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--color-end: var(--bgcolor-content-end);" ><div class="content"> <div class="label gradient-to-tr" style="--color-start: #96445a; --color-end: #6f637e;">Question</div> <div class="sponsor-sidebar"><div class="desktop-show" align="center"><div class="adManager-placeholder"></div></div></div> <h1><span itemprop="name headline" property="og:title">What is the Valley of Succoth in the Bible?</span></h1> <div class="actions-wrap"><div class="actions"> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://printer.gotquestions.net/GeneratePF?articleId=30148" onClick="gtag('event', 'click', {'event_category':'engagement', 'event_label':'print'});"><img src="img/print.svg" class="questionInteract" alt="Valley of Succoth"></a> </div></div> <div itemprop="articleBody"> <div class="label gradient-to-tr" style="--color-start: #29a699; --color-end: #749c5a;">Answer</div><br><br> Succoth (or Sukkoth) is first mentioned in the Bible in Genesis 33:17. Jacob had left Padan-aram where he had lived for twenty-one years, marrying both <a href="Jacob-Leah-Rachel.html">Leah and Rachel</a> (Genesis 29:16–30). He was headed home, fearful that his brother Esau was still angry for being duped by Jacob many years earlier (Genesis 27:41). However, when they saw each other again, Esau forgave Jacob and invited him to make his home nearby (Genesis 33:12). Jacob chose instead to go in another direction: “But Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built himself a house and made booths for his livestock. Therefore the name of the place is called Succoth” (Genesis 33:17, ESV). The word <i>succoth</i> means “booths” or “tents.” Jacob most likely named the place Succoth because of his short stay there. The shelters he made there for his cattle were temporary. He eventually left Succoth and journeyed to Shechem where he built a more permanent home.<br><br> We learn from Judges 8:4–5 that the area known as Succoth was a valley east of the Jordan River and north of the Jabbok, between Penuel and Shechem. Some scholars place Succoth west of the Jordan, but they may be referring to an area in Egypt also called Succoth. The Succoth most often referred to in Scripture is likely east of the Jordan. <i>Succoth</i> was sometimes used as a boundary word to indicate the outer reaches of the <a href="Israel-land.html">Promised Land</a> (Psalm 60:6; 108:7; Joshua 13:27). Succoth became part of the territory given to the descendants of Gad (Joshua 13:28).<br><br> The Valley of Succoth is mentioned in a couple of other places in Scripture. In <a href="life-Gideon.html">Gideon’s day</a>, the men of Succoth refused to show hospitality to Gideon and his men as they were pursuing attackers (Judges 8:4–7). Turning away allied soldiers in a time of war was unthinkable in that day, so Gideon pronounced a harsh curse upon the people of Succoth for their inhospitable reception, and he followed it up with action: “He took the elders of the city, and using the thorns and briers of the wilderness, he disciplined the men of Succoth” (verse 16).<br><br> Succoth was also notable for its heavy clay soil. When <a href="Solomon-first-temple.html">Solomon’s temple</a> was being built, the soil near Succoth was used to make molds for the bronze items needed (1 Kings 7:46). These bronze items included two pillars and their capitals, four hundred pomegranates, ten basins and stands, the laver and the twelve bulls supporting it, and various pots, shovels, and bowls (verses 41–45).<br><br> </div> <section class="homepage-sponsor desktop-hide"> <div class="desktop-hide" align="center"><div class="adManager-placeholder-mobile"></div></div> </section> <div class="related resources"><h4>For Further Study</h4> <a target="_blank" rel="sponsored noopener" onClick="gtag('event', 'click', {'event_category':'engagement', 'event_label':'chrbook'});" href="https://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product?event=AFF&p=1011693&item_no=404411">The New Moody Atlas of the Bible by Barry Beitzel</a><br><br> <a target="_blank" rel="sponsored noopener" onClick="gtag('event', 'click', {'event_category':'engagement', 'event_label':'logos'});" href="https://www.logos.com/?utm_campaign=logossubxlaunch-phase1&utm_source=gotquestions&utm_medium=advertising_display&utm_content=logossubxlaunch-phase1-gtlink">More insights from your Bible study - Get Started with Logos Bible Software for Free!</a> </div> <div class="related topics"><h4>Related Articles</h4> <a href="Moses-on-Mount-Sinai.html">How many times did Moses ascend Mount Sinai?</a><br><br> <a href="Mount-Nebo.html">What is the significance of Mount Nebo in the Bible?</a><br><br> <a href="Valley-of-Siddim.html">What is the Valley of Siddim in the Bible?</a><br><br> <a href="biblical-archaeology.html">What are some exciting discoveries in biblical archaeology?</a><br><br> <a href="temple-mount.html">What is the meaning and significance of the Temple Mount?</a> </div> <center><strong class="return">Return to:<br><br> <a class="button-link box-shadow" href="questions_Bible-places.html">Questions about Places in the Bible</a><br><br> What is the Valley of Succoth in the Bible?</strong></center> </div> </section> <section class="subscribe gradient-to-br" style="--color-start: #153c59; --color-end: #1b537c"> <div class="grid"> <div class="gradient-to-br box-shadow" style="--color-start: #2c6482; --color-end: #64547b"> <h5>Subscribe to the</h5> <h3>Question of the Week</h3> <p>Get our Question of the Week delivered right to your inbox!</p> <iframe src="scommon/qotw.htm" title="question of the week" frameborder="0" width="100%" height="100%"></iframe> </div></div> </section> </main> <footer-element></footer-element> <center> <div itemprop="dateModified" content="2022-04-12">This page last updated: April 12, 2022</div></center> <script src="scripts-2025.js"></script> <div style="display: none;" itemprop="publisher" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Organization"><meta itemprop="name" content="GotQuestions.org"><div itemprop="logo" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject"> <img src="https://www.gotquestions.org/img/GQlogo.png"><meta itemprop="url" content="https://www.gotquestions.org/img/GQlogo.png"><meta itemprop="width" content="400"><meta itemprop="height" content="79"> </div></div> </body> </html>