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Succoth

cityOld TestamentTransjordan10 verses
Today Tell Deir AllaCountry IsraelCoordinates 32.197, 35.621

Succoth is an ancient city mentioned in the Old Testament, located in the region of Transjordan in modern-day Israel. Known today as Tell Deir Alla. It appears across 10 verses in Scripture.

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Archaeological Data
Occupation Phases
Chalcolithic-Early Bronze Age I4500 BCE – 3050 BCE
Early Bronze Age IV/Middle Bronze Age I/Int. Bronze2500 BCE – 2000 BCE
Middle Bronze Age2000 BCE – 1550 BCE
Middle Bronze Age II-III1750 BCE – 1550 BCE
Late Bronze Age1550 BCE – 1150 BCE
Late Bronze Age I1550 BCE – 1400 BCE
Late Bronze Age II1400 BCE – 1200 BCE
Late Bronze Age III1200 BCE – 1150 BCE
Iron Age I1150 BCE – 980 BCE
Iron Age IIa-b980 BCE – 720 BCE
Iron Age IIa980 BCE – 830 BCE
Iron Age IIb-c830 BCE – 539 BCE
Iron Age IIc720 BCE – 539 BCE
Iron Age III (Persian)539 BCE – 333 BCE
Hellenistic333 BCE – 63 BCE
Early Roman63 BCE – 70 CE
Roman63 BCE – 324 CE
Late Roman70 CE – 324 CE
Byzantine324 CE – 638 CE
UnitoAssyrianGovernance, Villages to Empires Dataset (CC BY 4.0), doi:10.5281/zenodo.15111732A. Palmisano, NERD — Near East Radiocarbon Dates (CC BY 4.0), doi:10.5281/zenodo.5767862Uppsala University, ANE Site Placemarks (CC BY 4.0), doi:10.5281/zenodo.6384044

Biblical History

Succoth in Transjordan, distinct from the Exodus encampment of the same name, was a city east of the Jordan River in the Jabbok valley. It first appears prominently in the patriarchal narratives when Jacob, returning from Paddan-aram after his reconciliation with Esau, came to this place and built himself a house and made shelters (sukkot) for his livestock, giving the site its name (Genesis 33:17). The town later appears in Joshua's allotment of Gadite territory (Joshua 13:27). Its most dramatic appearance comes during Gideon's pursuit of the Midianite kings Zebah and Zalmunna: the elders of Succoth refused to provide bread for Gideon's exhausted forces, taunting him with the unfinished campaign (Judges 8:5–8). Upon his victorious return, Gideon punished the men of Succoth with thorns and briers (Judges 8:13–16). Solomon later used the clay ground of the Jordan valley near Succoth for casting the bronze furnishings of the temple (1 Kings 7:46; 2 Chronicles 4:17). Psalm 60:6 and 108:7 record God's sovereign claim over "the Valley of Succoth," anchoring the site within Israel's theology of divine ownership of the land.

Archaeological & Historical Notes

Succoth in Transjordan is most widely identified with Tell Deir Alla in the northern Jordan Valley, where the Jabbok River (Zarqa) meets the Jordan. Excavations led by Henk Franken from 1960 onward uncovered a rich sequence of occupation from the Late Bronze Age through the Iron Age. Most remarkable was the discovery in 1967 of the Deir Alla Inscription, an Aramaic text on plaster from approximately the 9th–8th century BC, referencing the prophet Balaam son of Beor, the seer known from Numbers 22–24. This extraordinary find provides extra-biblical attestation of a figure from the biblical narrative. The site also yielded evidence of a sanctuary and scribal activity, suggesting Deir Alla was a significant regional religious and administrative center.

Verse Appearances (10)

References

  1. Orr, J. (ed.) (1915) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Chicago: Howard-Severance Company. [Public Domain]
  2. OpenBible.info (n.d.) Bible Geocoding. Available at: https://www.openbible.info/geo/. [CC BY 4.0]
  3. Bagnall, R. et al. (eds.) (n.d.) Pleiades: A Gazetteer of Past Places. Available at: https://pleiades.stoa.org. [CC BY 3.0]
  4. Wikidata contributors (n.d.) Wikidata. Available at: https://www.wikidata.org. [CC0]
  5. Lawrence, D. et al. (2025) Villages to Empires: a settlement dataset for the Southern Levant. doi:10.5281/zenodo.15111732. [CC BY 4.0]
  6. Church of England (1769) The Holy Bible, Authorized (King James) Version. [Public Domain]

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