Suc'coth (Heb. Sukkuth', n'lSO or [in Gen. xxxii, 17; Exod. xii, 37; xiii, 20; Numb, xxxiii, 5, 6] PSD, booths [ as often ] ; Sept. 2ok;!^w3' v. r. Sofc^wSa, but (TKi]vai in Gen. and Psa. ; Vulg. Socoth or Soccoth). the name of at least two Biblical places (in the treatment of which we avail ourselves largely of the articles in the dictionaries of Kitto and Smith). See also Suc-
COTH-BENOTH.
1. A town of ancient date in the Holy Land, being first heard of in the account of the homeward journey of Jacob from Padan-aram (Gen. xxxiii, 17). The name is derived from the fact of .Jacob's having there put up " booths" for his cattle, as well as a house for him- self; and these structures, in contrast with the "tents" of the wandering life, indicate that the Patriarch made a lengthened staj' there — a fact not elsewhere alluded to. Travellers frequently see such "booths" occupied by the Bedawin of the Jordan valley. They are rude huts of reeds, sometimes covered with long grass, some- times covered with a piece of a tent. They are much used by a semi-nomad people. This fertile spot must have reminded .lacob of the banks of the Euphrates from which he had recently come. The situation is approximately indicated by the fact that Jacob was on his way from Peniel to Shechem. Peniel was appar- ently on the north bank of the Jabbok (Gen. xxxii, 22,
23) ; and it would seem that after his interview with Esau on the south bank, he turned back to avoid fur- ther intercourse with his dangerous brother; and in- stead of following him to Edom, he recrossed the Jabbok and descended to the valk y of the Jordan, where he re- solved to rest for a time amid its luxuriant pastures (see, however, Kaliscb, ad loc. ; Kitter, Pal. und Syr. ii, 447).
The next notice of Succoth is in Joshua's description of the territory of Gad. To this tribe the middle sec- tion east of the Jordan was allotted, including the val- ley of the Jordan up to the sea of Galilee. See Gad. Among the towns in the valley is Succoth (Josh, xiii, 27). Nothing more can be inferred from this than that it lay on the east bank of the river.
In the narrative of Gideon's pursuit of Zeba and Zal- munna it is said, "And (iideon came to ioxAem, passed over . . . and said unto the men of Succoth," etc. (Judg. viii, 5). His course was eastward^the reverse of Ja- cob's— and he came first to Succoth, and then to Peiuiel, the latter being farther up the mountain than the for- mer (ver. 8, " went up thence"). The tale there record- ed of the mingled cowardice and perfidy of the inhab- itants, 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 (iideon. Its " princes and el- ders," too, are said to have numbered " threescore and seventeen men."
Though the rulers were slain, the city continued to prosper, and in the days of Solomon it was well known. The sacred historian informs us that the brazen vessels of the Temple were cast "in the circuit ("1323) of the Jordan, in the clay ground, between Succoth and Zar- thau" (1 Kings vii, 46; 2 Chron. iv, 17). Succoth gave its name to " a valley" (p'CJ), probably a lower section of " the circuit," or great plain of the Jordan (comp. " the vale of Siddim," which was also called an Emek in " the circuit of the Jordan," Psa. Ix, 6).
Jerome observes, in his notes on Genesis : " There is to this day a city of this name {Succoth) beyond Jor- dan in the region of Scythopolis" (Opera, ii, 989, ed. Migne); but in the Onomasticon both Jerome and Eu- sebius merely state that it is the place where Jacob dwelt on his return from Mesopotamia, witliout indi- cating its site or appearing to know of its existence (s. V. "Scense").
Burckhardt,on his way from Beisan to es-Salt, forded the Jordan two hours (about six miles) below the for- mer, and observes in a note (Travels in Syria, p. 345), " Near where we crossed, to the south, are the ruins of Sukkot." The ruins seem to have been on the east bank of the river, though he does not expressly say so, as later travellers do (see Schwarz, Palest, p. 232). This may po.ssibly be the Succoth of Jerome; but it seems too far north to suit the requirements of the narrative in Genesis. Jacob's direct road from the ^^'ady Zerka to Shechem would have led him by the Wady Ferrah, on the one hand, or through Yaniin, on the other. If he went north as far as Sukkot, he must have ascended by the Wady Maleh to Teyaslr, and so through Tubas and the Wady Bidan. Perhaps his going north was a ruse to escape the dangerous proximity of Esau ; and if he made a long stay at Succoth, as suggested in the outset of this article, the detour from the direct road to Shechem would be of little importance to him (see the Bibliotheca Sacra, Oct. 1876, p. 742 sq.).