See Mount Tabor.
a mountain not far from Kadesh, in the tribe of Zebulun, and in the confines of Issachar and Naphtali. It has its name from its eminence, because it rises up in the midst of a wide champaign country, called the Valley of Jezreel, or the great plain. Maundrell tells us that the area at the top of this mountain is enclosed with trees, except to the south, from whence there is the most agreeable prospect in the world. Many have believed that our Lord’s transfiguration took place on this mountain. This place is mentioned, 1Sa 10:3. It is minutely described by both Pococke and Maundrell. The road from Nazareth lies for two hours between low hills; it then opens into the plain of Esdraelon. At about two or three furlongs within the plain, and six miles from Nazareth, rises this singular mount, which is almost entirely insulated, its figure representing a half sphere. “It is,” says Pococke, “one of the finest hills I ever beheld, being a rich soil that produces excellent herbage, and is most beautifully adorned with groves and clumps of trees. The ascent is so easy, that we rode up the north side by a winding road. Some authors mention it as near four miles high, others as about two: the former may be true, as to the winding ascent up the hill. The top of it, about half a mile long, and near a quarter of a mile broad, is encompassed with a wall, which Josephus says was built in forty days: there was also a wall along the middle of it, which divided the south part, on which the city stood, from the north part, which is lower, and is called the meidan, or place, being probably used for exercises when there was a city here, which Josephus mentions by the name of Ataburion. Within the outer wall on the north side are several deep fosses, out of which, it is probable, the stones were dug to build the walls; and these fosses seem to have answered the end of cisterns, to preserve the rain water, and were also some defence to the city. There are likewise a great number of cisterns under ground for preserving the rain water. To the south, where the ascent was most easy, there are fosses cut on the outside, to render the access to the walls more difficult. Some of the gates, also, of the old city remain, as Bab-el-houah, ‘the gate of the winds,’ to the west; and Bab-el-kubbe, ‘the arched gate,’ a small one to the south. Antiochus, king of Syria, took the fortress on the top of this hill. Vespasian, also, got possession of it; and, after that, Josephus fortified it with strong walls. But what has made it more famous than any thing else is the common opinion, from the time of St. Jerom, that the transfiguration of our Saviour was on this mountain.” Van Egmont and Heyman give the following account:
“This mountain, though somewhat rugged and difficult, we ascended on horseback, making several circuits round it, which took us up about three quarters of an hour. It is one of the highest in the whole country, being thirty stadia, or about four English miles, a circumstance that rendered it more famous. And it is the most beautiful I ever saw, with regard to verdure, being every where decorated with small oak trees, and the ground universally enamelled with a variety of plants and flowers, except on the south side, where it is not so fully covered with verdure. On this mountain are great numbers of red partridges, and some wild boars; and we were so fortunate as to see the Arabs hunting them. We left, but not without reluctancy, this delightful place, and found at the bottom of it a mean village, called Deboura, or Tabour, a name said to be derived from the celebrated Deborah mentioned in Judges.”
Pococke notices this village, which stands on a rising ground at the foot of Mount Tabor westward; and the learned traveller thinks, that it may be the same as the Daberath, or Daberah mentioned in the book of Joshua, as on the borders of Zabulon and Issachar. “Any one,” he adds, “who examines the fourth chapter of Judges, may see that this is probably the spot where Barak and Deborah met at Mount Tabor with their forces, and went to pursue Sisera; and on this account, it might have its name from that great prophetess, who then judged and governed Israel; for Josephus relates, that Deborah and Barak gathered the army together at this mountain.”
“From the top of Tabor,” says Maundrell, “you have a prospect which, if nothing else, will reward the labour of ascending it. It is impossible for man’s eyes to behold a higher gratification of this nature. On the north- west you discern at a distance the Mediterranean, and all round you have the spacious and beautiful plains of Esdraelon and Galilee. Turning a little southward, you have in view the high mountains of Gilboa, fatal to Saul and his sons. Due east you discover the sea of Tiberias, distant about one day’s journey. A few points to the north appears that which they call the mount of Beatitudes. Not far from this little hill is the city Saphet: it stands upon a very eminent and conspicuous mountain, and is seen far and near.” Beyond this is seen a much higher mountain, capped with snow, a part of the chain of Antilibanus. To the south-west is Carmel, and on the south the hills of Samaria.
