Abel-shittim
Abel-shittim is a location mentioned in the Old Testament, located in the region of Transjordan in modern-day Israel. Known today as Tall el Hammam. It appears across 1 verse in Scripture.
Biblical History
Abel-shittim, meaning 'meadow of the acacias,' is the final Israelite camp in the plains of Moab before the crossing of the Jordan into Canaan, mentioned explicitly in Numbers 33:49 as part of the itinerary of the wilderness journey. The site is more commonly known simply as Shittim, and it is here that one of the most catastrophic moral failures of the wilderness generation occurs: Israel engages in sexual immorality with Moabite and Midianite women and worships Baal of Peor (Numbers 25:1–9), resulting in a plague that kills 24,000 Israelites. The crisis is halted only when Phinehas the priest executes Zimri and Cozbi with a spear, earning God's covenant of peace. It is also from Shittim that Joshua sends two spies to reconnoiter Jericho (Joshua 2:1), and from which Israel sets out to cross the Jordan (Joshua 3:1). Abel-shittim thus witnesses both the depth of Israel's unfaithfulness and the threshold of their greatest inheritance, compressing into one location the tension between failure and grace that runs throughout the Pentateuch. The encampment in the acacia-dotted plains of Moab represents the last chapters of the Mosaic era before God's people enter the land of promise.
Archaeological & Historical Notes
Abel-shittim is generally associated with Tell el-Hammam or, more traditionally, with Tell Kefrein (ancient Shittim) in the plains of Moab east of the Jordan River in modern Jordan, approximately opposite Jericho. Tell el-Hammam has received extensive archaeological attention in recent years, with excavations revealing a substantial Middle Bronze Age city and evidence of violent destruction, though its identification with Shittim or other biblical sites is debated. The Wadi Kefrein area has also been proposed, with surface surveys documenting Iron Age and Bronze Age material. The broader plains of Moab (modern Jordan Valley east of the Jordan) have been intensively surveyed, confirming widespread settlement activity consistent with the biblical account of Israel's prolonged encampment in the region.
Verse Appearances (1)
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Sources: ISBE Encyclopedia · OpenBible Geocoding (CC BY) · Pleiades Gazetteer View all →