A Brighter Day Begins with His Word.

BIBLE DICTIONARY + WORD STUDY

Ezion-geber

Original Hebrew / Aramaic / Greek connected to this term

How to read this: there is rarely one magic “true meaning” hidden behind an English word. A lexicon records a word’s semantic range. The intended meaning is narrowed by grammar, sentence, author, historical usage and context.

HEBREW / ARAMAIC · H6100

עֶצְיוֹן גֶּ֫בֶר

ets.yon ge.ver — Ezion-geber

§ Ezion-geber = "backbone of a man" the last station during the exodus of the Israelites before they came to the wilderness of Zin; located near Elath at the head of the Gulf of Akaba

7 tagged verse occurrences · see every occurrence →

HEBREW / ARAMAIC · H5684

עַבְרֹנָה

ev.ro.nah — Abronah

§ Ebronah = "passage" one of the stations of the Israelites in the wilderness immediately preceding Ezion-geber

2 tagged verse occurrences · see every occurrence →

Historical dictionary entry

The giant’s backbone (so called from the head of a mountain which runs out into the sea), an ancient city and harbour at the north-east end of the Elanitic branch of the Red Sea, the Gulf of Akabah, near Elath or Eloth (Num. 33:35; Deut. 2:8). Here Solomon built ships, “Tarshish ships,” like those trading from Tyre to Tarshish and the west, which traded with Ophir (1 Kings 9:26; 2 Chr. 8:17); and here also Jehoshaphat’s fleet was shipwrecked (1 Kings 22:48; 2 Chr. 20:36). It became a populous town, many of the Jews settling in it (2 Kings 16:6, “Elath”). It is supposed that anciently the north end of the gulf flowed further into the country than now, as far as ‘Ain el-Ghudyan, which is 10 miles up the dry bed of the Arabah, and that Ezion-geber may have been there.

Scripture references

Source: Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897). Historical dictionary wording reflects the scholarship and language of its era.

Compare other reference traditions

Look up Ezion-geber in Smith’s Bible Dictionary and ISBE →