Bible Encyclopedia: Nebo

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International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

NEBO (1)

ne'-bo (nebho; Assyrian Nabu): The Babylonian god of literature and science. In the Babylonian mythology he is represented as the son and interpreter of Bel-merodach (compare Isaiah 46:1; Bel and Nebo there represent Babylon). His own special shrine was at Borsippo. His planet was Mercury. His name enters into Biblical names, as "Nebuchadnezzar," and perhaps "Abed-nego" (Daniel 1:7, for "Abed-nebo, servant of Nebo").

See BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA, RELIGION OF.

NEBO (2)

(nebho; Nabau):

(1) This town is named in Numbers 32:3 between Sebam and Beon (which latter evidently represents Baal-meon of 32:38), after Heshbon and Elealeh, as among the cities assigned by Moses to Reuben. It was occupied by the Reubenite clan Bela (1 Chronicles 5:8). Here it is named between Aroer and Baalmeon. In their denunciations of wrath against Moab, Isaiah names it along with Medeba (Isaiah 15:2) and Jeremiah with Kiriathaim (Jeremiah 48:1), and again (Jeremiah 48:22) between Dibon and Beth-diblathaim. Mesha (M S) says that by command of Chemosh he went by night against the city, captured it after an assault that lasted from dawn till noon, and put all the inhabitants to death. He dedicated the place to Ashtar-chemosh. Jerome (Commentary on Isaiah 15:2) tells us that at Nebo was the idol of Chemosh. The site which seems best to meet the requirements of the passages indicated is on the ridge of Jebel Neba to the Southwest of Hesban, where ruins of an ancient town bearing the name of en-Neba are found (Buhl, GAP, 266).

(2) (nebho; B, Nabou A, Nabo, and other forms): Fifty-two descendants of the inhabitants of Nebo returned from exile with Zerubbabel (Ezra 2:29 Nehemiah 7:33). The place was in Judah and is named after Bethel and Ai. There is nothing, however, to guide us as to its exact position. It may be represented by either Belt Nuba, 12 miles Northwest of Jerusalem, or Nuba, which lies about 4 miles South-Southeast of `Id el-Ma' (Adullam).

W. Ewing

NEBO, MOUNT

(har nebho; Nabau): A mountain in the land of Moab which Moses ascended at the command of God in order that he might see the Land of Promise which he was never to enter. There also he was to die. From the following passages (namely, Numbers 33:47 Deuteronomy 32:49; Deuteronomy 34:1), we gather that it was not far from the plain of Moab in which Israel was encamped; that it was a height standing out to the West of the mountains of Abarim; that it lay to the East of Jericho; and that it was a spot from which a wide and comprehensive view of Palestine could be obtained. None of these conditions are met by Jebel `Attarus, which is too far to the East, and is fully 15 miles South of a line drawn eastward from Jericho. Jebel 'Osha, again, in Mt. Gilead, commands, indeed, an extensive view; but it lies too far to the North, being at least 15 miles North of a line drawn eastward from Jericho. Both of these sites have had their advocates as claimants for the honor of representing the Biblical Nebo.

The "head" or "top" of Pisgah is evidently identical with Mt. Nebo (Deuteronomy 34:1). After Moses' death he was buried "in the valley in the land of Moab," over against Beth-peor.

The name Neba is found on a ridge which, some 5 miles Southwest of Hesban and opposite the northern end of the Dead Sea, runs out to the West from the plateau of Moab, "sinking gradually: at first a broad brown field of arable land, then a flat top crowned by a ruined cairn, then a narrower ridge ending in the summit called Siagbah, whence the slopes fall steeply on all sides. The name Nebo or Neba (the "knob" or "tumulus") applies to the flat top with the cairn, and the name Tal`at es-Sufa to the ascent leading up to the ridge from the North. Thus we have three names which seem to connect the ridge with that whence Moses is related to have viewed the Promised Land, namely, first, Nebo, which is identically the same word as the modern Neba; secondly, Siaghah, which is radically identical with the Aramaic Se`ath, the word standing instead of Nebo in the Targum of Onkelos (Numbers 32:3), where it is called the burial place of Moses; thirdly, Tal`at es-Sufa, which is radically identical with the Hebrew Zuph (tsuph), whence Mizpah (mitspah) and Zophim (tsophim..... The name Pisgah is not now known, but the discovery of Zophim (compare Numbers 23:14) confirms the view now generally held, that it is but another title of the Nebo range."

