Question
What is the “devir”?
Answer
The word devir occurs in the Bible both as the name of a city that was also called Kiryas Sefer (Joshua, Judges) and in connection with the Holy of Holies in the Temple (Kings, Chronicles, Psalms). It is possible that the word has a connection with “oracle” (from the root DBR, “speaking”); but the name of the city is usually derived from other roots (e.g., from DBR, “leading”), and most of the commentaries explain the devir in the Temple as a partition (an entrance that “leads” into the Holy of Holies).