The Place Names in Ps. 132:6

This is a working draft of this exegetical issue. Is has not been reviewed or approved for use.

Introduction

Psalm 132:6 is part of a poetic retelling of the events surrounding the recovery of the ark of the covenant and the process of bringing it to Jerusalem. In its recollection, it refers to two place names:

הִנֵּֽה־שְׁמַֽעֲנ֥וּהָ בְאֶפְרָ֑תָה
מְ֝צָאנ֗וּהָ בִּשְׂדֵי־יָֽעַר׃

"Look! We heard about it in [place name 1];
we found it in [place name 2]!"

However, there is disagreement regarding the location, significance, and best translation of both place names. Compare the following three English translations:

• NASB: Behold, we heard of it in Ephrathah, We found it in the field of Jaar.
• KJV: Lo, we heard of it at Ephratah: We found it in the fields of the wood.
• NCV: We heard about the Ark in Bethlehem. We found it at Kiriath Jearim.

The main options for אֶפְרָתָה (Ephrathah), v. 6a:

1. Another name for Bethlehem in Judah
2. District to which the town of Kiriath-jearim belonged
3. A town near Bethel (a different Ephrathah than Bethlehem)
4. Ephraim (thus, in Shiloh)

The main options for שְׂדֵי־יָֽעַר (sadeh-jaar; "Field of the Forest"), v. 6b:

1. Another name for Kiriath-jearim, the place the ark was kept before David relocated it to Jerusalem.
2. An unknown location further from Jerusalem.

Argument Map(s)

V. 6a (Ephrathah)

Bethlehem

This view identifies Ephrathah as Bethlehem.

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[Ephrathah refers to Bethlehem of Judah]: Ephrathah is another name for the town of David's origin.
 + <Frequent co-reference>: Ephrathah is often identified with Bethlehem (apparently an early name).
  + [References]: 1 Sam 17:12; Gen 35:19; 48:7; Ruth 1:1–2; 4:11; Mic 5:2.
 + <Gentilic "Ephrathite" associated with Bethlehem>: Ruth 1:2 describes Ephrathites as from Bethlehem.
 - <Location mismatch>: The ark was never housed in Bethlehem. #dispreferred
  _ <Contextually appropriate>: V. 6 refers not to finding the ark in this location, but hearing of it. The reference to Bethlehem likely refers to a place of Philistine defeat (where they had a major force) and to David's place of origin, both directly related to the recovery of the ark (Fretheim, 297 :A:).
 - <Extent of David's quote>: David's words do not continue beyond the vow (vv. 3–5), which makes it difficult to explain a reference to Bethlehem in v. 6a (Delizsch 1871: 312 :C:). #dispreferred

District to which the town of Kiriath-jearim belonged

This reading equates, or closely identifies, Ephrathah with Kiriath-jearim. Thus, the place referred to in v. 6a is the same place referred to in v. 6b.

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[Ephrathah refers to the town or district of Kiriath Jearim]: The two place names refer to the same general location, i.e. the place where the ark was recovered before its relocation to Jerusalem. #dispreferred
 + <Poetic parallelism>: Based on synthetic parallelism, line 6b refers to the same place as line 6a. #dispreferred
 + <Genealogical connection>: In Caleb's genealogy, Kiriath Jearim is listed as a near descendant of Ephrathah (Chron 2:50). #dispreferred 
 + <Historical account>: Kiriath Jearim was the ark's home after the Philistines released it (see 1 Sam 6:21–7:2), so the mention of 'Ephrathah' in reference to Kiriath Jearim is consistent with the biblical narrative. #dispreferred
 - <Different verbs>: The verb for Ephrathah ('heard about') is different from the verb for Kiriath Jearim ('found'), which suggests that the two actions happened at different locations. The speaker hear about the ark in Ephrathah, but found it in Kiriath Jearim (NET note).

