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H848 · Hebrew · Old Testament
אֶשְׁתָּאֻלִי
Eshtaoli
Adjective (gentilic)
Belonging to Eshtaol — an Eshtaolite

Definition

Eshtaoli (אֶשְׁתָּאֻלִי) is the gentilic adjective for a person from Eshtaol. It appears in the genealogical records of 1 Chronicles 2:53 in the clan lists of Kiriath-jearim, identifying families by their geographic and tribal identity. Like all gentilic terms in the Hebrew Bible, it carries the weight of covenant lineage and territorial inheritance.

Usage & Theological Significance

Gentilic terms like Eshtaoli are more than demographic labels — in the Hebrew Bible, ancestry and geography encode covenant identity. To be an Eshtaoli was to belong to a specific tribe, lineage, and territory within the framework of God's covenant with Israel. The meticulous genealogies of Chronicles remind readers that God's redemptive story runs through specific families in specific places.

This is the theology of incarnation in embryo — the God who chose to be born in Bethlehem, not vaguely somewhere, chose specific lineages (Abraham, Judah, David) as the channel of His redemptive purposes. Identity, place, and calling are bound together in biblical thought.

Key Bible Verses

1 Chronicles 2:53 And the families of Kiriath-jearim: the Ithrites, the Puthites, the Shumathites, and the Mishraites; from these came the Zorathites and the Eshtaolites.
Numbers 26:55 But the land shall be divided by lot; according to the names of the tribes of their fathers they shall inherit.
Deuteronomy 32:8 When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, when he divided mankind, he fixed the borders of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God.
Acts 17:26 From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.
Revelation 7:4 Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel.

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