Juttah

Juttah was a town in the highlands of Judah, allotted to Judah at the conquest (Joshua 15:55) and given as one of the thirteen Levitical cities to the Kohathite descendants of Aaron — the priests of Israel (Joshua 21:16, 1 Chronicles 6:59). The proper assignment to priestly families is suggestive: Luke 1:39 says Mary "arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a city of Judah" to visit her relative Elizabeth, who was married to the priest Zechariah. A long Christian tradition (going back at least to Origen) identifies the unnamed "city of Judah" as Juttah ("Iouta" in Greek), and the town's priestly character would fit perfectly with Zechariah's vocation. Identified with the modern village of Yatta about 8 km south of Hebron.