Timnath

Timnath appears in the patriarchal narrative as the place near which Judah's sheepshearers were working when Tamar, disguised as a prostitute, positioned herself on the road to meet him (Gen. 38:12-14). The resulting union produced Perez and Zerah, ancestors of David. The location is also referenced in relation to Samson's Philistine wife (Judg. 14:1) and may overlap with or be near Timnah in the Shephelah.

The name means image, figure, or enumeration in Hitchcock's system. The multiple uses of similar place names (Timnah, Timnath, Timnath-serah, Timnath-heres) in different narrative contexts have led to some scholarly discussion about whether these represent a single site or distinct locations. The Timnath of Genesis 38 is usually placed in the hill country of Judah.