The Doctrine of Tôwtsâʾôwth (תּוֹצָאוֹת)

Topics

Pronunciation and Spelling

Meanings

Hypotheses

An Examination of the First Occurrence of Tôwtsâʾôwth

A Map of Canaan and the Passage in Question:

An Examination of All Scriptural Occurrences

A Nominal Conclusion

How Tôwtsâʾôwth is Translated in the Psalms and Proverbs

How Ancient Translations Dealt with Tôwtsâʾôwth in the Psalms and Proverbs

Conclusion

An Examination of the first Occurrence of Tôwtsâʾôwth

Interestingly enough, we find tôwtsâʾôwth used first when describing the layout and borders of the Land of Canaan, which Israel was going to go into and take. I believe that it will be instructive to observe several different translators who are consistent with the use of tôwtsâʾôwth in Num. 34:

“And your border shall turn south of the ascent of Akrabbim, and cross to Zin, and its limit shall be south of Kadesh-barnea. Then it shall go on to Hazar-addar, and pass along to Azmon. And the border shall turn from Azmon to the Brook of Egypt, and its limit shall be at the sea. For the western border, you shall have the Great Sea and its coast. This shall be your western border. This shall be your northern border: from the Great Sea you shall draw a line to Mount Hor. From Mount Hor you shall draw a line to Lebo-hamath, and the limit of the border shall be at Zedad. Then the border shall extend to Ziphron, and its limit shall be at Hazar-enan. This shall be your northern border. You shall draw a line for your eastern border from Hazar-enan to Shepham. And the border shall go down from Shepham to Riblah on the east side of Ain. And the border shall go down and reach to the shoulder of the Sea of Chinnereth on the east. And the border shall go down to the Jordan, and its limit shall be at the Salt Sea. This shall be your land as defined by its borders all around." (Num. 34:4–12, ESV).

"The southern side includes part of the Desert of Zin along the border of Edom. In the east the southern border starts from the end of the Dead Sea and turns south of the Akrabbim Pass. It then goes past Zin and ends at Kadesh Barnea. From there it goes to Hazar Addar and on to Azmon. From Azmon it turns toward the River of Egypt so that the border ends at the Mediterranean Sea. The western border is the coastline of the Mediterranean Sea. The northern border extends from the Mediterranean Sea to Mount Hor, and from Mount Hor to the border of Hamath so that it ends at Zedad. From there the border goes to Ziphron and ends at Hazar Enan. The eastern border extends from Hazar Enan to Shepham. From Shepham the border goes down to Riblah, east of Ain, and continues along the eastern slope of the Sea of Galilee. Then the border goes along the Jordan River so that it ends at the Dead Sea. "This will be your land and the borders around it." (Num. 34:3–12, God’s Word™).

Your southern side will be from the Wilderness of Zin along the boundary of Edom. Your southern border on the east will begin at the east end of the Dead Sea. Your border will turn south of the Ascent of Akrabbim, proceed to Zin, and end south of Kadesh-barnea. It will go to Hazar-addar and proceed to Azmon. The border will turn from Azmon to the Brook of Egypt, where it will end at the Mediterranean Sea. Your western border will be the coastline of the Mediterranean Sea; this will be your western border. This will be your northern border: From the Mediterranean Sea draw a line to Mount Hor; from Mount Hor draw a line to the entrance of Hamath, and the border will reach Zedad. Then the border will go to Ziphron and end at Hazar-enan. This will be your northern border. For your eastern border, draw a line from Hazar-enan to Shepham. The border will go down from Shepham to Riblah east of Ain. It will continue down and reach the eastern slope of the Sea of Chinnereth. Then the border will go down to the Jordan and end at the Dead Sea. This will be your land defined by its borders on all sides." (Num. 34:3–12; HCSB).

...and your border shall turn about southward of the ascent of `Akrabbim, and pass along to Tzin; and the goings out of it shall be southward of Kadesh-Barnea; and it shall go forth to Chatzar-Addar, and pass along to `Atzmon; and the border shall turn about from `Atzmon to the brook of Egypt, and the goings out of it shall be at the sea. For the western border, you shall have the great sea and the border [of it]: this shall be your west border. This shall be your north border: from the great sea you shall mark out for you Mount Hor; from Mount Hor you shall mark out to the entrance of Chamat; and the goings out of the border shall be at Tzedad; and the border shall go forth to Zifron, and the goings out of it shall be at Chatzar-`Enan: this shall be your north border. You shall mark out your east border from Chatzar-`Enan to Shefam; and the border shall go down from Shefam to Rivlah, on the east side of `Ayin; and the border shall go down, and shall reach to the side of the sea of Kinneret eastward; and the border shall go down to the Yarden, and the goings out of it shall be at the Salt Sea. This shall be your land according to the borders of it round about (Num. 34:4–12; HNV). .

