Juttah
יוּטָּה · “Yutta” on the map
Where was biblical Juttah? At the old core of the town of Yatta, south of Hebron, about 40 km south of Jerusalem. I mark it very likely.
Israel gave this hill town and its pastures to the priests, the sons of Aaron.
By Aaron Shaffier, licensed Israel tour guide and mapmaker · About the mapmaker
- Site today
- Old core of the town of Yatta, south of Hebron
- How sure
- Very likely Strong evidence, with no serious rival.
- Other names
- Yuttah, Jutah, Yatta
- Location
- 31.4441° N, 35.0939° E (Google Maps)
How we know where it was
Yutta appears in the Tanach only in Joshua's lists, so the case rests on the name, an ancient witness and the neighbors.
The name survived. The Arab town here is called Yatta, and most scholars accept it as biblical Yutta. In the 4th century Eusebius described it as a very large village of Jews, at just the right distance south of Beit Guvrin. Jews were still living in Yutta long after the Bible closed.
The company it keeps settles the region. Joshua lists Yutta with Maon, Carmel and Zif. All three have been identified a few kilometers from Yatta. These were the desert-edge towns David moved among while he hid from Saul.
Salvage digs in the town found a large synagogue with a menorah carved in relief. But nobody has properly excavated the biblical town under the modern houses. So we have the name, the distance and the neighbors, and no inscription. That is enough for "very likely," not for certain.
Visiting today
Yatta is a large modern town with no archaeological park, though ancient carved stones are built into the walls of its old village houses.
Read it in the Bible
Verse numbers follow the Hebrew Bible. In a handful of chapters English Bibles count one verse off.
See Yutta on the interactive map →
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Get the print + free ebookNearby places
- Carmel in Judah 5 km southeast
- Ziph 5 km northeast
- Eshtemoa 5 km southwest
- Maon 6 km southeast
- Debir (Kiriath Sepher) 7 km west
- Hebron 9 km north