Abel-beth-maacah standard
. In 2Sa 20:15 (Hebrew) it is Abel-beth-hammaacah (Maacah with the article). In 20:14 it appears as Beth-maacah, and in 20:14 and 18 as Abel.
Where is Abel-beth-maacah in the Bible?
Abel-beth-maacah was a fortified city located in northern Israel near Dan, in the region of Naphtali. It appears in biblical accounts as the site where Joab besieged Sheba son of Bichri during a rebellion against King David, as recorded in 2 Samuel 20. The city was later captured by Tiglath-Pileser III, the Assyrian king, along with other northern Israelite cities, an event documented both in 2 Kings 15 and in Assyrian historical records. Its strategic location in the far north of Israel made it an important military stronghold during the biblical period.
Abel-beth-maacah
ISBE 1915 (Public Domain). In 2Sa 20:15 (Hebrew) it is Abel-beth-hammaacah (Maacah with the article). In 20:14 it appears as Beth-maacah, and in 20:14 and 18 as Abel.
In 2Sa it is spoken of as the city, far to the north, where Joab besieged Sheba, the son of Bichri. In 2Ki it is mentioned, along with Ijon and other places, as a city in Naphtali captured by Tiglathpileser, king of Assyria. The capture appears also in the records of Tiglath-pileser. In 1Ki it is mentioned with Ijon and Da and "all the land of Naphtali" as being smitten by Benhadad of Damascus in the time of Baasha. In the account in Chronicles parallel to this last (2Ch 16:4) the cities mentioned are Ijon, Dan, Abel- maim. Abel-maim is either another name for Abel-beth-maacah, or the name of another place in the same vicinity.
The prevailing identification of Abel-beth-maacah is with Abil, a few miles West of Dan, on a height overlooking the Jordan near its sources. The adjacent region is rich agriculturally, and the scenery and the water supply are especially fine. Abel-maim, "meadow of water," is not an inapt designation for it. Willis J. Beecher
a'-bel-ker'-a-mim ('abhel keramim, "meadow of vineyards"): A city mentioned in the Revised Version (British and American) in Jud 11:33, along with Aroer, Minnith, and "twent