בֵּית הַיְשִׁימוֹת

𐤁𐤉𐤕 𐤄𐤉𐤔𐤉𐤌𐤅𐤕

Bêyth ha-Yshîy-môwth

H1020 noun

SILEX Entry

Root בית, ישׁם to build, establish a house; to be desolate, lay waste

Definition

A place name meaning 'House of Desolations' or 'House in the Desolate Places,' referring to a settlement located east of the Jordan River on the plains of Moab. The name denotes a location characterized by barrenness or wasteland, likely reflecting the geography or environment surrounding the settlement. The phrase includes the prefixed definite article 'ha-' and refers specifically to the site traditionally called 'Beth-ha-Yeshimoth.'

Semantic Range

proper name of a location; settlement or encampment in a barren region; 'house of the desolate places' or 'house in the wastelands'

Root / Etymology

From the noun בַּיִת (bayit, 'house') and the plural of יְשִׁימָה (yeshimah, 'desolation, wasteland'), with the definite article -הַ (ha-) inserted between. Thus, literally, 'House of the Desolations.' The root of yeshimah is י-שׁ-מ (ישׁם), meaning 'to be desolate.'

Historical & Contextual Notes

בֵּית הַיְשִׁימוֹת occurs in narratives describing the final encampment of the Israelites in the plains of Moab before entering Canaan (Num 33:49; Ezek 25:9). The form is unusual in preserving the article within a proper name, suggesting specificity (i.e., 'the desolations' as opposed to generic 'desolations'). While English translations typically render the name as 'Beth-jeshimoth,' the full Hebrew form indicates a location identified both by a dwelling or settlement (בֵּית) and a terrain feature (יְשִׁימוֹת). Its identification with present-day sites is debated but it is clearly linked to the arid northeastern shores of the Dead Sea. The term does not connote a deserted town, but rather a settlement in or near a desolate region. In later periods, the area's meaning and boundaries may have shifted, but the basic place-name sense remained. English translations do not always reflect the full sense of the element ישִׁימוֹת as 'desolations' or 'wastelands.'

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from בַּיִת and the plural of יְשִׁימַה with the article interposed; house of the deserts; Beth-ha-Jeshimoth, a town East of the Jordan; Beth-jeshimoth.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

בנה (b-n-h) — to build, construct, establish (family)

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H1004 בַּיִת in the houses
H1005 בַּיִת the built-house
H1006 בַּיִת the house
H1007 בֵּית אָוֶן house-of
H1008 בֵּית־אֵל in house of

Word Forms

4 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H1020-02 הַיְשִׁמֹ֔ת hayeshimot HNp jeshimoth House of the Desolations 4
H1020-01 בֵּ֣ית beyt HNp Beth house-of 2
H1020-04 וּ/בֵ֥ית uveyt HC/Np and Beth and house-of 1
H1020-03 מִ/בֵּ֣ית mibeyt HR/Np from Beth from the house of 1

Occurrences in Scripture

8 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H1020-03 Numbers 33:49 מִ/בֵּ֣ית mibeyt HR/Np from Beth from the house of
H1020-02 Numbers 33:49 הַיְשִׁמֹ֔ת hayeshimot HNp jeshimoth House of the Desolations
H1020-01 Joshua 12:3 בֵּ֣ית beyt HNp Beth house-of
H1020-02 Joshua 12:3 הַיְשִׁמ֑וֹת hayeshimot HNp Jeshimoth House of the Desolations
H1020-04 Joshua 13:20 וּ/בֵ֥ית uveyt-2 HC/Np and Beth and house-of
H1020-02 Joshua 13:20 הַיְשִׁמֽוֹת hayeshimot HNp jeshimoth House of the Desolations
H1020-01 Ezekiel 25:9 בֵּ֣ית beyt HNp Beth- house-of
H1020-02 Ezekiel 25:9 הַיְשִׁימֹ֔ת hayeshimot HNp jeshimoth House of the Desolations