Bible Dictionary
Timnah
Timnah was the name of several places, including a town in Judah and the town associated with Samson’s wife. Timnah was also the name of an Edomite clan leader or duke.
Definition
Timnah was the name of several places and of an Edomite clan leader. One town lay between Beth-shemesh and Ekron; another was in the hill country of Judah.
Biblical Usage
Timnah is associated with Judah, Samson’s adventures, Judah’s visit, and an Edomite leader or duke.
Historical Background
The northern Timnah was reckoned to Dan and was apparently Philistine in Samson’s time. It changed hands and was captured from the Philistines by Ahaz. Its site is identified with Tibneh near Beth-shemesh.
Scripture References
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
A portion. (1.) A town of Judah (Josh. 15:10). The Philistines took possession of it in the days of Ahaz (2 Chr. 28:18). It was about 20 miles west of Jerusalem. It has been identified with Timnatha of Dan (Josh. 19:43), and also with Timnath (Judg. 14:1, 5). (2.) A city in the mountains of Judah (Josh. 15:57)= Tibna near Jeba’. (3.) A “duke” or sheik of Edom (Gen. 36:40).
Smith's Bible Dictionary
(portion).
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>tim'-na (timnah, timnathah (Jos 19:43; Jud 14:1,2,5), "allotted portion; Codex Vaticanus Thamnatha; also several Greek variations; King James Version has Timnath in Ge 38:12,13,14; Jud 14:1,2,5; and Thimnathah in Jos 19:43):</p><p>(1) A town in the southern part of the hill country of Judah (Jos 15:57). Tibna proposed by Conder, a ruin 8 miles West of Bethlehem, seems too far N. (PEF, III, 53, Sh XVII). It is possible this may be the "Timnah" of Ge 38:12,13,14.</p><p>(2) A town on the northern border of Judah (Jos 15:10), lying between Beth-shemesh and Ekron. It is probably the same Timnah as Judah visited (Ge 38:12-14), and certainly the scene of Samson's adventures (Jud 14:1 f); his "father-in-law" is called a "Timnite" (Jud 15:6). At this time the place is clearly Philistine (Jud 14:1), though in Jos 19:43 it is reckoned to Dan. Being on the frontier, it probably changed hands several times. In 2Ch 28:18 it was captured from the Philistines by Ahaz, and we learn from Assyrian evidence (Prison Inscription) that Sennacherib captured a Tamna after the battle of Alteka before he besieged Ekron (Schrader, Die Keilinschriften und das Altes Testament, 170). The site is undoubted. It is now a deserted ruin called Tibneh on the southern slopes of the Wady es Surar (Valley of Sorek), about 2 miles West of Beth-shemesh. There is a spring, and there are evident signs of antiquity (PEF, II, 417, 441, Sh XVI).</p><p>(3) There was probably a Timna in Edom (Ge 36:12,22,40; 1Ch 1:39,51). Eusebius and Jerome (in Onomasticon) recognized a Thamna in Edom at their time.</p><p>(4) The "Thamnatha" of 1 Macc 9:50 (the King James Version) is probably another Timnah, and identical with the Thamna of Josephus (BJ, III, iii, 5; IV, viii, 1). This is probably the Tibneh, 10 miles Northwest of Bethel, an extensive ruin.</p><p>E. W. G. Masterman</p>