Tabor in Biblical History

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Schaff's Bible Dictionary

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What is Tabor?
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 Palestine. It rises from the plain as an isolated mass, only connected on the west by a low and narrow ridge with the hills of Nazareth. Its appearance varies with the point of observation. From the south it has the form of a dome or the arc of a circle; from the west-north-west, that of a truncated cone. It rises from the surrounding table-land to the height of 1053 feet, and its summit is 2018 feet above the Mediterranean. The ascent is steep and rugged, but persons can reach the summit on horseback. The time required for ascending is about an hour. The southern slope is of barren limestone rock; the other sides are wooded with the oak, terebinth, mockorange, and trees "resembling the scattered glades in the outskirts of the New Forest." The soil is fertile, yielding luxuriant pasture. Partridges, hares, foxes, and other kinds of game abound. Porter speaks of seeing jackals, wolves, and a panther while he was visiting Tabor. The mountain has a flat summit a little less than a quarter of a mile long and an eighth of a mile wide. Two monasteries of comparatively modern date occupy the top of the hill, one belonging to the Greeks and the other to the Latins. There are also ruins of towers, fortifications, vaults, cisterns, and other structures of various periods, Jewish, Greek, Roman, Christian, Saracenic, Frank, and Turk, blended together in a confused mass. The view from the summit of Tabor is the best in all Central Palestine. To the north and east are Mount Hermon, the Sea of Galilee, the mountains of Bashan and Gilead; to the south and west, the great plain of Esdraelon, Gilboa, Carmel, and the Mediterranean. Standing on this spot, the traveller sees why Tabor was the gathering-place of the northern tribes, and can trace out the great battlefields below. 1. A city in Zebulun, assigned to the Mount Tabor. (After a Photograph.) Levites. 1 Chr 6:77. Probably the same as Chisloth-tabor, which see.

Bibliography Information
Schaff, Philip, Dr. "Biblical Definition for 'tabor' in Schaffs Bible Dictionary".
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