Bible Dictionary
Put
Put was both a son of Ham and the name of a people or land associated with Africa and the forces of Egypt and Tyre. Put’s warriors are mentioned as shield-bearers and soldiers.
Definition
Put was both a son of Ham and the name of a people or region whose warriors served in foreign armies. In the prophetic passages, Put is associated especially with Egypt and with the forces of Tyre.
Biblical Usage
Put is listed among Ham’s sons. Warriors from Put appear as shield-bearers in association with Egypt, as helpers of No-amon, and among the troops of Tyre together with Persia and Lud.
Historical Background
The supplied material identifies Put with a region east of Abyssinia, including Somaliland and possibly Yemen, while also discussing its possible connection with Egyptian Punt. The exact geographical identification is uncertain, but Put is treated as an African or southern people known for military service.
Scripture References
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Smith's Bible Dictionary
(1 Chronicles 1:8; Nahum 3:9) [Phut, Put]
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>put (puT; Phoud, in Genesis and Chronicles, variant for Genesis Phout, for Chronicles, Phouth):</p><p>1. Renderings:</p><p>In consequence of the identification at the time, the prophets have "Libya" (Libues), except Nab 3:9, where the Greek renders the word as phuge, "flight." The Vulgate (Jerome's Latin Bible, 390-405 A.D.) has "Phut," "Phuth," and in the Prophets "Libyes" and "Libya"; the King James Version "Phut."</p><p>2. Son of Ham:</p><p>In the "Table of Nations" Put is the third son of Ham (Ge 10:6), the first and second being Cush and Misraim, and the fourth Canaan. Put is the only one of the sons of Ham who is not credited with descendants.</p><p>3. As Nationality:</p><p>In the Prophets, warriors from Put are referred to, principally in connection with the forces of Egypt. They appear as shield-bearers (Jer 46:9: "Cush and Put, that handle the shield; and the Ludim, that handle and bend the bow"). See also Eze 30:5, where the order in the Hebrew is Cush, Put and Lud. In Na 3:9 Put is the helper of No-amon (Thebes in Egypt), and in Eze 27:10 Put appears with Persia and Lydia (Lud) as being in the army of Tyre.</p><p>4. Identified with Punt:</p><p>The common identification of Put is the Egyptian Punt (or Pwent) proposed by Ebers. The assimilation of n to a following consonant is common in the Semitic languages, and would occasion no difficulty if the vocalization be found to agree. The final "t" of Punt, however, seems to be the Egyptian feminine ending, whereas the "T" of Put is radical.</p><p>5. Somaliland and Yemen:</p><p>Nevertheless, the district would seem to be rightly identified with the tract to the East of Abyssinia (Somaliland), and as it is described as being on both sides of the sea (the Red Sea), Yemen would seem to be included. In connection with this, it is worthy of note that a fragment of a Babylonian tablet referring to Nebuchadrezzar's campaign in Egypt in his 37th year mentions, as though in the neighborhood, the city (here, apparently, standing for the district) of Putu-yaman--probably not "Ionian (Greek) Put" (Lesbos, according to Winckler), but "Put of Yemen." If this be in contra-distinction to the district of Put (Punt) on the African mainland, the latter would be the Putu referred to in the Persian inscription of Naqsh-i-Rustem, which mentions, among the tributary-countries, Kushiya, Putiya and Masiya, in Babylonian (mat) PuTa, ((mat) K)usu, (mat) Massu(?), "the land Put, the land Kush (Ethiopia), the land Massu(?)." The soldiers of Put in the army of Tyre may have been either from the African or the Yemenite Put, in which case there was no northern tract of that name, unless settlements had been made at any time from the original district. See W. Max Muller, Asien und Europa, Leipzig, 1893, 106 ff.</p><p>T. G. Pinches</p>