Abarim
1:
ABARIM (PLACE) [Heb ˓ăbārı̂m (עֲבָרִים)]. A mountain range generally located east of the mouth of the Jordan river and northeast of the Dead Sea forming the northwestern rim of the Moabite tableland, thus separating the latter from the rift valley (Num 33:47–48). The highest peaks of this range rise about 600 feet above the Moabite plateau and overlook the Dead Sea some 4000 feet below their summits.
The mountains of Abarim, a southern extension of the Transjordan range, are located “in front of [the town of] Nebo” (Num 33:47). One of the peaks of this ridge is Mount Nebo (see also NEBO, MOUNT), which Moses ascended from the Plains of Moab (Num 27:12) and from which he viewed the land of Canaan prior to his death (Deut 32:49). The Israelites camped in the mountains of Abarim after leaving Almon-diblathaim and before reaching the Plains of Moab, the final stage of the exodus from Egypt (Num 33:47–48).
In Jer 22:20 the RSV treats ˓ăbārı̂m as a proper name, assuming it to be a region as are Lebanon to the north and Basham to the northeast. However, the KJV translates ˓ăbārı̂m by “passages.” Similarly, several ancient versions (LXX, Vg and Pesh) reflect in their translations of ˓ăbārı̂m in Jer 22:20 the verbal root meaning “to cross over” or “to pass over.” Abarim may originally have been an appellative (reflected in the Gk of the LXX translation of Num 27:12 “to oros to en tō peran” i.e. “[places] on the other side [of Judah])” before it became the proper name “Abarim.” The NEB emends the RSV reading “valley of the travelers” in Ezek 39:11 to read “the valley of Abarim” (see also TRAVELERS, VALLEY OF).
While most maps confine the Abarim range to the highland north of the river Arnon, several scholars (GP 1:379; GTTOT: 261; van Zyl 1960: 51) infer from Jer 22:20 and the name of the encampment Iye-abarim, which by definition appears to be associated with the Abarim range, that the hills of Abarim also describe the mountains east of the southern end of the Dead Sea. Though the precise location of IYE-ABARIM is uncertain, scholars generally place it south of the Arnon gorge.
In antiquity Josephus (Ant 4. 8,§48), Jerome and Eusebius made reference to the Abarim hills (Lagarde 1966: 16,5; 89,8; 216,4). For references, see BEER (PLACE).
Arthur J. Ferch
Freedman, D. N. (1996, c1992). The Anchor Bible Dictionary (1:6). New York: Doubleday.
2:
Abarim — regions beyond; i.e., on the east of Jordan, a mountain, or rather a mountain-chain, over against Jericho, to the east and south-east of the Dead Sea, in the land of Moab. From “the top of Pisgah”, i.e., Mount Nebo (q.v.), one of its summits, Moses surveyed the Promised Land (Deut. 3:27; 32:49), and there he died (34:1,5). The Israelites had one of their encampments in the mountains of Abarim (Num. 33:47,48) after crossing the Arnon.
Easton, M. (1996, c1897). Easton's Bible dictionary. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
3:
ABARIM* Mountainous area located east of the Jordan River and the Dead Sea, and extending northward from the plains of Moab. From the highest point on Mt Nebo, called Pisgah, located in Abarim (2,643 feet; 805 meters), Moses looked into the Promised Land shortly before he died (Dt 32:48–50; 34:1–6).
Elwell, W. A., & Comfort, P. W. (2001). Tyndale Bible dictionary. Tyndale reference library (2). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers.
4:
AB´ARIM (abʹā-rîm; “regions beyond”). A mountain chain SE of the Dead Sea, at the N end of which stands Mt. Nebo (Deut. 32:49). It also featured an elevated outcrop (Heb. happisgâ) from which Moses viewed the Promised Land (3:27). Israel had an encampment in the mountains of Abarim (Num. 33:47–48).
Unger, M. F., Harrison, R. K., Vos, H. F., Barber, C. J., & Unger, M. F. (1988). The new Unger's Bible dictionary. Revision of: Unger's Bible dictionary. 3rd ed. c1966. (Rev. and updated ed.). Chicago: Moody Press.
5:
ABARIM. A name for the mountains which rise from the E shore of the Dead Sea, where the edge of the *Moabite plateau is broken up by a succession of E-W wadis: literally it means ‘the regions beyond’, i.e. beyond the Dead Sea from the point of View of Judah. At the N end of the range stands Mt *Nebo, from which Moses could look across over the land of Canaan (Nu. 27:12; Dt. 32:49). According to the itinerary in Nu. 33 the Israelites’ last encampment before they reached the Jordan valley was in these mountains (vv. 47–48). *Iye-abarim (vv. 44–45; cf. Nu. 21:11) must have lain near the S end of the Dead Sea. In accordance with modern translations, against av which translates ‘passages’ (cf. Targ.), this name should also be read in Je. 22:20, where two other mountains which overlook Canaan are mentioned.
Bibliography. G. Adam Smith, The Historical Geography of the Holy Land25, 1931, pp. 380—381; GTT, pp. 261, 444. g.i.d.
Wood, D. R. W., Wood, D. R. W., & Marshall, I. H. (1996, c1982, c1962). New Bible Dictionary. Includes index. (electronic ed. of 3rd ed.) (2). Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press.
6:
Abarim (abʹuh-reem; Heb., ‘parts beyond’), a mountain (Num. 27:12; Deut. 32:49) or mountains (Num. 33:47) situated to the east of the Jordan River and south of Bashan. Jeremiah couples it with Bashan and Lebanon as locations from which the people cry in vain to God for rescue (Jer. 22:20).
Achtemeier, P. J., Harper & Row, P., & Society of Biblical Literature. (1985). Harper's Bible dictionary. Includes index. (1st ed.) (3). San Francisco: Harper & Row.
7:
Abarim (Heb. ˓ăḇārɩ̂m)
A mountain range E of the Dead Sea and opposite the Judean wilderness, overlooking the Jordan Valley. The name probably reflects the ancient eastern orientation: one would go to the Abarim (i.e., “the regions beyond”) on a journey eastward to Transjordan.
Since the Israelites approached Canaan from the east, they had to pass through the Abarim. They camped in its highlands and descended from them to the plains of Moab (Num. 33:47–48). From Mt. Nebo, one of the peaks of the Abarim, Moses viewed the Promised Land (Deut. 32:49).
Jeremiah gives the Abarim the same geographical significance as Lebanon and Bashan (22:20), suggesting that the Abarim were seen as encompassing a large geographical territory. There is some indication that at times the name Abarim referred to mountains S of Moab (Num. 33:44), although no boundaries for the Abarim are given.
David Merling
Freedman, D. N., Myers, A. C., & Beck, A. B. (2000). Eerdmans dictionary of the Bible (2). Grand Rapids, Mich.: W.B. Eerdmans.
