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 Bethlehem, David's home-town. #dispreferred
 + <Explicit identification>: Ephrathah is explicitly identified as Bethlehem in other Biblical passages. #dispreferred
  + [Explicit identification]: וַתָּ֖מָת רָחֵ֑ל וַתִּקָּבֵר֙ בְּדֶ֣רֶךְ אֶפְרָ֔תָה הִ֖וא בֵּ֥ית לָֽחֶם׃ (Gen. 35:19; cf. Gen 48:7; 1 Sam 17:12; Ruth 1:1–2; 4:11; Mic 5:2). #dispreferred
 - <Historical incongruence>: The ark was never housed in Bethlehem. 
  <_ <'Ephrathah' as place of hearing>: Ephrathah in v. 6 does not refer to the place where the ark was found but rather to the place where the speakers were when they heard about the ark. #dispreferred
 - <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:).
  - <Contextually appropriate>: 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:). #dispreferred

Region 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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[Region of Kiriath Jearim]: Ephrathah is the (general) region to which the (specific) town of Kiriath-Jearim belonged. Both names thus refer to the place where the ark was recovered before its relocation to Jerusalem. 
 + <Poetic parallelism>: In general, parallel lines tend to express a single thought (cf. Tsumura 2023 :M:), and the second line tends to advance the meaning of the first line by using more specific terms (cf. Kugel :M:; Alter :M:). The parallelism suggests, therefore, that Ephrathah (a-line) is the general region and Kiriath-Jearim (b-line) is a specific town within the region. 
 + <Biblical tradition>: Ephrathah is, according to Biblical tradition, associated not only with Bethlehem, but with the broader "Judahite area surrounding Bethlehem," including Kiriath-Jearim (ABD II:558 :D:).
  + <1 Chron. 2; 4>: "1 Chron. 2:24, 50–52; and 4:4-5 recall Ephrathah as the matriarch of Kiriath-jearim, on the border between Benjamin and Judah; of Bethlehem, just S of Jerusalem; of Tekoa, just S of and visible, according to Jerome, from Bethlehem; and of Beth-Gader, which, if equal to Geder, was probably just W of Tekoa" (ABD II:558 :D:).
   + [1 Chron. 2:50-51]: "These were the descendants of Caleb. The sons of Hur the firstborn of Ephrathah: Shobal the father of Kiriath Jearim, Salma the father of Bethlehem, and Hareph the father of Beth Gader" (1 Chron. 2:50–51, NIV).
 + <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. 
  + [1 Sam. 6:21–7:2]: 'Then they sent messengers to the people of Kiriath Jearim, saying, “The Philistines have returned the ark of the Lord. Come down and take it up to your town.” So the men of Kiriath Jearim came and took up the ark of the Lord. They brought it to Abinadab’s house on the hill and consecrated Eleazar his son to guard the ark of the Lord. The ark remained at Kiriath Jearim a long time—twenty years in all' (1 Sam. 6:21–7:2, NIV).
 - <Different verbs>: "The switch in verbs from 'heard about' to 'found' suggests that Ephrathah not be equated with Jair. The group who is speaking heard about the ark while they were in Ephrath. They then went to retrieve it from Kiriath Jearim ('Jaar')" (NET note). #dispreferred
  <_ <Ark 'in Ephrathah'>: The prepositional phrase 'in Ephrathah' does not describe the location where the news was heard, but rather the location where the ark was: "We heard that the Ark was in Ephrathah" (NLT, cf. JPS85).
  <_ <Non sequitur>: The fact that the group who is speaking heard about the ark while they were in the region of Ephrath does not mean that the ark could not also have been in the same region.

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:).
 - <Unattested name>: Kiriath Jearim is never elsewhere referred to as יָעַר. #dispreferred
  <_ <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.)"
 + <Historical congruence>: The location of the ark in Kiriath Jearim is attested elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible. 
  + [1 Sam. 6:21–7:2]: 'Then they sent messengers to the people of Kiriath Jearim, saying, “The Philistines have returned the ark of the Lord. Come down and take it up to your town.” So the men of Kiriath Jearim came and took up the ark of the Lord. They brought it to Abinadab’s house on the hill and consecrated Eleazar his son to guard the ark of the Lord. The ark remained at Kiriath Jearim a long time—twenty years in all' (1 Sam. 6:21–7:2, NIV; cf. 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