Tabor

A height. (1.) Now Jebel et-Tur, a cone-like prominent mountain, 11 miles west of the Sea of Galilee. It is about 1,843 feet high. The view from the summit of it is said to be singularly extensive and grand. This is alluded to in Ps. 89:12; Jer. 46:18. It was here that Barak encamped before the battle with Sisera (q.v.) Judg. 4:6-14. There is an old tradition, which, however, is unfounded, that it was the scene of the transfiguration of our Lord. (See HERMON.) “The prominence and isolation of Tabor, standing, as it does, on the border-land between the northern and southern tribes, between the mountains and the central plain, made it a place of note in all ages, and evidently led the psalmist to associate it with Hermon, the one emblematic of the south, the other of the north.” There are some who still hold that this was the scene of the transfiguration (q.v.). (2.) A town of Zebulum (1 Chr. 6:77). (3.) The “plain of Tabor” (1 Sam. 10:3) should be, as in the Revised Version, “the oak of Tabor.” This was probably the Allon-bachuth of Gen. 35:8.

is mentioned in the lists of 1Chr 6 as a city of the Merarite Levites, in the tribe of Zebulun. ver. (1 Chronicles 6:77) The list of the towns of Zebulun. Josh 19 contains the name of Chisloth-tabor. ver. (Joshua 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. (a mound), or Mount Tabor, 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, (Joshua 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 makes a prominent figure in the Old. The book of Joshua (Joshua 19:22) mentions it as the boundary between Issachar and Zebulun, See ver. 12. Barak, at the command of…

choice; purity; bruising

TA'BOR (mound, height). 1. A mountain of Palestine; by Greek and Roman writers called Itabyrion and Atybyrion; now known by the Arabic name of Jebel et-Tor. Tabor is situated on the north-eastern edge of the great plain of Esdraelon, and on the borders between Zebulun and Naphtali. It is 6 miles south of east from Nazareth, and 10 miles south of west from the southern extremity of the Sea of Tiberias. History. - The position of Tabor, overlooking the great battle-plain of Palestine, Esdraelon, made it a suitable place for the Israelites to assemble for battle. There Barak gathered his forces - 10,000 men - for the overthrow of Sisera. Jud 4:6-14. Some of Israel's warriors had been slain there by the Midianites before Gideon's victory. Jud 8:18. Tabor is extolled with Hermon in Ps 89:12, and mentioned with Carmel in Jer 46:18. Idolatries practised upon that mountain were a "net spread upon Tabor." Hos 5:1. Tabor is not mentioned in the N.T. A tradition dating certainly as early as Origen and Jerome made this the Mount of Transfiguration. Mark 9:2-10. But the summit of Tabor must at that time have been covered with houses, since the town was then existing which Antiochus the Great founded, b.c. 218, on the top of the hill. Furthermore, the Mount of Transfiguration was probably in the region of Caesarea-Philippi, as the transfiguration occurred only a few days after Christ had arrived at that place and solicited the great confession of Peter. However, the legend attached to Tabor led to the erection, before the end of the sixth century, of three churches, in memory of the three tabernacles. Afterward the Crusaders erected a church and a monastery, which were destroyed by the Muslims. Present Appearance. - Mount Tabor is one of the most remarkable of the mountains of…

TABOR, THE PLAIN OF. This should rather be the "oak" or "terebinth of Tabor." It is mentioned only in 1 Sam 10:3. What is meant by "Tabor" it is impossible to say. It has been suggested that "the oak of Tabor" was the same as the "Allonbachuth" the oak under which Deborah was buried. Gen 35:8. But Conder proposes to identify this Tabor with el Bukeia, a plain south of Jerusalem.