Ahlab (Mahalab), a city in Asher's territory, not conquered by the Israelites.
Also known as Mahalab · region · coast
Ahlab, also known as Mahalab, was a Canaanite city that was allotted to the tribe of Asher during the division of the Promised Land (Joshua 19:29). It was located in the western part of Galilee, near the Mediterranean coast. However, the tribe of Asher failed to drive out the Canaanite inhabitants of Ahlab, and as a result, the Canaanites continued to live among them (Judges 1:31).
This failure to completely conquer and possess the allotted territory was a common problem for several Israelite tribes during the period of the judges. The continued presence of Canaanites in cities like Ahlab would have exposed the Israelites to the influence of pagan religions and practices, which ultimately led to spiritual decline and disobedience to God. The exact location of Ahlab is uncertain, but it is generally associated with the site of Khirbet el-Mahalib, about 4 miles (6.4 km) northeast of Tyre.
Approximate location: 33.025, 35.445 · view on a map · on the Bible atlas
Fatness, a town of Asher lying within the unconquered Phoenician border (Judg. 1:31), north-west of the Sea of Galilee; commonly identified with Giscala, now el-Jish.
(fertile), a city of Asher from which the Canaanites were not driven out. (Judges 1:31)
made of milk, or of fat; brother of the heart
AH'LAB (fatness, fertility), a town in Asher held by the Canaanites, Jud 1:31; probably the place known later as Gash Halab or Chaleb, and which Robinson locates at el-Jish, near Safed, north-west of the Sea of Galilee.
AH'LAB (fatness, fertility), a town in Asher held by the Canaanites, Jud 1:31; probably the place known later as Gash Halab or Chaleb, and which Robinson locates at el-Jish, near Safed, north-west of the Sea of Galilee.
Easton (1897), Smith (1863), Hitchcock (1869), Hastings (1898) and Schaff are in the public domain. Parsed text: neuu-org/bible-dictionary-dataset (CC BY 4.0). Headwords and whitespace normalised for this site.
2 verses in 2 books · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s H0303
The border then turned back toward Ramah as far as the fortified city of Tyre, turned toward Hosah, and came out at the Sea in the region of Achzib,
Asher failed to drive out the inhabitants of Acco, Sidon, Ahlab, Achzib, Helbah, Aphik, and Rehob.
Names, family links and references: STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Short descriptions were drafted with AI assistance by STEPBible. Family links follow STEPBible’s scholarly decisions where genealogies are ambiguous.