Timnah

Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897)

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).

Scripture References

ISBE

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 ): (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 ( 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). (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. (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. E. W. G. Masterman

Smith's Bible Dictionary (1863)

(portion).

Scripture References