Nebo

We meet with this name for three different places. There was a city of the Reubenites called Nebo, (Num. xxx2: 38.) - - and according to Jeremiah, in his days the Moabites had it in possession. (Jer. xl8.) There was also a city of Judah of this name in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah. (Ezra 2: 29. Neh. 7: 33.) And the famous mountain on which Moses died was called Nebo. (Deut. 34. 1.5.) One of the idols of Babylon bore the name of Nebo. (Isa. xlvi. 1.) The root of the name seems to be much the same as that of Nebat.

the name of an idol of the Babylonians: “Bel boweth down, Nebo stoopeth,” Isa 46:1. The word Nebo comes from a root that signifies “to prophesy,” and therefore may stand for an oracle. There is some probability in the opinion of Calmet, that Bel and Nebo are but one and the same deity, and that Isaiah made use of these names as synonymous. The god Bel was the oracle of the Babylonians. The name Nebo, or Nabo, is found in the composition of the names of several princes of Babylon; as Nabonassar, Nabopolassar, Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuzaradan, Nebushasban, &c.

Nebo, 1

Ne´bo, a Chaldean idol mentioned in Isa 46:1, and supposed to have been the symbol of the planet Mercury, the celestial scribe and interpreter of the gods, answering to the Hermes and Anubis of the Egyptians. He was likewise worshipped by the Sabians in Arabia. The divine worship paid to this idol by the Chaldeans and Assyrians is attested by many compound proper names of which it forms part, as Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuzaradan, Nebuhashban; besides others mentioned in classical writers,—Nabonedus, Nabonassar, Naburianus, Nabonabus, Nabopolassar.

Nebo, 2

Nebo, the name of a mountain on the confines of Moab (Deu 32:49; Deu 34:1), and of a town near it (Num 32:3; Num 32:38; Isa 15:2). Since the time of Seetzen and Burckhardt, Mount Nebo has been usually identified with Mount Attarus, east of the Dead Sea.

Nebo, 3

Nebo, a town in the tribe of Judah (Ezr 2:29); or more fully, in order to distinguish it from the preceding, ’the other Nebo’ (Neh 7:33).

1. A town in the vicinity of Bethel and Ai, Ezr 2:29 Neh 7:33 .\par 2. A city of Reuben, Num 32:38, taken by the Moabites, who held it in the time of Jeremiah, Isa 15:2 Jer 48:1 .\par 3. A mountain of Moab, whence Moses had a view of the promised land, and where he died. It is a summit of the range Abarim, "over against Jericho." Seetzen, Burckhardy, etc., identify it with Mount Attarus, about ten miles north of the Arnon. Travelers do not observe any very prominent summit in the rage immediately opposite Jericho; but it has not yet fully explored, Deu 32:49 34:1-12.\par 4. An idol of the Babylonians, Isa 46:1 . In the astrological mythology of the Babylonians, this idol probably represented the planet Mercury. It was also worshipped by the ancient Arabians. The extensive prevalence of this worship among the Chaldeans and Assyrians, is evident from the many compound proper names occurring in the Scriptures, of which this word forms part; as Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuzaradan, Nebushasban, Jer 39:9,13 ; and also in the classics, as Naboned, Nabonassar, Nabopolassar, etc.\par

Ne’bo. (prophet).

1. A town of Reuben, on the east side of Jordan. Num 32:3; Num 32:38. In the remarkable prophecy adopted by Isaiah, Isa 15:2, and Jeremiah, Jer 48:1; Jer 48:26, concerning Moab, Nebo is mentioned in the same connection as before, but in the hands of Moab.

Eusebius and Jerome identify it with Nobah or Kerrath, and place it eight miles south of Heshbon, where the ruins of el-Habis appear to stand at present. (Professor Paine identifies it with some ruins on Mount Nebo, a mile south of its summit, and Dr. Robinson seems to agree with this. -- Editor).

2. The children of Nebo, returned from Babylon with Zerubbabel. Ezr 2:29; Ezr 10:43; Neh 7:33. The name occurs between Bethel and Ai and Lydda, which implies that it was situated in the territory of Benjamin, to the northwest of Jerusalem. This is possibly the modern Beit-Nubah, about 12 miles northwest by west of Jerusalem, 8 miles from Lydda.

3. Nebo, which occurs both in Isaiah, Isa 46:11, and Jeremiah, Jer 45:1, as the name of a Chaldean god, is a well known deity of the Babylonians and Assyrians. He was the god, who presided over learning and letters. His general character corresponds to that of the Egyptian, Thoth; the Greek, Hermes; and the Latin, Mercury.

