5578. Sansannah

Lexical Summary

Sansannah: Sansannah

Original Word: סַנְסַנָּה
Part of Speech: Proper Name Feminine
Transliteration: Cancannah
Pronunciation: san-san-NAH
Phonetic Spelling: (san-san-naw')
KJV: Sansannah
NASB: Sansannah
Word Origin: [feminine of a form of H5577 (סַנסִן - fruit stalks)]

1. a bough
2. Sansannah, a place in Israel

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

Sansannah

Feminine of a form of cancin; a bough; Sansannah, a place in Palestine -- Sansannah.

see HEBREW cancin

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
of uncertain derivation
Definition
a place in S. Judah
NASB Translation
Sansannah (1).

Brown-Driver-Briggs

סַנְסַנָּה proper name, of a location in southern Judah; — Joshua 15:31, ᵐ5 Σεθεννακ, A Σανσαννα, ᵐ5^L Σεενακ; probably = חֲצַר סוּסָה Joshua 19:5, חֲצַרסֿוּסִים 1 Chronicles 4:31; conjectures on location (near Gaza), see in Di^{on the passage} Buhl^{Geogr. 163 and references} (Simsum, northeast of Gaza, compare by J. Schwarz^{Das heilig. Land (1852), 72} van d. Velde^{Mem, 346}, is too far north).

Topical Lexicon

Biblical Setting

Sansannah appears once in Scripture, within the catalogue of towns allotted to the tribe of Judah in the southern region known as the Negev. “Ziklag, Madmannah, Sansannah” (Joshua 15:31) lies in the second of three sub-lists that describe the vast inheritance of Judah after the conquest under Joshua. The immediate literary context highlights God’s faithfulness to His covenant promise that the children of Israel would possess the land sworn to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Genesis 17:8; Exodus 6:8).

Geographical Location

Placed between Ziklag and Lebaoth in Joshua’s roster, Sansannah likely lay on the arid steppe south of the Judean foothills, not far from the Philistine border. Scholars commonly situate it somewhere between modern-day Beersheba and Gaza. While an exact identification remains uncertain, pottery scatters and ruin-mounds such as Khirbet Shensana and Khirbet es-Sa‘sana have been proposed. The town would have served as a minor agricultural and pastoral settlement, benefiting from seasonal wadis and caravan routes that threaded the southern frontier.

Historical and Archaeological Considerations

1. Strategic fringe town: Its placement in the Negev gave Judah a buffer zone against Philistine and Edomite movements, helping secure the vital north–south trade arteries that linked Egypt with the central hill country.
2. Witness to shifting control: Later Old Testament narratives indicate repeated incursions in this region (1 Samuel 27:8-10; 2 Chronicles 26:6). Although Sansannah itself is not named again, its neighbors were contested, suggesting that Sansannah too experienced cycles of occupation and decline.
3. Material culture: Typical Iron-Age village strata in the area reveal four-room houses, cisterns, and olive presses—evidence of settled life that corroborates the biblical portrayal of Judah’s rooted presence.

Theological Themes and Ministry Implications

• Covenant precision: Even “minor” towns are recorded, reminding readers that God’s covenant is enacted down to individual families and plots. No inheritance is overlooked (Numbers 26:55-56).
• Stewardship of place: Judah’s southern settlers turned a marginal land into productive space, illustrating how faithfulness can transform wilderness into inheritance (Isaiah 35:1).
• God’s care for the obscure: Sansannah never headlines a dramatic narrative, yet its inclusion underscores the equal value God places on every part of His people. This theme anticipates Paul’s teaching that “the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable” (1 Corinthians 12:22).
• Border vigilance: Living on the edge demanded alertness against idolatrous influences. Likewise, the church is called to guard its doctrinal and moral boundaries (2 Timothy 1:14).

Lessons for Contemporary Believers

1. Celebrate the “ordinary” works of God. Most ministry occurs in seemingly insignificant places; Scripture’s detailed land lists dignify such labor.
2. Inherit, cultivate, and defend what God assigns. Just as Judah was to occupy and tend Sansannah, believers must steward spiritual gifts and spheres of influence (1 Peter 4:10).
3. Trust the faithfulness of God’s record-keeping. Every act of obedience, no matter how hidden, is remembered (Hebrews 6:10).
4. Stand firm at cultural frontiers. Sansannah’s frontier position challenges modern disciples to maintain a faithful witness where the kingdom of Christ meets the world’s shifting sands.

Key Cross-References

Joshua 15:20-32; Numbers 34:1-5; Deuteronomy 1:7-8; Psalm 16:6; 1 Samuel 30:1-14; Isaiah 35:1; 1 Peter 1:4.

Forms and Transliterations

וְסַנְסַנָּֽה׃ וסנסנה׃ vesansanNah wə·san·san·nāh wəsansannāh

Englishman's Concordance

Joshua 15:31
HEB: וְצִֽקְלַ֥ג וּמַדְמַנָּ֖ה וְסַנְסַנָּֽה׃
NAS: and Madmannah and Sansannah,
KJV: and Madmannah, and Sansannah,
INT: and Ziklag and Madmannah and Sansannah

1 Occurrence

Strong's Hebrew 5578
1 Occurrence

wə·san·san·nāh — 1 Occ.