Beth-tappuah

Beth-tappuah (meaning: house of apples) was a town in the hill country of Judah, listed in the second group of Judah's highland cities in Joshua 15:53. It lay in the region between Hebron and the Shephelah, approximately five miles west of Hebron. The town is identified with modern Tuffuh, a village in the West Bank south of Bethlehem, preserving in its modern name a clear echo of the ancient toponym.

The name suggests the town was situated in apple-growing country or near an orchard of significance in the ancient period. Beyond its single appearance in Joshua's tribal allotment lists, Beth-tappuah plays no narrative role in the Old Testament. The mention of apples or apple trees in the Song of Solomon as symbols of refreshment and shade reflects the value of these fruit trees in the Palestinian highlands, and the name Beth-tappuah preserves that agricultural memory at a specific geographical location in southern Judah.