נִבְשָׁן
𐤍𐤁𐤔𐤍
Niveshan
H5044 noun
SILEX Entry
Definition
Nibshân – a place name mentioned in the allotment of territory to the tribe of Judah; its precise geographical location and meaning are uncertain. The term is used only as a toponym (place name) and carries no attested usage outside of location designation in the biblical text.
Semantic Range
proper noun (toponym), undetermined meaning, place in the southern territory allotted to Judah
Root / Etymology
Uncertain. No corresponding Hebrew root is clearly attested, and its derivation remains unclear. Some have speculated a relationship to a hypothesized root נבש (n-b-sh), but no such root with an attested meaning exists in Biblical Hebrew.
Historical & Contextual Notes
Nibshân appears solely in the list of cities assigned to the tribe of Judah in Joshua 15:62, alongside other settlements of the southern Judean wilderness. Its appearance in a catalog of locations prevents direct evidence for its semantic meaning outside of its function as a place name. The location's identity has not been established archaeologically, and it does not reappear in later biblical literature or known extrabiblical sources. Like many place names in the biblical territorial lists, the meaning may have related to local environmental features or a now-lost tradition. English Bibles have usually retained the Hebrew form in transliteration (Nibshan), as the meaning is unknown. The use of the term 'Palestine' in older translation traditions encompasses the broader geographic region of ancient Canaan/Southern Levant and should be updated in modern usage to reflect specific Israelite or Judahite territorial designations as appropriate for the context.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
of uncertain derivation; Nibshan, a place in Palestine; Nibshan.
Bantu Hebrew
No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been submitted for this word yet.
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נבש (uncertain) (n-b-sh (uncertain)) — uncertain; unattested root; ancient place-name formation
Word Forms
1 distinct form
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H5044-01 |
וְ/הַ/נִּבְשָׁ֥ן | vehaniveshan | HC/Td/Np |
and Nibshan | and the Nibshan | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
1 total occurrence
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H5044-01 |
Joshua 15:62 | וְ/הַ/נִּבְשָׁ֥ן | vehaniveshan | HC/Td/Np |
and Nibshan | and the Nibshan |