Eshtaol, a city allotted to Judah and Dan, was the hometown of Samson and the starting point of the Danite migration.
Also known as Eshtaolite · Eshtaulites
Eshtaol was a city located in the Shephelah, or foothills, of Judah. It was initially allotted to the tribe of Judah (Joshua 15:33) but was later assigned to the tribe of Dan (Joshua 19:41).
Eshtaol is particularly associated with the story of Samson, the legendary Israelite judge. Samson was born in the nearby town of Zorah and is described as moving between Zorah and Eshtaol, where the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him (Judges 13:25). After Samson's death, he was buried between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of his father, Manoah (Judges 16:31).
Eshtaol also played a role in the Danite migration narrative. Due to limited territory and pressure from the Philistines, a group of Danites sent spies from Zorah and Eshtaol to search for a new land to settle (Judges 18:2). After the spies returned with a favorable report, six hundred men from the clan of the Danites set out from Zorah and Eshtaol to conquer the city of Laish in the north (Judges 18:8, 11).
The descendants of the Eshtaolites, a clan from Eshtaol, are mentioned in 1Ch.2.53 among the descendants of Judah's son Shobal. This suggests that the city maintained its ties to the tribe of Judah even after being allotted to Dan.
Approximate location: 31.782, 35.009 · view on a map · on the Bible atlas
Narrow pass or recess, a town (Josh. 15:33) in the low country, the She-phelah of Judah. It was allotted to the tribe of Dan (Josh. 19:41), and was one of their strongholds. Here Samson spent his boyhood, and first began to show his mighty strength; and here he was buried in the burying-place of Manoah his father (Judg. 13:25; 16:31; 18:2, 8, 11, 12). It is identified with the modern Yeshua, on a hill 2 miles east of Zorah. Others, however, identify it with Kustul, east of Kirjath-jearim.
(a pass), a town in the low country—the Shefelah—of Judah, after wards allotted to Dan. (Joshua 15:33; 19:41) Here Samson spent his boyhood, and hither after his last exploit his body was brought. (Judges 13:25; 16:31; 18:2,8,11,12)
ESH'TAOL (recess, or hollow way), a town in the lowlands of Judah, Josh 15:33; given to Dan 19:41. It was the region of Samson's boyhood and burial. Jud 13:25; Jud 16:31. The Danites went out from thence. Jud 18:2-11. Robinson and others suggest Yeshua as its site; Black proposes Eshu'a, 1 mile east of Sura (Zoreah); and Grove proposes Kustul, east of Kuryet-el-Enab.
ESH'TAOL (recess, or hollow way), a town in the lowlands of Judah, Josh 15:33; given to Dan 19:41. It was the region of Samson's boyhood and burial. Jud 13:25; Jud 16:31. The Danites went out from thence. Jud 18:2-11. Robinson and others suggest Yeshua as its site; Black proposes Eshu'a, 1 mile east of Sura (Zoreah); and Grove proposes Kustul, east of Kuryet-el-Enab.
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.
8 verses in 3 books · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s H0847
These were in the foothills: Eshtaol, Zorah, Ashnah,
The territory of their inheritance included Zorah, Eshtaol, Ir-shemesh,
And the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him at Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.
Then Samsonʼs brothers and his fatherʼs family came down, carried him back, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of his father Manoah. And he had judged Israel twenty years.
So the Danites sent out five men from their clans, men of valor from Zorah and Eshtaol, to spy out the land and explore it. “Go and explore the land,” they told them. The men entered the hill country of Ephraim and came to the house of Micah, where they spent the night.
When the men returned to Zorah and Eshtaol, their brothers asked them, “What did you find?”
So six hundred Danites departed from Zorah and Eshtaol, armed with weapons of war.
and the clans of Kiriath-jearim—the Ithrites, Puthites, Shumathites, and Mishraites. From these descended the Zorathites and Eshtaolites.
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.