Den

(מעון , mā‛ōn , מעונה , me‛ōnāh , "habitation"; מערה , me‛ārāh , and σπήλαιον , spḗlaion , "cave"; מאוּרה , me'ūrāh (Isaiah 11:8 ), "a light-hole," from אור , 'ōr , "light," perhaps for me‛ārāh ; סך , ṣōkh (Psalm 10:9 the King James Version), and סכּה , ṣukkāh (Job 38:40 ), "a covert," elsewhere "booth"; ארב , 'erebh (Job 37:8 ), "covert," as in the Revised Version (British and American); גּב , gōbh ; compare Arabic jubb , "pit" (Daniel 6:7 ); מנהרות , minhārōth , "fissure" or "cleft" (Judges 6:2 )): In the limestone mountains of Palestine caves, large and small, are abundant, the calcium carbonate, of which the rock is mainly composed, being dissolved by the water as it trickles over them or through their crevices. Even on the plains, by a similar process, pits or "lime sinks" are formed, which are sometimes used by the Arabs for storing straw or grain. Of this sort may have been the pit, bōr , into which Joseph was cast by his brethren (Genesis 37:20 ). Caves and crevices and sometimes spaces among piled-up boulders at the foot of a cliff or in a stream bed are used as dens by jackals, wolves and other wild animals. Even the people, for longer or shorter periods, have lived as troglodytes. Compare Judges 6:2 : "Because of Midian the children of Israel made them the dens ( minhārōth ) which are in the mountains, and the caves (me‛ārāh ), and the strongholds (mecādh )." The precipitous sides of the valleys contain many caves converted by a little labor into human habitations. Notable instances are the valley of the Kidron near Mār -Sāba , and Wādi -ul -Ḥamām near the Sea of Tiberias. See CAVE .