Rabbah
Rabbah is an ancient city mentioned in the Old Testament, located in the region of Transjordan in modern-day Jordan. Known today as Amman. It appears across 17 verses in Scripture.
Biblical History
Rabbah of the Ammonites was the capital city of the Ammonite kingdom east of the Jordan River, featuring prominently in Scripture across 17 verses. It first appears in Deuteronomy 3:11, which notes that the iron bedstead of Og king of Bashan was preserved in Rabbah. The city's most dramatic biblical moment came during David's reign, when Joab besieged Rabbah after the Ammonite king Hanun humiliated David's ambassadors (2 Samuel 10-12). It was during this siege that David committed adultery with Bathsheba and arranged the death of Uriah the Hittite, who was killed fighting at Rabbah's walls (2 Samuel 11). Joab eventually captured the royal citadel and summoned David to take the city personally (2 Samuel 12:26-31). The prophets later pronounced judgment against Rabbah: Jeremiah 49:2-3 declared that Rabbah would become a desolate heap, and Ezekiel 25:5 prophesied it would become a pasture for camels. Amos 1:14 foretold fire consuming Rabbah's fortresses. These prophecies reflect God's judgment against Ammon for its hostility toward Israel.
Archaeological & Historical Notes
Rabbah of the Ammonites is definitively identified with the Amman Citadel (Jebel al-Qala'a) in the heart of modern Amman, Jordan's capital. The citadel hill has been excavated extensively, revealing occupation from the Middle Bronze Age through the Islamic period. Notable finds include the Amman Citadel Inscription (ninth century BC), an Ammonite text mentioning building activities, and a monumental Iron Age tower and defensive wall. The Roman Temple of Hercules and the Umayyad Palace complex crown the hill today. The ancient water source at Ras al-Ain provided the perennial spring that sustained the settlement. The city was renamed Philadelphia during the Hellenistic period and became one of the cities of the Decapolis. The citadel remains one of Jordan's most important archaeological and tourist sites.
Verse Appearances (17)
References
- Orr, J. (ed.) (1915) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Chicago: Howard-Severance Company. [Public Domain]
- OpenBible.info (n.d.) Bible Geocoding. Available at: https://www.openbible.info/geo/. [CC BY 4.0]
- Bagnall, R. et al. (eds.) (n.d.) Pleiades: A Gazetteer of Past Places. Available at: https://pleiades.stoa.org. [CC BY 3.0]
- Wikidata contributors (n.d.) Wikidata. Available at: https://www.wikidata.org. [CC0]
- Lawrence, D. et al. (2025) Villages to Empires: a settlement dataset for the Southern Levant. doi:10.5281/zenodo.15111732. [CC BY 4.0]
- Church of England (1769) The Holy Bible, Authorized (King James) Version. [Public Domain]