טֶלֶם
Telem, the name of a place in Idumaea, also of a temple doorkeeper
Definition
Telem is a proper noun referring to two distinct entities in the Old Testament. Primarily, it is the name of a town in the Negev region of Judah, listed among the cities in the territory allotted to the tribe of Judah (Joshua 15:24). Secondarily, it is the name of a man, a temple servant (or doorkeeper) who was among those who had married foreign wives during the post-exilic period and was required to send them away (Ezra 10:24). The two uses are considered separate individuals/places sharing the same name.
Biblical Usage
The word is used only twice in the Old Testament, in two different contexts and books. In Joshua 15:24, it appears in a geographical list of cities in the inheritance of Judah, specifically in the southern desert region (the Negev). In Ezra 10:24, it is used as the personal name of a temple doorkeeper (from the family of porters) involved in the covenant to put away foreign wives. There is no narrative usage, only these two declarative instances.
Etymology
Derived from an unused Hebrew root (טלם) generally understood to mean 'to break up' or 'to treat violently,' suggesting a sense of oppression or perhaps a broken or rugged place. As a proper name, its exact semantic connection to the root is unclear, but it may have described the character of the location or person.
Semantic Range
While the name Telem itself is not theologically loaded, its appearances connect to significant biblical themes. In Joshua, it represents God's faithfulness in giving the promised land, as it is one of many cities allotted. In Ezra, the individual Telem is part of a critical moment of communal repentance and re-establishing covenant purity after the exile, highlighting the importance of holiness and separation for God's people.
As a place name in Joshua, Telem was a settlement in the arid southern frontier of Judah, reflecting the settlement patterns and territorial claims of the Israelite tribes. As a personal name in Ezra, it identifies a member of a specific guild of temple servants (porters), indicating a structured religious community with defined roles in the restored temple worship in Jerusalem.
There are no direct synonyms for this proper name. Other place names in the same Judahite list include Beersheba (H0884) and Hazor (H2674). Other temple servants mentioned in Ezra include Shabbethai (H7678) and Jozabad (H3107).
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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