Neither Mt. Hermon nor Dan (Tell el-Qady) is visible from this point; nor can Zoar be seen; and if the Mediterranean is the hinder sea, it also is invisible. But, as Driver says ("Dt," ICC, 419), the terms in Deuteronomy 34:1, 3 are hyperbolical, and must be taken as including points filled in by the imagination as well as those actually visible to the eye. Mr. Birch argues in favor of Tal`at el-Benat, whence he believes Dan and Zoar to be visible, while he identifies "the hinder sea" with the Dead Sea (PEFS, 1898, 110;).

W. Ewing

Strong's Hebrew

5562. Samgar Nebo -- a Bab. officer
Samgar Nebo. 5561, 5562. Samgar Nebo. 5563 . a Bab. officer. Transliteration:
Samgar Nebo Phonetic Spelling: (sam-gar' neb-o') Short Definition: Samgar-nebu ...
/hebrew/5562.htm - 5k

5015b. Nebo -- a Bab. god
... 5015a, 5015b. Nebo. 5016 . a Bab. god. Transliteration: Nebo Short Definition:
Nebo. Word Origin from nabab Definition a Bab. god NASB Word Usage Nebo (1). ...
/hebrew/5015b.htm - 5k

5015a. Nebo -- a city in Moab, also a mountain in Moab
... 5015, 5015a. Nebo. 5015b . a city in Moab, also a mountain in Moab.
Transliteration: Nebo Short Definition: Nebo. Word Origin from ...
/hebrew/5015a.htm - 5k

5664. Abed Nego -- "servant of Nebo," Bab. name of one of Daniel's ...
Abed Nego. 5663, 5664. Abed Nego. 5665 . "servant of Nebo," Bab. ... Word
Origin of foreign origin Definition "servant of Nebo," Bab. ...
/hebrew/5664.htm - 6k

5018. Nebuzaradan -- "Nebo has given seed," a Bab. general
... 5017, 5018. Nebuzaradan. 5019 . "Nebo has given seed," a Bab. ... Word Origin
of foreign origin Definition "Nebo has given seed," a Bab. ...
/hebrew/5018.htm - 6k

5021. Nebushaz-ban -- "O Nebo, deliver me," a Bab. officer
Nebushaz-ban. 5020, 5021. Nebushaz-ban. 5022 . "O Nebo, deliver me," a Bab. ...
Word Origin of foreign origin Definition "O Nebo, deliver me," a Bab. ...
/hebrew/5021.htm - 6k

5665. Abed Nego -- "servant of Nebo," Bab. name of one of Daniel's ...
Abed Nego. 5664, 5665. Abed Nego. 5666 . "servant of Nebo," Bab. ... Word Origin
(Aramaic) of foreign origin Definition "servant of Nebo," Bab. ...
/hebrew/5665.htm - 6k

5019. Nebukadnetstsar -- "Nebo, protect the boundary," a Bab. king
... Nebukadnetstsar or Nebbukadnetstsar. 5020 . "Nebo, protect the boundary," a Bab. ...
Word Origin of foreign origin Definition "Nebo, protect the boundary," a Bab. ...
/hebrew/5019.htm - 6k

