RIBLAH
RIBLAH
A city of Syria, in the country of Hamath, at the north-east extremity of Canaan, Num 34:11 . Its site is probably found in the modern village Ribleh, on the river Orontes, at the northern end of the great valley of Lebanon, El-Bukaa.. Through this valley, by way of Hamath and Riblah, was the readiest access to Palestine from the north. At Riblah king Jehoahaz was taken and deposed by Pharaoh- necho; here also Nebuchadnezzar established his headquarters when warring against Judah, 2Ki 23:33 ; 25:6,20,21; Jer 39:5 ; 52:10.
Fuente: American Tract Society Bible Dictionary
Riblah
(Heb. Riblah’, ,fertility; Sept. or , v.r. , , , etc.), the name probably of two places.
1. One of the landmarks on the eastern boundary of the land of Israel, as specified by Moses (Num 34:11). Its position is noted in this passage with much precision. It was between Shepham and the sea of Cinnereth, and on the east side of the spring. There is but one other incidental notice in Scripture tending to fix the site of Riblah; it is said to be in the land of Hamath (2Ki 23:33; 2Ki 25:21; Jeremiah 52, 9). The land of Hamath lay on the north of the ancient kingdom of Damascus. SEE HAMATH. It embraced the plain on both sides of the Orontes, extending from the city of Hamath southward to the fountain of the Orontes. This position, however, seems inconsistent with the preceding, inasmuch as Hazar-enan, the starting-point from the extreme north of the east border, lay at a considerable distance to the east of Hamath (the order given being thus: entrance to Hamath, Zedad, Ziphron, Hazar-enan, Num 34:8-9), so that a line drawn towards the Sea of Cinnereth (Lake of Tiberias) should have gone (one would think) a good deal to the east of Riblah; and the Riblah of the boundary line also seems to have been greatly nearer the Galilaean lake than the Riblah on the Orontes was, since Riblah was the town in the list nearest to the lake. The renderings of the ancient versions and the Targums only serve to confuse the passage. In the Sept. the division of the Hebrew words is even mistaken. Thus is rendered , joining the two first letters of the second word to the first word.
The Vulg., too, without any authority, inserts the word Daphnim; and Jerome affirms that Riblah is identical with Antioch (Onomast. s.v. Reblatha). In his commentary on Ezekiel he is still more explicit. He says, From the end, therefore, of the northern side-that is, from the temple (atrio) Enan the border extends, according to the book of Numbers, to Sepham, which the Hebrews call Apamia, and from Apamia to Rebla, which is now called Antioch of Syria. And that it may be known that Rebla means that city which is now the noblest in Coele-Syria, the words contra fontem are added, which, it is manifest, signify Daphne (Opera, 5, 478. ed. Migne). This singular view appears to be taken from the Targums (Bochart, Opera, 1, 431). Some suppose that the Daphne here mentioned was the place near the Lake of Merom of which Josephus speaks (War, 4, 1,1); and that therefore Ain may mean one of the fountains of the Jordan. With this agrees Parchi, the Jewish traveler in the 13th and 14th centuries, who expressly discriminates between the two (see the extracts in Zunz, Benjamin, 2, 418), and in our own day J.D. Michaelis (Bibel fur Ungelehrten; Suppl. ad Lexica, No. 2313) and Bonfrerius, the learned editor of Eusebius’s Onomasticon. So likewise Schwarz (Palest. p. 28). But Dr. Porter has endeavored to draw the boundary line in consistency with the position of the Riblah or Ribleh above described (Hand-book for Syria, p. 580); and Winer, Gesenius, Van de Velde, and others seem to have found no difficulty in identifying the Riblah of Numbers with that of Jeremiah and the later historical books. But Palestine never actually extended thus far north, and the arguments of Keil (ad loc.) appear to us conclusive that another Riblah must there be meant south of Mt. Hermon, perhaps the site afterwards called Leshem and Dan, the present Tell el-Kady. SEE TRIBE.
