Libnah

Libnah or Lobana (

Latin: Lobana) was an independent city, probably near the western seaboard of Israel, with its own king at the time of the Israelite conquest of Canaan.^[1] It is thought to have been an important producer of revenue, and one that rebelled against the Judahite crown

.

Records in the Hebrew Bible

It is assigned to the tribe of Judah as one of the 13 Kohanic cities during the Israelite settlement (Joshua 21:13). The town revolted during the reign of King Jehoram of Judah, according to 2 Kings 8:22 and 2 Chronicles 21:10, because Jehoram "had abandoned [the] God of his fathers". The revolt took place at the same time as Edom revolted against Judean rule (2 Kings 8:20–22).

Hamutal, daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah (1 Chronicles 3:15; 2 Kings 23:31–32; 2 Kings 24:17–18; Jeremiah 22:11). Two of their sons, Jehoahaz and Zedekiah also became Kings of Judah

.

Sennacherib's army may have attacked Libnah in 701 BCE, but the various biblical reports are, recent scholarship has argued, somewhat confused, having Libnah attacked after

Lachish. According to the narrative at (2 Chronicles 32:20–21a, an angel of Yahweh destroyed the host of Sennacherib's army, and at 2 Kings 19:35, the number of Assyrian soldiers killed is claimed to have amounted to 185,000. The large number of troops reportedly dying overnight is explained as possibly due to poisoning,^[4] and the Targum

version refers to pestilence.

Eusebius and Jerome (OS 274:13; 135:28) describe it as being a village in the region of Eleutheropolis (Beit Gubrin), called in their day Lobana or Lobna.^[5]

Exodus station

Libnah is also the name of the 17th

Sinai Desert

which the Israelites are described as traversing prior to entering the land of Canaan.

Possible sites and excavations

Tel Lavnin (Khurbet Tell el Beida) in the Judean Shephelah.^[6]

The excavators of
Tell Zeitah have suggested it as a possible location of Libnah.^[7]

An excavation has been initiated at Tel Burna, which has also been identified as the possible site of Libnah, based on William F. Albright's proposal.^[8]^[9]^[10]^[11]^[12] Tel Burna, was fortified, lies between the Philistine city of Gath and the Judahite city of Lachish, and was inhabited continuously from the Bronze Age onwards. Until the Judahite period, it appears to have been a pagan cultic centre.^[13]
Vargon held the view that Tell ej-Judeideh was to be identified with Libnah.^[14]

References

ISBN 978-1-426-75973-4
p.282.

ISBN 978-9-004-11537-8
p.220.

ISBN 978-1-611-64209-4
p.307.

ISBN 978-0-802-84960-1

^ Encyclopaedia Biblica: a critical dictionary of the literary, political, and religious history, the archaeology, geography, and natural history of the Bible (vol. 3), ed. Cheyne, T. K. (Thomas Kelly) & Black, J. Sutherland (John Sutherland), Toronto 1899–1903, p. 2794 (s.v. Libnah)

OCLC 636959402
.

^ Cf. the excavation's website (The Zeitah Excavations – Introduction Archived December 10, 2007, at the Wayback Machine)

OCLC 6250553. (original Hebrew edition: 'Land of Israel in Biblical Times - Historical Geography', Bialik Institute
, Jerusalem (1962))

JSTOR 1356823
.

^ Tel Burna Excavation website (About the Tel Burna Excavation Project)

ISBN 978-1-78179-707-5
.

^ Suriano, Matthew J.; Shai, Itzhaq; Uziel, Joe (2021). "In Search of Libnah". Journal of the Ancient Near Eastern Society. 35 (1): 151–181.

^ Ruth Schuster,'Biblical city of Libnah found, archaeologists surmise,' Haaretz 8 February 2015.

JSTOR 1518965
.

v
t
e
Stations of the Exodus

Sukkot

Pi-HaHiroth

Marah

Elim

Wilderness of Sin

Wilderness of Zin

Rephidim

Kibroth Hattaavah

Libnah

Ezion-Geber

Kadesh

Mount Hor

Almon Diblathaim

Abarim

Plains of Moab

29°55′N 34°40′E / 29.917°N 34.667°E / 29.917; 34.667

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Libnah&oldid=1212849692"

[Hens-Piazza-1] ISBN 978-1-426-75973-4
p.282.

[2] ISBN 978-9-004-11537-8
p.220.

[3] ISBN 978-1-611-64209-4
p.307.

[4] ISBN 978-0-802-84960-1

[5] Encyclopaedia Biblica: a critical dictionary of the literary, political, and religious history, the archaeology, geography, and natural history of the Bible (vol. 3), ed. Cheyne, T. K. (Thomas Kelly) & Black, J. Sutherland (John Sutherland), Toronto 1899–1903, p. 2794 (s.v. Libnah)

[6] OCLC 636959402
.

[7] Cf. the excavation's website (The Zeitah Excavations – Introduction Archived December 10, 2007, at the Wayback Machine)

[8] OCLC 6250553. (original Hebrew edition: 'Land of Israel in Biblical Times - Historical Geography', Bialik Institute
, Jerusalem (1962))

[9] JSTOR 1356823
.

[10] Tel Burna Excavation website (About the Tel Burna Excavation Project)

[11] ISBN 978-1-78179-707-5
.

[12] Suriano, Matthew J.; Shai, Itzhaq; Uziel, Joe (2021). "In Search of Libnah". Journal of the Ancient Near Eastern Society. 35 (1): 151–181.

[13] Ruth Schuster,'Biblical city of Libnah found, archaeologists surmise,' Haaretz 8 February 2015.

[14] JSTOR 1518965
.

[1]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]