Rabbah in the Bible Encyclopedia - ISBE
rab'-a:
(1) (rabbah; Rhabba, Rhabbath, Rhabban. The full name is
rabbath bene `ammon; he akra ton huion Ammon, Rhabbath huion
Ammon, "Rabbah of the children of Ammon"): This alone of the
cities of the Ammonites is mentioned in Scripture, so we may
take it as the most important. It is first named in
connection with the "bed" or sarcophagus of Og, king of
Bashan, which was said to be found here (Dt 3:11). It lay
East of the territory assigned to Gad (Josh 13:25). Whatever
may have been its history in the interval, it does not
appear again in Scripture till the time of David. This
monarch sent an embassy of sympathy to King Hanun when his
father Nahash died. The kindness was met by wanton insult,
which led to the outbreak of war. The Ammonites,
strengthened by Aramean allies, were defeated by the
Israelites under Joab, and took refuge in Rabbah. After
David's defeat of the Arameans at Helam a year later, the
Ammonites were exposed alone to the full-force of Israel,
the ark of the covenant being carried with the troops. The
country was ravaged and siege was laid to Rabbah. It was
during this siege that Uriah the Hittite by David's orders
was exposed "in the forefront of the hottest battle" (2 Sam
11:15), where, treacherously deserted by his comrades, he
was slain. How long the siege lasted we do not know;
probably some years; but the end was in sight when Joab
captured "the city of waters" (2 Sam 12:27). This may mean
that he had secured control of the water supply. In the
preceding verse he calls it the "royal city." By the
chivalry of his general, David was enabled in person to
enjoy the honor of taking the city. Among the booty secured
was the crown of Melcom, the god of the Ammonites. Such of
the inhabitants as survived he treated with great severity
(2 Sam 12:26-31; 1 Ch 20:1 ff).
In the utterances of the prophets against Ammon, Rabbah
stands for the people, as their most important, or perhaps
their only important, city (Jer 49:2,3; Ezek 21:20; 25:5; Am
1:14). Jer 49:4 speaks of the "flowing valley"--a reference
perhaps to the abundance of water and fruitfulness--and the
treasures in which she gloried. Ezek 21:21 represents the
king of Babylon at "the head of the two ways" deciding by
means of the divining arrows whether he should march against
Jerusalem or against Rabbah. Amos seems to have been
impressed with the palaces of Rabbah.
The city retained its importance in later times. It was
captured by Ptolemy Philadelphus (285-247 BC), who called it
Philadelphia. It was a member of the league of ten cities.
Antiochus the Great captured it by means of treachery
(Polyb. v.71). Josephus (BJ, III, iii, 3) names it as lying
East of Peraea. In the 4th century AD, it ranked with Bostra
and Gerasa as one of the great fortified cities of Coele-
Syria (Ritter, Erdkunde, XV, ii, 1154 f). It became the seat
of a bishop. Abulfeda (1321 AD) says that Rabbah was in
ruins at the time of the Moslem conquest.
Rabbah is represented by the modern `Amman, a ruined site...
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