Boyd’s Bible Dictionary:
(prophet). (1) A mountain of Moab, whence Moses viewed the promised land (Deut. 32:49; 34:1). (2) A Reubenite city (Num. 32:3,38; 33:47). (3) Father of returned captives (Ezra 2:29). (4) A Chaldean god, presiding over learning. Counterpart of the Greek Hermes (Isa. 46:1; Jer. 48:1).
“Nebo” From Concise Bible Dictionary:
1. City of Reuben, east of the Jordan (Num. 32:3, 38; Num. 33:47; 1 Chron. 5:8). It is denounced in the prophets as belonging to Moab (Isa. 15:2; Jer. 48:1,22).
2. City whose inhabitants or “children” returned from exile (Ezra 2:29; Neh. 7:33).
3. One whose descendants had married strange wives (Ezra 10:43).
4. A Chaldean idol whose name as Nabo or Nebu is probably incorporated in some of the Chaldaic proper names (Isa. 46:1).
“Nebo, Mount” From Concise Bible Dictionary:
On the east of the Jordan, perhaps the highest point of Pisgah, from where Moses viewed the promised land. It was opposite Jericho (Deut. 32:49; Deut. 34:1). Identified with Jebel Neba, 31° 46' N, 35° 44' E. It is about 2,643 feet high, and commands an extensive view of western Israel.
The Promised Land from Nebo. Infra-red telephoto showing Jerusalem and Bethlehem.
Strong’s Dictionary of Hebrew Words:
Meaning:
probably of foreign derivation; Nebo, the name of a Babylonian deity, also of a mountain in Moab, and of a place in Palestine
Jackson’s Dictionary of Scripture Proper Names:
his prophecy
Potts’ Bible Proper Names:
High; interpreter:―name of Babylonian deity; mountain in Moab; place in Palestine, Num. 32:3. {Altus}
From Manners and Customs of the Bible:
Isaiah 46:1. Bel boweth down, Nebo stoopeth.
Nebo was the last in order of the planetary gods of the Chaldeans, and was also worshiped by the Babylonians and the Assyrians, and by the Sabians in Arabia. He is supposed to have been of Babylonian origin. He corresponds to the Latin Mercury, the Greek Hermes, and the Egyptian-Thoth. The name is supposed to be derived from nabah, to prophesy, and the office of this deity was that of interpreter for the gods. His symbol was a simple wedge or arrow-head. The same word (Tir) among the ancient Persians signified both “arrow-head” and the name of the planet nearest the sun, Mercury. The popularity of this god is seen in the combination of his name with the names of ancient kings: for example, Nebu chadnezzar, Nebuzaradan, Nebuhashban, Nabonedus, Nabonassar, Naburianus, Naboilabus, Nabopolassar.
In the British Museum are statues of Nebo which were taken from Nimrud. They are partially covered with cuneiform inscriptions. There is also in the same Museum a block of black basalt, which was found at Hillah in 1862. It has on it an inscription of six hundred and twenty lines, divided into ten columns. In this inscription reference is made by Nebuchadnezzar, its author, to the god Nebo, in which, among other things, he says: “Nebo, the guardian of the hosts of heaven and earth, has committed to me the scepter of justice to govern men.”
The expressions, “boweth down” and “stoopeth,” evidently refer to the downfall of these idols, and of the system of idolatry of which they were the symbols. According to the prophecy this was to be accomplished by the Persian power. It is, therefore, proper to remark here, that though the Persians worshiped the sun, the moon, and the earth, images of gods were entirely unknown among them. Herodotus says of them, “They have no images of the gods, no temples nor altars, and consider the use of them a sign of folly” (Book 1, chap. 131). Thus it was in perfect accordance with their own customs that the Persians should destroy the graven images of other nations. To Cyrus the Persian monarch, is assigned, in Isaiah 45:1, this work of destruction. So utterly helpless are Nebo and Bel, that they cannot deliver themselves from captivity, and so worthless that they are counted only as “a burden to the weary beast.”
An account of Bel is given in the note on Jeremiah 50:2 (#559).
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