“...and the border has turned round to you from the south to the ascent of Akrabbim, and has passed on to Zin, and its outgoings have been from the south to Kadesh-Barnea, and it has gone out at Hazar-Addar, and has passed on to Azmon; and the border has turned round from Azmon to the brook of Egypt, and its outgoings have been at the sea. As to the west border, even the great sea has been to you a border; this is to you the west border. And this is to you the north border: from the great sea you mark out for yourselves mount Hor; from mount Hor you mark out to go in to Hamath, and the outgoings of the border have been to Zedad; and the border has gone out to Ziphron, and its outgoings have been at Hazar-Enan; this is to you the north border. And you have marked out for yourselves for the border eastward, from Hazar-Enan to Shepham; and the border has gone down from Shepham to Riblah, on the east of Ain, and the border has gone down, and has smitten against the shoulder of the sea of Chinneres eastward; and the border has gone down to the Jordan, and its outgoings have been at the Salt Sea; this is for you the land by its borders round about.” (Num. 34:4–12; Young’s Updated Translation).

By examining these fairly consistent translations, a few things should be clear (1) Even though tôwtsâʾôwth is always plural in the Hebrew, it does not sound right so rendered into the English. Outgoings and goings out might be very literal renderings of tôwtsâʾôwth, but, unfortunately, they do not convey any meaning to us (2) The translations which make the most sense render tôwtsâʾôwth limit or end. This does not fix its meaning, by any means, as finding a smooth translation does not necessarily determine the meaning of a word, such a rendering does appear to be reasonable and consistent. (3) Its meaning does not appear to be much different from the word border. (4) An hypothesis occurs to me: could tôwtsâʾôwth mark not just a border, but a direction or compass change when describing this border? This would make tôwtsâʾôwth appropriate to whole property descriptions, which take in all the compass points, and would not be interchangeable with the word border. (5) Another related hypothesis is, tôwtsâʾôwth represents the northern-most (southern-most, etc.) extent of a border. (6) Another hypothesis is, tôwtsâʾôwth could represent the center of the north, south, east, west border.

A Map of Canaan and the Passage in Question:

 Now note an entire description of the borders of the land and compare it to the map: "Command the people of Israel, and say to them, When you enter the land of Canaan (this is the land that shall fall to you for an inheritance, the land of Canaan as defined by its borders), your south side shall be from the wilderness of Zin alongside Edom, and your southern border shall run from the end of the Salt Sea on the east. And your border shall turn south of the ascent of Akrabbim, and cross to Zin, and its limit shall be south of Kadesh-barnea. Then it shall go on to Hazar-addar, and pass along to Azmon. And the border shall turn from Azmon to the Brook of Egypt, and its limit shall be at the sea. For the western border, you shall have the Great Sea and its coast. This shall be your western border. This shall be your northern border: from the Great Sea you shall draw a line to Mount Hor. From Mount Hor you shall draw a line to Lebo-hamath, and the limit of the border shall be at Zedad. Then the border shall extend to Ziphron, and its limit shall be at Hazar-enan. This shall be your northern border. You shall draw a line for your eastern border from Hazar-enan to Shepham. And the border shall go down from Shepham to Riblah on the east side of Ain. And the border shall go down and reach to the shoulder of the Sea of Chinnereth on the east. And the border shall go down to the Jordan, and its limit shall be at the Salt Sea. This shall be your land as defined by its borders all around." (Num. 34:2–12, ESV).

For understanding the use of tôwtsâʾôwth when it first occurs in Scripture, it appears to not just mark a border, but a turning point in that border (when delineating the border). Therefore, limit or end (s) is a good rendering, as, when we find it used, we are speaking of the southern-most point, or the most southeast point of the Land of Canaan.

This map was taken from The MacMillan Bible Atlas; 3^rd Edition; Aharoni, Avi-Yonah, Rainey, and Safrai; MacMillan; ©1993 by Carta; p. 47. The key to understanding this word is using this map.

