Hebrew word · H798

אֲשֵׁדָה

'ashdot

slope

A rare word. Major lexicons such as BDB and HALOT give 'slope, mountain-slope' or 'foot of a slope'. It is sometimes compared with Akkadian išdu, 'foundation, base'. Others connect it with water running down slopes ('ravines, watercourses').

Appears 4 times in 4 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

Ashdoth-pisgah = "slopes of Pisgah"

the mountains of Pisgah, which include Mt. Nebo

Combined with pis.gah (פִּסְגָּה "Pisgah" H6449)

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 Deuteronomy 3:17

Range of meaning

A rare word. Major lexicons such as BDB and HALOT give 'slope, mountain-slope' or 'foot of a slope'. It is sometimes compared with Akkadian išdu, 'foundation, base'. Others connect it with water running down slopes ('ravines, watercourses'). In Numbers 21:15 the singular describes the 'slope of the wadis' near the Arnon.

Against the English

KJV treats the whole phrase as a place name, 'Ashdoth-pisgah'. YLT has 'the springs of Pisgah', following the water-related interpretation. Modern versions have 'slopes'.

Used elsewhere in the period

It occurs only a few times, all in descriptions of the slopes of the Transjordanian highlands and their lower flanks: Num 21:15; Deut 3:17; 4:49; Josh 10:40; 12:3, 8; 13:20. The Greek Septuagint transliterates it here (Asēdōth). The Latin Vulgate gives roughly 'at the roots of Mount Phasga', which treats it as the base of the mountain. Strong's numbering is mixed: the supplied data uses H0798, which Strong's lists as the place name, while H794 is the common noun.

From the study of Joshua 12:3

Range of meaning

Found only in the plural in the Bible. Probably related to eshed (Num 21:15, 'the slope of the wadis'). It refers to the steep slopes or foot of a mountain range, the zone where streams run down the escarpment. Some ancient and medieval interpreters connected it with water pouring down, hence 'springs' or 'watercourses'.

Against the English

KJV treats it as part of a proper name, 'Ashdoth-pisgah'. YLT has 'springs of Pisgah'. BSB, WEB, NIV and ESV have 'slopes'.

Used elsewhere in the period

Deut 3:17; 4:49; Josh 10:40 and 12:8 ('the slopes' as one of the land's regions, next to the hill country, the lowland and the Negev); Josh 13:20. The LXX and the Vulgate largely transliterate it as a name (Asedoth/Asēdōth Phasga), which is where the KJV's proper-name rendering comes from.

Where it appears

Deuteronomy · 2

  1. Deuteronomy 3:17 אַשְׁדֹּ֥ת [the] slopes of

    The Jordan River in the Arabah bordered it from Chinnereth to the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea) with the slopes of Pisgah to the east.

    Here: The steep slopes or lower flanks of a mountain, possibly the gullies cut into them. The ridge drops sharply down to the Dead Sea basin.

  2. Deuteronomy 4:49 אַשְׁדֹּ֥ת [the] slopes of

    including all the Arabah on the east side of the Jordan and as far as the Sea of the Arabah, below the slopes of Pisgah.

Joshua · 2

  1. Joshua 12:3 אַשְׁדּ֥וֹת [the] slopes of

    as well as the Arabah east of the Sea of Chinnereth to the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea), eastward through Beth-jeshimoth, and southward below the slopes of Pisgah.

    Here: The steep slopes where the plateau drops down to the valley and the Dead Sea, cut by streams. KJV reads it as part of a place name, YLT as 'springs'; most now take it as 'slopes'.

  2. Joshua 13:20 וְאַשְׁדּ֥וֹת and [the] slopes of

    Beth-peor, the slopes of Pisgah, and Beth-jeshimoth—

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