Dathema
Encyclopedia
Dathema or Diathema was the name of a fortress in Gilead
to which the Jews fled when hard pressed by Timotheus of Ammon
. There they shut themselves in, prepared for a siege
, and sent to Judas Maccabeus
for aid (I Maccabees v. 9-11). Dathema was one of many places in a similar plight, and seems, from the description of it, to have been strongly enough fortified to necessitate "an innumerable people bearing ladders and other engines of war" to take it. Judas attacked in three divisions, drove off Timotheus, killed eight thousand of the enemy, and saved the city (I Macc. v. 29-34). The Peshitta
reads "Rametha," from which George Adam Smith
("Historical Geography of the Holy Land," p. 589) infers that it was perhaps Ramath Gilead. Conder suggests the modern Dameh on the southern border of the Lejah district. It can not, however, be positively identified.
Gilead
In the Bible "Gilead" means hill of testimony or mound of witness, , a mountainous region east of the Jordan River, situated in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. It is also referred to by the Aramaic name Yegar-Sahadutha, which carries the same meaning as the Hebrew . From its mountainous character...
to which the Jews fled when hard pressed by Timotheus of Ammon
Timotheus (Ammon)
Timotheus is the name given in the 1 Maccabees for an Ammonite general of the mid 2nd century BCE. He was defeated by Judas Maccabeus at Dathema in Gilead....
. There they shut themselves in, prepared for a siege
Siege
A siege is a military blockade of a city or fortress with the intent of conquering by attrition or assault. The term derives from sedere, Latin for "to sit". Generally speaking, siege warfare is a form of constant, low intensity conflict characterized by one party holding a strong, static...
, and sent to Judas Maccabeus
Judas Maccabeus
Judah Maccabee was a Kohen and a son of the Jewish priest Mattathias...
for aid (I Maccabees v. 9-11). Dathema was one of many places in a similar plight, and seems, from the description of it, to have been strongly enough fortified to necessitate "an innumerable people bearing ladders and other engines of war" to take it. Judas attacked in three divisions, drove off Timotheus, killed eight thousand of the enemy, and saved the city (I Macc. v. 29-34). The Peshitta
Peshitta
The Peshitta is the standard version of the Bible for churches in the Syriac tradition.The Old Testament of the Peshitta was translated into Syriac from the Hebrew, probably in the 2nd century AD...
reads "Rametha," from which George Adam Smith
George Adam Smith
George Adam Smith , Scottish theologian, was born in Calcutta, where his father, George Smith, C.I.E., was then Principal of the Doveton College, a boys' school....
("Historical Geography of the Holy Land," p. 589) infers that it was perhaps Ramath Gilead. Conder suggests the modern Dameh on the southern border of the Lejah district. It can not, however, be positively identified.