Gederothaim
Gederothaim is an ancient city mentioned in the Old Testament, located in the region of Judea in modern-day Israel. Known today as Khirbet Judraya. It appears across 1 verse in Scripture.
Biblical History
Gederothaim is a town listed in Joshua 15:36 among the cities of the second Shephelah district allotted to the tribe of Judah. The verse reads: "Sharaim, Adithaim, Gederah, and Gederothaim — fourteen cities with their villages." Gederothaim's name appears to be a dual form of Gederah, meaning "the two Gederahs" or "double enclosure," possibly referring to twin sheep pens or adjacent walled settlements. Scholars have long noted that if Gederothaim is counted as a separate city in the list, the total exceeds the stated number of fourteen cities, leading some to suggest that Gederothaim is an explanatory gloss on Gederah rather than a distinct settlement. Others maintain it was a genuine independent town. This textual question has occupied biblical geographers for centuries without definitive resolution. Whatever the case, Gederothaim occupied a position in the fertile and agriculturally productive Shephelah, the lowland zone that was a breadbasket and contested frontier zone throughout Judah's history. The town's pastoral name, rooted in the language of enclosures and sheepfolds, fits the landscape of the Shephelah, where shepherding and farming communities coexisted alongside the strategic road networks that made the region so valuable to military planners.
Archaeological & Historical Notes
Gederothaim is tentatively associated with Khirbet Judraya in the Shephelah, sharing the same proposed identification as Gederah, which reflects the scholarly uncertainty about whether it is a distinct site or a textual variant. The Septuagint's treatment of the passage differs from the Masoretic Text, further complicating identification. Regional surveys of the Shephelah have documented dense Iron Age settlement across this zone, with multiple small sites of comparable size and character scattered throughout the lowland valleys. Without dedicated excavation, distinguishing between sites named Gederah, Gederoth, and Gederothaim archaeologically remains difficult. The textual question of whether Gederothaim represents a separate town continues to be debated among Old Testament scholars and historical geographers.
Verse Appearances (1)
Josh
Sources: ISBE Encyclopedia · OpenBible Geocoding (CC BY) · Pleiades Gazetteer View all →