Difference between revisions of "Debir"

<p> ''''' dē´bẽr ''''' ( דּביר , <i> ''''' debhı̄r ''''' </i> ; Δαβείρ , <i> ''''' Dabeı́r ''''' </i> ): "And Joshua returned, and all [[Israel]] with him, to Debir, and fought against it: and he took it, and the king thereof, and all the cities thereof; and they smote them with the edge of the sword ... he left none remaining" (&nbsp;Joshua 10:38 , &nbsp;Joshua 10:39 ). In &nbsp;Joshua 15:15-17 and &nbsp; Judges 1:11-13 is an account of how [[Othniel]] captured Debir, which "beforetime was <i> ''''' [[Kiriath]] ''''' </i> - <i> ''''' sepher ''''' </i> ," and won thereby the hand of Achsah, Caleb's daughter. In &nbsp;Joshua 15:49 [[Debir]] is called <i> ''''' Kiriath ''''' </i> - <i> ''''' sannah ''''' </i> . It had once been inhabited by the [[Anakim]] (&nbsp;Joshua 11:21 ). It was a [[Levitical]] city (&nbsp;Joshua 21:15; &nbsp;1 Chronicles 6:58 ). </p> 1. The Meaning of the Name <p> (1) <i> Debir </i> is usually accepted as meaning "back," but this is doubtful; the word <i> ''''' debhı̄r ''''' </i> is used to denote the "holy of holies" (&nbsp;1 Kings 6:5 ). According to Sayce ( <i> HDB </i> ), "the city must have been a sacred one with a well-known temple." <i> ''''' Kiriath ''''' </i> - <i> ''''' sepher ''''' </i> is translated "town of books," and Sayce and others consider that in all probability there was a great storehouse of clay tablets here; perhaps the name may have been <i> ''''' ḳiryath ṣōphēr ''''' </i> , "town of scribes." <i> ''''' Kiriath ''''' </i> - <i> ''''' sannah ''''' </i> (&nbsp;Joshua 15:49 ) is probably a corruption of <i> ''''' Kiriath ''''' </i> - <i> ''''' sepher ''''' </i> ; the [[Septuagint]] has here as in references to the latter πόλις γραμμάτων , <i> ''''' pólis grammátōn ''''' </i> , "town of books." </p> 2. The Site <p> Unfortunately this site, important even if the speculations about the books are doubtful, is still a matter of uncertainty. <i> ''''' Edh ''''' </i> - <i> ''''' Dháherı̄yeh ''''' </i> , some 11 miles Southwest of Hebron, has a good deal of support. It was unquestionably a site of importance in ancient times as the meeting-place of several roads; it is in the [[Negeb]] (compare &nbsp;Judges 1:15 ), in the neighborhood of the probable site of [[Anab]] (&nbsp;Joshua 11:21; &nbsp;Joshua 15:50 ); it is a dry site, but there are "upper" and "lower" springs about 6 1/2 miles to the North. A more thorough examination of the site than has as yet been undertaken might produce added proofs in favor of this identification. No other suggestion has any great probability. See <i> PEF </i> , III, 402; <i> PEFS </i> , 1875. </p> <p> (2) <i> Debir </i> , on the border between Judah and [[Benjamin]] (&nbsp;Joshua 15:7 ), must have been somewhere East of [[Jerusalem]] not far from the modern [[Jericho]] road. <i> ''''' Thoghgret ed Debr ''''' </i> , "the pass of the rear," half a mile Southwest of the <i> ''''' Tal‛at ed Dumm ''''' </i> (see [[Adummim]] ), close to the so-called, "Inn of the Good Samaritan," may be an echo of the name which has lingered in the neighborhood. Many authorities consider that there is no place-name in this reference at all, the text being corrupt. </p> <p> (3) <i> Debir </i> the Revised Version, margin, <i> ''''' [[Lidebir]] ''''' </i> (&nbsp;Joshua 13:26 ), a town on the border of Gad, near Mahanaim; Ibdar, South of the <i> ''''' Yarmūk ''''' </i> has been suggested. May be identical with Lo-debar (&nbsp;2 Samuel 9:4 ). </p>