east of the Dead Sea; Rabhah,B temple in the tribe of
Medshidj i Freytag, ii. 107 a); and perhaps also Rabat, m Morocco. (In the following account we chiefly fol- low that found in Smith. Dict.ofthe A'//,/., with addi- tions from other sources. ) See I.' wan.
1. A very Strong place on the east of Jordan, which, when ii- name is Urst introduced in the -acred records,
was the chief city of the Ammoiiit es. In five passages (Deut, iii. 11 : 2 Sam. xii. 26; xvii. 27: Jer. xlix. 2; Ezra xxi. 20) it is styled at length ~"2V "■-. "??> Rabbdth-bene-Amm6n, A. V. •• Rabbath of the Ammon- ites," or " of the Children Of \mi I;" hilt elsewhere
(Josh. xiii. 2.">: 2 Sam. xi. 1 ; \ii. -_'7. 29; I Chron. xx. l: Jer. xlix, 3; Ezraxxv, 5; Amos i, 14) simply "Rab- bah." The Sept. generally has iv, •>'■>,;>. but in Bome MSS. occasionally 'Paj3d&, or r) 'Pa/3/3a. In Dent. iii. 5 it is 7i, aKjoa rwv vi&v Auuwv in both MSS. In Josh, xiii, 25 the Vat, has"Apa/3a // ianr Kara irpoawTTov 'ApdS, where the tirst and last words of the sentence seem to have changed places. Other various
readings likewise occur.
RABBAH
S63
RABBAH
Rabbah appears in the sacred records as the single city of the Ammonites ; at least no other bears any dis- tinctive name, a fact which contrasts strongly with the abundant details of the city life of the Moabites. Whether it was originally, as some conjecture, the Ham of which the Zuzim were dispossessed by Chedorlaomer (Gen. xiv, 5), will probably remain forever a conjecture. The statement of Eusebius (Onomast. s. v. 'A^fiai') that it was originally a city of the Rephaim implies that it was the Ashteroth Karnaim of Gen. xiv. In agree- ment with this is the fact that it was in later times known as Astarte (Steph. Byz. quoted by Ritter, p. 1155). In this case, the dual ending of Karnaim may point, as some have conjectured in Jerushalawre, to the double nature of the city— a lower town and a citadel. When first named it is in the hands of the Ammonites, and is mentioned as containing the bedstead of the gi- ant Og (Deut. iii, 11), possibly the trophy of some suc- cessful war against the more ancient Rephaim. With the people of Lot, their kinsmen the Israelites had no quarrel, and Rabbath- of- the -children -of- Amnion re- mained to all appearance unmolested during the first period of the Israelitish occupation. It was not in- cluded in the territory of the tribes east of Jordan ; the border of Gad stops at "Aroer, which faces Rabbah" (Josh, xiii, 25). The attacks of the Bene-Ammon on Israel, however, brought these peaceful relations to an end. Saul must have had occupation enough on the west of Jordan in attacking and repelling the Phi- listines and in pursuing David through the woods and ravines of Judah to prevent his crossing the riv- er, unless on such special occasions as the relief of Jabesh. At any rate, we never hear of his having penetrated so far in that direction as Rabbah. But David's armies were often engaged against both Moab and Amnion. His first Ammonitish campaign appears to have occurred early in his reign. A part of the army, under Abishai, was sent as far as Rabbah to keep the Ammonites in check (2 Sam. x, 10, 14), but the main force under Joab remained at Medeba (I Chron. xix, 7). The following year was occupied in the great expedition by David in person against the Syrians at Helam, wherever that may have been (2 Sam. x, 15- 19). After their defeat the Ammonitish war was re- sumed, and this time Rabbah was made the main point of attack (xi, 1). Joab took the command, and was followed by the whole of the army. The expedition included Ephraim and Benjamin, as well as the king's own tribe (ver. 11), the "king's slaves" (ver. 1, 17, 24), probably David's immediate body-guard, and the thirty- seven chief captains. Uriah was certainly there, and, if a not improbable Jewish tradition may be adopted, Ittai the Gittite was there also. See Ittai. The ark accompanied the camp (ver. 11), the only time that we hear of its doing so, except that memorable battle with the Philistines, when its capture caused the death of the high-priest. On a former occasion (Numb, xxxi, 6) the " holy things" only are specified — an expression which hardly seems to include the ark. David alone, to his cost, remained in Jerusalem. The country was wasted, and the roving Ammonites were driven with all their property (xii, 30) into their single stronghold, as the Bedouin Kenites were driven from their tents in- side the walls of Jerusalem when Judah was overrun by the Chakkeans. See Rechabite. The siege must have lasted nearhy, if not quite, two years ; since during its progress David formed his connection with Bathshe- ba, and the two children, that which died and Solomon, were successively born. The sallies of the Ammonites appear to have formed a main feature of the siege (2 Sam. xi, 17, etc.). At the end of that time Joab suc- ceeded in capturing a portion of the place — the " city of waters," that is, the lower town, so called from its con- taining the perennial stream which rises in and still flows through it. The fact (which seems undoubted) that the source of the stream was within the lower city, explains its having held out for so long. It was also