6228. Ashan

Lexical Summary

Ashan: Ashan

Original Word: עָשָׁן
Part of Speech: Proper Name Location
Transliteration: `Ashan
Pronunciation: ah-SHAHN
Phonetic Spelling: (aw-shawn')
KJV: Ashan
NASB: Ashan
Word Origin: [the same as H6227 (עָשָׁן - smoke)]

1. Ashan, a place in Israel

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

Ashan

The same as ashan; Ashan, a place in Palestine -- Ashan.

see HEBREW ashan

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
from the same as ashan
Definition
a place in Judah and later in Simeon
NASB Translation
Ashan (4).

Brown-Driver-Briggs

II. עָשָׁן proper name, of a location in Shephelah of Judah Joshua 15:42, in Simeon according to Joshua 19:7; 1 Chronicles 4:32, Levitical city 1 Chronicles 6:44; Ασαν, etc.; = בּוֺר עָשָׁן, q. v. p. 92 above

Topical Lexicon

Occurrences and Context

Ashan appears four times in the Old Testament record (Joshua 15:42; Joshua 19:7; 1 Chronicles 4:32; 1 Chronicles 6:59). The texts consistently list it among towns in the southern hill-country and lowland of Judah, later identified with the inheritance of Simeon and finally designated as a Levitical city.

Joshua 19:7 summarizes its early allotment:

“Ain, Rimmon, Ether, and Ashan—four cities and their villages.”

Geographical Setting

Ashan lay in the Judean Shephelah, south-west of Hebron and south-east of Beth Shemesh, in the borderland where cultivated hills descend to the Negev wilderness. The locale enabled oversight of caravan routes running from the coastal plain toward Beersheba. Several scholars place the site at Khirbet el-Shâʿin or nearby ruins overlooking Wadi es-Sunt, yet no single identification commands universal agreement. Strategic elevation and abundant grazing lands fit the biblical description of “pasturelands” later granted to the Levites (1 Chronicles 6:59).

Tribal Allocation and Levitical Status

1. Judah: Ashan is first counted among the forty-three towns of Judah’s western foothills (Joshua 15:33-47).
2. Simeon: Because Judah’s share proved “too large for them” (Joshua 19:9), Simeon received territory within Judah’s portion; Ashan is again named among the four principal Simeonite towns.
3. Levites: Generations later, David organized priestly and Levitical settlements. The Kohathites were assigned “Ashan and its pasturelands” (1 Chronicles 6:59). Thus the city passed through three layers of covenant stewardship—Judahite, Simeonite, and Levitical—demonstrating the fluid yet orderly nature of Israel’s land tenure under divine direction.

Historical Significance

• Military Security: Situated near the Philistine border, Ashan helped guard Judah’s western approaches. Its repeated mention alongside Beth Shemesh—another border town—indicates a defensive network that protected Jerusalem’s hinterland.
• Economic Role: The fertile slopes around Ashan offered pasture for flocks, supporting both Simeonite shepherds and later the Levites whose livelihood depended on such resources. The city’s name, traditionally linked to “smoke,” may recall industries such as lime-burning, pottery kilns, or sacrificial activity associated with priestly residents.
• Covenant Transition: The migration of Ashan from tribal to Levitical control illustrates Israel’s covenantal flexibility; land could be reassigned without compromising the original divine grant. The process underscores that all inheritance remained ultimately the LORD’s (Leviticus 25:23).

Theological and Ministry Implications

1. Faithful Provision: Ashan’s pasturelands supplied Levites who had “no inheritance among their brothers” (Deuteronomy 18:1-2). God’s meticulous care for His servants speaks to the church’s responsibility to provide materially for those devoted to ministry (1 Corinthians 9:13-14).
2. Inter-tribal Cooperation: Judah’s willingness to host Simeonite and Levitical populations models unity within diversity. In the New Covenant community, spiritual gifts and callings likewise transcend ethnic or regional boundaries (Ephesians 4:4-6).
3. Stewardship of Place: Even a seemingly obscure village like Ashan is recorded by name four times, reminding believers that God values specific locales and the people who inhabit them. The Lord’s purposes extend to rural congregations and frontier missions no less than to major population centers.

Lessons for Today

• God remembers small places and uses them for strategic kingdom ends; no ministry setting is insignificant.
• Proper support of gospel workers remains a divine priority; Ashan’s pasturelands anticipate the principle that “those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel.”
• Territorial transitions under God’s guidance encourage flexibility: property, platforms, and positions are stewardships to be held lightly for the advance of His kingdom.

Thus Ashan, though only a minor town on the biblical map, offers enduring testimony to divine order, faithful provision, and the seamless harmony of Scripture’s historical record.

Forms and Transliterations

וְעָשָֽׁן׃ וְעָשָׁ֑ן ועשן ועשן׃ עָשָׁן֙ עשן ‘ā·šān ‘āšān aShan veaShan wə‘āšān wə·‘ā·šān

Englishman's Concordance

Joshua 15:42
HEB: לִבְנָ֥ה וָעֶ֖תֶר וְעָשָֽׁן׃
NAS: Libnah and Ether and Ashan,
KJV: Libnah, and Ether, and Ashan,
INT: Libnah and Ether and Ashan

Joshua 19:7
HEB: רִמּ֖וֹן וָעֶ֣תֶר וְעָשָׁ֑ן עָרִ֥ים אַרְבַּ֖ע
NAS: and Ether and Ashan; four
KJV: and Ether, and Ashan; four
INT: Rimmon and Ether and Ashan cities four

1 Chronicles 4:32
HEB: רִמּ֥וֹן וְתֹ֖כֶן וְעָשָׁ֑ן עָרִ֖ים חָמֵֽשׁ׃
NAS: Rimmon, Tochen and Ashan, five cities;
KJV: and Tochen, and Ashan, five
INT: Rimmon Tochen and Ashan cities five

1 Chronicles 6:59
HEB: וְאֶת־ עָשָׁן֙ וְאֶת־ מִגְרָשֶׁ֔יהָ
NAS: Ashan with its pasture lands
KJV: And Ashan with her suburbs,
INT: Ashan pasture and Beth-shemesh

4 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 6228
4 Occurrences

‘ā·šān — 1 Occ.
wə·‘ā·šān — 3 Occ.