Eshtemoa

Eshtemoa is a town in the southern hill-country of Judah, set apart for the Aaronite priests and remembered as one of the Judean settlements that stood by David during his Ziklag exile. The same name attaches to two figures in the Chronicler's genealogy of Judah, both tied back to the place — Eshtemoa the descendant of Ezrah and Eshtemoa the Maacathite. UPDV preserves an older spelling, Eshtemoh, in the town list of Joshua 15.

A Town in the Hill-Country of Judah

Joshua's allotment of Judah counts Eshtemoa among the inland towns of the southern hill-country, paired with Anab and Anim: "and Anab, and Eshtemoh, and Anim" (Jos 15:50). The variant spelling Eshtemoh in this list is the same place that the rest of Scripture calls Eshtemoa.

A Priestly City of the Aaronites

When the cities of refuge and the Levitical pasture-lands are assigned, Eshtemoa goes to the sons of Aaron. The Joshua list places it directly after Jattir: "and Jattir with its suburbs, and Eshtemoa with its suburbs" (Jos 21:14). The Chronicler repeats the allotment within his expanded summary of priestly settlements: "And to the sons of Aaron they gave the cities of refuge, Hebron; Libnah also with its suburbs, and Jattir, and Eshtemoa with its suburbs" (1Ch 6:57). Both lists embed Eshtemoa in a cluster of priestly towns radiating out from Hebron in the Judean uplands.

David Shares the Plunder

After David recovers the captives and goods that the Amalekites had carried off from Ziklag, he sends portions of the spoil to the elders of Judah, "to his friends," among the towns that had supported him. Eshtemoa is on the list: "and to those who were in Arad, and to those who were in Siphmoth, and to those who were in Eshtemoa" (1Sa 30:28). The town's place among the recipients fits its role as a southern Judean settlement within David's circle of refuge during the Saulide pursuit.

Eshtemoa in the Genealogies of Judah

The Chronicler's roster of Judah's clans names Eshtemoa twice as a person — in each case the name is bound to the town. Through the line of Ezrah, the founding ancestor is identified directly: "And the sons of Ezrah: Jether, and Mered, and Epher, and Jalon; and she became pregnant with Miriam, and Shammai, and Ishbah the father of Eshtemoa" (1Ch 4:17). Two verses later a second Eshtemoa appears in the Hodiah/Naham branch: "And the sons of Hodiah's wife, the sister of Naham: Dalia the father of Keilah and Simeon the father of Joman. And the sons of Naham were the father of Keilah the Garmite, and Eshtemoa the Maacathite" (1Ch 4:19). The genealogy ties the place name into Judah's tribe at two points and gives the town a Maacathite connection through the second figure.