Debir
Debir is an ancient city mentioned in the Old Testament, located in the region of Judea in modern-day Israel. Known today as Khan el Hatrur. It appears across 1 verse in Scripture.
Biblical History
This Debir appears in the boundary description of Judah in Joshua 15:7, serving as a geographic marker along Judah's northern border as it ascended from the Valley of Achor toward Gilgal. The text describes the border passing through the Ascent of Adummim and then northward toward Debir, proceeding from the valley. In this context, Debir functions as a toponym anchoring the tribal boundary rather than as the site of any distinct historical event. The identification of this location with the more prominent Debir of Judah has been questioned by many scholars, as the geographic context near the Adummim Pass north of the Dead Sea differs markedly from the southern Judean hills setting. This Debir may represent an entirely distinct place, possibly a boundary stone, pass, or minor settlement, that served the administrative needs of territorial delineation. Its preservation in the biblical text reflects the precision with which tribal boundaries were recorded and the importance Israel's covenant community placed on maintaining clear demarcations of inherited land.
Archaeological & Historical Notes
This Debir, located along Judah's northern boundary near the Ascent of Adummim, is tentatively associated with Khan el-Hatrur (also known as Khan el-Ahmar), a site on the ancient road descending from Jerusalem toward Jericho. The Ascent of Adummim (modern Tal'at ed-Damm) was a well-traveled ancient route, and the site may have functioned as a waystation or border marker. Archaeological surveys of the Adummim ridge have identified Iron Age and Byzantine-period materials. The precise identification of this Debir remains unresolved, and it should not be conflated with the prominent Debir of the southern Judean hills associated with Joshua's conquest narratives.
Verse Appearances (1)
Josh
References
- Orr, J. (ed.) (1915) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Chicago: Howard-Severance Company. [Public Domain]
- OpenBible.info (n.d.) Bible Geocoding. Available at: https://www.openbible.info/geo/. [CC BY 4.0]
- Bagnall, R. et al. (eds.) (n.d.) Pleiades: A Gazetteer of Past Places. Available at: https://pleiades.stoa.org. [CC BY 3.0]
- Wikidata contributors (n.d.) Wikidata. Available at: https://www.wikidata.org. [CC0]
- Lawrence, D. et al. (2025) Villages to Empires: a settlement dataset for the Southern Levant. doi:10.5281/zenodo.15111732. [CC BY 4.0]
- Church of England (1769) The Holy Bible, Authorized (King James) Version. [Public Domain]