Ether, a city allotted to the tribes of Judah and Simeon in the Shephelah region.
Ether is mentioned in the Book of Joshua as a city that was allotted to the tribe of Judah (Joshua 15:42) and later given to the tribe of Simeon as part of their inheritance within Judah's territory (Joshua 19:7).
The city is listed among other cities in the Shephelah, the lowland region between the coastal plain and the Judean hills. In Joshua 15:42, Ether is mentioned alongside Libnah, Ashan, and Ashnah, while in Joshua 19:7, it is listed with Ain, Rimmon, and Tochen as part of Simeon's inheritance.
No other details about Ether are provided in the Bible, and its exact location is unknown. The Shephelah was known for its fertile soil and served as a buffer zone between the Israelites and the Philistines, who occupied the coastal plain.
The mention of Ether in the lists of cities allotted to Judah and Simeon helps to define the extent of their territories and provides insight into the geography of the region during the time of the Israelite conquest and settlement of Canaan.
Approximate location: 31.810, 34.937 · view on a map · on the Bible atlas
(abundance), one of the cities of Judah in the low country, the Shefelah, (Joshua 15:42) allotted to Simeon. (Joshua 19:7)
E'THER (abundance), a town in the lowlands of Judah, Josh 15:42; given to Simeon, Josh 19:7. In 1 Chr 4:32, Tochen is put in the place of Ether. Van de Velde suggested Tell Athar, and Wilton, ??Andrah??. Conder proposes, as the corresponding name, 'Atr.
E'THER (abundance), a town in the lowlands of Judah, Josh 15:42; given to Simeon, Josh 19:7. In 1 Chr 4:32, Tochen is put in the place of Ether. Van de Velde suggested Tell Athar, and Wilton, ??Andrah??. Conder proposes, as the corresponding name, 'Atr.
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.
2 verses in 1 book · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s H6281
Libnah, Ether, Ashan,
Ain, Rimmon, Ether, and Ashan—four cities, along with their villages,
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.