5015. Nbow -- a city in Moab, also a mountain in Moab
... 5014, 5015. Nbow. 5015a . a city in Moab, also a mountain in Moab. Transliteration:
Nbow Phonetic Spelling: (neb-o') Short Definition: Nebo. Nebo ...
/hebrew/5015.htm - 5k

Library

The Last Agony
... month, the city was broken up.3. And all the princes of the king of Babylon came
in, and sat in the middle gate, even Nergal-sharezer, Samgar-nebo, Sarse-chim ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture h/the last agony.htm

On Deut. xxxiii. Ii
... Then God charged Moses, saying to him, Go up to Mount Nebo, which indeed is known
by the name of the mount of the Hebrews, which is in the land of Moab over ...
/.../the extant works and fragments of hippolytus/section x on deut xxxiii.htm

A Sermon of the Reverend Father Master Hugh Latimer, Preached in ...
... So that that place of the prophet was spoken of them that went to the destruction
of the cities of Moab, among the which there was one called Nebo, which was ...
/.../latimer/sermons on the card and other discourses/a sermon of the reverend.htm

Watching the Horizon
... And it held him steady on through long years, wilderness travel, criticism,
and non-appreciation, on and on, till Nebo's top was climbed. ...
/.../quiet talks on the crowned christ of revelation/viii watching the horizon.htm

The Captivity.
... be destroyed, he saved the Ark of the Covenant, Aaron's rod, and the pot of manna,
from sacrilege, by hiding them away in the hollow of Mount Nebo, where they ...
//christianbookshelf.org/yonge/the chosen people/lesson x the captivity.htm

The Spokesman of God.
... Moses spent nearly six weeks with Him, twice over, in the flaming mount, and carried
the impress of His presence upon his face clear to Nebo's cloudy top. ...
/.../gordon/quiet talks on johns gospel/the spokesman of god.htm

The Burial of Moses
... OF MOSES. By Nebo's lonely mountain, On this side Jordan's wave, In a vale
in the land of Moab There lies a lonely grave. And no ...
/.../wells/bible stories and religious classics/the burial of moses.htm

In the Borders of Canaan.
... So when they had reached the borders of Canaan, and were encamped near the Jordan,
the Lord called his tried servant up into Mount Nebo, that he might see the ...
/.../lathbury/childs story of the bible/chapter xiii in the borders.htm

Ascalon. Gerar. The Story of the Eighty Witches.
... the temple of Bel in Babylon, the temple of Nebo in Cursi, of Tiratha in
Mapheg, of Zeripha in Ascalon, and of Nishra in Arabia.". ...
/.../lightfoot/from the talmud and hebraica/chapter 14 ascalon gerar the.htm

Further, the Martyrdom of Barsamya, the Bishop of the Blessed City ...
... this day they confess Christ; and even Avida, and Nebo, [3212] and Barcalba, and
Hafsai, honourable and chief persons of the city, have yielded to Sharbil in ...
/.../unknown/the decretals/further the martyrdom of barsamya.htm

Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary

Nebo

that speaks or prophesies

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Nebo

(prophet), Mount, the mountain from which Moses took his first and last view of the promised land. (32:41; 34:1) It is described as in the land of Moab, facing Jericho; the head or summit of a mountain called Pisgah, which again seems to have formed a portion of the general range of Abarim. (Notwithstanding the minuteness of this description, it is only recently that any one has succeeded in pointing out any spot which answers to Nebo. Tristram identifies it with a peak (Jebel Nebbah) of the Abarim or Moab mountains, about three miles southwest of Heshban (Heshbon) and about a mile and a half due west of Baal-meon. "It overlooks the mouth of the Jordan, over against Jericho," (34:1) and the gentle slopes of its sides may well answer to the "field of Zophim." (Numbers 23:14) Jebel Nebbah is 2683 feet high. It is not an isolated peak but one of a succession of bare turf-clad eminences, so linked together that the depressions between them were mere hollows rather than valleys. It commands a wide prospect. Prof. Paine, of the American Exploration Society, contends that Jebel Nebbah, the highest point of the range, is Mount Nebo, that Jebel Siaghah, the extreme headland of the hill, is Mount Pisgah, and that "the mountains of Abarim "are the cliffs west of these points, and descending toward the Dead Sea. Probably the whole mountain or range was called sometimes by the name of one peak and sometimes by that of another as is frequently the case with mountains now. --ED.)

