Taberah
Encyclopedia
Taberah is one of the locations at which, according to the Book of Numbers
, the Israelites passed through during their Exodus
journey. The biblical narrative states that the place received its name, which means burning, because Yahweh
had set fire to the Israelites there, as vengeance
against their continued complaints; the text states that the fire first combusted the people at the outer edges of the Israelite group, and was extinguished when Moses prayed on the people's behalf.
According to textual scholars
, the account concerning Taberah is part of the Elohist
text, and occurs at the same point in the Exodus narrative as the account of Kibroth Hattaavah
in the Jahwist
text; indeed, one or both of Tabarah (תבערה) and Hattavah (התאוה) may be phonological
and typographical
corruptions of the same original word. Taberah is not listed in the full stations list
later in the Book of Numbers, with the people going straight from Mount Sinai
to Kibroth-hattavah, and there is no hint that the Israelites had to travel from Taberah to Kibroth-hattaavah, implying that they were the same location; nevertheless, Taberah and Kibroth-hattaavah are listed as different places by a passage in Deuteronomy
, which textual scholars ascribe to the deuteronomist
, and consequently date to over two centuries later than the Jahwist and Elohist, and also later than the combined JE
text.
Taberah is described by the Torah
as being three days journey from Mount Sinai
, and therefore its modern identification relies heavily on the identification of Mount Sinai. The traditional identification of Mount Sinai as one of the mountains at the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula would imply that Taberah and Kibroth-hattaavah was/were probably in the Wadi Murrah, about 30 miles north-east of the southern tip, and exactly a day's journey from 'Ain Hudherah; in this area, at the Erweis el-Ebeirig, an ancient encampment has been found, but it dates to the Early Bronze Age (the early 3rd century BC). The traditional location of Mount Sinai has been rejected by the majority of scholars, as well as theologians, who favour a location at Mount Seir
or in north western Saudi Arabia
, and others views propose locations in the Negev, or the central or northern Sinai desert.
Book of Numbers
The Book of Numbers is the fourth book of the Hebrew Bible, and the fourth of five books of the Jewish Torah/Pentateuch....
, the Israelites passed through during their Exodus
The Exodus
The Exodus is the story of the departure of the Israelites from ancient Egypt described in the Hebrew Bible.Narrowly defined, the term refers only to the departure from Egypt described in the Book of Exodus; more widely, it takes in the subsequent law-givings and wanderings in the wilderness...
journey. The biblical narrative states that the place received its name, which means burning, because Yahweh
Yahweh
Yahweh is the name of God in the Bible, the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Jews and Christians.The word Yahweh is a modern scholarly convention for the Hebrew , transcribed into Roman letters as YHWH and known as the Tetragrammaton, for which the original pronunciation is unknown...
had set fire to the Israelites there, as vengeance
Revenge
Revenge is a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance, be it real or perceived. It is also called payback, retribution, retaliation or vengeance; it may be characterized, justly or unjustly, as a form of justice.-Function in society:Some societies believe that the...
against their continued complaints; the text states that the fire first combusted the people at the outer edges of the Israelite group, and was extinguished when Moses prayed on the people's behalf.
According to textual scholars
Textual criticism
Textual criticism is a branch of literary criticism that is concerned with the identification and removal of transcription errors in the texts of manuscripts...
, the account concerning Taberah is part of the Elohist
Elohist
The Elohist is one of four sources of the Torah described by the Documentary Hypothesis. Its name comes from the term it uses for God: Elohim; it is characterised by, among other things, an abstract view of God, using "Horeb" instead of "Sinai" for the mountain where Moses received the laws of...
text, and occurs at the same point in the Exodus narrative as the account of Kibroth Hattaavah
Kibroth Hattaavah
Kibroth-hattaavah is one of the locations at which, according to the Book of Numbers, the Israelites passed through during their Exodus journey...
in the Jahwist
Jahwist
The Jahwist, also referred to as the Jehovist, Yahwist, or simply as J, is one of the sources of the Torah. It gets its name from the fact that it characteristically uses the term Yahweh for God in the book of Genesis...
text; indeed, one or both of Tabarah (תבערה) and Hattavah (התאוה) may be phonological
Phonological change
In historical linguistics, phonological change is any sound change which alters the number or distribution of phonemes in a language.In a typological scheme first systematized by Henry M...
and typographical
Typographical error
A typographical error is a mistake made in, originally, the manual type-setting of printed material, or more recently, the typing process. The term includes errors due to mechanical failure or slips of the hand or finger, but usually excludes errors of ignorance, such as spelling errors...
corruptions of the same original word. Taberah is not listed in the full stations list
Stations list
The Bible lists 42 locations or "stations" visited by the Israelites following their exodus from Egypt. They are definitively listed in , but also are given at length in Exodus and Deuteronomy. Biblical commentators like St Jerome in his Epistle to Fabiola, Bede and St Peter Damian discussed them...
later in the Book of Numbers, with the people going straight from Mount Sinai
Biblical Mount Sinai
The Biblical Mount Sinai is the mountain at which the Book of Exodus states that the Ten Commandments were given to Moses by God...
to Kibroth-hattavah, and there is no hint that the Israelites had to travel from Taberah to Kibroth-hattaavah, implying that they were the same location; nevertheless, Taberah and Kibroth-hattaavah are listed as different places by a passage in Deuteronomy
Deuteronomy
The Book of Deuteronomy is the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible, and of the Jewish Torah/Pentateuch...
, which textual scholars ascribe to the deuteronomist
Deuteronomist
The Deuteronomist, or simply D, is one of the sources underlying the Hebrew bible . It is found in the book of Deuteronomy, in the books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings and also in the book of Jeremiah...
, and consequently date to over two centuries later than the Jahwist and Elohist, and also later than the combined JE
JE
JE is a hypothetical intermediate source text of the Torah postulated by the DH. It is a combination and redaction of the Jahwist and Elohist source texts. According to this hypothesis, J was composed c. 950 BC, E was composed c. 850 BC, and the two were combined into JE c. 750 BC. JE was...
text.
Taberah is described by the Torah
Torah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
as being three days journey from Mount Sinai
Biblical Mount Sinai
The Biblical Mount Sinai is the mountain at which the Book of Exodus states that the Ten Commandments were given to Moses by God...
, and therefore its modern identification relies heavily on the identification of Mount Sinai. The traditional identification of Mount Sinai as one of the mountains at the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula would imply that Taberah and Kibroth-hattaavah was/were probably in the Wadi Murrah, about 30 miles north-east of the southern tip, and exactly a day's journey from 'Ain Hudherah; in this area, at the Erweis el-Ebeirig, an ancient encampment has been found, but it dates to the Early Bronze Age (the early 3rd century BC). The traditional location of Mount Sinai has been rejected by the majority of scholars, as well as theologians, who favour a location at Mount Seir
Mount Seir
Mount Seir formed the south-east border of Edom and Judah, it may also echo the older historical border of Egypt and Canaan.-Tanakh:Mount Seir is specifically noted as the place that Esau made his home . It was named for Seir, the Horite, whose sons inhabited the land...
or in north western Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
, and others views propose locations in the Negev, or the central or northern Sinai desert.