Hebrew word · H8396

תָּבוֹר

tavor

Tabor

Two comparisons drawn from well-known mountains in Israel. Tabor (about 575 m) stands alone above the Jezreel plain. Carmel (up to about 545 m) ends in a headland on the Mediterranean. Both were places of standing and religious memory (Judg 4:6, 12; 1 Kgs 18; Ps 89:12; Amos 1:2).

Appears 10 times in 10 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

§ Tabor = "mound"

n pr mont

a mountain in the plain of Esdraelon rising abruptly and insulated except for a narrow ridge on the west connecting it to the hills of Nazareth

2) a town around the summit of Mount Tabor

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Jeremiah 46:18

Range of meaning

Two comparisons drawn from well-known mountains in Israel. Tabor (about 575 m) stands alone above the Jezreel plain. Carmel (up to about 545 m) ends in a headland on the Mediterranean. Both were places of standing and religious memory (Judg 4:6, 12; 1 Kgs 18; Ps 89:12; Amos 1:2).

Against the English

Translations split over how the comparison works. KJV and WEB: 'Surely as Tabor is among the mountains… so shall he come' (the comparison describes how certain his coming is). BSB, NIV and NASB: 'one will come who is like Tabor' (the comparison describes the invader, who towers over the rest).

Used elsewhere in the period

Tabor and Carmel are paired again as standards of height and grandeur in Ps 89:12 (Tabor and Hermon) and Jer 50:19. Carmel is a symbol of lush majesty in Isa 35:2 and Song 7:5. Both landmarks would be familiar to anyone who had travelled through northern Israel.

From the study of Psalm 89:12

Range of meaning

Mount Tabor, a solitary rounded mountain about 575 m (1,886 ft) high at the north-east edge of the Jezreel Valley in Lower Galilee. It was a tribal boundary point (Josh 19:22) and a military mustering point (Judg 4:6, 12, 14).

Against the English

All versions keep the name. NLT adds 'Mount', which helps modern readers.

Used elsewhere in the period

Hos 5:1 speaks of 'a net spread on Tabor', which may point to a sanctuary there that the prophet condemned. Deut 33:19 ('they call peoples to the mountain; there they offer right sacrifices') is often linked to Tabor. Jer 46:18 uses Tabor as a picture of something that towers over its surroundings.

Where it appears

Joshua · 1

  1. Joshua 19:22 בְּתָב֤וֹר <on> Tabor

    The border reached Tabor, Shahazumah, and Beth-shemesh, and ended at the Jordan. There were sixteen cities, along with their villages.

Judges · 4

  1. Judges 4:6 תָּב֔וֹר Tabor

    She summoned Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali and said to him, “Surely the LORD, the God of Israel, is commanding you: ‘Go and march to Mount Tabor, taking with you ten thousand men of Naphtali and Zebulun.

    Here: A steep, rounded mountain standing alone at the northeast edge of the Jezreel Valley. Chariots cannot fight on its slopes, and it stands where the borders of Zebulun, Issachar and Naphtali meet.

  2. Judges 4:12 תָּבֽוֹר׃ ס Tabor

    When Sisera was told that Barak son of Abinoam had gone up Mount Tabor,

  3. Judges 4:14 תָּב֔וֹר Tabor

    Then Deborah said to Barak, “Arise, for this is the day that the LORD has delivered Sisera into your hand. Has not the LORD gone before you?” So Barak came down from Mount Tabor with ten thousand men following him.

    Here: A steep, rounded, isolated hill (about 575 m) at the northeast edge of the Jezreel Valley, near where Zebulun, Issachar and Naphtali met.

  4. Judges 8:18 בְּתָב֑וֹר at Tabor

    Next, Gideon asked Zebah and Zalmunna, “What kind of men did you kill at Tabor?” “Men like you,” they answered, “each one resembling the son of a king.”

1 Samuel · 1

  1. 1 Samuel 10:3 תָּב֔וֹר Tabor

    Then you will go on from there until you come to the Oak of Tabor. Three men going up to God at Bethel will meet you there, one carrying three young goats, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a skin of wine.

1 Chronicles · 1

  1. 1 Chronicles 6:77 תָּב֖וֹר Tabor

    The Merarites (the rest of the Levites) received the following: From the tribe of Zebulun they were given Rimmono and Tabor, together with their pasturelands.

Psalms · 1

  1. Psalm 89:12 תָּב֥וֹר Tabor

    North and south You created; Tabor and Hermon shout for joy at Your name.

    Here: Mount Tabor, a striking dome-shaped mountain that stands alone above the Jezreel plain in Lower Galilee. It was a well-known landmark and a gathering place (Judg 4:6). Here it is pictured as alive and singing.

Jeremiah · 1

  1. Jeremiah 46:18 כְּתָב֣וֹר like Tabor

    As surely as I live, declares the King, whose name is the LORD of Hosts, there will come one who is like Tabor among the mountains and like Carmel by the sea.

    Here: 'Like Tabor.' Mount Tabor is a dome-shaped mountain in lower Galilee. It rises sharply and stands alone above the flat Jezreel plain, so it can be seen from far off.

Hosea · 1

  1. Hosea 5:1 תָּבֽוֹר׃ Tabor

    “Hear this, O priests! Take heed, O house of Israel! Give ear, O royal house! For this judgment is against you because you have been a snare at Mizpah, a net spread out on Tabor.

    Here: Mount Tabor, the rounded peak at the northeast edge of the Jezreel Valley in Lower Galilee. It was a landmark and probably a hilltop shrine (compare Deut 33:19).

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.