ATS Bible Dictionary

Nebo

1. A town in the vicinity of Bethel and Ai, Ezra 2:29 Nehemiah 7:33.

2. A city of Reuben, Numbers 32:38, taken by the Moabites, who held it in the time of Jeremiah, Isaiah 15:2 Jeremiah 48:1.

3. A mountain of Moab, whence Moses had a view of the promised land, and where he died. It is a summit of the range Abarim, "over against Jericho." Seetzen, Burckhardy, etc., identify it with Mount Attarus, about ten miles north of the Arnon. Travelers do not observe any very prominent summit in the rage immediately opposite Jericho; but it has not yet fully explored, De 32:49 34:1-12.

4. An idol of the Babylonians, Isaiah 46:1. In the astrological mythology of the Babylonians, this idol probably represented the planet Mercury. It was also worshipped by the ancient Arabians. The extensive prevalence of this worship among the Chaldeans and Assyrians, is evident from the many compound proper names occurring in the Scriptures, of which this word forms part; as Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuzaradan, Nebushasban, Jeremiah 39:9,13; and also in the classics, as Naboned, Nabonassar, Nabopolassar, etc.

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Proclaimer; prophet.

(1.) A Chaldean god whose worship was introduced into Assyria by Pul (Isaiah 46:1; Jeremiah 48:1). To this idol was dedicated the great temple whose ruins are still seen at Birs Nimrud. A statue of Nebo found at Calah, where it was set up by Pul, king of Assyria, is now in the British Museum.

(2.) A mountain in the land of Moab from which Moses looked for the first and the last time on the Promised Land (Deuteronomy 32:49; 34:1). It has been identified with Jebel Nebah, on the eastern shore of the Dead Sea, near its northern end, and about 5 miles south-west of Heshbon. It was the summit of the ridge of Pisgah (q.v.), which was a part of the range of the "mountains of Abarim." It is about 2,643 feet in height, but from its position it commands a view of Western Palestine. Close below it are the plains of Moab, where Balaam, and afterwards Moses, saw the tents of Israel spread along.

(3.) A town on the east of Jordan which was taken possession of and rebuilt by the tribe of Reuben (Numbers 32:3, 38; 1 Chronicles 5:8). It was about 8 miles south of Heshbon.

(4.) The "children of Nebo" (Ezra 2:29; Nehemiah 7:33) were of those who returned from Babylon. It was a town in Benjamin, probably the modern Beit Nubah, about 7 miles north-west of Hebron.

Thesaurus

Nebo (13 Occurrences)
... A statue of Nebo found at Calah, where it was set up by Pul, king of Assyria, is
now in the British Museum. ... Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. NEBO (1). ...
/n/nebo.htm - 17k

Samgar-nebo (1 Occurrence)
Samgar-nebo. Samgarnebo, Samgar-nebo. Sam'gar-ne'bo . Easton's
Bible Dictionary Be gracious, O Nebo! or a cup-bearer ...
/s/samgar-nebo.htm - 8k

Nebo-sarsekim (1 Occurrence)
Nebo-sarsekim. Nebo, Nebo-sarsekim. Nebuchadnezzar . Multi-Version
Concordance Nebo-sarsekim (1 Occurrence). Jeremiah ...
/n/nebo-sarsekim.htm - 6k

Samgarnebo (1 Occurrence)
... Be gracious, O Nebo! or a cup-bearer of Nebo, probably the title of Nergal-sharezer,
one of the princes of Babylon (Jeremiah 39:3). Int. ... SAMGAR-NEBO. ...
/s/samgarnebo.htm - 8k

