Lexical Definition

‎דְּבִיר‎ Dᵉbîyr (deb-eer') Debir ^N:N--L
or (shortened) דְּבִר Dᵉbir (deb-eer'); (Joshua 13:26 (but see ‎לֹא דְבַר‎)), the same as ‎דְּבִיר‎

Debir.

• § Debir = "sanctuary"
• Debir, the name of an Amoritish king and of two places in Palestine

n pr m
1) the king of Eglon, one of the five kings hanged by Joshua
n pr loc
2) a town in the mountains of Judah west of Hebron and given to the priests and a city of refuge
3) a place on the northern boundary of Judah
4) a town in the territory of Gad

Extended Information

• A man living before Israel's Monarchy, only mentioned at Jos.10.3
• a town in Manasseh in Gilead east of the Jordan

Brown-Driver-Briggs

II. ‎דְּבִיר‎

1. proper name, masculine king of Eglon Josh 10:3.

2. proper name, of a location a. ‎דְּבִ֫רָה‎ with ‎ָ  ה‎ locative, northern border Judah Josh 15:7 (westward Hup Ps 28:2).
b. ‎לִדְבִר‎ town of the Gadites Josh 13:26, perhaps Lôdebâr 2Sam 9:4 see ‎לֹא דְבָר‎ Di MV.
c. ‎דְּבִיר‎ Judg 1:11 (twice in verse); 1Chr 6:43*, ‎דְּבִרָה‎ Josh 10:38; Josh 10:39, elsewhere ‎דְּבִר‎ Josh 15:15 +, a royal city of Canaanites anciently called ‎קִרְיַת סֵפֶר‎ Josh 15:15; Judg 1:11, ‎קִרְיַת סַנָּה‎ Josh 15:49 on the mountains of Judah, in region of Hebron Josh 11:21; Josh 15:49, assigned to the Aaronite priests Josh 21:15 as a city of refuge 1Chr 6:43* modern Dhoherîye, 5 hours southwest from Hebron, according to Kn, so Survey^{iii. 402}; other conjectures in Di Josh 10:39 Ri^{HWB 265}.

Brown-Driver-Briggs References

Profile

Male • Amorite king • Amorite king of Eglon, defeated by Joshua

King living before Israel's Monarchy

Debir was the Amorite king of Eglon who joined a coalition against Joshua but was defeated. (Jos.10.3)

• An Amorite king living before Israel's Monarchy, only mentioned at Jos.10.3;
• only referred to as Debir דְּבִיר.

Debir was the Amorite king of Eglon during the time of Joshua's conquest of Canaan. He joined a coalition of five Amorite kings led by Adoni-Zedek, king of Jerusalem, to attack Gibeon after the Gibeonites made a peace treaty with Israel (Joshua 10:3-4).

In response to the Gibeonites' request for help, Joshua and the Israelite army marched all night from Gilgal and caught the Amorite kings by surprise. The Lord threw the Amorite armies into confusion, and Joshua's forces defeated them decisively (Joshua 10:5-10).

As the Amorite kings fled, the Lord caused large hailstones to fall on them, killing more of them than the Israelites did with their swords (Joshua 10:11). Joshua then called for the sun and moon to stand still, allowing the Israelites to complete their victory (Joshua 10:12-13).

The five Amorite kings, including Debir, were found hiding in a cave at Makkedah. They were captured, brought before Joshua, and executed (Joshua 10:16-27).

Debir's defeat, along with the other Amorite kings, was a significant victory for the Israelites as they continued their conquest of the Promised Land under Joshua's leadership.

All entries for Debir: דְּבִיר