Timnah

Tim´nah or Timnath, an ancient city of the Canaanites (Gen 38:12), first assigned to the tribe of Judah (Jos 15:10-57), and afterwards to Dan (Jos 19:43); but it long remained in the possession of the Philistines (Jdg 14:1; 2Ch 28:18; comp. Josephus, Antiq. v. 8. 5). It is chiefly noted as the abode of Samson’s bride, and the place where he held his marriage feast. It is probably represented by a deserted site now called Tibneh, which is about one hour’s journey south-west of Zerah, the residence of Samson. Another Timnah lay in the mountains of Judah (Jos 15:57; Gen 38:12-14).

Tim’nah. (portion).

1. A place which formed, one of the landmarks on the north boundary, of the allotment of Judah. Jos 15:10. It is probably identical with the Thimnathah of Jos 19:43, and that again with the Timnath, or, more accurately, Timnathah, of Samson Jdg 14:1-2; Jdg 14:5, and the Thamnatha of the Maccabees. The modern representative of all these various forms of the same name is, probably, Tibneh, a village about two miles west of Ain Shems, (Beth-shemesh). In the later history of the Jews, Timnah must have been a conspicuous place. It was fortified by Bacchides as one of the most important military posts of Judea. 1Ma 9:50.

2. A town in the mountain district of Judah. Jos 15:57, A distinct place from that just examined.

3. Inaccurately, written as Timnath, in the Authorized Version, the scene of the adventure of Judah, with his daughter in-law, Tamar. Gen 38:12-14. There is nothing here to indicate its position. It may be identified, either, with the Timnah in the mountains of Judah, or with the Timnathath of Samson.

("a divided or assigned part".)

1. Judah went to shear his sheep in Timnah (Gen 38:13-14).

2. A boundary town in Judah on the N. side (Jos 15:10). Near the western extremity, further than Bethshemesh, toward Ekron; in the shephelah or low hills between the mountains and the plain (2Ch 28:18). Probably the same as TIMNATHAH of Dan (Jos 19:43), and as the Timhah of Samson. (Jdg 14:1; Jdg 14:19); haunted by lions, etc., therefore thinly peopled; higher than Askelon, lower than Zorah (Jdg 13:25). Now Tibneh, a deserted site S.W. of Zorah, and two miles W. of Ain Shems. Timnah when deserted by the Danite emigrants to Laish fell by turns to Judah and the Philistines.

Tibneh is 740 ft. above the sea, not in the plain. Samson in going down to it would descend first 700 ft. into the valley, then ascend again 350 ft. to Timnah. The grain which he fired grew in the valley, whereas the vineyards and olives lined the hills. With appropriate accuracy Judges (Jdg 15:4-6) says "the Philistines came up" to Timnah. The substitution of b for m, which we see in Tibneh for Timnah, occurs also in Atab for Etam (Jdg 15:8; Jdg 15:11, where instead of KJV "top" translated "he went down and dwelt in the cleft" seiph of the rock Etam). These clefts were the natural hiding places of the Israelites from their oppressors; and the term seiph is only used of the kind of rock to which the term celah is applied, nikrah of the "cavities" of the rock called tsur.

Etam answers to Belt Arab, which has a cavern called "the place of refuge," 250 ft. long, and from 5 to 8 ft. high, 18 ft. wide. The natural cleft has been artificially but rudely hewn in the rock. As Beit Atab, into which Samson went down for refuge (now called Hasuta), answers to the rock Elam ("eagle’s nest"), so seven miles off is a low hill, and close by is a chapel sacred to sheikh Nedhir, "the Nazarite chief," and higher up is the ruin "Ism-Allah," i.e. God heard, evidently pointing to the battle of Ramath Lehi. Moreover the springs were sometimes called Ayun Kara, answering to En-Hak. Kore, "fountain of the crier": Jdg 15:19. (Palestine Exploration Quarterly Statement, July 1878, pp. 116-118).

3. A town in the mountain district of Judah, enumerated with Maon, Ziph, and Carmel S. of Hebron.

[Tim’nah]

1. Duke descended from Esau. Gen 36:40; 1Ch 1:51. Perhaps the same as TIMNA No. 3.

2. City on the north border of Judah. Jos 15:10. Identified with ruins at Tibnah , 31° 45’ N, 34° 56’ E.

3. City in the south of Judah. Jos 15:57; 2Ch 28:18. Identified with Tibna, 31° 42’ N, 35° 2’ E.

TIMNAH.—1. A town in the high region of S. Judah, S. E. of Hebron (Jos 15:57). It is possible that this was the Timnah visited by Judah at the time of sheep-shearing (Gen 38:12). Or it may have been—2. A place on the N. frontier of the tribe of Judah between Beth-shemesh and Ekron (Jos 15:10). At one time it was counted in the territory of Dan (Jos 19:43), but at another it was in Philistine possession (Jdg 14:1). Here Samson celebrated his marriage. His father-in-law is called the Timnite (Jdg 15:6). The town was held by the Hebrews in the reign of Uzziah, but was lost to the Philistines by Ahaz (2Ch 28:13). It is now identified with Tibneh, on the S. side of the Wady Sarar, 2 miles W. of Beth-shemesh. 3. For Gen 36:40 see Timna, 3.

H. L. Willett.

tim´na (תּמנה, timnāh, תּמנתה, timnāthāh (Jos 19:43; Jdg 14:1, Jdg 14:2, Jdg 14:5), “allotted portion; Codex Vaticanus Θαμνᾶθα, Thamnátha; also several Greek variations; King James Version has Timnath in Gen 38:12, Gen 38:13, Gen 38:14; Jdg 14:1, Jdg 14:2, Jdg 14:5; and Thimnathah in Jos 19:43):

(1) A town in the southern part of the hill country of Judah (Jos 15:57). Tibna proposed by Conder, a ruin 8 miles West of Bethlehem, seems too far N. (PEF, III, 53, Sh XVII). It is possible this may be the “Timnah” of Gen 38:12, Gen 38:13, Gen 38:14.

(2) A town on the northern border of Judah (Jos 15:10), lying between Beth-shemesh and Ekron. It is probably the same Timnah as Judah visited (Gen 38:12-14), and certainly the scene of Samson’s adventures (Jdg 14:1 f); his “father-in-law” is called a “Timnite” (Jdg 15:6). At this time the place is clearly Philistine (Jdg 14:1), though in Jos 19:43 it is reckoned to Dan. Being on the frontier, it probably changed hands several times. In 2Ch 28:18 it was captured from the Philistines by Ahaz, and we learn from Assyrian evidence (Prison Inscription) that Sennacherib captured a Tamna after the battle of Alteka before he besieged Ekron (Schrader, Die Keilinschriften und das Altes Testament, 170). The site is undoubted. It is now a deserted ruin called Tibneh on the southern slopes of the Wâdy es Surâr (Valley of Sorek), about 2 miles West of Beth-shemesh. There is a spring, and there are evident signs of antiquity (PEF, II, 417, 441, Sh XVI).

(3) There was probably a Timna in Edom (Gen 36:12, Gen 36:22, Gen 36:40; 1Ch 1:39, 1Ch 1:51). Eusebius and Jerome (in Onomasticon) recognized a Thamna in Edom at their time.

(4) The “Thamnatha” of 1 Macc 9:50 (the King James Version) is probably another Timnah, and identical with the Thamna of Josephus (BJ, III, iii, 5; IV, viii, 1). This is probably the Tibneh, 10 miles Northwest of Bethel, an extensive ruin.