2. Riblah of Hamath lay on the great road between Palestine and Babylonia, at which the kings of Babylonia were accustomed to remain while directing the operations of their armies in Palestine and Phoenicia. Here Nebuchadnezzar waited while the sieges of Jerusalem and of Tyre were conducted by his lieutenants; hither were brought to him the wretched king of Judaea and his sons, and after a time a selection front all ranks and conditions of the conquered city, who were put to death, doubtless by the horrible torture of impaling, which the Assyrians practiced, and the long lines of the victims to which are still to be seen on their monuments (Jer 39:5-6; Jer 52:9-10; Jer 52:26-27; 2Ki 25:6; 2Ki 25:20-21). In like manner Pharaoh-necho, after his victory over the Babylonians at Carchemish, returned to Riblah and summoned Jehoahaz from Jerusalem before him (2Ki 23:33). Riblah is probably mentioned by Ezekiel (Eze 6:14), though in the present Hebrew text and A.V. it appears as Diblah or Diblath (q.v.).
This Riblah has no doubt been discovered, still retaining its ancient name, Ribleh, on the right (east) bank of el-Asy (the Orontes), upon the great road which connects Baalbek and Hums, about thirty-five miles northeast of the former and twenty miles southwest of the latter place. It lies about twelve miles east by north of its great fountain, which still bears the name el-Ain. The advantages of its position for the encampment of vast hosts, such as those of Egypt and Babylon, are enumerated by Dr. Robinson, who visited it in 1852 (Bib. Res. 3, 545). He describes it as lying on the banks of a mountain stream in the midst of a vast and fertile plain yielding the most abundant supplies of forage. From this point the roads were open by Aleppo and the Euphrates to Nineveh, or by Palmyra to Babylon… by the end of Lebanon and the coast to Palestine and Egypt, or through the Bukaa and the Jordan valley to the center of the Holy Land. It appears to have been first alluded to by Buckingham in 1816 (Arab Tribes, p. 481). The most singular object in this neighborhood is a monument called Kamoa el Hermel, which stands on a high mound several miles farther up the Orontes than Riblah (that is, farther south), but distinctly visible from it. It stands on a pedestal of three steps, and in the form of two quadrilateral masses rising one above another, the lower ornamented with figures of dogs, stags, hunting-instruments, etc., and terminating in a kind of pyramid, it reaches the height of about sixty feet (as given by Robinson), but Van de Velde makes it about twenty more (2, 469). One of the corners, the southwest, is in a dilapidated state; in other respects it is entire, and forms a solid mass of masonry built of large square stones. It is known to be of great antiquity; but its precise date and object are unknown; and Abulfeda is the first writer who is known to have mentioned it. Dr. Thomson, who was the first to draw attention to it, would connect it with the ancient Babylonian dynasty (Bib. Sacra, May, 1847).
Fuente: Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature
Riblah
fruitful, an ancient town on the northern frontier of Palestine, 35 miles north-east of Baalbec, and 10 or 12 south of Lake Homs, on the eastern bank of the Orontes, in a wide and fertile plain. Here Nebuchadnezzar had his head-quarters in his campaign against Jerusalem, and here also Necho fixed his camp after he had routed Josiah’s army at Megiddo (2 Kings 23:29-35; 25:6, 20, 21; Jer. 39:5; 52:10). It was on the great caravan road from Palestine to Carchemish, on the Euphrates. It is described (Num. 34:11) as “on the eastern side of Ain.” A place still called el Ain, i.e., “the fountain”, is found in such a position about 10 miles distant. (See JERUSALEM)
Fuente: Easton’s Bible Dictionary
Riblah
1. A landmark on the eastern border of Israel (Num 34:11), between Shepham and the sea of Cinneroth, on the “E. side of the spring.” Probably, without the vowel points and the final -ah of motion towards, the true name is Harbel “the Mount of Bel” or “Baal”. Jdg 3:3, “Har-Baal-Hermon”, Septuagint reads Ar-bela, which confirms Harbel; the summit of Hermon, the southernmost and highest peak of Antilibanus, 10,000 ft. high, overtopping every mountain in Palestine.
