H0864 H0864
Etham — a place on the edge of the wilderness where Israel camped after leaving Egypt
A stopping point on Israel's exodus route, situated at the border between the cultivated land of Egypt and the open desert. Etham appears in the itinerary of Numbers 33 and in the narrative of Exodus 13:20, marking the transition from settled territory into the wilderness. The associated 'wilderness of Etham' (Num 33:8) became a defining landmark for the early stages of the desert wandering. The name may derive from an Egyptian word for 'fort' or 'enclosure,' fitting its frontier location.
Senses
1. sense 1 — The proper noun designating a campsite on the edge of the Egyptian wilderness. All four occurrences cluster in the exodus itinerary (Exod 13:20; Num 33:6–8), with multilingual renderings uniformly transliterating the name — English 'Etham,' Spanish 'Etam,' French 'Etham' — confirming a single referent: the liminal settlement where Israel encamped before turning toward the sea. 4×
AR["إِيثَامَ", "فِي-إِيتَام", "فِي-إِيثَامَ", "مِنْ-إِيثَامَ"]·ben["ইতাম-থেকে", "ইতামে", "ইতামের", "এথামে"]·DE["Etham", "bei-Etam", "in-Etham", "von-Etham"]·EN["Etham", "at-Etham", "from-Etham", "in-Etham"]·FR["Etham", "dans-Etham", "de-Etham", "à-Étham"]·heb["אתם", "ב-אתם", "מ-אתם"]·HI["एताम", "एताम-में", "एताम-से"]·ID["Etam", "dari-Etam", "di-Etam"]·IT["Etham", "a-Etam", "da-Etham", "in-Etham"]·jav["saking-Ètam", "wonten-ing-Etam", "wonten-Ètam", "Ètam"]·KO["에-에담", "에담-에", "에담-에서", "에담의"]·PT["'Etam", "de-'Etam", "em-'Etam", "em-'Etam,"]·RU["Этам", "в-Ефаме", "в-Этаме", "из-Этама"]·ES["Etam", "de-Etam", "en-Etam"]·SW["Ethamu", "huko-Ethamu", "katika-Ethamu", "kutoka-Ethamu"]·TR["-da-Etam'da", "-dan-Etam'dan", "Etam'da", "Etam'ın"]·urd["ایتام-میں", "ایتام-کے", "سے-ایتام", "میں-ایتام"]
Related Senses
H3808 1. simple negation (not) (4839×)G1722 1. locative: in, within (2442×)H1004b 1. house, dwelling, building (2015×)G3756 1. not (negation particle) (1635×)H4480a 1. source or separation (1198×)H5892b 1. city, town (1093×)G1519 1. direction: into, to, toward (1061×)H3427 1. Qal: to dwell, inhabit (937×)G1537 1. from, out of (source/origin) (886×)H8034 1. Name (designation / identifier) (856×)G3361 1. subjective negation (not) (834×)G1909 1. on, upon (spatial surface) (757×)H0369 1. existential negation: there is not (738×)H5869a 1. in the eyes/sight of (evaluative) (734×)H5650 1. Servant, attendant, subject (723×)H0408 1. prohibitive negation do-not (712×)G2443 1. so that, in order that (purpose/result) (665×)G0575 1. from (649×)G1223 1. through, by means of (582×)H3541 1. thus, so, in this manner (569×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† אֵתָם n.pr.loc. (perhaps = Egyptian Chetem, cf. EbersGS 521 f. but 𝔊 Ὀθομ, Ὀθωμ, cf. LagBN 54) Ex 13:20 in Egypt, place on edge of desert, so Nu 33:6, 7; מִדְבַּר אֵתָם Nu 33:8.