Malchiel (3 Occurrences)
... of"). NEBO, MOUNT. ... Jericho. Both of these sites have had their advocates as
claimants for the honor of representing the Biblical Nebo. ...
/m/malchiel.htm - 74k

Abarim (8 Occurrences)
... From "the top of Pisgah", ie, Mount Nebo (qv), one of its summits, Moses surveyed
the Promised Land (Deuteronomy 3:27; 32:49), and there he died (34:1, 5). The ...
/a/abarim.htm - 12k

Pisgah (8 Occurrences)
... It is probably the modern Jebel Siaghah. (see NEBO.). Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. ...
Here Moses obtained his view of the Promised Land, and died. See NEBO. ...
/p/pisgah.htm - 13k

Dibon (12 Occurrences)
... Numbers 32:3 "Ataroth, and Dibon, and Jazer, and Nimrah, and Heshbon, and Elealeh,
and Sebam, and Nebo, and Beon, (WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV). ...
/d/dibon.htm - 12k

Baalmeon (3 Occurrences)
... ba'-al-me'-on ba`al me`on; Beelmeon: A town built by the children of Reuben along
with Nebo, "their names being changed" (Numbers 32:38), identical with Beon ...
/b/baalmeon.htm - 8k

Baal-meon (3 Occurrences)
... ba'-al-me'-on ba`al me`on; Beelmeon: A town built by the children of Reuben along
with Nebo, "their names being changed" (Numbers 32:38), identical with Beon ...
/b/baal-meon.htm - 8k

Bible Concordance

Nebo (13 Occurrences)

Numbers 32:3 "Ataroth, and Dibon, and Jazer, and Nimrah, and Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Sebam, and Nebo, and Beon,
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Numbers 32:38 and Nebo, and Baal Meon, (their names being changed), and Sibmah: and they gave other names to the cities which they built.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Numbers 33:47 They traveled from Almon Diblathaim, and encamped in the mountains of Abarim, before Nebo.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Deuteronomy 32:49 "Go up into this mountain of Abarim, to Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, that is over against Jericho; and see the land of Canaan, which I give to the children of Israel for a possession;
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Deuteronomy 34:1 Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, that is over against Jericho. Yahweh showed him all the land of Gilead, to Dan,
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

1 Chronicles 5:8 and Bela the son of Azaz, the son of Shema, the son of Joel, who lived in Aroer, even to Nebo and Baal Meon:
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Ezra 2:29 The children of Nebo, fifty-two.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Ezra 10:43 Of the sons of Nebo: Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Iddo, and Joel, Benaiah.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Nehemiah 7:33 The men of the other Nebo, fifty-two.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Isaiah 15:2 They have gone up to Bayith, and to Dibon, to the high places, to weep. Moab wails over Nebo and over Medeba. Baldness is on all of their heads. Every beard is cut off.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Isaiah 46:1 Bel bows down, Nebo stoops; their idols are on the animals, and on the livestock: the things that you carried about are made a load, a burden to the weary animal.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Jeremiah 48:1 Of Moab. Thus says Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel: Woe to Nebo! for it is laid waste; Kiriathaim is disappointed, it is taken; Misgab is put to shame and broken down.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Jeremiah 48:22 and on Dibon, and on Nebo, and on Beth Diblathaim,
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Subtopics

Nebo

Nebo: A Babylonian Idol

Nebo: A City Allotted to the Tribe of Reuben

Nebo: A City Allotted to the Tribe of Reuben: Prophecies Concerning

Nebo: A City in Territory of the Tribe of Judah

Nebo: A Mountain Range East of the Jordan; Moses Views Canaan From

Nebo: A Mountain Range East of the Jordan; Moses Views Canaan From: Dies On

Nebo: The Ancestor of Certain Jews

Related Terms

Samgar-nebo (1 Occurrence)