Bible Dictionary
Tel-abib
Tel-abib was a settlement beside the river Chebar where Jewish exiles lived and where Ezekiel went. Its exact location is unknown, though it was probably in Babylonia.
Definition
Tel-abib was a settlement beside the river Chebar where Jewish captives lived. Ezekiel went there and found the exiles dwelling by the river.
Biblical Usage
Ezekiel went to Tel-abib and sat among the captives beside the Chebar, where he remained for seven days.
Historical Background
The exact site is unknown. The name may mean “hill of barley-ears,” though a Babylonian interpretation, “mound of the flood,” has also been suggested. It may have stood near Niffer if the Chebar was the nar Kabari.
Scripture References
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
Hill of corn, a place on the river Chebar, the residence of Ezekiel (Ezek. 3:15). The site is unknown.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>tel-a'-bib (tel 'abhibh; Vulgate (Jerome's Latin Bible, 390-405 A.D.) ad acervum novarum frugum):</p><p>1. The Name and Its Meaining:</p><p>As written in Hebrew, Tel-abib means "hill of barley-ears" and is mentioned in Eze 3:15 as the place to which the prophet went, and where he found Jewish captives "that dwelt by the river Chebar." That Tel-abib is written, as Fried. Delitzsch suggests, for Til Ababi, "Mound of the Flood" (which may have been a not uncommon village-name in Babylonia) is uncertain. Moreover, if the captives themselves were the authors of the name, it is more likely to have been in the Hebrew language. Septuagint, which has meteoros, "passing on high," referring to the manner in which the prophet reached Tel-abib, must have had a different Hebrew reading.</p><p>2. The Position of the Settlement:</p><p>If the Chebar be the nar Kabari, as suggested by Hilprecht, Tel-abib must have been situated somewhere in the neighborhood of Niffer, the city identified with the Calneh of Ge 10:10. The tablet mentioning the river Kabaru refers to grain (barley?) seemingly sent by boat from Niffer in Nisan of the 21st year of Artaxerxes I. Being a navigable waterway, this was probably a good trading-center.</p><p>LITERATURE.</p><p>See Hilprecht and Clay, Business Documents of Murasha Sons ("Pennsylvania Exp.," Vol IX, 28); Clay, Light on the Old Testament from Babel, 405.</p><p>T. G. Pinches</p>