Bible Dictionary
Nobah
A nobleman was an official in Herod’s service who came to Jesus at Cana and asked Him to heal his dying son at Capernaum. Jesus answered his request.
Definition
Nobah was an Israelite warrior who captured Kenath and its dependent villages and gave them his own name. The name also belonged to a place associated with Gideon’s pursuit of the Midianites.
Biblical Usage
Nobah is mentioned in the account of Israel’s conquest east of the Jordan. Another Nobah marked the course of Gideon’s pursuit of Midian, though the supplied material leaves its relationship to Kenath uncertain.
Historical Background
Kenath is identified with modern Qanawat on the western slope of Jebel ed-Druze, though the ancient name Nobah did not endure. The other Nobah may have been farther south or northeast of Rabbath-Ammon; its exact site has not been recovered.
Scripture References
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
Howling. (1.) Num. 32:42. (2.) The name given to Kenath (q.v.) by Nobah when he conquered it. It was on the east of Gilead (Judg. 8:11).
Smith's Bible Dictionary
(barking), an Israelite warrior, (Numbers 32:42) who during the conquest of the territory on the east of Jordan possessed himself of the town of Kenath and the villages or hamlets dependent upon it, and gave them his own name. (B.C.1450.) For a certain period after the establishment of the Israelite rule the new name remained, (Judges 8:11) but it is not again heard of, and the original appellation, as is usual in such cases, appears to have recovered its hold, has since retained; for in the slightly-modified form of Kunawat it is the name of the place to the present day.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>no'-ba (nobhah; Codex Vaticanus Naboth, Nabai; Codex Alexandrinus Naboth, Nabeth):</p><p>(1) Nobah the Manassite, we are told, "went and took Kenath, and the villages thereof, and called it Nobah, after his own name" (Nu 32:42). There can be little doubt that the ancient Kenath is represented by the modern Qanawat, on the western slope of Jebel ed-Druze, the ancient name having survived that of Nobah.</p><p>(2) A city which marked-the course of Gideon's pursuit of the Midianites (Jud 8:11). It is possible that this may be identical with (1). Cheyne argues in favor of this (Encyclopaedia Biblica, under the word "Gideon"). But its mention along with Jogbehah points to a more southerly location. This may have been the original home of the clan Nobah. Some would read, following the Syriac in Nu 21:30, "Nobah which is on the desert," instead of "Nophah which reacheth unto Medeba." No site with a name resembling this has yet been recovered. If it is to be distinguished from Kenath, then probably it will have to be sought somewhere to the Northeast of Rabbath-Ammon (`Amman).</p><p>W. Ewing</p>