Ataroth

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

Several places of this name occur in Scripture: one in the tribe of Judah, 1 Chronicles 2:54; one or two in Ephraim, Joshua 16:2,5,7; 18:13; and one or two in Gad, Numbers 32:3,34,35 . Robinson found traces of one of those in Ephraim, on a high hill about six miles north by west from Bethel.

Easton's Bible Dictionary

"Ataroth, the house of Joab" (1 Chronicles 2:54 ), a town of Judah inhabited by the descendants of Caleb.

Copyright StatementThese dictionary topics are from M.G. Easton M.A., D.D., Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Third Edition, published by Thomas Nelson, 1897. Public Domain.

Bibliography InformationEaston, Matthew George. Entry for 'Ataroth'. Easton's Bible Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/ebd/a/ataroth.html. 1897.

Fausset's Bible Dictionary

("crowns".)

1. A town in the land of Jazer and Gilead, taken and "built" by Gad (Numbers 32:3; Numbers 32:34).

2. A place on the boundary of Ephraim and Manasseh (Joshua 16:2; Joshua 16:5; Joshua 16:7); possibly the same as ATAROTH ADDAR, on the W. border of Benjamin, "near the hill that lieth on the S. side of the nether Bethheron" (Joshua 18:13).

3. ATAROTH THE HOUSE OF JOAB (1 Chronicles 2:54), or "Crowns the house of Joab," a town in Judah.

Holman Bible Dictionary

Numbers 32:332:34Joshua 16:216:7

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

ATAROTH . 1 . A town not far from Dibon ( Numbers 32:3; Numbers 32:33 ), probably the modern Khirbet ‘Attârûs , to the N.W. of Dhîbân . 2 . A town on the S. border of the territory of the children of Joseph ( Joshua 16:2 ), called Ataroth-addar in v. 5, probably identical with ed-Dârîyeh , 1 1 / 2 mile S.W. of Bethhoron the Lower. 3 . A town not identified, towards the E. end of the same border ( Joshua 16:7 ). 4 . The name of a family ( 1 Chronicles 2:54 , RV [Note: Revised Version.] Atroth-beth-Joab ).

W. Ewing.

Morrish Bible Dictionary

1. City on the east of the Jordan, built or rebuilt by the children of Gad. Numbers 32:3,34 . Identified with Attarus , 35 42' E 31 36' N .

2. City on the borders of Ephraim and Manasseh. Joshua 16:2,7

3. 'Ataroth of the house of Joab,' a person or place in connection with the descendants of Caleb. 1 Chronicles 2:54 .

Smith's Bible Dictionary

At'aroth. (crowns).

1. One of the towns in the "land of Jazer and land of Gilead," Numbers 32:3, east of the Jordan, taken and built by the tribe of Gad. Numbers 32:34.

2. A place on the south (?) boundary of Ephraim and Manasseh. Joshua 16:2; Joshua 16:7. It is impossible to say whether Ataroth is or is not the same place as...

3. Ataroth-Adar, or Ataroth-Addar, on the west border of Benjamin, "near the 'mountain' that is on the south side of the nether Beth-horon." Joshua 16:5; Joshua 18:13.

Perhaps the modern Atara, six miles northeast of Bethel.

4. "Ataroth, The House of Joab," a place (?) occurring in the list of the descendants of Judah. 1 Chronicles 2:54.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

at´a -roth , a -tā´roth עטרות , Atarō̇th ):

(1) A city east of the Jordan, apparently in the territory given to Reuben, but built, or fortified, by the children of Gad (Numbers 32:3 , Numbers 32:34 ). It is named along with Dibon, which is identified with Dhı̄bān . Eight miles Northeast by North of Dibon, on the South of Wādy Zerḳā Ma‛ı̄n , stands Jebel ‛Attārūs , in which the ancient name is preserved. The city is doubtless represented by Khirbet ‛Attārūs , about 4 miles West of the mountain.

(2) A place on the boundary between Ephraim and Benjamin, toward the West (Joshua 16:2 ). It seems to be the same as Ataroth-addar of Joshua 16:5 and Joshua 18:13 . It is probably to be identified with the modern ed - Dāriyeh South of nether Bethhoron, and about 12 1/2 miles West of Jerusalem.

