the Week of Proper 28 / Ordinary 33
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Bible Encyclopedias
Tabor
Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature
or Ta´bor, a mountain on the confines of Zebulun and Naphtali, standing out in the north-east border of the plain of Esdraelon, the name of which appears among Greek and Roman writers in the forms of Itabyrion and Atabyrion, and which is now known by the name of Jebel Tur. Mount Tabor stands out alone and eminent above the plain, with all its fine proportions from base to summit displayed at one view. It lies at the distance of two hours and a quarter south of Nazareth. According to the barometrical measurements of Schubert, the height of Tabor above the level of the sea is 1748 Paris feet, and 1310 Paris feet above the level of the plain at its base. Seen from the south-west, it presents a semi-globular appearance; but from the north-west, it more resembles a truncated cone. By an ancient path, which winds considerably, one may ride to the summit, where is a small oblong plain, with the foundations of ancient buildings. The view of the country from this place is very beautiful and extensive. The mountain is of limestone, which is the general rock of Palestine. The sides of the mountain are mostly covered with bushes, and woods of oak trees (ilex and aegilops), with occasionally pistachio trees, presenting a beautiful appearance, and affording a fine shade.
This mountain is several times mentioned in the Old Testament (;;;; ); but not in the New. Its summit has, however, been usually regarded as the 'high mountain apart,' where our Lord was transfigured before Peter, James, and John. But the probability of this is opposed by circumstances which cannot be gainsaid. It is manifest that the Transfiguration took place in a solitary place, not only from the word 'apart,' but from the circumstance that Peter in his bewilderment proposed to build 'three tabernacles' on the spot (; ). But we know that a fortified town occupied the top of Tabor for at least 220 years before and 60 years after the birth of Christ, and probably much before and long after; and the tradition itself cannot be traced back earlier than towards the end of the fourth century.
Tabor, 2
Tabor is also the name of a grove of oaks in the vicinity of Benjamin, in , the topography of which chapter is usually much embarrassed by the groundless notion that Mount Tabor is meant.
Tabor, 3
Tabor, a Levitical city in Zebulun, situated upon Mount Tabor ().
Public Domain.
Kitto, John, ed. Entry for 'Tabor'. "Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature". https://www.studylight.org/encyclopedias/eng/kbe/t/tabor.html.