An Examination of All Scriptural Occurrences of the Word

Passage

Morphology and Additional Comments

It goes out southward of the ascent of Akrabbim, passes along to Zin, and goes up south of Kadesh-barnea, along by Hezron, up to Addar, turns about to Karka, passes along to Azmon, goes out by the Brook of Egypt, and comes to its end at the sea. This shall be your south boundary. And the east boundary is the Salt Sea, to the mouth of the Jordan. And the boundary on the north side runs from the bay of the sea at the mouth of the Jordan. And the boundary goes up to Beth-hoglah and passes along north of Beth-arabah. And the boundary goes up to the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben. And the boundary goes up to Debir from the Valley of Achor, and so northward, turning toward Gilgal, which is opposite the ascent of Adummim, which is on the south side of the valley. And the boundary passes along to the waters of En-shemesh and ends at En-rogel. Then the boundary goes up by the Valley of the Son of Hinnom at the southern shoulder of the Jebusite (that is, Jerusalem). And the boundary goes up to the top of the mountain that lies over against the Valley of Hinnom, on the west, at the northern end of the Valley of Rephaim. Then the boundary extends from the top of the mountain to the spring of the waters of Nephtoah, and from there to the cities of Mount Ephron. Then the boundary bends around to Baalah (that is, Kiriath-jearim). And the boundary circles west of Baalah to Mount Seir, passes along to the northern shoulder of Mount Jearim (that is, Chesalon), and goes down to Beth-shemesh and passes along by Timnah. The boundary goes out to the shoulder of the hill north of Ekron, then the boundary bends around to Shikkeron and passes along to Mount Baalah and goes out to Jabneel. Then the boundary comes to an end at the sea (Joshua 15:3–7).

This is very similar to the passage in Numbers; each time we come across the word tôwtsâʾôwth, we seem to be at a compass direction change, indicating again that this word appears to mark the southernmost (or most southwestern, etc.) point.

Then it goes down westward to the territory of the Japhletites, as far as the territory of Lower Beth-horon, then to Gezer, and it ends at the sea. From Tappuah the boundary goes westward to the brook Kanah and ends at the sea (Joshua 16:3, 8a). .

It’s use here seems to be consistent with what I suggest above.

Then the boundary went down to the brook Kanah. These cities, to the south of the brook, among the cities of Manasseh, belong to Ephraim. Then the boundary of Manasseh goes on the north side of the brook and ends at the sea, the land to the south being Ephraim's and that to the north being Manasseh's, with the sea forming its boundary (Joshua 17:9–10a).

Although this is not the case in every instance of the use of tôwtsâʾôwth, often it is used when coming to one of the seas in the Land of Promise.

On the north side their boundary began at the Jordan. Then the boundary goes up to the shoulder north of Jericho, then up through the hill country westward, and it ends at the wilderness of Beth-aven. From there the boundary passes along southward in the direction of Luz, to the shoulder of Luz (that is, Bethel), then the boundary goes down to Ataroth-addar, on the mountain that lies south of Lower Beth-horon. Then the boundary goes in another direction, turning on the western side southward from the mountain that lies to the south, opposite Beth-horon, and it ends at Kiriath-baal (that is, Kiriath-jearim), a city belonging to the people of Judah. This forms the western side. And the southern side begins at the outskirts of Kiriath-jearim. And the boundary goes from there to Ephron, to the spring of the waters of Nephtoah. Then the boundary goes down to the border of the mountain that overlooks the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, which is at the north end of the Valley of Rephaim. And it then goes down the Valley of Hinnom, south of the shoulder of the Jebusites, and downward to En-rogel. Then it bends in a northerly direction going on to En-shemesh, and from there goes to Geliloth, which is opposite the ascent of Adummim. Then it goes down to the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben, and passing on to the north of the shoulder of Beth-arabah it goes down to the Arabah. Then the boundary passes on to the north of the shoulder of Beth-hoglah. And the boundary ends at the northern bay of the Salt Sea, at the south end of the Jordan: this is the southern border (Joshua 18:12–19).

As before, the word in question is used when describing the borders of a particular area (in this case, the territory of Benjamin); again, it appears to specifically be used when the description makes a turn.

From there it passes along on the east toward the sunrise to Gath-hepher, to Eth-kazin, and going on to Rimmon it bends toward Neah, then on the north the boundary turns about to Hannathon, and it ends at the Valley of Iphtahel; and Kattath, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah, and Bethlehem--twelve cities with their villages (Joshua 19:12–14).

At his point, when it comes to locating these various cities and areas, we might postulate that the use of tôwtsâʾôwth marks a compass point extreme, which may be helpful to archeologists when postulating and searching for various ruins.

