Anathoth, a Levitical city in Benjamin, notable as the birthplace of Jeremiah.
Also known as Anathothite · Anathothite,Antothite,Anetothite,Anathoth · Antothite
Anathoth was a city in the territory of Benjamin, located approximately 3 miles (5 km) northeast of Jerusalem. It was assigned to the Levites, specifically the descendants of Aaron, as one of their cities (Joshua 21:18; 1Ch.6.60).
The city is most notably associated with the prophet Jeremiah, who was born in Anathoth (Jeremiah 1:1). Jeremiah faced opposition from the people of his hometown, who plotted against his life because of his prophecies (Jeremiah 11:21-23). The prophet also received a divine command to purchase a field in Anathoth, which served as a sign of the future restoration of Judah (Jeremiah 32:7-9).
Several prominent figures in the Bible were associated with Anathoth, including Abiathar, a priest during the reign of King Solomon, who was exiled to Anathoth after supporting Adonijah's claim to the throne (1Ki.2.26). Two of David's mighty men, Abiezer and Jehu, were also from Anathoth (2Sa.23.27; 1Ch.11.28; 12:3; 27:12).
Anathoth was among the towns resettled by the Benjamites after the Babylonian exile (Ezra 2:23; Nehemiah 7:27; 11:32). The city is also mentioned in a prophetic context, as Isaiah declares judgment upon it (Isaiah 10:30), and Jeremiah confronts a false prophet from Anathoth named Pashhur (Jeremiah 29:27).
The biblical references to Anathoth highlight its significance as a Levitical city, its connection to the life and ministry of Jeremiah, and its role in the history of Israel, particularly during the divided monarchy and the post-exilic period.
Approximate location: 31.813, 35.263 · view on a map · on the Bible atlas
AN'ATHOTH (answers, or echoes), a Levitical city in Benjamin, [scripture]Josh. 21:18[scripture]; 1 Chr 6:60; the birthplace of Jeremiah, Jer 1:1; Jer 11:21, Jer 1:23; Jer 32:7-9, on the route of the Assyrians, [scripture]Isa. 10:30[scripture]; some of its people returned with Zerubbabel, Ezr 2:23; Neh 7:27; now a village of about 20 houses, 4 miles north-east of Jerusalem, and called Anata. Tradition incorrectly locates Anathoth at Kuriet-el-Enab, near Abu Gush, and between Ramleh and Jerusalem.
Easton (1897), Smith (1863), Hitchcock (1869), Hastings (1898) and Schaff are in the public domain. Parsed text: neuu-org/bible-dictionary-dataset (CC BY 4.0). Headwords and whitespace normalised for this site.
18 verses in 8 books · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s H6068
Anathoth, and Almon—four cities, together with their pasturelands.
Abiezer the Anathothite, Mebunnai the Hushathite,
Then the king said to Abiathar the priest, “Go back to your fields in Anathoth. Even though you deserve to die, I will not put you to death at this time, since you carried the ark of the Lord GOD before my father David, and you suffered through all that my father suffered.”
And from the tribe of Benjamin they were given Gibeon, Geba, Alemeth, and Anathoth, together with their pasturelands. So they had thirteen cities in all among their families.
Ira son of Ikkesh the Tekoite, Abiezer the Anathothite,
Ahiezer their chief and Joash, who were the sons of Shemaah the Gibeathite; Jeziel and Pelet, the sons of Azmaveth; Beracah; Jehu the Anathothite;
The ninth, for the ninth month, was Abiezer the Anathothite, a Benjamite. There were 24,000 men in his division.
the men of Anathoth, 128;
the men of Anathoth, 128;
in Anathoth, Nob, Ananiah,
Cry aloud, O Daughter of Gallim! Listen, O Laishah! O wretched Anathoth!
These are the words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, one of the priests in Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin.
Therefore this is what the LORD says concerning the people of Anathoth who are seeking your life and saying, “You must not prophesy in the name of the LORD, or you will die by our hand.”
There will be no remnant, for I will bring disaster on the people of Anathoth in the year of their punishment.”
So now, why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth, who poses as a prophet among you?
Behold! Hanamel, the son of your uncle Shallum, is coming to you to say, ‘Buy for yourself my field in Anathoth, for you have the right of redemption to buy it.’
Then, as the LORD had said, my cousin Hanamel came to me in the courtyard of the guard and urged me, ‘Please buy my field in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, for you own the right of inheritance and redemption. Buy it for yourself.’” Then I knew that this was the word of the LORD.
So I bought the field in Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel, and I weighed out seventeen shekels of silver.
Names, family links and references: STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Short descriptions were drafted with AI assistance by STEPBible. Family links follow STEPBible’s scholarly decisions where genealogies are ambiguous.