In
Joshua 19:49–50 and
Joshua 24:30, the town is called
Timnath-serah, whereas in
Judges 2:9 it is named as
Timnath-heres.
The name "Timnath-serah" signifies in
Hebrew an "extra portion" or "portion of abundance". Similarly, the name "Timnath-heres" means "portion of the sun".
[2] In the book of Joshua Chapter 24, verse 30; it is written in thirteen different published editions of the Old Testament as Timnath-Heres or some variation of it where the second word begins with an 'h', or 'H' and ends in 's', either with or without the intermediate dash. The inversion of "serah" to make "heres" has the connotation of sun, as in
Job 9:7. Some allege[
who?] that the figure of the sun was put on Joshua's monument, in commemoration of the miracle of the sun standing still for him.
In the
Talmud the town is mentioned in
Bava Batra 122b, where "heres" is translated as "earthenware," in reference to fruits in the area being as dry as earthenware prior to the arrival of Joshua.
[3] The word's inversion, "serah" is defined as "rotting," that after Joshua's arrival, the fruits became so juicy that they could quickly rot.
