Bible Dictionary
Villages
Villages were unwalled settlements or habitations in the open country, often surrounding fortified towns. The Hebrew term may also be understood in some passages as referring to rulers, depending on the textual interpretation.
Definition
Villages are habitations in the open country, generally unwalled and often situated around larger fortified towns. The word may also be interpreted as “rulers” in certain passages.
Biblical Usage
The term occurs in Judges 5:7, 11 and is associated elsewhere with unwalled settlements. Some translators, following the Septuagint and Vulgate, understand the word in those passages as “rulers.”
Historical Background
The supplied material presents the Hebrew term as having two possible interpretations, reflecting differences among the ancient versions and English translations.
Scripture References
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
(Judg. 5:7, 11). The Hebrew word thus rendered (perazon) means habitations in the open country, unwalled villages (Deut. 3:5; 1 Sam. 6:18). Others, however, following the LXX. and the Vulgate versions, render the word “rulers.”