Tabor, 1
Ta´bor, a mountain on the confines of Zebulun and Naphtali, standing out in the north-east border of the plain of Esdraelon, the name of which appears among Greek and Roman writers in the forms of Itabyrion and Atabyrion, and which is now known by the name of Jebel Tur. Mount Tabor stands out alone and eminent above the plain, with all its fine proportions from base to summit displayed at one view. It lies at the distance of two hours and a quarter south of Nazareth. According to the barometrical measurements of Schubert, the height of Tabor above the level of the sea is 1748 Paris feet, and 1310 Paris feet above the level of the plain at its base. Seen from the south-west, it presents a semi-globular appearance; but from the north-west, it more resembles a truncated cone. By an ancient path, which winds considerably, one may ride to the summit, where is a small oblong plain, with the foundations of ancient buildings. The view of the country from this place is very beautiful and extensive. The mountain is of limestone, which is the general rock of Palestine. The sides of the mountain are mostly covered with bushes, and woods of oak trees (ilex and aegilops), with occasionally pistachio trees, presenting a beautiful appearance, and affording a fine shade.
This mountain is several times mentioned in the Old Testament (Jos 19:12; Jos 19:22; Jdg 4:6; Jdg 4:12; Jdg 4:14); but not in the New. Its summit has, however, been usually regarded as the ’high mountain apart,’ where our Lord was transfigured before Peter, James, and John. But the probability of this is opposed by circumstances which cannot be gainsaid. It is manifest that the Transfiguration took place in a solitary place, not only from the word ’apart,’ but from the circumstance that Peter in his bewilderment proposed to build ’three tabernacles’ on the spot (Mat 17:1-8; Luk 9:28-36). But we know that a fortified town occupied the top of Tabor for at least 220 years before and 60 years after the birth of Christ, and probably much before and long after; and the tradition itself cannot be traced back earlier than towards the end of the fourth century.
Tabor, 2
Tabor is also the name of a grove of oaks in the vicinity of Benjamin, in 1Sa 10:3, the topography of which chapter is usually much embarrassed by the groundless notion that Mount Tabor is meant.
Tabor, 3
Tabor, a Levitical city in Zebulun, situated upon Mount Tabor (1Ch 6:77).
An isolated mountain of Galilee, on the northeastern side of the plain of Esdraelon, an arm of which extends beyond the mountain in the same direction. It is of limestone formation, conical in form, and well-wooded, especially on the north side, with fine oaks and other trees and odoriferous plants. It rises 1,350 feet above the plain at its base, which is 400 feet above the Mediterranean, and by a winding path on the north-west side one may ride to its summit in an hour. There is a small oblong plain on the summit, surrounded by a larger but less regular tract, perhaps a mile inn circumference. The prospect from Mount Tabor is extensive and beautiful. Dr. Robinson and many others speak of it as one of the finest in Paletine; and Lord Nugent declared it the most splendid he could recollect having ever seen from any natural height. See Jer 46:18 . Its general features are the same as those of the view from the heights of Nazareth, five miles to the west. See NAZARETH. Glimpses of the Mediterranean appear over the high grounds, which intervene. In the plain at the southern base of the mountain are the sources of the brook Kishon, and the villages Endor and Nain, famous in Bible history. Besides the fertile expanse of Esdraelon, and mounts Carmel, Gilboa, etc., on its borders, the view embraces a portion of the sea of Galilee in the northeast; and towards the north the mountains of Galilee, with the town of Safed crowning the highest of them all, recalling the proverb which it is said to have first suggested, "A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid." Still farther to the north and east, the snowcrowned head of Hermon overlooks the fifty miles which intervene, Psa 80:12 .\par On the summit of Tabor a fortified town anciently stood, probably of the same name, 1Ch 6:77 . This was in existence, and was garrisoned by the Romans in the time of Christ, which conflicts with the tradition that makes Tabor the scene of the transfiguration. Ruins of ancient walls enclose the area of the summit; and at various points there are remains of fortifications and dwellings, some of which are of the age of the crusaders, and others of more ancient date. Tabor lay on the borders of Issachar and Zebulun, Jos 19:12,22 . The host of Barak encamped upon it, before the battle with Sisera, Jdg 4:6,12,14 . At a later day it appears to have been desecrated by idolatry, Hos 5:1 .\par
Ta’bor. (a mound). Mount Tabor.
