Bible Word Study
חֶשְׁמוֹן
Cheshmôwn · Cheshmon, a place in Palestine
חֶשְׁמוֹן
Cheshmon, a place in Palestine
Definition
חֶשְׁמוֹן (Cheshmôwn) is a proper noun referring to a specific location in ancient Palestine. It is identified as a town within the territory allotted to the tribe of Judah, listed among the cities in the Negev, the southern desert region (Joshua 15:27). The name itself means 'opulent' or 'fertile,' which may describe the character of the area or express a hope for its prosperity. As a place name, it has only this singular geographical sense in the biblical text.
Biblical Usage
This word is used only once in the entire Old Testament, in Joshua 15:27. It appears in a list of cities that formed the southern boundary of the inheritance of the tribe of Judah. Its usage is purely geographical and administrative, serving to define territorial allotments following the conquest of Canaan.
Etymology
The name חֶשְׁמוֹן (Cheshmôwn) is derived from the same root as H2831, חַשְׁמַן (chashman), which means 'opulent,' 'fat,' or 'fertile.' This suggests the name was descriptive, likely referring to the richness or productive potential of the location. It is a proper noun formed from a common adjective to designate a specific place.
Semantic Range
As a place name in a tribal boundary list, Cheshmon reflects the Israelite practice of carefully delineating tribal territories, which was crucial for identity, inheritance, and governance. The meaning 'opulent' may indicate the town was in or near a more fertile part of the generally arid Negev, or the name may have carried aspirational significance. Its exact location remains uncertain to modern archaeology. No direct synonyms as a proper place name. Related conceptually to other Judahite city names in Joshua 15:21-32, such as בְּאֵר שֶׁבַע (Be'er Sheva`, H884) and מָדְמַנָּה (Madmannah, H4089).
Word Details
How this works
Definitions are from the Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (BDB, 1906, public domain). Concordance and morphology data are from the OSHB (Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible).
Full methodology & sources →References
- Abbott-Smith, G. (1921) A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament. Edinburgh: T&T Clark. [Public Domain]
- Brown, F., Driver, S.R. and Briggs, C.A. (1906) A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament. Oxford: Clarendon Press. [Public Domain]
- Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Tyndale Brief lexicon of Extended Strongs for Greek (TBESG). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
- Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Translators Formatted full LSJ (TFLSJ). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
- Thayer, J.H. (1889) A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament. [Public Domain]
- Gesenius, W. (1846) Gesenius' Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament. [Public Domain]
- Dodson, J. (2010) Greek Lexicon. Biblical Humanities. [CC0]