The ruins of a Baal sanctuary still remain on it. However, “go down from Shepham to Riblah” seemingly implies Riblah was lower; therefore Riblah was probably one of the many sanctuaries with which the sides, as well as the summit, of Hermon were covered. The landmark of Jdg 3:3 would be unlikely to he omitted in Num 34:11. The “spring” or “fountain” (Ain), E. of which was Riblah, was probably, as Jerome and the later targums understood it, the fountain of the Jordan. The two most celebrated sources of Jordan, Daphne and Paneas, are in the plain at the S.W. foot of Hermon; streams from the western slopes of the mountain feed the longest branch of the river.
2. Riblah or Riblathah in the land of Hamath, on the high road between Palestine and Babylon, where the Babylonian kings remained in directing the operations of their armies in Palestine and Phoenicia; where Jehoahaz was put in chains by Pharaoh Necho (2Ki 23:33), and Zedekiah, after seeing his sons slain, had his own eyes put out (Jer 39:5-7; literally, Jer 39:9-10), and other leading captives were slain, probably by the Assyrian death of impaling (Jer 39:24; Jer 39:27), as depicted on the monuments.
Still called Ribleh, on the right bank of the Orontes (Asy), 30 miles N.E. of Baalbek; consisting of 40 or 50 houses and the remains of a quadrangular building. In the midst of a vast and fertile plain, stretching in all directions save S.W., and on a mountain stream; an admirable encampment for the Egyptian and Babylonian hosts. The curious Kamoa el Hermel is visible from Riblah, a pyramidal top resting on a quadrilateral building in two stories. It is on a high mound several miles higher up the Orontes than Riblah. The lower story has figures of dogs, stags, and hunting instruments. From Riblah the roads were open by the Euphrates to Nineveh, or by Palmyra to Babylon, by the S. of Lebanon and the coast to Palestine and Egypt, or through the Bekaa and Jordan valley to the center of Palestine.
Fuente: Fausset’s Bible Dictionary
Riblah
RIBLAH.1. An important town (mod. Ribleh) and military station on the eastern bank of the Orontes, 50 miles S. of Hamath. It is mentioned in the Bible only in the literature of the Chaldan period, and was apparently the headquarters of Nebuchadrezzar the Great for his South-Syrian and Palestinian dominions. From this position the Phnician cities of the coast were within easy command, as also were Cle-Syria and the kingdom of Damascus, along with the land-routes leading farther south. Here judgment was pronounced upon Zedekiah and his officers (2Ki 25:6; 2Ki 25:20-21, Jer 39:5 f., Jer 52:9 ff.).
The statement of 2Ki 23:33, that Pharaoh-necho put Jehoahaz in bonds at Riblah in the land of Hamath, is to be corrected by the parallel passage 2Ch 36:3, where the transaction is said to have taken place in Jerusalem itself. The true reading is, and Pharaoh-necho removed him from reigning in Jerusalem (cf. also the LXX [Note: Septuagint.] ). It was the later action of Nebuchadrezzar with regard to Zedekiah, above referred to, that suggested the change in the text. The phrase in the land of Hamath (2Ki 25:21) is to be compared with the nineteen districts of Hamath enumerated in the Annals of Tiglath-pileser iii.
Riblah should be read for Diblah in Eze 6:14. See No. 2.
2. Riblah (with the article) is, it the reading is correct, mentioned as one of the eastern boundary marks of Israel in Num 34:11. The place intended was not far N.E. of the Sea of Galilee, but the exact site is unknown.
It was, of course, not the Riblah on the Orontes. It is remarkable, however, that this Riblah is mentioned in connexion with the approach to Hamath (v. 8). which, as Winckler has shown, was on the S.W. of Mt. Hermon, and the centre of the kingdom of Hamath of the time of David. Cf. Eze 6:14 as above corrected.
J. F. McCurdy.
Fuente: Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible
Riblah
A city of Syria where judgment was given on Zedekiah, and where his eyes were put out. (2Ki 25:6; Jer 52:9) If from Rub, it means quarrel.
