Bible Dictionaries
Ituraea

Holman Bible Dictionary

(iht yoo ree' uh) Place name meaning, “related to Jetur.” Region over which Herod Philip was governor when John the Baptist began his public ministry (Luke 3:1 ). It was located northeast of Galilee between the Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon mountains, though its precise boundaries are almost impossible to determine. Racially, the Ituraeans were of Ishmaelite stock; their origin probably should be traced to Jetur the son of Ishmael (Genesis 25:15 ). The earliest extant reference to the Ituraeans as a people dates from the second century B.C. Pompey conquered the territory for Rome about 50 B.C. Ituraea was eventually absorbed into other political districts, losing its distinct identity by the end of the first century A.D. See Herods; Geography.