עֶתֶר
𐤏𐤕𐤓
Eter
H6281 noun
SILEX Entry
Definition
Proper noun: ʻEther – a place name designating a town allocated to the tribe of Simeon in the Negeb region. As a common noun (not attested in the Bible), the underlying nominal root can mean 'abundance, richness,' though it is not independently attested as such in the Hebrew Bible. The primary biblical usage is as a geographical designation.
Semantic Range
proper noun: Ether (town name); abstract (from root, not contextually attested): abundance, richness
Root / Etymology
From the root עתר, meaning 'to pray, supplicate' or, less commonly, 'to be rich, abundant.' The place name עֶתֶר (ʻEther) is grammatically a masculine noun, likely derived from a secondary, nominal use of the root possibly related to abundance or fertility, though the precise connection is uncertain.
Historical & Contextual Notes
In the Hebrew Bible, ʻEther (עֶתֶר) appears as the name of a town in the inheritance lists for the tribe of Simeon (Joshua 19:7; 1 Chronicles 4:32), located in the southern region of the land allocated to the Israelites, traditionally identified with a site in the Negeb. The meaning 'abundance' is not directly attested for this word in the Hebrew Bible—its association with abundance is inferred from the root's broader semantic field. The root עתר elsewhere usually means 'to supplicate, entreat,' but may have carried the extended notion of 'profusion, richness' in certain contexts. The translation of the place name as 'Ether' in English Bibles is a transliteration, not a translation. No ancient sources confirm a direct connection between the name and local fertility or agricultural abundance, but such connections are sometimes inferred for place names in biblical geography.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
from עָתַר; abundance; Ether, a place in Palestine; Ether.
Bantu Hebrew
No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been submitted for this word yet.
+ Add Bantu Hebrew WordRoot Family
עתר (ʿ-t-r) — to pray, entreat; to be abundant, to be rich
| Strong's | Lemma | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|
| H6279 | עָתַר | I will cause to entreat |
| H6280 | עָתַר | and you granted entreaty |
| H6282 | עָתָר | my dense masses |
Word Forms
1 distinct form
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H6281-01 |
וָ/עֶ֖תֶר | vaeter | HC/Np |
and Ether | and Ether | 2 |
Occurrences in Scripture
2 total occurrences
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H6281-01 |
Joshua 15:42 | וָ/עֶ֖תֶר | vaeter | HC/Np |
and Ether | and Ether |
H6281-01 |
Joshua 19:7 | וָ/עֶ֣תֶר | vaeter | HC/Np |
and Ether | and Ether |