דִּמְנָה
Dimnah, a place in Palestine
Definition
Dimnah is a proper noun referring to a specific location in ancient Israel, mentioned only once in the Bible. It was one of the Levitical cities allocated to the tribe of Zebulun (Joshua 21:35). As a Levitical city, it was designated as a place for the priestly tribe of Levi to live, since they did not receive a territorial inheritance of their own. The name Dimnah itself is derived from a Hebrew root meaning 'dung' or 'dunghill,' which may have described the site's topography or agricultural use.
Biblical Usage
The word Dimnah is used only once in the Old Testament, in Joshua 21:35, within a list of cities given to the Merarite clan of the Levites from the territory of Zebulun. Its usage is purely geographical and administrative, serving to specify a location in the division of the Promised Land. There are no other occurrences or contextual variations in the biblical text.
Etymology
Dimnah (דִּמְנָה) is a feminine proper noun derived from the same root as H1828, דֹּמֶן (domen), meaning 'dung' or 'manure.' The name likely originated as a descriptive toponym, possibly referring to a place known for fertile soil enriched by dung, or perhaps a site resembling a dunghill in shape. This follows a common ancient practice of naming locations after physical or functional characteristics.
Semantic Range
In the ancient Near East, place names often reflected practical, observable features of the landscape. A name like Dimnah, meaning 'dunghill,' would not have carried the same negative connotation it might today; instead, it pointed to agricultural fertility or a specific land formation. As a Levitical city, Dimnah was part of a system ensuring the Levites were distributed throughout Israel to teach the law (Deuteronomy 33:10), integrating religious instruction into daily tribal life.
No direct synonyms as a proper place name. Related toponyms include: Jokneam (יוָקְנְעָם, H3363) — another Levitical city in Zebulun (Joshua 21:34).
Word Details
How this works
Hebrew definitions are from Brown-Driver-Briggs (1906) and Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (1890), both public domain. BDB was groundbreaking for its era but reflects 19th-century assumptions about Semitic etymology. Modern scholarship (HALOT, DCH) has revised many entries. Use these definitions as a starting point for exploration, not as the final word on a term's meaning in context.
Full methodology & sources →