Put
Put is an ancient city mentioned in the Old Testament, located in the region of North Africa in modern-day Libya. Known today as Cyrene. It appears across 6 verses in Scripture.
Biblical History
Put (also rendered Phut) first appears in Genesis 10:6 as one of the four sons of Ham, alongside Cush, Mizraim (Egypt), and Canaan, placing it within the Table of Nations as a people and territory of North Africa. Throughout the prophetic literature, Put is associated with military prowess and alliance with other nations. In Jeremiah 46:9, warriors of Put are listed alongside Cush and Lud as allies of Egypt marching to battle at Carchemish. Ezekiel 27:10 describes men of Put serving as soldiers in the army of Tyre, bearing shields and helmets. In Ezekiel 30:5, Put is again listed among the allies of Egypt who will fall by the sword. Ezekiel 38:5 places Put among the nations that will join Gog in the eschatological invasion of Israel. Nahum 3:9 mentions Put as one of the allies of Thebes (No-Amon). Across these references, Put consistently appears as a military power associated with Africa, serving as auxiliary forces for major empires, and ultimately subject to divine judgment alongside those empires.
Archaeological & Historical Notes
Put is traditionally identified with Libya or a broader region of North Africa west of Egypt. The ancient Egyptians used the term Punt or Pwnt for a different location, and the Hebrew Put likely corresponds to the Libyan peoples known to the Egyptians as Tjehenu or Tjemehu. Some scholars identify Put specifically with Cyrenaica (eastern Libya), where the Greek colony of Cyrene was established. Archaeological evidence from Libya reveals extensive ancient settlement, with rock art, tombs, and inscriptions documenting indigenous Libyan peoples. The Libyan identification is supported by the Septuagint, which sometimes translates Put as Libyes. The region's warrior culture, well attested in Egyptian battle reliefs showing Libyan fighters, aligns with the biblical depiction of Put as a military people.
Verse Appearances (6)
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]