What happened at Rabbah.
“Rabbath of the children of Ammon,” the chief city of the Ammonites, among the eastern hills, some 20 miles east of the Jordan, on the southern of the two streams which united with the Jabbok. Here the bedstead of Og was preserved (Deut. 3:11), perhaps as a trophy of some victory gained by the Ammonites over the king of Bashan. After David had subdued all their allies in a great war, he sent Joab with a strong force to take their city. For two years it held out against its assailants. It was while his army was engaged in this protracted siege that David was guilty of that deed of shame which left a blot on his character and cast a gloom over the rest of his life. At length, having taken the “royal city” (or the “city of waters,” 2 Sam. 12:27, i.e., the lower city on the river, as distinguished from the citadel), Joab sent for David to direct the final assault (11:1; 12:26-31). The city was given up to plunder, and the people were ruthlessly put to death, and “thus did he with all the cities of the children of Ammon.” The destruction of Rabbath was the last of David’s conquests. His kingdom now reached its farthest limits (2 Sam. 8:1-15; 1 Chr. 18:1-15). The capture of this city is referred to by Amos (1:14), Jeremiah (49:2, 3), and Ezekiel (21:20; 25:5).
From Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897).
People named with Rabbah.
All 13 verses that name this Rabbah.
Deuteronomy 1
- Deuteronomy 3:11For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of giants; behold, his bedstead was a bedstead of iron; is it not in Rabbath of the children of Ammon? nine cubits was the length thereof, and four cubits the breadth of it, after the cubit of a man.
Joshua 1
- Joshua 13:25And their coast was Jazer, and all the cities of Gilead, and half the land of the children of Ammon, unto Aroer that is before Rabbah;
2 Samuel 5
- 2 Samuel 11:1And it came to pass, after the year was expired, at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried still at Jerusalem.
- 2 Samuel 12:26And Joab fought against Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and took the royal city.
- 2 Samuel 12:27And Joab sent messengers to David, and said, I have fought against Rabbah, and have taken the city of waters.
- 2 Samuel 12:29And David gathered all the people together, and went to Rabbah, and fought against it, and took it.
- 2 Samuel 17:27And it came to pass, when David was come to Mahanaim, that Shobi the son of Nahash of Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and Machir the son of Ammiel of Lo-debar, and Barzillai the Gileadite of Rogelim,
1 Chronicles 1
- 1 Chronicles 20:1And it came to pass, that after the year was expired, at the time that kings go out to battle, Joab led forth the power of the army, and wasted the country of the children of Ammon, and came and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried at Jerusalem. And Joab smote Rabbah, and destroyed it.
Jeremiah 2
- Jeremiah 49:2Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will cause an alarm of war to be heard in Rabbah of the Ammonites; and it shall be a desolate heap, and her daughters shall be burned with fire: then shall Israel be heir unto them that were his heirs, saith the LORD.
- Jeremiah 49:3Howl, O Heshbon, for Ai is spoiled: cry, ye daughters of Rabbah, gird you with sackcloth; lament, and run to and fro by the hedges; for their king shall go into captivity, and his priests and his princes together.
Ezekiel 2
- Ezekiel 21:20Appoint a way, that the sword may come to Rabbath of the Ammonites, and to Judah in Jerusalem the defenced.
- Ezekiel 25:5And I will make Rabbah a stable for camels, and the Ammonites a couchingplace for flocks: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
Amos 1
- Amos 1:14But I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah, and it shall devour the palaces thereof, with shouting in the day of battle, with a tempest in the day of the whirlwind:
Other places called Rabbah.
Rabbah, about 24 km (15 miles) west of Jerusalem.
A town, named in 1 verse.
- Joshua 15:60Kirjath-baal, which is Kirjath-jearim, and Rabbah; two cities with their villages: