לַחְמָס
Lachmam or Lachmas, a place in Palestine
Definition
Lachmam or Lachmas is a proper noun identifying a town in the territory of Judah, as listed in the conquest and allotment of the Promised Land. It appears in Joshua 15:40 as one of the cities within the inheritance of the tribe of Judah, located in the lowland (Shephelah) region. The name likely relates to the Hebrew word for 'bread' or 'food' (לֶחֶם, lechem), suggesting a place associated with sustenance or perhaps grain production. As a geographical name, it holds no other distinct meanings in the biblical text.
Biblical Usage
This word is used only once in the Old Testament, in Joshua 15:40, as part of a detailed list of towns allotted to the tribe of Judah. Its usage is purely geographical, serving to document the territorial boundaries and settlements following the Israelite conquest under Joshua. There are no patterns of usage or contextual variations, as it is a single-occurrence place name.
Etymology
The name לַחְמָס (Lachmâç) is considered by scholars to be a probable scribal variation or erroneous transcription of לַחְמָם (Lachmam), as noted in the Masoretic Text. It derives from the Hebrew root לֶחֶם (lechem, H3899), meaning 'bread' or 'food.' The name therefore likely means 'food-like' or 'place of bread,' possibly indicating a fertile area or a site known for grain. This connection to sustenance is a common feature in ancient Semitic place names.
Semantic Range
As a place name in ancient Judah, Lachmam reflects the Israelite practice of naming locations based on physical characteristics or resources. A name meaning 'place of bread' would immediately communicate the site's agricultural value or fertility to an ancient audience. Its inclusion in a town list (Joshua 15:40) underscores the concrete, geographical reality of God's promise of land to the tribe of Judah, transforming a divine covenant into lived, physical territory.
לֶחֶם (lechem, H3899) — The common noun for 'bread' or 'food,' which is the root word for the place name Lachmam, indicating its etymological origin.
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.
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