1:
TABBAOTH (PERSON) [Heb ṭabbā˓ôt (טַבָּעֹות)]. Head of a family of Nethinim (Temple servants) who returned from the Babylonian exile to Jerusalem with Zerubbabel and Jeshua between 538 and 520 b.c.e. (Ezra 2:43; Neh 7:46; 1 Esdr 5:29). The name means “signet rings” (cf. Exod 28:23). It could reflect the clan’s role within the guild of Nethinim or be a nickname that had become a family name over time—a likely development if the Nethinim (many of whom possess odd names) were originally foreigners or of low descent. As members of the guild of Nethinim, the family of Tabbaoth would have had a special role in the Temple cult, perhaps assisting the Levites. Whatever their origin, during the postexilic period the Nethinim, as cultic personnel, were considered members of the congregation. Like the Levites, they had been devoted to cultic service the precise nature of which can not longer be identified. The size of Tabbaoth’s family, its origins and specific role are no longer discernible. Together with thirty-four more families of Nethinim and ten of families of Solomon’s servants, the group included 392 members (Ezra 2:58; Neh 7:60) or 372 (1 Esdr 5:35). See Blenkinsopp Ezra-Nehemiah OTL; Williamson Ezra, Nehemiah WBC.
Bibliography
Levine, B. A. 1963. The Netinim. JBL 82: 207–12.
Tamara C. Eskenazi
Freedman, D. N. (1996, c1992). The Anchor Bible Dictionary (6:291). New York: Doubleday.
2:
Tabbaoth — impressions; rings, “the children of,” returned from the Captivity (Ezra 2:43).
Easton, M. (1996, c1897). Easton's Bible dictionary. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
3:
TABBAOTH Ancestor of a family of temple servants who returned to Jerusalem with Zerubbabel after the exile (Ezr 2:43; Neh 7:46).
Elwell, W. A., & Comfort, P. W. (2001). Tyndale Bible dictionary. Tyndale reference library (1233). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers.
4:
TAB´BAOTH (tabʹa-oth; “rings, or spots”). One of the Temple servants whose descendants returned from Babylon with Zerubbabel (Ezra 2:43; Neh. 7:46), before 536 b.c.
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:
Tabbaoth (Heb. ṭabbā˓ôṯ)
The ancestor (or head) of a group of temple servants who returned with Zerubbabel from the Babylonian Exile (Ezra 2:43; Neh. 7:46).
Freedman, D. N., Myers, A. C., & Beck, A. B. (2000). Eerdmans dictionary of the Bible (1269). Grand Rapids, Mich.: W.B. Eerdmans.
