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Eshtemnoa

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[many Eshtem'oa] (Hebrews Eshtemo'd, אֶשְׁתְּמוֹעִ [but defectively אֶשְׁתְּמֹע in 1 Chronicles], obedience Sept. in Joshua 21:14 Ε᾿σθεμώ, in 1 Samuel Εσθιέ, in 1 Chronicles 4:17; 1 Chronicles 4:19 Ε᾿σθαιμών v.r. Ε᾿σθεμών and Ε᾿σθημωνή, in 1 Chronicles 6:57 [42] Ε᾿σθαμώ v.r. Ε᾿σταμώ; Vulg 'Esthamo, but Estemo in Josh., and Esthemo in 1 Chronicles vi) or Esh'temoh (Hebrews Eshtemoh', אֶשְׁתְּמֹה, by an interchange of final gutturals, Joshua 15:50; Sept. Ε᾿σθεμώ, Vulg. Istemo), a town of Judah, in the mountains; mentioned between Jattir and Holon (Joshua 21:14; 1 Chronicles 6:57), and Letween Anab and Anim (Joshua 15:50). With its "suburbs" Eshtemoa was allotted to the priests (Joshua 21:14; 1 Chronicles 6:57). It was one of the places frequented by David and his followers during the long period of their wanderings; and to his friends there he sent presents of the spoil of the Amalekites (1 Samuel 30:28; comp. 1 Samuel 30:31). In the lists — half genealogical, half topographical — of the descendants of Judah, Eshtemoa occurs as having been founded or rebuilt by an Ezrahite called Ishbah (1 Chronicles 4:17) (q.v.), perhaps the same with Naham of 1 Chronicles 4:19 (See MERED), where the place has the dubious epithet of "Maachathite" (q.v.). Others, however, regard the Eshtemoa there named as a person from Maachah Eusebius and Jerome simply mention the place as "a very large village" in the Daroma, in the province of Eleutheropolis (Onomast. s.v. Ε᾿σθεμά, Esthemo). There is little doubt that it has been discovered thy Dr. Robinson at Semu'a, a village seven or eight miles south of Hebron, on the great road from el- Milh, containing considerable ancient remains, and in the neighborhood of other villages still bearing the names of its companions in the list of Joshua 15:1-63 : Debir, Socoh, Jattir, etc., and itself the last inhabited place toward the desert (Researches, 2:194; comp. Schwarz, Palest. page 105). It is a considerable village, situated on a low hill, with broad valleys round about; not susceptible of much tillage, but full of flocks and herds all in fine order. In several places there are remains of walls built of very large stones, bevelled, but left rough in the middle, several of them more than ten feet in length. There are the ruins of a castle at this place, with one tower tolerably perfect, but it is probably of Saracenic origin (Robinson, Researches, 2:627; Wilson, Lands of Bible, 1:355). A city Shema is also mentioned in the south of Judah (Joshua 15:26); too far south, however, to correspond to Semua.