Aruboth

Aruboth was a district in the Shephelah region assigned to one of Solomon's twelve supply officers. The UPDV renders the verse: "Ben-hesed, in Arubboth (to him [pertained] Socoh, and all the land of Hepher)" (1 Kgs 4:10).

A District in Solomon's Administrative System

The list of officers in 1 Kgs 4 describes the administrative division of Israel under Solomon, each officer responsible for provisioning the royal household for one month of the year. Ben-hesed's district centered on Arubboth and extended over Socoh and the surrounding land of Hepher. The UPDV spells the name "Arubboth" in the verse itself; the alternate form "Aruboth" appears in other reference traditions. Both forms refer to the same western Israelite district.