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TABOR, Mount
Important hill in lower Galilee located in the northeast area of the Jezreel Valley. About six miles (9.7 kilometers) east of Nazareth, Tabor rises abruptly from the valley floor. Appearing more prominent than its height would indicate (1,929 feet, or 587.9 meters), it became an important geographical reference point in antiquity. It defined the western boundary of Issachar’s tribe (Jos 19:22) and was a useful navigation tool on the international coastal highway (the Via Maris) that passed through Megiddo in Galilee en route to Hazor. Its prominence invited comparison with Mt Hermon far to the north (Ps 89:12; cf. Jer 46:18).
In the OT, Mt Tabor is mentioned in the book of Judges when Deborah and Barak fight Sisera, the commander of a Canaanite army from Hazor (Jgs 4:1-24). Barak’s troops from the nearby tribes of Naphtali and Zebulun met on Mt Tabor and at Deborah’s command launched a successful campaign against Sisera. Later in the same book, Mt Tabor was named as the place where Gideon finally confronted the Midianite kings, Zebah and Zalmunna, who had killed his brothers (8:18).
Strategically located, Tabor’s moderately sized top, less than a half mile square (1.3 square kilometers), was easily fortified. During the OT kingdom period, shrines may been located there (see Hos 5:1), but by the Hellenistic era, fortifications were built. The Ptolemies strengthened it, and by the time of Antiochus III (218 BC), Tabor may have become the administrative center of the Jezreel Valley. The Roman era witnessed various conflicts on Mt Tabor. In the major Jewish war of AD 66, Josephus fortified the hill with a large wall, which is still visible. Since the fourth century, Mt Tabor has been identified as the site of Jesus’ transfiguration (Mk 9:2-13). This is uncertain, however, since the NT fails to mention Mt Tabor by name. Helena, the mother of Constantine, was convinced that the Transfiguration did take place there, and in AD 326 she built a church on the site. Other shrines, monasteries, and churches graced the hill until the 12th century, when everything was destroyed by the Arab conqueror Saladin. Today a Greek Orthodox monastery and a Latin basilica dating from the 19th century can be seen on the mountain.