1. One of the most interesting and remarkable of the single mountains in Palestine. It rises abruptly from the northeastern arm of the plain of Esdraelon, and stands entirely insulated, except on the west, where a narrow ridge connects it with the hills of Nazareth. It presents to the eye, as seen from a distance, a beautiful appearance, being symmetrical in its proportions and rounded off like a hemisphere or the segment of a circle, yet varying somewhat as viewed from different directions.
The body of the mountain consists of the peculiar limestone of the country. It is now called Jebel-et-Tur. It lies about six or eight miles almost due east from Nazareth. The ascent is usually made on the west side, near the little village of Deburieh -- probably the ancient Daberath, Jos 19:12 -- though it can be made with entire ease in other places. It requires three quarters of an hour or an hour to reach the to the top. The top of Tabor consists of an irregular platform, embracing a circuit of half an hour’s walk, and commanding wide views of the subjacent plain from end to end.
Tabor does not occur in the New Testament, but it makes a prominent figure in the Old Testament. The book of Joshua, Jos 19:22, mentions it as the boundary between Issachar and Zebulun, see Jos 19:12. Barak, at the command of Deborah, assembled his forces on Tabor, and descended thence, with "ten thousand men after him," into the plain, and conquered Sisera on the banks of the Kishon. Jdg 4:6-15. The brothers of Gideon, each of whom "resembled the children of a king," were murdered here, by Zebah and Zalmunna. Jdg 8:18-19.
There are, at present, the ruins of a fortress round all the summit of Tabor. The Latin Christians have now an altar here, at which their priests from Nazareth, perform an annual mass. The Greeks also have a chapel, where, on certain festivals, they assemble for the celebration of religious rites.
The idea that our Saviour was transfigured on Tabor prevailed extensively among the early Christians, and still reappears, often, in popular religious works. It is impossible, however, to acquiesce in the correctness of this opinion. It can be proved from the Old Testament, and from later history, that a fortress or town existed on Tabor, from very early times, down to B.C. 53 or 50; and as Josephus says that he strengthened the fortifications there about A.D. 60, it is morally certain that Tabor must have been inhabited during the intervening period that is in the days of Christ. Tabor, therefore, could not have been the Mount of Transfiguration; See Hermon; for when it is said that Jesus took his disciples "up into a high mountain apart, and was transfigured before them", Mat 17:1-2, we must understand that he brought them to the summit of the mountain, where they were alone by themselves.
2. Tabor is mentioned in the lists of 1 Chronicles 6, as a city of the Merarite Levites, in the tribe of Zebulun. 1Ch 6:77. The list of the towns of Zebulun. Joshua 19, contains the name of Chisloth-tabor. Jos 19:12. It is, therefore, possible, either that Chisloth-tabor is abbreviated into Tabor by the chronicler, or that, by the time these later lists were compiled, the Merarites had established themselves on the sacred mountain, and that Tabor is Mount Tabor.
("height, mound"); (
1. Psa 89:12, "the N. and S. Tabor (i.e. the W.) and Hermon (E. of Jordan) shall rejoice," etc. Their existence and majestic appearance are a silent hymn to their Creator’s praise; the view from Tabor comprises as much of natural beauty and sacred interest as any in the Holy Land. Accurately corresponding to its name; a large isolated mound-like mountain, 1865 ft. high, N.E. of Esdraelon plain. On the W. however a narrow ridge connects it with the hills of Nazareth, which lies six or eight miles off due W. The southern end of the lake of Galilee lies 12 miles off to the E. It consists of limestone; thick stone; thick forests of oak, etc., cover the sides, affording covert to wolves, boars, lynxes, and reptiles. The summit is a mile and a half in circuit, surmounted with a four-gated fortress’ ruins, with an Arabic inscription on one of the gateways recording its building or rebuilding by the sultan Abu Bekr.
Named among Issachar’s boundaries (Jos 19:22), but the fortified city at Mount Tabor’s base may be meant there.
Jewish tradition states that liers in wait in Tabor and Mizpah intercepted and murdered Israelites going from the northern kingdom up to Jerusalem to worship in Jehovah’s temple (compare Hos 5:2). Jer 46:18, "as Tabor is among the mountains," i.e. as it towers high and unique by itself, so Nebuchadnezzar is one not to be matched as a foe. The large, beveled stones among the ruins at the top belong to Roman times. The Lord’s transfiguration Jerome and others assigned to Tabor. But the buildings on Tabor (see Josephus, B.J. 4:1, section 8, and 1Ch 6:77) are inconsistent, with the solitude "apart" of which the narrative (Mat 17:1-2) speaks. Moreover, the transfiguration took place near Caesarea Philippi; this fact, and the reference to the "snow," accord best with Mount Hermon being the scene (Mar 8:27; Mar 9:1-3).