Astronomically, he is identified with the planet nearest the sun. In Babylonia, Nebo held a prominent place from an early time. The ancient town of Borsippa was especially under his protection, and the great temple here, the modern Birs-Nimrud, was dedicated to him, from a very remote age. He was the tutelar god of the most important Babylonian kings, in whose names the word, Nabu or Nebo, appears as an element.

1. A town of Moab, taken possession of by Reuben. Also the Mount of Moab, from which Moses viewed Canaan (Deu 32:49; Deu 34:1). Pisgah was a ridge of the Abarim mountains, W. from Heshbon. Nebo was a part of Pisgah named from the town, NEBO close by. Isa 15:2, "Moab shall howl ’at’ (al) Nebo." (Jer 48:1; Num 32:3; Num 32:38; Num 33:47). As Israel’s encampment was "before Nebo," i.e. to the E. of Nebo, probably Nebo was on Pisgah’s western slope. The peakless, horizontal straightness of the ridge caused the parts to be distinguished only by the names of adjoining villages. As Nebo "faced Jericho," and "the ravine of Moses’ burying place in Moab faced Beth-Peor," Attarus suggested by Seetzen is too far S., and jebel el Jilad too far N. to correspond. Grove suggests jebel Nebbah, S. of wady Hesban.

2. "The other (town) NEBO" was W. of Jordan, in Benjamin (Ezr 2:29; Ezr 10:43; Neh 7:33). Perhaps Beit Nubah.

Nebo (nç’bo), proclaimer. 1. One of the Assyrian deities, who is represented, with Bel, as being unable to resist the destruction to which Cyrus subjected their idols. Isa 46:1. This god was called "he who possesses intelligence," and statues of him are still preserved. 2. A mountain of Moab "over against Jericho." Deu 32:49. "And Moses went up from the plains of Moab unto the mountain of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah,... and the Lord showed him all the land of Gilead unto Dan." Deu 34:1. Nebo was a mountain in the range of mountains called Abarim. While the discussions respecting Pisgah have been sharp, the majority of explorers and scholars agree in identifying Nebo with the northem end of the Abarim range. See Pisgah. 3. A city east of the Jordan; rebuilt by the Gadites, Num 32:3; Num 32:38; Num 33:47; captured by the Moabites. Isa 15:2; Jer 48:1; Jer 48:22. It was eight miles south of Heshbon; perhaps el Hâbis. 4. A town in Benjamin, Neh 7:33; possibly Nuba, 7 miles northwest of Hebron.

[Ne’bo]

1. City of Reuben, east of the Jordan. Num 32:3; Num 32:38; Num 33:47; 1Ch 5:8. It is denounced in the prophets as belonging to Moab. Isa 15:2; Jer 48:1; Jer 48:22.

2. City whose inhabitants or ’children’ returned from exile. Ezr 2:29; Neh 7:33.

3. One whose descendants had married strange wives. Ezr 10:43.

4. A Chaldean idol whose name as Nabo or Nebu is probably incorporated in some of the Chaldaic proper names. Isa 46:1.

NEBO.—The name of a Moabite town, a mountain in Moab, and (according to the Hebrew text) of a city of Judah. It is probable, though not quite certain, that these places were named after the Babylonian deity Nebo (see preced. art.), and thus point to the influence of the Babylonian cult at a remote period both E. and W. of the Jordan.

1. Nebo, a city of Judah (Ezr 2:29; Ezr 10:43 [1Es 9:35 Noomias], Neh 7:29], identified by some with Beit Nubâ, 12 miles N.W. of Jerusalem. This Nebo is the Nobai (a signatory to the covenant) of Neh 10:20. Whether either form exactly corresponds to the original name is uncertain.

2. The Moabite town called Nebo is mentioned in Num 32:3; Num 32:33; Num 33:47, Isa 15:2, Jer 48:1; Jer 48:22, 1Ch 5:8, and also in the inscription of Mesha, who says: ‘And Chemosh said unto me, Go take Nebo against Israel.’ The exact site is unknown, but the town probably lay on, or near, Mt. Nebo.

