3297. Yearim

Lexical Summary

Yearim: Yearim

Original Word: יְעָרִים
Part of Speech: Proper Name Location
Transliteration: Y`ariym
Pronunciation: yeh-ah-REEM
Phonetic Spelling: (yeh-aw-reem')
KJV: Jearim
NASB: Jearim
Word Origin: [plural of H3293 (יַעַר - Forest)]

1. forests
2. Jearim, a place in Israel

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

Jearim

Plural of ya'ar; forests; Jearim, a place in Palestine -- Jearim. Compare Qiryath y'ariym.

see HEBREW ya'ar

see HEBREW Qiryath y'ariym

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
from the same as yaar
Definition
a mountain in Pal.
NASB Translation
Jearim (1).

Brown-Driver-Briggs

יְעָרִים proper name, of a mountain only הַריְֿעָרִים Joshua 15:10 (ᵐ5 πόλιν Ιαρειν), where explained as = כְּסָלוֺן (ᵐ5 Ξας(α)λων), modern Kesla, northeast of Beth Shemesh, compare Rob^{BR ii. 30 n}.; iii. 154. — קִרְיַת יְעָרִים see below קִרְיָת.

יַעֲרֶשְׁיָה see sub. ערשׁ.

יַעֲשַׂי, יעשׂו, יַעֲשִׂיאֵל see עשׂה.

יִפְדְּיָה see sub. פדה.

Topical Lexicon

Geographic and Topographical Setting

Mount Jearim is situated in the western highlands of the tribal allotment of Judah, roughly midway between Jerusalem and the Philistine plain. The mountain stands north of Chesalon, a settlement that guarded the ascent from the coastal lowlands up to the Judean hill country. Its slopes gave way to deep ravines leading toward the Valley of Sorek and, further south, toward the Valley of Elah. Thick woodland once covered the heights, making the site a natural landmark in boundary descriptions and a prominent feature along the ancient ridge route that linked Kiriath Jearim, Beth Shemesh, and Timnah.

Biblical Context

The sole explicit reference to יְעָרִים appears in the boundary record of Judah:

“​The border turned from Baalah westward to Mount Seir, passed to the northern slope of Mount Jearim (that is, Chesalon), went down to Beth Shemesh, and crossed to Timnah.” (Joshua 15:10)

Here, Mount Jearim serves as a pivot point in the western leg of Judah’s frontier, separating the upland forests from the lower agricultural terraces. The name’s inclusion underscores both the strategic importance of the ridge and the region’s dense woodland character in the early settlement period.

Historical Significance

1. Defensive Value: Forested heights provided cover and strategic surveillance over the approaches from Philistia. Control of Mount Jearim meant control of a key ingress route toward the heartland of Judah and eventually to Jerusalem.
2. Resource Provision: Timber from the Jearim range supplied local construction and fuel needs before larger-scale importation of cedar from Lebanon in later monarchic times (compare 1 Kings 5:6–10).
3. Link to Kiriath Jearim: Only a few miles east stood Kiriath Jearim, the town that hosted the Ark of the Covenant for roughly twenty years (1 Samuel 7:1–2). While the word for “Jearim” in that place-name follows a different lexical entry, the shared root and proximity remind readers that the same forested landscape framed both the mountain and the Ark’s temporary sanctuary.

Theological and Ministry Insights

• Boundaries Established by God: Joshua’s inspired record affirms that territorial lines are not arbitrary; they reflect divine providence. As Israel trusted God’s delineation of land, modern believers can rest in His sovereign ordering of their times and places (Acts 17:26).
• Stewardship of Creation: The mention of a wooded mountain area invites reflection on responsible care for God’s natural resources. Forests sustained the covenant community materially; negligence or exploitation would have diminished future inheritance.
• Spiritual Waypoints: Mount Jearim lay on the pilgrimage path between the Ark’s resting place and Jerusalem. Though never attaining the fame of Zion, it silently testified to God’s presence moving through history—from wilderness tabernacle to David’s capital, and ultimately to the Temple. Ordinary locales, even those cited only once, become stages for the unfolding redemptive narrative.

Related Names and Themes

• Kiriath Jearim (“City of Forests”) – a reminder of the Ark’s sojourn and an emblem of God’s willingness to dwell among His people before the Temple era.
• Beth Shemesh – the next site in the boundary line, later a Levitical town and one of the places that witnessed the Ark’s return from Philistia (1 Samuel 6:12–15).
• Chesalon – twin designation for Mount Jearim, attesting to the multiple layers of nomenclature in Judah’s topography.
• Forest Imagery – throughout Scripture, forests symbolize provision, mystery, and at times judgment (Isaiah 10:19; Zechariah 11:2), themes that converge in Judah’s wooded hill country.

Key Takeaways for Discipleship

1. Pay attention to “minor” verses; even a single mention of a place reflects the precision of Scripture and enriches geographic literacy.
2. Recognize how God integrates natural features into His redemptive plan, weaving land, people, and covenant together.
3. Let boundary markers in Joshua inspire respect for the boundaries God sets in moral, relational, and vocational spheres today.

Forms and Transliterations

יְעָרִ֛ים יערים yə‘ārîm yə·‘ā·rîm yeaRim

Englishman's Concordance

Joshua 15:10
HEB: כֶּ֧תֶף הַר־ יְעָרִ֛ים מִצָּפ֖וֹנָה הִ֣יא
NAS: of Mount Jearim on the north
KJV: of mount Jearim, which [is] Chesalon,
INT: the slope of Mount Jearim the north he

1 Occurrence

Strong's Hebrew 3297
1 Occurrence

yə·‘ā·rîm — 1 Occ.