I don’t know that these additional passages from Joshua 19 really add to our understanding; but I include them for sake of completeness. These 4 passages Joshua 19 deal with the borders of Zebulun, Issachar, Asher and Naphtali (northern and far-northern Israel). Simeon’s territory, covered at the beginning of Joshua 19, does not use the word tôwtsâʾôwth, and it is possible that its exact boundaries are more difficult to fix for that reason (Simeon appears to be given a portion of Judah). Dan, the other territory dealt with in Joshua 19, is also found in the middle/southern region.

The boundary also touches Tabor, Shahazumah, and Beth-shemesh, and its boundary ends at the Jordan--sixteen cities with their villages (Joshua 19:22).

Then the boundary turns to Ramah, reaching to the fortified city of Tyre. Then the boundary turns to Hosah, and it ends at the sea; Mahalab, Achzib, Ummah, Aphek and Rehob--twenty-two cities with their villages (Joshua 19:29–30).

The sixth lot came out for the people of Naphtali, for the people of Naphtali, according to their clans. And their boundary ran from Heleph, from the oak in Zaanannim, and Adami-nekeb, and Jabneel, as far as Lakkum, and it ended at the Jordan. Then the boundary turns westward to... (Joshua 19:32–34a).

Ahi the son of Abdiel, son of Guni, was chief in their fathers' houses, and they lived in Gilead, in Bashan and in its towns, and in all the pasturelands of Sharon to their limits (1Chron. 5:16).

The first few chapters of Chronicles are the genealogical chapters; although the territory of some tribes is mentioned, we find our word only in this one passage. Chronicles was written long after Numbers and Joshua, and this suggests to us that the use and meaning of tôwtsâʾôwth remained consistent for many centuries.

Our God is a God of salvation, and to GOD, the Lord, belong deliverances from death (Psalm 68:20).

You will notice that the use of this word in Psalm 68 possibly takes on a whole new meaning.

Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life (Prov. 4:23).

Note again, what appears to be a whole new use of the word tôwtsâʾôwth.

"These shall be the exits of the city: On the north side, which is to be 4,500 cubits by measure, three gates, the gate of Reuben, the gate of Judah, and the gate of Levi, the gates of the city being named after the tribes of Israel. On the east side, which is to be 4,500 cubits, three gates, the gate of Joseph, the gate of Benjamin, and the gate of Dan. On the south side, which is to be 4,500 cubits by measure, three gates, the gate of Simeon, the gate of Issachar, and the gate of Zebulun. On the west side, which is to be 4,500 cubits, three gates, the gate of Gad, the gate of Asher, and the gate of Naphtali (Ezek. 48:30–34). .

This particular use of tôwtsâʾôwth seems to be very much in keeping with our original understanding of the word: a going out [plural]; an exit.

Some temporary conclusions: The use of the word tôwtsâʾôwth appears to be consistent in Numbers and Joshua, marking the farthest compass borders of a territory, indicating where the border would change direction. One would also see this as an exit out of the territory delineated, which is in keeping with the use of tôwtsâʾôwth in Ezekiel. So, what this does is leave us with the difficult question, how should we understand the use of tôwtsâʾôwth in these two lone passages in the Psalms and the Proverbs.

How Tôwtsâʾôwth is Translated in the Psalms and Proverbs

A Literal Rendering

ACV

ESV

LTHB

NET Bible®

WEB

Young

Our God is the God of salvation; and to Jehovah the Lord are the tôwtsâʾôwth to/for/with respect to death. (Psalm 68:20).

escape [from]

deliverance [from]

issues [of]

rescue [from]

escape [from]

outgoings [of]

Guard [or, keep] from [or, more than] every [or, all] confinement [or, prison, acts of guarding, observation] your heart for from it [is] tôwtsâʾôwth of life (Prov. 4:23).

issues

springs

issues

sources

wellspring

outgoings

The examples given above are typical, and include most of the common renderings from the reasonably literal translations

Obviously, apart from Young, there is no consistency here with one another or with the passages in Numbers and Joshua. Furthermore, in Psalm 68:20, you will notice that all of the translators had to play fast and lose with the accompanying preposition, most of them either rendering it as the min preposition or as a construct, whereas, what we have here is the lâmed preposition. Only a few translators even translated tôwtsâʾôwth the same way in the two passages noted.

Our two passages deal with death and life; which might be seen as two countries which border one another. You are in life, traveling along, and you come to death, and you make somewhat of a change in direction. You have gone as far as you can go in the realm of human life. So, life and death are like the boundaries given to Israel; the boundary of Israel goes to tôwtsâʾôwth, and then it changes direction; the boundary of life goes as far as death, and then there is a change in direction. I believe that this is how we must understand tôwtsâʾôwth in these two passages. Rendering it as end (s) or limit (s) is quite reasonable, as long as you maintain the back story on this word.

