TABOR

An isolated mountain of Galilee, on the northeastern side of the plain of Esdraelon, an arm of which extends beyond the mountain in the same direction. It is of limestone formation, conical in form, and well-wooded, especially on the north side, with fine oaks and other trees and odoriferous plants. It rises 1,350 feet above the plain at its base, which is 400 feet above the Mediterranean, and by a winding path on the north-west side one may ride to its summit in an hour. There is a small oblong plain on the summit, surrounded by a larger but less regular tract, perhaps a mile inn circumference. The prospect from Mount Tabor is extensive and beautiful. Dr. Robinson and many others speak of it as one of the finest in Paletine; and Lord Nugent declared it the most splendid he could recollect having ever seen from any natural height. See Jer 46:18. Its general features are the same as those of the view from the heights of Nazareth, five miles to the west. See NAZARETH. Glimpses of the Mediterranean appear over the high grounds, which intervene. In the plain at the southern base of the mountain are the sources of the brook Kishon, and the villages Endor and Nain, famous in Bible history. Besides the fertile expanse of Esdraelon, and mounts Carmel, Gilboa, etc., on its borders, the view embraces a portion of the sea of Galilee in the northeast; and towards the north the mountains of Galilee, with the town of Safed crowning the highest of them all, recalling the proverb which it is said to have first suggested, "A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid." Still farther to the north and east, the snowcrowned head of Hermon overlooks the fifty miles which intervene, Ps 80:12. On the summit of Tabor a fortified town anciently stood, probably of the same name, 1Ch 6:77. This was in existence, and was garrisoned by the Romans in the time of Christ, which conflicts with the tradition that makes Tabor the scene of the transfiguration. Ruins of ancient walls enclose the area of the summit; and at various points there are remains of fortifications and dwellings, some of which are of the age of the crusaders, and others of more ancient date. Tabor lay on the borders of Issachar and Zebulun, Jos 19:12,22. The host of Barak encamped upon it, before the battle with Sisera, Jud 4:6,12,14. At a later day it appears to have been desecrated by idolatry, Ho 5:1.

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Tabor. Tabor
A height. (1.) Now Jebel et-Tur, a cone-like prominent mountain, 11 miles west of the Sea of Galilee. It is about 1,843 feet high. The view from the summit of it is said to be singularly extensive and grand. This is alluded to in Ps. 89:12; Jer. 46:18. It was here that Barak encamped before the battle with Sisera (q.v.) Judg. 4:6-14. There is an old tradition, which, however, is unfounded, that it was the scene of the transfiguration of our Lord. (See HERMON.) “The prominence and isolation of Tabor, standing, as it does, on the border-land between the northern and southern tribes, between the mountains and the central plain, made it a place of note in all ages, and evidently led the psalmist to associate it with Hermon, the one emblematic of the south, the other of the north.” There are some who still hold that this was the scene of the transfiguration (q.v.).

(2.) A town of Zebulum (1 Chr. 6:77).

(3.) The “plain of Tabor” (1 Sam. 10:3) should be, as in the Revised Version, “the oak of Tabor.” This was probably the Allon-bachuth of Gen. 35:8.

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Tabor. choice; purity; bruising

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TABOR. 1. A mountain on the border of the tribe of Issachar Jos 19:22; Jud 8:18; Ps 89:12; Jer 46:18; Ho 5:1
* The place for assembling Barak' s army Jud 4:6,12,14

2. A plain (R. V., oak) of unknown location 1Sa 10:3 3. A Levitical city in Zebulun 1Ch 6:77
* See CHISLOTH-TABOR

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tabor. Tabor, v.i. to play on a tabor, to beat quick

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Ta″bor (?), n. [[OF. tabor, tabour, F. tambour; cf. Pr. tabor, tanbor, Sp. & Pg. tambor, atambor, It. tamburo; all fr. Ar. & Per. tamb�r a kind of lute, or giutar, or Per. tabīr a drum. Cf. Tabouret, Tambour.]] (Mus.) A small drum used as an accompaniment to a pipe or fife, both being played by the same person. [Written also tabour, and taber.]