This place name designates a city in northern Israel, assigned to the tribe of Asher and later given to the Levites. It appears in different spelling variants across the biblical text, which was common for place names that were transliterated from earlier Canaanite or Egyptian sources. BDB notes the Egyptian connection. The Septuagint's varying renderings reflect uncertainty about the original pronunciation, a frequent issue with ancient toponyms that survived through multiple linguistic transmissions.