Hebrew word · H851

אֶשְׁתְּמוֹעַ

'eshtemoa'

Eshtemoa

A proper name for a town. Scholars have suggested a link to the root šmʿ, 'hear', which would give something like 'place of hearing', possibly an old oracle site where people sought a word from God. That remains speculation. The two spellings are a fuller and a shorter form of the same name.

Appears 6 times in 6 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

§ Eshtemoa = "I will make myself heard" Eshtemoh = "I shall cause my own ruin: fire of astonishment: I shall soar aloft"

a Levitical city in 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. Scholars have suggested a link to the root šmʿ, 'hear', which would give something like 'place of hearing', possibly an old oracle site where people sought a word from God. That remains speculation. The two spellings are a fuller and a shorter form of the same name.

Against the English

Most English versions keep the spelling of each passage, so readers see 'Eshtemoh' here and 'Eshtemoa' elsewhere. They may not realise it is the same town.

Used elsewhere in the period

Given to the Levites (Joshua 21:14; 1 Chronicles 6:57). Among the towns David sent plunder to after defeating the Amalekites (1 Samuel 30:28). Linked to Calebite and Judahite family lines (1 Chronicles 4:17, 19). Identified with modern as-Samuʿ, about 14 km south of Hebron, where a Late Roman–Byzantine synagogue and an Iron Age silver hoard have been found.

Where it appears

Joshua · 2

  1. Joshua 15:50 וְאֶשְׁתְּמֹ֖ה and Eshtemoh

    Anab, Eshtemoh, Anim,

    Here: A town south of Hebron, the shorter spelling of Eshtemoa. Elsewhere it is given to the priestly families of Levi (Joshua 21:14) and receives a share of David's plunder (1 Samuel 30:28), so a listener would know it as a town of some standing.

  2. Joshua 21:14 אֶשְׁתְּמֹ֖עַ Eshtemoa

    Jattir, Eshtemoa,

1 Samuel · 1

  1. 1 Samuel 30:28 בְּאֶשְׁתְּמֹֽעַ׃ ס [were] in Eshtemoa

    to those in Aroer, Siphmoth, and Eshtemoa;

1 Chronicles · 3

  1. 1 Chronicles 4:17 אֶשְׁתְּמֹֽעַ׃ Eshtemoa

    The sons of Ezrah: Jether, Mered, Epher, and Jalon. And Mered’s wife Bithiah gave birth to Miriam, Shammai, and Ishbah the father of Eshtemoa.

  2. 1 Chronicles 4:19 וְאֶשְׁתְּמֹ֖עַ and Eshtemoa

    The sons of Hodiah’s wife, the sister of Naham, were the fathers of Keilah the Garmite and of Eshtemoa the Maacathite.

    Here: A town in the hill country south of Hebron (Joshua 15:50; 21:14; 1 Samuel 30:28). Here it stands for the clan or clan founder linked to that town.

  3. 1 Chronicles 6:57 אֶשְׁתְּמֹ֖עַ Eshtemoa

    So the descendants of Aaron were given Hebron (a city of refuge), Libnah, Jattir, Eshtemoa,

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