How Ancient Translations Dealt with Tôwtsâʾôwth in the Psalms and Proverbs

Literal Rendering

Latin

Greek

Syriac

Our God is the God of salvation; and to Jehovah the Lord are the tôwtsâʾôwth to/for/with respect to death. (Psalm 68:20).

Our God is the God of salvation: and of the Lord, of the Lord are the issues from death.

Our God is the God of salvation; and to the Lord belongs the issues from death.

He that is our God is the God of salvation, the Lord God who has the power of life and death.

Guard [or, keep] from [or, more than] every [or, all] confinement [or, prison, acts of guarding, observation] your heart for from it [is] tôwtsâʾôwth of life (Prov. 4:23).

With all watchfulness keep your heart, because life issues out from it.

Keep your heart with the utmost care; for out of these [words?] are the issues of life.

Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life.

As you will notice, the ancient translations really provide us with little help here.

Even though I have spent about 7 or 8 hours on this word, I have that thought, will anyone ever read this; this is a bit of minutia if there ever was. However, it took me most of this time to come to a reasonable conclusion as to the meaning and use of this word, which even involved whipping out a map and examining the map side-by-side the boundaries given where this word tôwtsâʾôwth is used extensively (Num. 34).

A Summary of the Doctrine of Tôwtsâʾôwth

1.    At first, one would thing that the meaning of tôwtsâʾôwth would be easy to ascertain. It comes from the verb to go out, and tôwtsâʾôwth is always found in the plural, so the rendering outgoings seems like a quick fix (this is how Young consistently renders it). However, that meaning makes very little sense. The rendering exit is not too bad, but it does not really convey the meaning of the word.

2.    Among the meanings offered for tôwtsâʾôwth are:

       a.    KJV renderings: going [forth], goings, outgoings; issues; borders.

       b.    Strong's renderings: properly (only in plural collective) exit, that is, (geographical) boundary, or (figuratively) deliverance, (actively) source: - border (-s), going (-s) forth (out), issues, outgoings. Strong's #8444.

       c.     BDB translations: 1) outgoing, border, a going out, extremity, end, source, escape; 1a) outgoing, extremity (of border); 1b) source (of life); 1c) escape (from death). BDB #426.

       d.    Gesenius translations: a going out, the place from which [a person or thing] goings forth [hence, a gate]; a fountain; the place of exit or termination.

3.    We find tôwtsâʾôwth used primarily when giving a set of boundary points for a specific area or territory. We find it so used in: Num. 34:4–5, 8–9, 12 Joshua 15:4, 7, 11 16:3, 8 17:9 18:12, 14, 18–19 19:14, 22, 29, 33 1Chron. 5:16 Ezek. 48:30

4.    If you examine a map along side Num. 34, it appears as though tôwtsâʾôwth is used when a change of direction is noted. That is, if you are moving along a southern border and the border itself is going to change direction somewhat and move in a northwestern direction, then tôwtsâʾôwth is used. Although I was unable to come up with a clear and simple English translation for this word, end or limit are reasonable renderings of tôwtsâʾôwth, as long as one keeps in mind that a boundary direction change is also involved.

5.    What appears to be the best translation is end or limit.

6.    The two difficult passages where the rendering of tôwtsâʾôwth is difficult is Psalm 68:20 and Prov. 4:23, and it is from these passages where we appear to get a myriad of weird meanings. Not only are these meanings not very helpful, but, in my cases in Psalm 68:20, the preposition found there is changed in order to accommodate a meaning which might not even properly apply.

       a.    One passage deals with life and the other with death, which one might see these as side-by-side territories, where there is a change of compass direction. One can come up to the boundary of life, which is death, and either enter into death or enter into life everlasting.

       b.    When one bears this in mind, a better understanding of these passages results.

       c.     Psalm 68:20: Our God is the God of salvation; and to Jehovah the Lord is the end [or, limit] with respect to death. Our relationship to God, when we come to the border between life and death, determines the direction that we move in next—whether we enter into death or whether we change direction and move into life eternal.

       d.    Prov. 4:23: Guard your heart more than any prison, because from your heart is the end [or, limit] of life. What determines our eternal destiny is what is in our heart—have we believed in Jesus Christ? Our thinking is key to this life and to the life which follows. What is in our heart determines the direction that we go in once we come up to the limit of life.

7.    

Believe it or not, that is a summation of about 9 pages of careful analysis of this word, which is all found under the Doctrine of Tôwtsâʾôwth.