Juttah
“He will be turned aside or extended”
☩Location and Identification
Juttah was a city in the mountainous region of Judah, named in connection with Ziph, Jezreel, Maon, and Carmel. It was allotted to the priests as a Levitical city. The site is identified with modern Yutta, a village about four to five miles south of Hebron, situated on a low eminence with trees around it, at an elevation of 3,740 feet above sea level. Eusebius described it as a large village called Jettan, located eighteen Roman miles south of Eleutheropolis in the district of Daromas.
☩Biblical Significance
The selection of Juttah as a city for the priests suggests it was already a place of importance. Egyptian monuments appear to reference it under names such as Tah, Tahn, and Tahn-nu as a fortress of the Anakim near Arba (Hebron). Some scholars, including Reland, have proposed that the 'city of Juda' mentioned in Luke 1:39, where Mary visited Elizabeth, might actually be a corruption of 'Juttah' rather than referring to Hebron or Jerusalem. This conjecture has found favor among critics, and local Muslim tradition in the Hebron district identifies Yutta as the home of John the Baptist.
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Juttah," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. IV (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.George Morrish, "Juttah," in Morrish's Concise Bible Dictionary (George Morrish, 1898).
- 3.James Orr (ed.), "Juttah; Jutah," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. III (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).