Helbah
Helbah is an ancient city mentioned in the Old Testament, located in the region of Phoenicia in modern-day Israel. Known today as Khirbet al Mahalib. It appears across 1 verse in Scripture.
Biblical History
Helbah is mentioned once in Scripture, in Judges 1:31, within the account of the tribe of Asher's failure to drive out the Canaanite inhabitants from their allotted territory. The text lists Helbah alongside Acco, Sidon, Ahlab, Achzib, Rehob, and Aphek as cities from which the Asherites failed to expel the Canaanites, instead living among them. This pattern of partial conquest and coexistence with the indigenous population, repeated for multiple tribes in Judges 1, carries serious theological weight in the biblical narrative — it sows the seeds for the syncretism and apostasy that will dominate the rest of Judges. Helbah's location in Phoenician territory near the Lebanese coast would have placed it in a region of dense Canaanite urban culture. The name may be related to Mahalab, and a connection has long been proposed with the site identified as Khirbet al Mahalib north of Acco. The failure at Helbah and surrounding cities represents the unfulfilled mandate of the conquest and the beginning of Israel's long struggle with Canaanite religious influence.
Archaeological & Historical Notes
Helbah is widely identified with Khirbet al Mahalib (also Mahleb or Mahalab), located on the Lebanese coast north of Acco. The site appears in Assyrian annals under Tiglath-pileser I as 'Mahaliba,' confirming its ancient existence and continued importance into the Iron Age. Surface surveys have identified Iron Age material at the site, consistent with the period of Israelite settlement. The coastal Phoenician strip in which this site lies has been studied primarily through salvage archaeology, with excavations at nearby Acco and Achzib providing regional context. Khirbet al Mahalib itself has not been the subject of sustained systematic excavation.
Verse Appearances (1)
Judg
Sources: ISBE Encyclopedia · OpenBible Geocoding (CC BY) · Pleiades Gazetteer View all →