Tabbath
“Celebrated; or Good”
Summary
Tabbath was a place in the Jordan valley to which the Midianite army fled after Gideon's night attack.
☩The Flight of Midian
Tabbath is mentioned in Judges 7:22 in connection with the rout of the Midianite host after Gideon's famous night attack. With only three hundred men armed with trumpets and torches hidden in pitchers, Gideon threw the vast Midianite camp into confusion. The panicked enemy fled toward Beth-shittah, Zererath, and to the border of Abel-meholah by Tabbath, falling upon one another with their swords in the darkness.
☩Location
Tabbath lay in or near the Jordan valley, somewhere in the flight path from the Midianite camp toward the Jordan River. It was apparently near Abel-meholah, which served as a landmark for its location. The most likely identification is Tubukhat Fahil, meaning 'Terrace of Fahil,' a remarkable natural bank about 600 feet high with a flat top, embanked against the western face of the mountains east of the Jordan. This dramatic geological feature would have been a recognizable landmark in the region.
Related Verses1 mention
Judges· 1 verse
References
- 1.James Orr (ed.), "Tabbath," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. V (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).
- 2.John McClintock and James Strong, "Tabbath," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. X (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 3.F. N. Peloubet & M. A. Peloubet (ed.), "Tabbath," in Smith's Bible Dictionary (Porter & Coates, 1884).
- 4.Andrew Robert Fausset, "Tabbath," in The Englishman's Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopædia (Hodder & Stoughton, 1878).