Horonaim

Horonaim (Hebrew: חוֹרֹנַיִם‎ Ḥōrōnayīm)[1] is a city in Moab, mentioned in two Hebrew Bible oracles against the nation of Moab: in the Book of Jeremiah (48), and in the Book of Isaiah, (15). In 2 Samuel (13:34), an addition from the Septuagint text (ὁδοῦ τῆς ῾Ωρωνῆν) is sometimes translated as Horonaim (in e.g. NIV, ISV), although it possibly derives from as little as a preposition.[2]

There is some reason to identify Horonaim with the city Horonan (Moabite: 𐤇𐤅𐤓𐤍𐤍 *Ḥawrānān),[3] named in the Mesha Stele (lines 31 and 32).[4] The name may derive from the god Horon,[5] or from Western Semitic words for cave, cavern, hollow or valley.[6]

  1. ^ חֹרֹנַיִם
  2. ^ Fincke, Andrew (2001). The Samuel scroll from Qumran : 4qSama restored and compared to the Septuagint and 4Samc. Leiden: Brill. p. 215. ISBN 9004123709.
  3. ^ Garr, W. Randall (2004). Dialect Geography of Syria-Palestine, 1000-586 B.C.E. Eisenbrauns. pp. 37–. ISBN 978-1-57506-091-0. OCLC 1025228731.
  4. ^ Hallo, William W.; Younger, K. Lawson, eds. (2003). The Context of Scripture: Canonical compositions, monumental inscriptions and archival documents from the biblical world. Vol. II. BRILL. p. 138, note g. ISBN 1423714490.
  5. ^ van der Toorn, Karel; Becking, Bob; Willem van der Horst, Pieter (1999). "Horon". Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible. Eerdmans. p. 425. ISBN 9780802824912.
  6. ^ Public Domain Easton, Matthew George (1897). "Horonaim". Easton's Bible Dictionary (New and revised ed.). T. Nelson and Sons.; and Strong's Hebrew, both in [1].