A town near Bethel

(a different Ephrathah than Bethlehem) (Gen 35:16, 19; 48:7)

Ephraim

This interpretation takes the reference to 'Ephrathah' as the territory of Ephraim, in which the town of Shiloh was located. Shiloh is where the ark was housed during much of the time of the judges.

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[Ephrathah refers to Ephraimite territory]: A different Ephrathah is the tribe of Ephraim, where Shiloh was located. 
 - <Unique moniker>: Nowhere else is the tribe of Ephraim called 'Ephrathah'. #dispreferred
  _ <Gentilic "Ephraimite" (אֶפְרָתִי)>: The gentilic term sometimes means 'Ephraimite,' someone from the tribe of Ephraim (Judg 12:5; 1 Sam 1:1).
 + <Location match>: The ark was housed in Shiloh at one point (prior to Philistine capture); the sense is that the speakers heard that the ark was in Ephraim (Shiloh), but actually found it in Kiriath Jaarim. 

V. 6b ("Fields of Jaar")

Region of Kiriath Jearim

This reading interprets the phrase שְׂדֵי־יָעַר (lit. 'the fields of Jaar') as a reference to the geographic region of the city Kiriath Jearim, where the ark was housed immediately before its relocation to Jerusalem.

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[Kiriath Jearim]: The phrase שְׂדֵי־יָעַר (lit. 'the fields of Jaar') refers to the region of the city Kiriath Jearim, where the ark was housed before its relocation to Jerusalem.
 + <Lexical range of n. שָׂדֶה>: The n. שָׂדֶה, here in the pl. construct שְׂדֵי, can refer to regions or territories (HALOT :L:).
  + [Examples]: Gen 14:7 ('defeated all the region (pl.) of the Amalekites'); 32:4 ('the country (s.) of Edom'); Ruth 1:1 ('the land (pl.) of Moab'); 2:6 ('the land (s.) of Moab')  
  + <Two pl. forms for n. שָׂדֶה>: The n. שָׂדֶה ('field') has two plurals: שָׂדִים ('fields,' 'countryside') and שָׂדוֹת (individual fields, individual farms); the former is used on Ps 132:6 (Joüon-Muraoka 2006: §90e :G:).
 + <Multiple names>: Kiriath Jearim was also known as Kiriath-Baal, Baalah, Baale-Judah (SDBH :L:), and Kiriath ha-Jearim (קִּרְיַת הַיְּעָרִים), so it is not surprising that it would also be called 'Jaar' (Delitzsch 1871: 312 :C:).  
  + [References]: Josh 15:9 - "Then the boundary bends around to Baalah (that is, Kiriath-jearim)"; Josh 15:60 - "Kiriath-baal (that is, Kiriath-jearim)"; 2 Sam 6:2 - "David arose . . . from Baale-judah to bring up from there the ark of God."
  + <Geographic place name changes>: Similar name changes (or multiple names) are well-attested, including evidence of old Canaanite names.
   + [Example of Canaanite place name]: Josh 14:15 - "Now the name of Hebron formerly was Kiriath-arba. (Arba was the greatest man among the Anakim.)"
 + <Supporting accounts>: The location of the ark in Kiriath Jearim is attested elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible. 
  + [Biblical support]: 1 Sam 7:1–2; 1 Chron 13:6. 

Unknown Alternate Location

The second possibility for the phrase 'fields of Jaar' is that is refers to another location otherwise unknown to us. The NLT supports this interpretation: "We heard that the Ark was in Ephrathah; then we found it in the distant countryside of Jaar."

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[Unknown alternate location]: The phrase שְׂדֵי־יָעַר (lit. 'the fields of Jaar') refers to a city or a region otherwise unattested. #dispreferred
 + <Phrase is otherwise unattested>: The phrase שְׂדֵי־יָעַר (lit. 'the fields of Jaar') is found nowhere else in the Hebrew Bible or in extra-biblical sources. #dispreferred 
 - <Neg> argument. 

