Timnah
(portion).
A place which formed one of the landmarks on the north boundary of the allotment of Judah. (Joshua 15:10) It is probably identical with the Thimnathah of (Joshua 19:43) and that again with the Timnath, or, more accurately, Timnathah, of Samson (Judges 14:1,2,5) and the Thamnatha of the Maccabees. The modern representative of all these various forms of the same name is probably Tibneh, a village about two miles west of Ain Shems (Beth-shemesh).
In the later history of the Jews, Timnah must have been a conspicuous place. It was fortified by Bacchides as one of the most important military posts of Judea. 1 Macc. 9:50. A town in the mountain district of Judah. (Joshua 15:57) A distinct place from that just examined. Inaccurately written Timnath in the Authorized Version, the scene of the adventure of Judah with his daughter in-law Tamar. (Genesis 38:12,13,14) There is nothing here to indicate its position.
It may be identified either with the Timnah in the mountains of Judah No. 23 or with the Timnathath of Samson [No. 1].
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia on Timnah
Timnah tim'-na (timnah, timnathah (Jos 19:43; Jg 14:1-2,5), "allotted portion; Codex Vaticanus Thamnatha; also several Greek variations; King James Version has Timnath in Ge 38:12-13,14; Jg 14:1-2,5; and Thimnathah in Jos 19:43): ⇒See a list of verses on TIMNAH in the Bible. (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. (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 (Jg 14:1 f); his "father-in-law" is called a "Timnite" (Jg 15:6). At this time the place is clearly Philistine (Jg 14:1), though in Jos 19:43 it is reckoned to Dan. Being on the frontier, it probably changed hands several times. In 2 Ch 28:18 it was captured from the Philistines by Ahaz, and we learn from Assyrian evidence (Prison Inscription) that Sennacherib captured a Tamna after…
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible on Timnah
1. A place on the N. boundary of Judah, situated between Beth- shemesh and ' the side of Ekron ' (Jos 15'° B X(3a, A vtn-ov, Thamna). It was a Phili.stine town (Jg 14' Qa)iva6a, Thrimnatha), within the territory of Dan (Jos 19" B QaiivaBi, A Qap-vd, Themnatha), to which S.'unson went down from Zorah to take his wife (Jg 14'---° ; Jos. Ant. V. viii. 5, 6), whose father is called the Timnite in Jg 15'. There Samson slew the young lion, and propounded his well-known riddle at the marriage-feast. Timnah was taken by the Philistines during the reign of Ahaz, not long after they had been completely subdued by Uzziah(2Ch28'*6ci,KKi, Thmnna) ; and later it was occupied by Sennacherib after he had defeated the Egyptians at Elteke {Altaku). It is called in the inscriptions Tamnd, and is mentioned as lying between Elteke and Ekron (Schrader, KAT^ 170). Timnah retains its old name almost unchanged, and is now Tibneh, on the S. side of the valley of Sorek {Wddi/ es-Surar) and to the W. of Beth- shemesh ('Ain Sliems). The site is deserted, but is marked by ruined walls and rock-hewn caves, cistern…
Fausset's Bible Dictionary on Timnah
("a divided or assigned part".) 1. Judah went to shear his sheep in Timnah (Gen 38:13-14). 2. A boundary town in Judah on the N. side (Jos 15:10). Near the western extremity, further than Bethshemesh, toward Ekron; in the shephelah or low hills between the mountains and the plain (2Ch 28:18). Probably the same as TIMNATHAH of Dan (Jos 19:43), and as the Timhah of Samson. (Jdg 14:1; Jdg 14:19); haunted by lions, etc., therefore thinly peopled; higher than Askelon, lower than Zorah (Jdg 13:25). Now Tibneh, a deserted site S.W. of Zorah, and two miles W. of Ain Shems. Timnah when deserted by the Danite emigrants to Laish fell by turns to Judah and the Philistines. Tibneh is 740 ft. above the sea, not in the plain. Samson in going down to it would descend first 700 ft. into the valley, then ascend again 350 ft. to Timnah. The grain which he fired grew in the valley, whereas the vineyards and olives lined the hills. With appropriate accuracy Judges (Jdg 15:4-6) says "the Philistines came up" to Timnah. The substitution of b for m, which we see in Tibneh for Timnah, occurs also in Atab for…
References
- Orr, J. (ed.) (1915) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Chicago: Howard-Severance Company. [Public Domain]
- Easton, M.G. (1893) Easton's Bible Dictionary. 3rd edn. Thomas Nelson. [Public Domain]
- Nave, O.J. (1897) Nave's Topical Bible. Topical Bible Publishing Co.. [Public Domain]
- Hastings, J. (ed.) (1909) A Dictionary of the Bible. Edinburgh: T&T Clark. [Public Domain]
- Smith, W. (ed.) (1884) Smith's Bible Dictionary. London: John Murray. [Public Domain]
- Fausset, A.R. (1878) Fausset's Bible Dictionary. [Public Domain]A Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopaedia