Lexical Summary Chumtah: Humtah Original Word: חֻמְטָה Strong's Exhaustive Concordance Humtah Feminine of chomet; low; Chumtah, a place in Palestine -- Humtah. see HEBREW chomet NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originfem. of chomet Definition a city in Judah NASB Translation Humtah (1). Brown-Driver-Briggs חֻמְטָה proper name, of a location city in Judah Joshua 15:54, ᵐ5 Εὐμα, ᵐ5L Αμματα; site unknown. חֲמִיטַל see חמוטל above Topical Lexicon Biblical Setting Joshua 15:52–54 lists a cluster of hill-country towns granted to the tribe of Judah. The sequence culminates with “Humtah, Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron), and Zior—nine cities, along with their villages” (Joshua 15:54). Humtah therefore stands within the southern inheritance of Judah, received by lot in fulfillment of the LORD’s promise to Abraham that his offspring would possess the land (Genesis 12:7; Genesis 15:18-21). Geographical Considerations Humtah’s precise site remains uncertain. Because it is named immediately before Hebron and Zior, most scholars situate it somewhere south-southwest of Hebron in the Judean highlands. The hill country’s rugged terrain formed a natural fortress for Judah and later became the early stronghold of David’s kingdom (2 Samuel 5:5). Even though the town’s location is not firmly identified today, its inclusion in this strategic corridor highlights the careful distribution of defensible settlements along Judah’s backbone ridge. Historical Trajectory after the Conquest The Old Testament never again mentions Humtah. Its silence may indicate absorption into a neighboring larger center, depopulation, or simple lack of later narrative relevance. Yet the single reference is sufficient to show that every corner of Judah’s inheritance had a name, a boundary, and a community. Each name in Joshua 15 testifies that the LORD accomplished what He swore to the patriarchs (Joshua 21:43-45). Covenantal Themes 1. Divine faithfulness—Humtah reminds readers that the covenant promise extended to “the least” of places, underscoring the detail with which God keeps His word (Deuteronomy 7:9). Intertextual Connections • The hill-country list (Joshua 15:48-54) parallels the lowland and wilderness lists that follow, revealing a deliberate literary structure in Joshua. Ministry Reflections • Obscure names validate Scripture’s historical reliability; they guard the believer from treating the biblical record as myth and strengthen confidence in every word (Matthew 5:18). Summary Insight Though Humtah surfaces only once in the Old Testament, it anchors a theological truth: the God who apportions lands and boundaries also numbers hairs and sparrows (Acts 17:26; Luke 12:6-7). Every place and person recorded in Scripture participates in the unfolding account of redemption, bearing witness to the meticulous sovereignty of the covenant-keeping LORD. Forms and Transliterations וְחֻמְטָ֗ה וחמטה vechumTah wə·ḥum·ṭāh wəḥumṭāhLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Joshua 15:54 HEB: וְחֻמְטָ֗ה וְקִרְיַ֥ת אַרְבַּ֛ע NAS: and Humtah and Kiriath-arba KJV: And Humtah, and Kirjatharba, INT: and Humtah and Kiriath-arba he 1 Occurrence |
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