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Monday, December 30th, 2024
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Bible Encyclopedias
Town
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
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toun : This word is used to represent a number of different Hob terms in the Old Testament. (1) When any explanatory word or attendant circumstances show that a "city" was unwalled, and sometimes in the contrary case ( 1 Samuel 23:7 ), the Hebrew ı̄r is translated "town" by the King James Version, and the Revised Version (British and American) generally agrees with it (Deuteronomy 3:5; 1 Samuel 27:5; Esther 9:19 ). (2) Both the King James Version and the Revised Version (British and American) translate ḥawwōth by "towns" (Numbers 32:41; Joshua 13:30; 1 Kings 4:13; 1 Chronicles 2:23 ), while ḥăcērı̄m and perāzōth both appear in the King James Version as "towns," but in the Revised Version (British and American) as "villages" (Genesis 25:16; Zechariah 2:4 ). See HAVVOTH-JAIR . (3) Bath , literally, "daughter," is sometimes found in the plural between the name of a city and ḥăcērı̄m , "villages," as in Joshua 15:45 margin, "Ekron, with its daughters and its villages." "Towns" is evidently the appropriate translation, and, even without ḥăcĕrı̄m , bath is rendered "town" (the Revised Version (British and American) Numbers 21:25 , etc.). The same use of "daughter" occurs also in the Greek of 1 Macc 5:65 (thugátēr ), the King James Version "town," the Revised Version (British and American) "village," margin "daughter." (4) the King James Version and the English Revised Version gloss ḳı̄r , "wall" in Joshua 2:15 by rendering it "town wall"; the American Standard Revised Version omits. (5) The Greek term kōmopóleis (Mark 1:38 ), being a combination of the words for "village" and "city," is a clear attempt to describe something between the two, and is well translated "town." (6) the King James Version uses "town" (Matthew 10:11 etc.) and "village" ( Matthew 9:35 , etc.) quite indifferently for kṓmē ; the Revised Version (British and American) has "village" throughout. For similar changes of the King James Version "town" compare 2 Macc 8:6 (chōra ); 11:5; 12:21 (chōrion , the Revised Version (British and American) "place"). See CITY; VILLAGE .
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Bibliography Information
Orr, James, M.A., D.D. General Editor. Entry for 'Town'. International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. https://www.studylight.org/encyclopedias/eng/isb/t/town.html. 1915.
