And in the mountains,.... The hill country of Judea, as it is called Luk 1:39, in which were the following cities: Shamir: the Alexandrian copy of the Greek version reads Sophir as the name, of the first of these cities; and Jerom says (d) there was a village of this name in the mountainous parts, situated between Eleutheropolis, and Ashkelon in the tribe of Judah; see Mic 1:11, and Jattir the same writer calls Jether, in the tribe of Judah; and says (e) there was in his time a very large village called Jethira, twenty miles from Eleutheropolis, the inhabitants of which were then all Christians: it was situated in interior Daroma, near Malatha: and Socoh is different from Socoh in Jos 15:35; that was in the plain, this in the mountain; See Gill on Jos 15:35. (d) De loc. Heb. fol. 94. I. (e) Ibid. fol. 92. l.