Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

TABOR

(Heb. tāḇôr)

1. Mt. Tabor, an isolated mountain with distinctive steep slopes rising to a height of 562 m. (1843 ft.) in the northeast portion of the plain of Esdraelon (187232). In the past its slopes were densely forested. Its eastern slope is a watershed for the Jordan River. The prominence of Mt. Tabor is determined in part by the excellent view it affords of the valley, giving it control of important crossroads. One of the main routes from Hazor and Damascus in the north to the pass of Megiddo and the coastal plain goes along the northwest side of the mountain. The three tribal lands of Issachar (Josh. 19:22), Zebulun (cf. v. 12), and Naphtali (cf. v. 34) meet at Mt. Tabor. This mountain is where Barak was instructed to assemble a force of 10 thousand men (Judg. 4:14).

Apparently not integrally affiliated with any one of the tribal lands, Mt. Tabor was probably a cultic center shared by the northern tribes. Deut. 33:18-19 refers to a mountain of Zebulun and Issachar where sacrifices are offered. Hos. 5:1 mentions “a net spread upon Tabor,” an expression indicating some sort of cultic practice.

Even though Tabor is not very high in absolute terms, its prominence in the plain led the psalmist (Ps. 89:12[13]) and the prophet Jeremiah (Jer. 46:18) to compare it with Mt. Carmel and Mt. Hermon, two lofty peaks which can be seen from its summit.

Although Tabor is not mentioned in the NT, since the 4th century c.e. it has been regarded by Christian tradition as the site of the transfiguration of Jesus, described as having taken place on a “high mountain” (Matt. 17:1; Mark 9:2, cf. Luke 9:28).

2. The Oak of Tabor, which marked a place in the territory of Benjamin where Samuel instructed Saul to go to after he had anointed him (1 Sam. 10:3). Located near Bethel and evidently a prominent landmark, the oak’s exact site is uncertain.

3. A levitical city assigned to the Merarites (1 Chr. 6:77[MT 62]). Located on the border of Zebulun, it may be the same as Chisloth-tabor (Josh. 19:12).

John Gillman

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

TABOR

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)