Bible Strands
Genesis 33:17
but Jacob went on to Succoth, where he built a house for himself and shelters for his livestock; that is why the place was called Succoth.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator records Jacob’s movements immediately after Esau departs for Seir, marking Jacob’s transition from his journey toward a specific stopover in Canaan.
The words — The Hebrew נָסַע (na.Sa') denotes setting out or traveling, while סֻכֹּת (su.Kot) literally means shelters or tabernacles, directly explaining the etymology of the place name.
The thread — The location appears in Joshua 13:27 as part of the Transjordanian territory, in Judges 8:5 when Gideon requests provisions from its inhabitants, and in Psalm 60:6 as a territory allotted by God.
Why it lands — The text records the practical reality of settlement and place-naming following a journey, grounding Jacob’s narrative in tangible geography and human labor rather than abstract promise.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built him an house, and made booths for his cattle: therefore the name of the place is called Succoth.
Cross-references
- Joshua 13:27 and in the valley, Beth-haram, Beth-nimrah, Succoth, and Zaphon, with the rest of the kingdom of Sihon king of Heshbon (the territory on the east side of the Jordan up to the edge of the Sea of Chinnereth).
- Judges 8:5 So Gideon said to the men of Succoth, “Please give my troops some bread, for they are exhausted, and I am still pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.”
- Psalms 60:6 God has spoken from His sanctuary: “I will triumph! I will parcel out Shechem and apportion the Valley of Succoth.
- Judges 8:8 From there he went up to Penuel and asked the same from them, but the men of Penuel gave the same response as the men of Succoth.
- Judges 8:16 Then he took the elders of the city, and using the thorns and briers of the wilderness, he disciplined the men of Succoth.
- Exodus 12:37 The Israelites journeyed from Rameses to Succoth with about 600,000 men on foot, besides women and children.
- Exodus 13:20 They set out from Succoth and camped at Etham on the edge of the wilderness.
- Judges 8:14 There he captured a young man of Succoth and interrogated him. The young man wrote down for him the names of the seventy-seven leaders and elders of Succoth.
- 1 Kings 7:46 The king had them cast in clay molds in the plain of the Jordan between Succoth and Zarethan.