Succoth - UPDV Updated Bible Version

Two distinct places carry the name Succoth in the UPDV. One sits east of the Jordan, in the Transjordan plain near where the Jabbok meets the river; the other lies in Egypt, the first stage of Israel's march out of slavery. The two share a name and almost nothing else: one is bound to Jacob, Gad, Gideon, and the bronze-casting works of Solomon's temple; the other is a single station on the wilderness itinerary. The Hebrew word means "booths," and Genesis attaches that meaning explicitly to the Transjordan site.

A Name Given by Jacob

The Transjordan Succoth receives its name from Jacob on his return from Paddan-aram. After parting from Esau he turns aside from the route to Shechem and settles, briefly, on the east bank: "And Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built himself a house, and made booths for his cattle: therefore the name of the place is called Succoth" (Gen 33:17). The text supplies its own etymology — the booths give the place its name — and marks Jacob as the founder of the settlement on this side of the river.

In the Allotment of Gad

When the land is divided, Succoth falls to Gad among the towns "in the valley" east of the Jordan: "and in the valley, Beth-haram, and Beth-nimrah, and Succoth, and Zaphon, the rest of the kingdom of Sihon king of Heshbon, the Jordan and the border [of it], to the uttermost part of the sea of Chinnereth beyond the Jordan eastward" (Jos 13:27). The list locates Succoth specifically in the Jordan valley itself, within what had been Sihon's kingdom, and stretches the inheritance northward as far as the Sea of Chinnereth.

Gideon's Reprisal

The town reappears in the Gideon narrative on the far side of the Jordan, where its men refuse provisions to Israel's pursuing force. Gideon, chasing Zebah and Zalmunna, asks them for bread: "And he said to the men of Succoth, Give, I pray you⁺, loaves of bread to the people who follow me; for they are faint, and I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian. And the princes of Succoth said, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that we should give bread to your army? And Gideon said, Therefore when Yahweh has delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, then I will tear your⁺ flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers. And he went up from there to Penuel, and spoke to them in like manner; and the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered" (Jud 8:5-8).

The threat is carried out after the Midianite kings are taken. A captured young man writes out for Gideon a list of the town's leaders — "the princes of Succoth, and its elders, seventy and seven men" (Jud 8:14) — and Gideon returns to confront them with their own taunt: "Here are Zebah and Zalmunna, concerning whom you⁺ taunted me, saying, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that we should give bread to your men who are weary?" (Jud 8:15). Then "he took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briers, and with them he flailed the men of Succoth" (Jud 8:16).

The Clay Ground for Solomon's Bronze

Succoth's location in the Jordan valley becomes economically significant in the building of the temple. The bronze furnishings — pillars, sea, lavers — are cast in the soil between Succoth and a town across the river. Kings calls it Zarethan: "The king had cast them in the plain of the Jordan, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zarethan" (1Ki 7:46). Chronicles gives the name as Zeredah: "In the plain of the Jordan the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zeredah" (2Ch 4:17). The "plain of the Jordan" and the "clay ground" identify the same casting works in both accounts.

The Valley of Succoth in the Psalms

Two parallel oracles speak of Succoth as territory God claims to apportion. In Psalm 60: "God has spoken in his holiness: I will exult; I will divide Shechem, and mete out the valley of Succoth" (Ps 60:6). The same words recur in Psalm 108: "God has spoken in his holiness: I will be exalted; I will divide Shechem; And mete out the valley of Succoth" (Ps 108:7). Both place Succoth in a "valley," matched with Shechem on the western side of the Jordan, as land at God's disposal.

The Egyptian Succoth: First Station of the Exodus

The other Succoth is a place in Egypt, the first stop of Israel after leaving Rameses. Exodus records the initial march: "And the sons of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand on foot who were [able-bodied] men, besides children" (Ex 12:37). The next chapter notes the departure from this first camp: "And they took their journey from Succoth, and encamped in Etham, in the edge of the wilderness" (Ex 13:20).