2. The city of the Merarite Levites (1Ch 6:77).
3. "The plain of Tabor." Eelon, rather "the oak of Tabor" (1Sa 10:3). Identified by Ewald with the oak of Deborah (or Tabor differently pronounced), Rebekah’s nurse (Gen 35:8), and the palm of Deborah the prophetess (Jdg 4:5; the distance from Rachel’s sepulchre at Bethlehem is an objection), and the oak of the prophet of Bethel (1Ki 13:14).
Tabor (tâ’bôr), a mound; or Mount Tabor. Jdg 4:6. A single limestone mountain in central Palestine. It rises abruptly from the northeastern arm of the plain of Esdraelon, and stands entirely isolated except on the west, where a narrow ridge connects it with the hills of Nazareth. It is six miles east of Nazareth, and about 50 miles north of Jerusalem. As seen from a distance, it presents the appearance of a beautiful flattened cone, being symmetrical in its proportions, and rounded off like a hemisphere or the segment of a circle. Tabor makes a prominent figure in the Old, but is not named in the New Testament. It was the boundary between Issachar and Zebulun. Jos 19:12; Jos 19:22. Barak, at the command of Deborah, assembled his forces on Tabor, and descended thence, with "ten thousand men after him," into the plain, and conquered Sisera on the banks of the Kishon. Jdg 4:6-15. The brothers of Gideon, each of whom "resembled the children of a king," were murdered here by Zebah and Zalmunna. Jdg 8:18-19. There are the ruins of a fortress on the summit of Tabor.
[Ta’bor]
1. A conspicuous mountain in Galilee, about seven miles east of Nazareth. It formed a boundary to Issachar and Zebulon. Its sides are well wooded, and on the summit is an irregular plain of about a mile in circuit, with ruins of fortifications. The height of it is 1,843 feet. Jos 19:22; Jdg 4:6-14; Jdg 8:18; Psa 89:12; Jer 46:18; Hos 5:1. It is now called Jebel et Tor, 32° 41’ N, 35° 23’ E. Tradition makes this the mount of Transfiguration; but it is more probable that some part of mount Hermon was chosen for the transfiguration. This has good moral associations (cf. Psa 133:3), and would be more private than Tabor.
2. The ’plain of Tabor’ in 1Sa 10:3 should be read the ’oak of Tabor’ as in the R.V.
3. Levitical city in the tribe of Zebulun. 1Ch 6:77. The list of Levitical cities in Joshua 21 does not contain this name. See CHESULLOTH.
By: Executive Committee of the Editorial Board., Immanuel Benzinger
1. Mountain of Palestine, the modern Jabal al-Ṭur, on the northern edge of the plain of Jezreel. It is a dome-shaped hill with softly rounded outlines, and rises about 400 m. above the surrounding plain and 562 m. above sea-level. Standing out boldly on all sides, except in the northeast, where a low ridge connects it with the hill-country of Nazareth, it rises high above all the elevations in its vicinity and forms a landmark visible at a great distance. From the southwest it forms almost a semicircle. Its beauty and symmetry, together with its isolated position, render it, like Carmel and Hermon, important in history and tradition (Jer. xlvi. 18; Ps. lxxxix. 13 [A. V. 12]). In ancient times it formed the boundary between Zebulun, Issachar, and Naphtali (Judges iv. 6, 12, 14); and there Barak assembled his army to battle against Sisera (ib. iv. 6), while it was also the center of an ancient cult (Hos. v. 1). The Tabor mentioned in Judges viii. 18 must not be identified with this mountain, even in case the text does not require emendation (comp.Moore, "Judges," p. 228), but is rather to be localized in the vicinity of Ophrah, the home of Gideon. In like manner "the plain of Tabor" mentioned in I Sam. x. 3 has no connection with the mountain under consideration, but the name seems to have been a frequent designation for places in the territory of Benjamin.In later Jewish history Tabor is mentioned in the wars between Antiochus III., the Great, and Ptolemy VII., Philopator, the city of Atabyrium, which was situated on this mountain, being taken by Antiochus in 218 B.C. In 55 B.C. the proconsul Gabinius, the general of Pompey, defeated Alexander, the son of Aristobulus, in a bloody battle at the foot of Tabor. The mountain was fortified against Vespasian by Josephus as governor of Galilee (67 C.E.); but lack of water compelled those who survived the defeat in the plain to surrender to the general Placidus (Josephus, "B. J." iv. 1, § 8; idem, "Vita," § 37).The sanctity ascribed to the mountain from very early times reappears in Christian legend; for the Gospel according to the Hebrews designates it as the scene of the transfiguration of Jesus (Matt. xvii. 1; Mark ix. 2; Luke ix. 28), and as early as the fourth century churches and monasteries were built on its summit. This tradition is incorrect, however; for a comparison of the statements of the Evangelists shows that they localized the event on a mountain north of the Lake of Gennesaret.
