Rabbah, Rabbath

Narrator: Chris Genthree
 •  1 min. read  •  grade level: 9
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1. The fortified capital of the Ammonites. It was not included in the cities taken by the tribes on the east of the Jordan (Deut. 3:1111For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of giants; behold, his bedstead was a bedstead of iron; is it not in Rabbath of the children of Ammon? nine cubits was the length thereof, and four cubits the breadth of it, after the cubit of a man. (Deuteronomy 3:11); Josh. 13:2525And 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 13:25)). Joab, however, attacked it, and, during its siege, Uriah, by the instigation of David, lost his life. The city was eventually taken and destroyed (2 Sam. 11:11And 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 11:1); 2 Sam. 12:26-2926And Joab fought against Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and took the royal city. 27And Joab sent messengers to David, and said, I have fought against Rabbah, and have taken the city of waters. 28Now therefore gather the rest of the people together, and encamp against the city, and take it: lest I take the city, and it be called after my name. 29And David gathered all the people together, and went to Rabbah, and fought against it, and took it. (2 Samuel 12:26‑29); 2 Sam. 17:2727And 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 Lo-debar, and Barzillai the Gileadite of Rogelim, (2 Samuel 17:27); 1 Chron. 20:11And 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. (1 Chronicles 20:1)). Subsequently, when the strength of Israel was broken, it appears to have recovered itself, for we find its doom announced in the prophets (Jer. 49:2-32Therefore, 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. 3Howl, 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. (Jeremiah 49:2‑3); Ezek. 21:2020Appoint a way, that the sword may come to Rabbath of the Ammonites, and to Judah in Jerusalem the defenced. (Ezekiel 21:20); Ezek. 25:55And I will make Rabbah a stable for camels, and the Ammonites a couchingplace for flocks: and ye shall know that I am the Lord. (Ezekiel 25:5); Amos 1:1414But 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: (Amos 1:14)). Identified with Amman, 31° 57' N, 35° 57' E. There are many ruins on the site, but they are judged to belong to the Roman period, when a city, called Philadelphia, was built there. A stream rises in the midst of the city, and this fact, together with its being the last place to obtain water for crossing the desert, doubtless was the cause of its being called “the city of waters.”
2. City of Judah, near Kirjath-jearim (Josh. 15:6060Kirjath-baal, which is Kirjath-jearim, and Rabbah; two cities with their villages: (Joshua 15:60)). Identified by some with ruins at Rubba, 31° 40' N, 34° 58' E.