Fuente: The Poor Mans Concordance and Dictionary to the Sacred Scriptures
Riblah
ribla (, ribhlah; , Rheblatha, with variants):
(1) Riblah in the land of Hamath first appears in history in 608 BC. Here Pharaoh-necoh, after defeating Josiah at Megiddo and destroying Kadytis or Kadesh on the Orontes, fixed his headquarters, and while in camp he deposed Jehoahaz and cast him into chains, fixed the tribute of Judah, and appointed Jehoiakim king (2Ki 23:31-35). In 588 BC Nebuchadnezzar, at war with Egypt and the Syrian states, also established his headquarters at Riblah, and from it he directed the subjugation of Jerusalem. When it fell, Zedekiah was carried prisoner to Riblah, and there, after his sons and his nobles had been slain in his presence, his eyes were put out, and he was taken as a prisoner to Babylon (2Ki 25:6, 2Ki 25:20; Jer 39:5-7; Jer 52:8-11). Riblah then disappears from history, but the site exists today in the village of Ribleh, 35 miles Northeast of Baalbek, and the situation is the finest that could have been chosen by the Egyptian or Babylonian kings for their headquarters in Syria. An army camped there had abundance of water in the control of the copious springs that go to form the Orontes. The Egyptians coming from the South had behind them the command of the rich corn and forage lands of Coele-Syria, while the Babylonian army from the North was equally fortunate in the rich plains extending to Hamath and the Euphrates. Lebanon, close by, with its forests, its hunting grounds and its snows, ministered to the needs and luxuries of the leaders. Riblah commanded the great trade and war route between Egypt and Mesopotamia, and, besides, it was at the dividing-point of many minor routes. It was in a position to attack with facility Phoenicia, Damascus or Palestine, or to defend itself against attack from those places, while a few miles to the South the mountains on each side close in forming a pass where a mighty host might easily be resisted by a few. In every way Riblah was the strategical point between North and South Syria. Riblah should probably be read for Diblah in Eze 6:14, while in Num 34:11 it does not really appear. See (2).
(2) A place named as on the ideal eastern boundary of Israel in Num 34:11, but omitted in Eze 47:15-18. The Massoretic Text reads Hariblah; but the Septuagint probably preserves the true vocalization, according to which we should translate to Harbel. It is said to be to the east of Ain, and that, as the designation of a district, can only mean Merj Ayun, so that we should seek it in the neighborhood of Hermon, one of whose spurs Furrer found to be named Jebel Arbel.
Fuente: International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Riblah
Riblah, a town on the northern border of Palestine, in the district of Hamath, through which the Babylonians, both in their eruptions and departures, were accustomed to pass (Num 34:11; 2Ki 23:33; 2Ki 25:6; Jer 39:5; Jer 52:10). This place is nowhere mentioned but in the Bible.
Fuente: Popular Cyclopedia Biblical Literature
Riblah
[Rib’lah]
1. Place apparently on the eastern boundary of Palestine. Num 34:11. Not identified.
2. City in the land of Hamath, where Pharaoh-nechoh imprisoned Jehoahaz, and whence the king of Babylon carried Zedekiah, when he slew his sons and the priests and chief men of Judah. 2Ki 23:33; 2Ki 25:6-7; 2Ki 25:20-21; Jer 39:5-6; Jer 52:9-10; Jer 52:26-27. Identified with Ribleh, 34 28′ N, 36 31′ E.
Fuente: Concise Bible Dictionary
Riblah
H7247
A border town of the promised land
Num 34:10-11
King Jehoahaz overthrown in, by Pharaoh
2Ki 23:33
Headquarters of Nebuchadnezzar in siege of Jerusalem
2Ki 25:6; 2Ki 25:20-21; Jer 39:5-6; Jer 52:9; Jer 52:26
Fuente: Nave’s Topical Bible
Riblah
Riblah (rb’lah), fertility. An ancient city in the northeastern frontier of Canaan. Num 34:10-11. The ancient town was upon the great road from Palestine to Babylon, and was a convenient military headquarters for the Babylonian kings and others invading the country. Here the Egyptian king Pharaoh-nechoh put Jehoahaz in chains and made Eliakim king, and here Nebuchadnezzar brought Zedekiah, murdered his sons before his eyes, and then put out his eyes and bound him in chains to be carried to Babylon. 2Ki 23:29-35; 2Ki 25:1-7; Jer 39:5-7. Riblah is now a mean and poor village.
Fuente: People’s Dictionary of the Bible
RIBLAH
a city in Syria (?)
2Ki23:33; 2Ki25:6; Jer 39:5; Jer 52:9