Jattir
יַתִּר · “Yatir” on the map
Where was biblical Jattir? At Horvat Yattir (Khirbet 'Attir), by the Yatir Forest, about 50 km southwest of Jerusalem. I mark it very likely.
When David divided the spoil he took back from the Amalekites, the elders of Yatir got a share. It was a gift to a priestly town that had stood by him in his years on the run.
By Aaron Shaffier, licensed Israel tour guide and mapmaker · About the mapmaker
- Site today
- Horvat Yattir (Khirbet 'Attir), by the Yatir Forest
- How sure
- Very likely Strong evidence, with no serious rival.
- Other names
- Yattir, Iethira, Khirbet Attir, Horvat Yattir, Khirbet 'Attir
- Location
- 31.3525° N, 35.0173° E (Google Maps)
How we know where it was
The name survives. The Arabic name of the ruin, Khirbet 'Attir, is a clear echo of the Hebrew Yatir.
In the early 4th century Eusebius called it a very large village in the south, about twenty Roman miles from Beit Guvrin and near Malhata. Lay those two clues on a map and they point straight to this ruin.
The Tanach's lists agree. Joshua names Yatir in the hill country with Shamir and Socoh. Later it appears among the priestly cities, beside nearby Eshtamoa. Both lists belong in the southern Hebron hills, at the point where the hills begin to fall toward the Negev.
The ruin shows people living here over a very long span, including a Byzantine Christian town. The biblical town has not been dug in any depth. So the case rests on the name and on Eusebius's directions, and both are strong.
Visiting today
The ruin lies on the edge of Yatir Forest, reachable on forest trails.
Read it in the Bible
Verse numbers follow the Hebrew Bible. In a handful of chapters English Bibles count one verse off.
See Yatir on the interactive map →
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Get the print + free ebookNearby places
- Anim 4 km east
- Eshtemoa 7 km northeast
- Debir (Kiriath Sepher) 9 km north
- Juttah 13 km northeast
- Maon 13 km northeast
- Arad 13 km southeast