3. Mount Nebo is the traditional site of Moses’ view of Canaan (Deu 34:1 f.) and of his death (Deu 32:50). It is described as being ‘in the land of Moab over against Jericho’ and as reached from the ‘steppes of Moah’ (Deu 34:1). There can be no question that this description implies some point on the edge of the great platean of Moab, which drops steeply some 4000 feet to the Jordan Valley or the Dead Sea. Two related problems call for solution: Which point in particular on this edge of the plateau is Mt. Nebo? How does the actual view thence agree with the terms of Deu 34:1 f.? There appears to be most reason for identifying Mt. Nebo with the point now called Nebâ, and the identification might be regarded as certain if we could feel sure that Nebâ is really an ancient name, and not merely (as it may be) the name attached to the summit after tradition had claimed it as the Nebo of the Bible. Nebâ lies about 12 miles almost due E. of the Jordan at the point where the river enters the Dead Sea, and is one of the summits most easily ascended from the steppes of Moah. In this respect it satisfies the description better than the other sites which have been proposed, (1) the somewhat loftier Mt. Attârus 10 miles farther south, and (2) Mt. Oshâ some 20 miles north of Mt. Nebâ and a finer point of view, but outside Moab. The view from each of these great points and from several others along the great mountain wall which encloses the Jordan Valley on the E. is extensive and impressive; but its limitations in some directions are also sharply defined. Northward (or, strictly, between N. and N.N.W.) the view extends far; from Mt. Nebâ, for example, it is possible to see Mt. Tabor, 70 miles away. Westwards, on the other hand, it is blocked at from 30 to 40 miles by the great wall formed by the sharp declivity of the Judæan plateau to the Jordan Valley. This western mountain wall is of approximately the same height as the Moabite wall on the E. Consequently from no point in Moab is it possible to see the ‘hinder sea,’ i.e. the Mediterranean; nor is it possible to see more than about one-third of the country between Jordan and the Mediterranean. It follows that the description in Deu 34:1 f. is inaccurate not only in mentioning specific features (the Mediterranean, Dan, probably Zoar) which are out of sight, but in giving the general impression that the view commanded the whole of Western Palestine, whereas it actually commands but a third. The difficulty could be in part overcome by considering Deu 34:2-3 (together with the words ‘of Gilead unto Dan’ in v. 1) an editor’s note explaining the phrase ‘all the land.’ It is significant that this detailed description is absent from the Samaritan text, which has, instead, a shorter description which defines the land of Israel but not the view. For a further discussion of the view from Nebâ, see Expositor, Nov. 1904, pp. 321–341. See also art. Pisgah.

G. B. Gray.

(Septuagint, Nabau).A town mentioned in several passages of the Old Testament, v.g., Numbers 32:3; Jeremias 48:1, 22; I Paralipomenon 5:8; Isaias 15:2, etc. In Numbers 32:3, it is mentioned between Saban and Beon, the latter being an abbreviation of Baalmeon. In the same chapter, verse 38, it is again mentioned between Cariathaim and Baalmeon, and it is found associated with the same names on the Mesa Stone (line 14). These and other indications show that the town was situated in the vicinity of Mt. Nebo, but the precise location cannot be determined. It belonged to the rich pasture lands which the tribes of Ruben and Gad asked of Moses in the distribution of the territory (Numbers 32). The town had reverted to the Moabites at the time when Isaias prophesied against it (Isaiah 15:2; cf. Jeremiah 48:1, 22). Mesa (lines 14-18) boasts of having taken it from the Israelites. According to St. Jerome (Comment. in Isaias 15:2, in P.L., XXIV, 168), the sanctuary of the idol Chemosh was in Nabo.-----------------------------------JAMES F. DRISCOLL Transcribed by Christine J. Murray The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume XCopyright © 1911 by Robert Appleton CompanyOnline Edition Copyright © 2003 by K. KnightNihil Obstat, October 1, 1911. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., CensorImprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York

nē´bō (נבו, n^ebhō; Assyrian Nabu): The Babylonian god of literature and science. In the Babylonian mythology he is represented as the son and interpreter of Bel-merodach (compare Isa 46:1; Bel and Nebo there represent Babylon). His own special shrine was at Borsippo. His planet was Mercury. His name enters into Biblical names, as “Nebuchadnezzar,” and perhaps “Abed-nego” (Dan 1:7, for “Abed-nebo, servant of Nebo”). See BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA, RELIGION OF.

Mount Nebo was a prominent peak in the hilly region of Abarim on the Moabite tableland, east of the Jordan River (Num 33:47). It was the place where the aged Moses went to view the promised land and where, a short time later, he died (Deu 32:49-50; Deu 34:1; Deu 34:5-6; see ABARIM).