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H7005 · Hebrew · Old Testament
קַתָּת
Qattath
Proper Noun — Place Name
Qattath / Smallness / Little Town

Definition

Qattath (קַתָּת, H7005) means 'small, smallness, diminutive' and is the name of a town in the territory of Zebulun (Joshua 19:15). It appears in the allotment list of Zebulun alongside other towns — Kattath (same word), Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah, and Bethlehem. The name comes from the root qatan (small/insignificant), the same root used when God chose the smallest and least significant to confound the great.

Usage & Theological Significance

A town called 'Smallness' sits in the inheritance of Zebulun — the tribe whose territory encompassed Galilee, the region Jesus would make His home and the epicenter of His ministry (Matthew 4:13–16 fulfilling Isaiah 9:1–2). Isaiah prophesied that in 'Zebulun and Naphtali... the people walking in darkness have seen a great light.' The smallest tribe's territory would become the birthplace of the greatest light. This is the divine inversion that runs throughout Scripture: the youngest son chosen (David), the barren woman gives birth (Sarah, Hannah, Elizabeth), the smallest tribe inherits the glory (Benjamin and Zebulun). Qattath — 'smallness' — in Zebulun's lot is a geographic parable: God's glory arrives in places the world dismisses as insignificant. 'He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble' (Luke 1:52).

Key Bible Verses

Joshua 19:15 Included were Kattath, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah and Bethlehem. There were twelve towns and their villages.
Joshua 19:10 The third lot came up for Zebulun according to its clans.
Matthew 4:15 'Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles —'
Isaiah 9:2 The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.
1 Corinthians 1:27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.

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