2. A city of Zebulun bordering on Issachar (Josh. xix. 22); a priestly city of the family of Merari (I Chron. vi. 62 [A. V. 77]). It was situated on a peak of the mountain of the same name, and covered a level surface of considerable extent, being about 900 m. from east to west and 400 m. from south to north, with a periphery, according to Josephus, of 26 stadia. The place existed even in the post-exilic period. Polybius (v. 70) calls it "Atabyrium"; and the walls with which Josephus fortified it may very possibly correspond to the outer walls of the peak in modern times.
Bibliography:
Survey of Western Palestine, i. 388 et seq.;
Robinson, Researches, pp. 351 et seq.;
G. A. Smith, Historical Geography of the Holy Land, pp. 394 et seq.;
Barnabé, Le Mont Thabor, Paris, 1900.
TABOR (MOUNT).—A mountain in the N.E. corner of the plain of Esdraelon, some 7 miles E. of Nazareth. Though only 1843 feet high, Tabor is, from its isolation and remarkable rounded shape, a most prominent object from great distances around; hence, though so very different in size from the great mountain mass of Hermon, it was yet associated with it (Psa 89:12). It was a king among the mountains (Jer 46:18). It is known to the Arabs as Jebel et-Tûr, lit. ‘the mountain of the mount,’ the same name as is applied to the Mount of Olives. From the summit of Tabor a magnificent outlook is obtained, especially to the W., over the great plain of Esdraelon to the mountains of Samaria and Carmel. It was on the borders of Zebulun and Issachar (Jos 19:12; Jos 19:22); It was certainly an early sanctuary, i and probably the reference in Deu 33:18-19 is to this mountain. Here the forces under Deborah and Barak rallied to fight Sisera (Jdg 4:6; Jdg 4:12). Whether the reference in Jdg 8:18 is to this mountain is doubtful. In later history Tabor appears chiefly as a fortress. In the 3rd cent. b.c., Antiochus the Great captured the city Atabyrium which was upon Tabor, and afterwards fortified it. Between b.c. 105 and 78 the place was again in Jewish hands, but in b.c. 53 Gabinius here defeated Alexander, son of Aristobulus ii., who was in revolt. A hundred and ten years later Josephus fortified the hill against Vespasian, but after the Jewish soldiers had been defeated by the general Placidus, the place surrendered. During the Crusades it was for long in the hands of the Christians, but fell to the Muslems after the battle of Hattin, and was fortified in 1212 by the successor of Saladin—a step which led to the inglorious and ineffectual 5th Crusade.
The tradition that Tabor was the scene of the Transfiguration goes back to the 3rd cent., but has little evidence in its favour. Although not directly recorded, the condition of the hill before and after would lead one to suppose that it was an inhabited site at the time of Christ, while the requirements of the Biblical narrative (Mar 8:27; Mar 9:2-10, Luk 9:28-36) suggest a site near Cæsarea Philippi, such, for example, as an isolated spur of Hermon.
Mount Tabor to-day is one of the best-wooded spots in W. Palestine, groves of oaks and terebinths not only covering the hillsides, but extending also over a considerable area of hill and valley to the N.; game abounds in the coverts. The Franciscans and the Greek Church have each erected a monastery-hospice on the summit, and extensive excavations have been made, particularly by members of the former order. The foundations of a great wall of circumvallation—probably that of Josephus (BJ IV. i. 8)—have been followed, many ancient tombs have been cleared, and the remains of several churches of the 4th and of the 12th centuries have been unearthed.
E. W. G. Masterman.