Topic
Abel-shittim
13 passages cited, from 3 classic reference works.
These works date from 1896–1915 and are in the public domain. They reflect the Protestant scholarship of their time: their history, archaeology and dates can be out of date, and where they interpret, other traditions read the text differently. The verses are shown in the King James Version, the wording these works were written against.
The verses
The passages the works cite, those cited by more of them first.
- Numbers 22:1Easton · ISBE
And the children of Israel set forward, and pitched in the plains of Moab on this side Jordan by Jericho.
- Numbers 25:1Easton · ISBE
And Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab.
- Numbers 26:3Easton · ISBE
And Moses and Eleazar the priest spake with them in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho, saying,
- Numbers 33:49Easton · ISBE
And they pitched by Jordan, from Beth-jesimoth even unto Abel-shittim in the plains of Moab.
- Joshua 2:1Easton · ISBE
And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spy secretly, saying, Go view the land, even Jericho. And they went, and came into an harlot’s house, named Rahab, and lodged there.
- Micah 6:5Easton · ISBE
O my people, remember now what Balak king of Moab consulted, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him from Shittim unto Gilgal; that ye may know the righteousness of the LORD.
- Numbers 22:1–24:25ISBE
And the children of Israel set forward, and pitched in the plains of Moab on this side Jordan by Jericho. ¶ And Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. And Moab was sore afraid of the people, because they were many: and Moab…
- Numbers 25:1–18ISBE
And Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab. And they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods: and the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods. And Israel joined himself unto Baal-peor:…
- Numbers 26:63ISBE
¶ These are they that were numbered by Moses and Eleazar the priest, who numbered the children of Israel in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho.
- Numbers 31:1–54ISBE
And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites: afterward shalt thou be gathered unto thy people. And Moses spake unto the people, saying, Arm some of yourselves unto the war, and let them go against the Midianites,…
- Numbers 31:12Easton
And they brought the captives, and the prey, and the spoil, unto Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and unto the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the camp at the plains of Moab, which are by Jordan near Jericho.
- Joshua 3:1ISBE
And Joshua rose early in the morning; and they removed from Shittim, and came to Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over.
Show 1 more
- Joel 3:18 ISBE
In the reference works
Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897) · 9 references
Meadow of the acacias, frequently called simply “Shittim” (Num. 25:1; Josh. 2:1; Micah 6:5), a place on the east of Jordan, in the plain of Moab, nearly opposite Jericho. It was the forty-second encampment of the Israelites, their last resting-place before they crossed the Jordan (Num. 33:49; 22:1; 26:3; 31:12; comp. 25:1; 31:16).
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915) · 12 references
a'-bel-shit'-tim ('abhel ha-shiTTim, "the meadow of the Acacias"): The name appears only in Nu 33:49; but the name Shittim is used to denote the same locality (Nu 25:1; Jos 2:1; 3:1; Mic 6:5). The name always has the article, and the best expression of it in English would be "the Acacias." `The valley of the Acacias' (Joe 3:18 (4:18)) is, apparently, a different locality.
For many weeks before crossing the Jordan, Israel was encamped in the vicinity of the Jordan valley, North of the Dead Sea, East of the river. The notices in the Bible, supplemented by those in Josephus and Eusebius and Jerome, indicate that the camping region was many miles in extent, the southern limit being Beth-jeshimoth, toward the Dead Sea, while Abel of the Acacias was the northern limit and the headquarters. The headquarters are often spoken of as East of the Jordan at Jericho (e.g. Nu 22:1; 26:3,63). During the stay there occurred the Balaam incident (Nu 22-24), and the harlotry with Moab and Midian (Nu 25) and the war with Midian (Nu 31), in both of which Phinehas distinguished himself. It was from the Acacias that Joshua sent out the spies, and that Israel afterward moved down to the river for the crossing. Micah aptly calls upon Yahweh's people to remember all that happened to them from the time when they reached the Acacias to the time when Yahweh had brought them safely across the river to Gilgal.
Josephus is correct in saying that Abel of the Acacias is the place from which the Deuteronomic law purports to have been given. In his time the name survived as Abila, a not very important town situated there. He says that it was "sixty furlongs from Abila to the Jordan," that is a little more than seven English miles (Ant., IV, viii, 1 and V, i, 1; BJ, IV, vii, 6). There seems to be a consensus for locating the site at Kefrein, near where the wady of that name comes down into the Jordan valley.
Willis J. Beecher
In the topical indexes
Nave's Topical Bible (1896) · 0 references, grouped by sub-topic
- → See SHITTIM
Texts: Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897); International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915); Nave's Topical Bible (1896), from the CrossWire SWORD modules (public domain). Verse references were parsed from the works' own markup and checked against the KJV verse list.