Jarmuth
Jarmuth is an ancient city mentioned in the Old Testament, located in the region of Galilee in modern-day Israel. Known today as Kokab el Hawa. It appears across 1 verse in Scripture.
Biblical History
This Jarmuth, distinct from the Judean city of the same name, is mentioned in the Old Testament as a Levitical city within the territory of the tribe of Issachar. It appears in the list of cities assigned to the Levitical clan of Gershom (1 Chronicles 6:73), where it is called Ramoth in the parallel passage of Joshua 21:29. The assignment of cities to the Levites throughout Israel's tribal territories reflected God's design that the priestly tribe would be dispersed among all the people, serving as teachers of the Law and maintaining worship throughout the land. Rather than receiving a contiguous territorial inheritance like the other tribes, the Levites received designated cities with surrounding pasturelands. Jarmuth's inclusion in this system ensured a Levitical presence in the fertile Jezreel Valley region, where the tribe of Issachar had settled. The variation in name between the Joshua and Chronicles accounts likely reflects different scribal traditions or dialectal differences preserved in the biblical manuscripts.
Archaeological & Historical Notes
This northern Jarmuth is tentatively identified with Kokab el-Hawa (modern Kokhav HaYarden), a site perched on a prominent hill overlooking the Jordan Valley in the lower Galilee region. The identification is based on geographical considerations and the association with the territory of Issachar. The site is best known for the impressive Crusader fortress of Belvoir (Kokhav HaYarden) that crowns the hill, which has been extensively excavated by the Israel Antiquities Authority. Beneath and around the medieval fortifications, surveys have identified pottery and remains from earlier periods, including the Iron Age, though systematic excavation of pre-Crusader levels has been limited. The commanding hilltop position, offering panoramic views of the Jordan Valley, would have made it strategically valuable in any period.
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]