth—Cush and Put carrying their shields, men of Lydia drawing the bow.

Ezekiel · 3

  1. Ezekiel 27:10 וּפוּט֙ and Put

    Men of Persia, Lydia, and Put served as warriors in your army. They hung their shields and helmets on your walls; they gave you splendor.

    Here: A people of North Africa, most likely Libya (the Greek Septuagint translates it 'Libyans'). With Persia and Lud, the list covers the ends of the earth: east, west and south.

  2. Ezekiel 30:5 וּפ֤וּט and Put

    Cush, Put, and Lud, and all the various peoples, as well as Libya and the men of the covenant land, will fall with Egypt by the sword.

  3. Ezekiel 38:5 וּפ֖וּט and Put

    Persia, Cush, and Put will accompany them, all with shields and helmets,

Nahum · 1

  1. Nahum 3:9 פּ֣וּט Put

    Cush and Egypt were her boundless strength; Put and Libya were her allies.

    Here: An African people listed with Cush and Egypt as sons of Ham in Genesis 10:6, and known elsewhere as soldiers who served Egypt and Tyre (Jeremiah 46:9; Ezekiel 27:10). Most identify them with a Libyan people west of Egypt. A minority view links them with Punt on the Red Sea coast.

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