Bible Word Study
רֶמֶת
Remeth · Remeth, a place in Palestine
רֶמֶת
Remeth, a place in Palestine
Definition
Remeth is a proper noun referring to a town within the territory allotted to the tribe of Issachar, as recorded in the book of Joshua (Joshua 19:21). It is listed among the cities given to Issachar, indicating it was a specific, inhabited location in the central region of ancient Palestine. The name itself, meaning 'height,' likely describes the town's geographical setting on an elevated or prominent place. As a place name, it has no other biblical senses or meanings beyond this singular identification.
Biblical Usage
The word Remeth is used only once in the Old Testament, in Joshua 19:21, within a list of cities that formed the inheritance of the tribe of Issachar. Its usage is purely geographical and administrative, serving to define the tribal boundaries after the Israelite conquest of Canaan. There are no narrative contexts or patterns of usage beyond this single catalog entry.
Etymology
Remeth (רֶמֶת) is derived from the Hebrew root רָמָה (ramah, H7411), which carries the core meaning 'to be high' or 'to rise up.' It is related to nouns like רָמָה (ramah) meaning 'height' or 'high place.' The name is therefore a straightforward geographical descriptor, common for towns built on hills or mounds in the ancient Near East.
Semantic Range
In the ancient Israelite culture of land distribution, place names often reflected physical geography. A town named 'Height' would have been understood as a settlement on a hill, which offered natural advantages for defense and observation. This naming convention was practical and descriptive, helping people identify locations by their most noticeable feature. Its inclusion in a tribal boundary list underscores the importance of precise territorial claims for each tribe's identity and livelihood. Ramah (רָמָה, H7414) — A much more common place name ('height') used for several different cities (e.g., Judges 4:5, 1 Samuel 1:19). Remeth is a specific, singular instance of this type of name.
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]