SUCCOTH (rijnn ; 2xnvat ; 2curxwB-ci ; Alex.
Tavxd) ; Socoth), a towl in the valley of the Jordan. It had its origin, as well as its name, in the tempor ary sojourn of Jacob on his way from Padanaram to Palestine. And Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and he built him an house, and made booths (Suc coth) for his cattle ; therefore the name of the place is called Succoth (c booths').' The writer has fre quently seen such 'booths' occupied by the Be dawin of the Jordan valley. They are rude huts of reeds, sometimes covered with long grass, some times with a piece of a tent. They are much used by a semi-nomad people. Jacob probably remained for some time in this fertile spot, which must have reminded him of the banks of the Euphrates (Gen. xxxiii. 17). The situation is approximately indi cated by the fact that Jacob was on his way from Peniel to Shechem. Peniel was apparently on the north bank of the Jabboc (xxxii. 22, 23) ; and it would seem that after his interview with Esau on the south bank, he turned back to avoid farther in tercourse with his dangerous brother ; and instead of following him to Edom he recrossed the Jabboc and descended to the valley of the Jordan, where he resolved to rest for a time amid its luxuriant pastures (see however Kalisch, ad loc. ; Ritter, Pal. und Syr. ii. 447).
The next notice of Succoth is in Joshua's descrip tion of the territory of Gad. To this tribe the middle section east of the Jordan was allotted, in cluding the valley of the Jordan up to the Sea of Galilee [GAD]. Among the towns in the valley is Succoth (Josh. xiii. 27). Nothing more can be in ferred from this than that it lay on the east bank of the river.
In the narrative of Gideon's pursuit of Zeba and Zalmunna it is said : And Gideon came to Jordan. _passed over . . . and said unto the men of Succoth, etc.' (Judg. viii. 5). The tale there recorded of the mingled cowardice and perfidy of the inhabitants, and of Gideon's terrible vengeance, is one of the most harrowing in the Bible. At that period Succoth must have been a place of importance, when it ventured to refuse the request of Gideon. Its princes and elders,' too, are said to have num bered threescore and seventeen men.' Though the rulers were slain the city continued to prosper, and in the days of Soloinon it was well known. The sacred historian informs us that the brazen vessels of the temple were cast in the cir cuit (-Inzn) of the Jordan, in the clay ground, be tween Succoth and Zarthan' (i Kings vii. 46 ; 2 Chron. iv. 17). Succoth gave its name to a valley' (pnv), probably a lower section of the circuit,' or great plain of the Jordan (cf. the vale of Sidclim,'
which was also called an Emek in the circuit of the Jordan,' Ps. lx. 6).
Jerome observes, in his notes on Genesis There is to this day a city of this name (Succoth) beyond Jordan in the region of Scythopolis' (Opera, ii. 989 : ed. MiLme) ; but in the Onomasticon both Jerome and Eusebius merely state that it is the place where Jacob dwelt on his return from Meso potamia, without indicating its site or appearing to know of its existence (s. v. Scenze').
Burckhardt on his way front Beisan to es-Salt forded the Jordan two hours (about six miles) below the former, and observes in a note (Travels in Syria, p. 345) : ' Near where we crossed, to the south, are the ruins of Sukkot (LC .).' The ruins seem to have been on the east bank of the river, though he does not expressly say so. This may possibly be the Succoth of Jerome ; but it is too far north to suit the requirements of the narra tive in Genesis.
Robinson discovered another ruin called Sdkitt which is radically as well as topogra ..
phically different from the &Hot of Burckhardt), situated on the west bank of the Jordan, about fifteen miles south of Beisan. Near it is a copious fountain, and the plain around it is covered with most luxuriant vegetation. The ruin is merely that of a common village, a few foundations of unhewn stones' (Bib. .h'es. 3o9 ; cf. Van de Velde, Travels, ii. 343). Its position on the west bank prevents its being identified with the Succoth of the Bible, but it is just possible that the name may, have been transferred from the ancient town on the east side to a more modern village on the west (see also Ritter, Pak und Syr. ii. 446).
2. Succoth was a station of the Israelites in the desert, the first after their departure from Egypt : ' And the children of Israel journeyed from Ra meses to Succoth' (Exod. xii. 37). Probably here, too, the name may have been given to the spot from the temporary booths which some of the snore delicate would naturally attempt to construct for themselves on that the first night of life under the open heaven. • Succoth was still within.the land of Egypt, or at least within a region of habitation and cultivation ; for it was not until the dose of their second march that they encamped in Etham, in the edge of the wilderness' 20 ; cf. Num. xxxiii. 5, 6).
The exact position of Succoth has not been, and probably never can be, satisfactorily determined. The line of march which the Israelites followed will be discussed in another place [WANDERING, WILDERNESS OFT-J. L. P.