1837. Dannah

Lexical Summary

Dannah: Dannah

Original Word: דַּנָּה
Part of Speech: Proper Name Location
Transliteration: Dannah
Pronunciation: dan-NAH
Phonetic Spelling: (dan-naw')
KJV: Dannah
NASB: Dannah
Word Origin: [of uncertain derivation]

1. Dannah, a place in Israel

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

Dannah

Of uncertain derivation; Dannah, a place in Palestine -- Dannah.

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
of uncertain derivation
Definition
a city in Judah
NASB Translation
Dannah (1).

Brown-Driver-Briggs

דַּנָּה proper name, of a location a city of Judah 'in the hill country,' named just before Kiryath Sanna = Debîr (= Kiryath Sepher), Joshua 15:49 ᵐ5 Ῥεννα.

Topical Lexicon

Biblical Placement

Dannah appears one time in the Old Testament, within the catalog of hill-country towns allotted to Judah: “Dannah, Kiriath-sannah (that is, Debir)” (Joshua 15:49). Its setting comes midway through the detailed boundary-and-city list recorded in Joshua 15:20-62, a passage that demonstrates the completeness of the tribal inheritance following Israel’s entry into the land.

Geographical Setting

• Region: The hill country of Judah, an elevated limestone ridge running north-south west of the Dead Sea.
• Likely Site: Many scholars correlate Dannah with modern Idhna (Idhna/Edhna), located about ten miles (sixteen kilometers) west-northwest of Hebron. The topography fits Joshua’s description: rugged uplands dotted with terraced fields and natural caves, suitable for fortified villages.
• Strategic Value: Its position overlooks the coastal plain approaches from Philistia, enabling Judah to monitor western trade and military routes. The chain of towns listed with Dannah (from Eshtemoa to Debir) forms a defensive arc protecting the interior highlands.

Historical and Archaeological Insights

1. Settlement Pattern: Excavations in the Hebron hills reveal Late Bronze–Early Iron Age occupation layers, consistent with the period of the Conquest. Small, centrally located granary silos and perimeter walls typify early Israelite sites—features likely shared by Dannah.
2. Trade and Agriculture: Terrace farming of olives, grapes, and grains would have sustained a modest but stable population. Potsherds from comparable sites indicate participation in regional trade networks linking Judah, the Negev, and the Shephelah.
3. Judah’s Expansion: Dannah’s inclusion testifies that Judah, after securing larger centers like Hebron and Debir, pressed outward to incorporate surrounding villages. This aligns with the pattern later summarized in Judges 1: “Judah also captured Gaza … and the territory thereof” (paraphrase).

Theological Significance

• Covenant Fulfillment: The single mention of Dannah underscores the precision with which the Lord apportioned land—down to the least-known village—fulfilling His promise to Abraham (Genesis 15:18-21).
• Corporate Identity: Listing minor locales alongside major cities teaches that every community, however small, shares equally in the inheritance of God’s people (compare 1 Corinthians 12:22).
• Historical Veracity: The toponym’s preservation across millennia affirms Scripture’s reliable geography; later generations could verify that these were real towns rooted in real soil.

Ministry Reflections

• Value of the “Hidden” Place: Pastors and believers laboring in obscure settings can take heart—Dannah shows the Lord records and values ministries unnoticed by the wider world (Hebrews 6:10).
• Stewardship of Territory: Just as Judah was expected to occupy and cultivate each allotment, congregations today are called to inhabit their God-assigned spheres faithfully (2 Corinthians 10:13).
• Interconnected Defense: The chain of Judahite hill towns illustrates cooperative security. Local churches likewise safeguard one another through prayer, counsel, and shared resources (Philippians 1:27).

Key Related Texts

• Joshua 15:20-51 (context of Judah’s inheritance)
• Genesis 12:7; 15:18-21 (original land promise)
• Nehemiah 11:3-30 (later resettlement of Judahite towns, showing God’s ongoing concern for the land)
• Psalm 16:6 “The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.”

Summary

Though mentioned only once, Dannah embodies the meticulous faithfulness of God in granting Israel its promised land and reminds the Church that every believer and every work—no matter how small—has a named place in the unfolding redemptive story.

Forms and Transliterations

וְדַנָּ֥ה ודנה vedanNah wə·ḏan·nāh wəḏannāh

Englishman's Concordance

Joshua 15:49
HEB: וְדַנָּ֥ה וְקִרְיַת־ סַנָּ֖ה
NAS: and Dannah and Kiriath-sannah
KJV: And Dannah, and Kirjathsannah,
INT: and Dannah and Kiriath-sannah he

1 Occurrence

Strong's Hebrew 1837
1 Occurrence

wə·ḏan·nāh — 1 Occ.