Bible Dictionaries
Harosheth

Holman Bible Dictionary

(huh roh' sshehth) Place name meaning, “forest land.” First part of compound Hebrew place name Harosheth-hagoiim, meaning Harosheth of the Gentiles (KJV, REB, TEV) or nations. Home of Sisera, captain of the army of Jabin of Hazor (Judges 4:2 ). He mustered his troops there and marched them to the river Kishon to face Barak and Deborah (Judges 4:13 ). Barak chased the army back to Harosheth and killed them there (Judges 4:16 ). It may be the same as Muhrashti of the Amarna letters. Its location is debated, some favoring tell el-Ama at the foot of Mount Carmel about nine miles south of Haifa near the Arab village of Haritiyeh. Others would see Haroseth as a common noun meaning, “woods” and locate it in the woods or forests of Galilee, using some evidence from the earliest Greek translation. This view would read Joshua 12:23 , “king of Goiim in Galilee” (TEV, NRSV) and equate the king with the ruler of the Galilean forests.