Rabbah
Or Rab’bath, great. (1.) “Rabbath of the children of Ammon,” the chief city of the Ammonites, among the eastern hills, some 20 miles east of the Jordan, on the southern of the two streams which united with the Jabbok. Here the bedstead of Og was preserved (Deut 3:11), perhaps as a trophy of some victory gained by the Ammonites over the king of Bashan. After David had subdued all their allies in a great war, he sent Joab with a strong force to take their city. For two years it held out against its assailants. It was while his army was engaged in this protracted siege that David was guilty of that deed of shame which left a blot on his character and cast a gloom over the rest of his life. At length, having taken the “royal city” (or the “city of waters,” 2 Sam 12:27, i.e., the lower city on the river, as distinguished from the citadel), Joab sent for David to direct the final assault (2 Sam 11:1; 2 Sam 12:26–31). The city was given up to plunder, and the people were ruthlessly put to death, and “thus did he with all the cities of the children of Ammon.” The destruction of Rabbath was the last of David’s conquests. His kingdom now reached its farthest limits (2 Sam 8:1–15; 1 Chr 18:1–15). The capture of this city is referred to by Amos (Amos 1:14), Jeremiah (Jer 49:2, Jer 49:3), and Ezekiel (Ezek 21:20; Ezek 25:5).
(2.) A city in the hill country of Judah (Josh 15:60), possibly the ruin Rubba, six miles north-east of Beit-Jibrin.
Named in the Bible
12 verses
- Joshua 13:25 And their coast was Jazer, and all the cities of Gilead, and half the land of the children of Ammon, unto Aroer that is before Rabbah;
- Joshua 15:60 Kirjathbaal, which is Kirjathjearim, and Rabbah; two cities with their villages:
- 2 Samuel 11:1 And it came to pass, after the year was expired, at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried still at Jerusalem.
- 2 Samuel 12:26 And Joab fought against Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and took the royal city.
- 2 Samuel 12:27 And Joab sent messengers to David, and said, I have fought against Rabbah, and have taken the city of waters.
- 2 Samuel 12:29 And David gathered all the people together, and went to Rabbah, and fought against it, and took it.
- 2 Samuel 17:27 And it came to pass, when David was come to Mahanaim, that Shobi the son of Nahash of Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and Machir the son of Ammiel of Lodebar, and Barzillai the Gileadite of Rogelim,
- 1 Chronicles 20:1 And it came to pass, that after the year was expired, at the time that kings go out to battle, Joab led forth the power of the army, and wasted the country of the children of Ammon, and came and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried at Jerusalem. And Joab smote Rabbah, and destroyed it.
- Jeremiah 49:2 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will cause an alarm of war to be heard in Rabbah of the Ammonites; and it shall be a desolate heap, and her daughters shall be burned with fire: then shall Israel be heir unto them that were his heirs, saith the LORD.
- Jeremiah 49:3 Howl, O Heshbon, for Ai is spoiled: cry, ye daughters of Rabbah, gird you with sackcloth; lament, and run to and fro by the hedges; for their king shall go into captivity, and his priests and his princes together.
- Ezekiel 25:5 And I will make Rabbah a stable for camels, and the Ammonites a couchingplace for flocks: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
- Amos 1:14 But I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah, and it shall devour the palaces thereof, with shouting in the day of battle, with a tempest in the day of the whirlwind:
From Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897), by Matthew George Easton.