Conclusion

"There is no solution [to the place names in v. 6] which can be claimed to be firmly convincing, for most of the attempts to relate the two stichoi strain either the Hebrew or the imagination."

Research

Translations

Ancient

• LXX: ἰδοὺ ἠκούσαμεν αὐτὴν ἐν Εφραθα, εὕρομεν αὐτὴν ἐν τοῖς πεδίοις τοῦ δρυμοῦ.
  • "Look, we heard of it in Ephratha; we found it in the plains of the forest"
• Jerome (iuxta Hebraeos): Ecce audivimus illum in Ephrata invenimus illum in regione saltus
• Targum: הָא שְׁמַעְנָא יָתָהּ בְּאֶפְרָת אַשְׁכַּחְנוּהָא בַּחֲקַל חוּרְשֵׁי לִבְנָן אֲתַר דְצַלִיאוּ אֲבָהָת עַלְמָא
  • "Behold, we heard it in Ephratah, we found it in the field of the forests of Lebanon, the place where the fathers of old prayed"
• Peshitta: ܗܐ ܫܡܥܢܗܿ ܒܐܦܪܬܐ ܘܐܫܟܚܢܗܿ ܒܚ̈ܩܠܬܐ܂
  • "Look! We heard it in Ephrathah; we found it in the fields."

Modern

Ephrathah and 'the fields/region of Jaar'

Ephrathah location of the hearing

• NASB: Behold, we heard of it in Ephrathah, We found it in the field of Jaar.
• NIV: We heard it in Ephrathah, we came upon it in the fields of Jaar.
• NBLA: Oímos de ella en Efrata; La hallamos en los campos de Jaar.
• DHH94I: En Efrata oímos hablar del arca de la alianza, y la encontramos en los campos de Jáar.
• LUT: Siehe, wir hörten von ihr in Efrata, wir haben sie gefunden im Gefilde von Jaar.
• HFA: In Efrata bekamen wir Nachricht über die Bundeslade; wir fanden sie dann im Gebiet von Jaar.
• CEV: When we were in Ephrath, we heard that the sacred chest was somewhere near Jaar.
• NET: Look, we heard about it in Ephrathah, we found it in the territory of Jaar.
• NEB: We heard of it in Ephrathah; we came upon it in the region of Jaar.
• REB: We heard of the Ark in Ephrathah; we found it in the region of Jaar.
• NGÜ: In Efrata hörten wir von der Bundeslade, und wir fanden sie im Gebiet von Jaar.
• ELB: Siehe, wir hören von ihr in Efrata, wir fanden sie in dem Gebiete Jaars.
• EÜ: Siehe, wir hörten von seiner Lade in Efrata, fanden sie im Gefilde von Jáar.
• GNB: In Efrata bekamen wir Nachricht von der Bundeslade des HERRN und wir fanden sie in der Nähe von Jáar.
• ZÜR: Seht, wir hörten von ihr in Efrata, fanden sie in den Gefilden von Jaar.

Ephrathah location of the ark

• NLT: We heard that the Ark was in Ephrathah; then we found it in the distant countryside of Jaar.
• JPS85: We heard it was in Ephrath; we came upon it in the region of Jaar.
• BHTI: Oímos que el Arca estaba en Efrata, la encontramos en los campos de Jaar.

Ephrathah and 'the fields of the forest'

• KJV: Lo, we heard of it at Ephratah: We found it in the fields of the wood.
• NJB: Listen, we heard of it in Ephrathah, we found it at Forest-Fields.
• NVR95: En Efrata lo oímos; lo hallamos en los campos del bosque.
• Biblia Jubileo 2000: He aquí, en Efrata oímos de ella; la hallamos en los campos del bosque.

Ephrathah=Bethlehem

• NCV: We heard about the Ark in Bethlehem. We found it at Kiriath Jearim.
• GNT: In Bethlehem we heard about the Covenant Box, and we found it in the fields of Jearim.

References

132:6