Hebrew word · H6909

קַבְצְאֵל

kavtze'el

Kabzeel

A place name built from qavats, "to gather," and El, "God": "God gathers" or "may God gather."

Appears 3 times in 3 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. · Updated October 21, 2026

What it means

§ Kabzeel = "God gathers"

the most remote city of Judah; located in southern Judah on the border of Edom

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 built from qavats, "to gather," and El, "God": "God gathers" or "may God gather."
Against the English: English simply transliterates the name, which is correct, though the meaning is lost.
Used elsewhere in the period: 2 Sam 23:20 and 1 Chr 11:22 name it as the hometown of Benaiah son of Jehoiada, later commander of Solomon's army. Neh 11:25 has a later form, Jekabzeel, still settled by Judahites after the exile.

Joshua · 1

Joshua 15:21 קַבְצְאֵ֥ל Kabzeel

These were the southernmost cities of the tribe of Judah in the Negev toward the border of Edom: Kabzeel, Eder, Jagur,

Here: A town name meaning roughly "God gathers." It was the hometown of Benaiah son of Jehoiada, one of David's elite warriors (2 Sam 23:20). Its site is uncertain.

2 Samuel · 1

2 Samuel 23:20 מִֽקַּבְצְאֵ֑ל from Kabzeel

And Benaiah son of Jehoiada was a man of valor from Kabzeel, a man of many exploits. He struck down two champions of Moab, and on a snowy day he went down into a pit and killed a lion.

1 Chronicles · 1

1 Chronicles 11:22 קַבְצְאֵ֑ל Kabzeel

And Benaiah son of Jehoiada was a man of valor from Kabzeel, a man of many exploits. He struck down two champions of Moab, and on a snowy day he went down into a pit and killed a lion.

Here: A town in the far south of Judah toward Edom (Josh 15:21). It is called Jekabzeel in Neh 11:25. So Benaiah is a man from the southern frontier.

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