(3) A place on the eastern frontier of Ephraim (Joshua 16:7 ). This town has not been identified. Conder thinks it may be identified with et - Trūneh in the Jordan valley, or with Khirbet et - Taiyereh .

Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblial Literature

At´aroth. Several places of this name (which means crowns) occur in the Scriptures.

1. Ataroth-beth-Joab, in the tribe of Judah (1 Chronicles 2:54).

2. Ataroth, on the borders of Ephraim (Joshua 16:2; Joshua 16:7), which some identify with, and others distinguish from, the Ataroth-Addar of the same tribe mentioned in Joshua 16:5; Joshua 18:13.

3. Ataroth, in the tribe of Gad, beyond the Jordan (Numbers 32:3; Numbers 32:34).

4. Ataroth-Shophan, in the same tribe (Numbers 32:35), which some identify with the preceding; but it appears more likely that the addition was used to distinguish the one from the other.

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

(Hebrews Ataroth', עֲטָרוֹת , crowns; Sept. Ἀταρώθ ), the name of several places in Palestine.

1. A city east of Jordan, not far from Gilead, and in the vicinity of Dibon, Jazer, and Aroer, in a fertile grazing district (Numbers 32:3), rebuilt by the Gadites (Numbers 32:34), although it must have lain within the tribe of Reuben, probably on the slope of the hill still retaining the name Attarus (Burckhardt, 2, 630), where there is a river having the same name (Van de Velde, Memoir, p. 220).

2. A city on the border of Ephraim and Benjamin, between Janohah and Naarath, toward Jericho (Joshua 16:7), and also between Archi and Japhleti (Joshua 16:2). Professor Robinson discovered a place by the name of Atara, perhaps identical with this, now a large village on the summit of a hill, about six miles N. by W. of Bethel (Researches, 3, 80). The ruins of another place by the same name, nearer Jerusalem on the north, have also been noticed (ibid. 3, Appendix, p. 122), situated at both ends of a defile, leading into the Wady Atara, which extends a distance of 2000 yards, about halfway between Beeroth and Mizpah (De Saulcy, 1, 101; 2, 257). This locality agrees better with the Ataroth of Ephraim than the other (see Schwarz, Palest. p. 146). The Ataroth (Ἀταρούθ ) of Eusebius (Onomast. s.v.) lay four miles north of Samaria. This Ataroth is also called "‘ ATAROTH-ADDAR" or "ATAROTH-ADAR" (Hebrews Atroth' Addar', עִטְרוֹת אִדָּר, crowns of Addar [greatness]; Sept. Ἀταρὼθ Ἀδάρ and Ἀθάρ ) in Joshua 16:5; Joshua 18:13; where, as well as above, it is located between Bethel and Beth-horon (see Schwarz, Palest. p. 124).

3. "ATAROTH [OF] THE HOUSE OF JOAB" (Hebrews Atroth' Beyth Yoab, עִטְרוֹת בֵּית יוֹאָב, crowns of the house of Joab; Sept. Ἀταρὼθ οἴκου Ι᾿ωβάβ . v.r. Ι᾿ωάβ ), a city (nominally) in the tribe of Judah, founded by the descendants of Salma (1 Chronicles 2:54). Schwarz (Palest. p. 143) identifies it with Latrum (for el-Atron), on the road from Jerusalem to Jaffa, west of Saris, which (although slightly beyond the ancient bounds of Judah) appears plausible, as the well Ayub in the immediate vicinity may be a relic of the epithet here applied distinctively to this place.

4. ATAROTH-SHOPHAN (Hebrews Atroth' Shophan', עִטְרוֹת שׁוֹפָן, crowns of Shophan [hiding]; Sept. merely Σοφάρ ), another city (nominally) of the tribe of Gad, mentioned in connection with No. 1 (Numbers 32:35). The English version overlooks the distinction evidently intended by the suffixed word, translating "Atroth, Shophan," as if two places were thus denoted. The associated names would appear to indicate a locality not far from the border between Gad and Reuben (probably, however, within the latter), perhaps at the head of Wady Eshteh, near Merj-Ekkeh (Robinson's Milap), as the place was famous for pasturage.