3872. Luchith or Luchoth

Lexical Summary

Luchith or Luchoth: Luchith or Luchoth

Original Word: לוּחִית
Part of Speech: Proper Name Location
Transliteration: Luwchiyth
Pronunciation: loo-KHEETH or loo-KHOHTH
Phonetic Spelling: (loo-kheeth')
KJV: Luhith
NASB: Luhith
Word Origin: [from the same as H3871 (לוַּח לוַּח - tablets)]

1. floored
2. Luchith, a place East of the Jordan

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

Luhith

Or Luchowth (Jer. 48:5) {loo-khoth'}; from the same as luwach; floored; Luchith, a place East of the Jordan -- Luhith.

see HEBREW luwach

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
from the same as luach
Definition
a place in Moab
NASB Translation
Luhith (2).

Brown-Driver-Briggs

הלחות Jeremiah 48:5 Kt see לוּחִית.

לוּחִית proper name, of a location in Moab; with article הַלּוּחִית מַעֲלֵה Isaiah 15:5; Jeremiah 48:5 Qr (הַלֻּחִית; Kt. הלחות); it lay south of the Arnon; compare Buhl^{Geogr. 24, 272 and references}; ᵐ5 Λουειθ.

Topical Lexicon

Geographic Setting

Luhith denotes the steep ascent on the main north–south route running through the highlands of ancient Moab, east of the Dead Sea. Travelers moving between Zoar on the plain and Horonaim in the interior had to negotiate this rugged climb, making the pass a natural funnel for fugitives and invading armies alike. Its elevation afforded both a strategic lookout and a deadly choke-point, which explains why prophetic lament centers on the cries heard “on the ascent of Luhith.”

Scriptural Occurrences and Literary Context

Isaiah 15:5: “For they go up the ascent of Luhith weeping; they raise a cry of destruction on the road to Horonaim.”

Jeremiah 48:5: “For on the ascent to Luhith they will weep continually, and on the descent to Horonaim they will hear cries of distress over the destruction.”

Both verses sit inside oracles of judgment against Moab. Isaiah speaks during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah; Jeremiah prophesies more than a century later, shortly before Babylon’s advance. The repetition of imagery underscores the certainty and continuity of God’s announced penalty upon persistent pride.

Historical Significance

1. Military Corridor: Archaeological surveys of Transjordan reveal multiple Iron-Age fortifications guarding ridge routes similar to Luhith. Its mention indicates how Moab’s defenses would fail from north to south, forcing refugees uphill toward the interior.
2. Economic Artery: Because caravans skirted the Dead Sea’s southeastern edge, the ascent of Luhith functioned as a trade link; its loss meant economic as well as military collapse.
3. Cultural Memory: That Jeremiah echoes Isaiah shows the place name had become proverbial. By invoking Luhith centuries later, Jeremiah reminded his audience that divine warnings, though sometimes delayed, are never withdrawn.

Prophetic Themes Highlighted at Luhith

• The Inevitability of Divine Judgment: Twice the ascent is drenched in tears, portraying inescapable sorrow for unrepentant sin.
• The Universality of Human Frailty: Even fortified highlands cannot shield Moab from God’s reach; geography offers no refuge from moral accountability.
• The Mercy Yet Available: Though the text dwells on lament, Isaiah’s larger section (chapters 15–16) anticipates a remnant, hinting that repentance would still find grace.

Ministry Implications

1. Geographic Preaching Aids: Maps that trace Zoar–Luhith–Horonaim help congregations visualize prophetic drama and demonstrate Scripture’s rootedness in real terrain.
2. Counseling on Consequences: Luhith’s image of prolonged weeping along an uphill path provides poignant language for teaching how sin’s aftershocks often accompany a person’s hardest climbs.
3. Missions Perspective: Just as judgment came to Moab’s high places, the gospel must reach today’s “high places” of cultural pride; the topography reminds believers to carry good news into hard-to-reach strongholds.

Lessons for Today

• Certainty of God’s Word: The interval between Isaiah and Jeremiah shows that prophetic fulfillment may span generations, yet the Word stands sure.
• Call to Humility: Moab’s ascent of tears warns against national and personal arrogance; “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6).
• Comfort for the Oppressed: If the proud weep on Luhith, the humble can find comfort on a higher hill—Calvary—where Christ bore judgment in our place.

Luhith, though mentioned only twice, thus serves as a vivid waypoint in the biblical landscape, reminding readers that every road—whether rising or descending—ultimately intersects with the righteous reign of the Lord.

Forms and Transliterations

הַלּוּחִ֔ית הַלּוּחִ֗ית הלוחית hal·lū·ḥîṯ halluChit hallūḥîṯ

Englishman's Concordance

Isaiah 15:5
HEB: כִּ֣י ׀ מַעֲלֵ֣ה הַלּוּחִ֗ית בִּבְכִי֙ יַֽעֲלֶה־
NAS: up the ascent of Luhith weeping;
KJV: for by the mounting up of Luhith with weeping
INT: Surely the ascent of Luhith weeping go

Jeremiah 48:5
HEB: [הַלֻּחֹות כ] (הַלּוּחִ֔ית ק) בִּבְכִ֖י
NAS: For by the ascent of Luhith They will ascend
KJV: For in the going up of Luhith continual
INT: by the ascent Luhith continual will ascend

2 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 3872
2 Occurrences

hal·lū·ḥîṯ — 2 Occ.