Rebbo or Horvat Rebbo (, lit. "Rebbo ruins"), alternative spellings: Robbo, Ribbo; in

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

Khurbet Rubba (lit. "Rubba ruins"), is an ancient site in

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, mentioned by

Eusebius Eusebius of Caesarea (; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος ; 260/265 – 30 May 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilus (from the grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος τοῦ Παμφίλου), was a Greek historian of Christianity, exegete, and Chris ...

in his '' Onomasticon'' as possibly referring to a site by a similar name in the Book of Joshua. The site, which is now a ruin, sits on a hill above sea level, in the

Shephelah The Shephelah or Shfela, lit. "lowlands" ( hbo, הַשְּפֵלָה ''hašŠǝfēlā'', also Modern Hebrew: , ''Šǝfēlat Yəhūda'', the "Judaean foothills"), is a transitional region of soft-sloping rolling hills in south-central Israel str ...

region, and is now part of the Adullam-France Park, maintained by the Jewish National Fund (KKL). It lies about 1.5 km. to the west of Aderet as the crow flies, and about northeast of

Beit Guvrin National Park Beit Guvrin-Maresha National Park is a national park in central Israel, recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. It is located 13 kilometers from Kiryat Gat and encompasses the ruins of Maresha, one of the important towns of Judah duri ...

. The site is quite extensive and contains tunnels believed to have been in use during the Bar Kokhba revolt. Tombs from the Second Temple period, agricultural features and cisterns (now covered with iron gratings) can be seen on the site. Many lentisk mastic trees (''Pistacia lentiscus'') and buckthorns (''Rhamnus lycioides'') cover the site.

In ancient sources

(4th century) writes in his '' Onomasticon'' that in his day it was a village, called in grc-x-koine, Ῥοββώ and situated "in the territory of

Eleutheropolis Eleutheropolis (Greek, Ἐλευθερόπολις, "Free City"; ar, إليوثيروبوليس; in Hebrew, בית גוברין, Beit Gubrin) was a Roman and Byzantine city in Syria Palaestina, some 53 km southwest of Jerusalem. After the Mu ...

(Beit Gubrin) to the east.", and the other in the territorial domain of Judah, called he, הרבה, Rabbah. Both towns are described in

Jerome Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian priest, confessor, theologian, and historian; he is co ...

's version of the Onomasticon under the same entry (s.v. ''Rabboth''), although the entry is marked by a

lacuna Lacuna (plural lacunas or lacunae) may refer to: Related to the meaning "gap" * Lacuna (manuscripts), a gap in a manuscript, inscription, text, painting, or musical work ** Great Lacuna, a lacuna of eight leaves where there was heroic Old Norse p ...

in the Greek Vatican manuscript. Some have cast doubt on V.L. Trumper's view in ''Historical Sites in Central Palestine'' (1918) that Rebbo, located 3 west of

Adullam Adullam () is an ancient ruin, formerly known by the Arabic appellation ''ʿAīd el Mâ'' (or ''`Eîd el Mieh''), built upon a hilltop overlooking the Elah Valley, straddling the Green Line between Israel and the West Bank. In the late 19th cent ...

, is to be recognised in the name mentioned in the list of

Thutmose III Thutmose III (variously also spelt Tuthmosis or Thothmes), sometimes called Thutmose the Great, was the sixth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty. Officially, Thutmose III ruled Egypt for almost 54 years and his reign is usually dated from 2 ...

, and which place is also called / in the el-Amarna tablets. According to these sources, the king of Jerusalem complained before Pharaoh that certain people from

Gezer Gezer, or Tel Gezer ( he, גֶּזֶר), in ar, تل الجزر – Tell Jezar or Tell el-Jezari is an archaeological site in the foothills of the Judaean Mountains at the border of the Shfela region roughly midway between Jerusalem and Tel Av ...

, from Gath and

Keilah Keilah (), meaning Citadel, was a city in the lowlands of Judah (). It is now a ruin, known as ''Kh. Qeila'', near the modern village of Qila, east of Beit Gubrin, and about west of Kharas.Amit (n.d.), p. 308 History The earliest historical ...

had conspired together and forcibly taken away lands belonging to . The site's current name was fixed by the Government Naming Committee in Israel.

Archaeological surveys

Victor Guérin (1863)

French explorer,

Victor Guérin Victor Guérin (15 September 1821 – 21 Septembe 1890) was a French intellectual, explorer and amateur archaeologist. He published books describing the geography, archeology and history of the areas he explored, which included Greece, Asia Min ...

, visited the site, which he called ''Khirbet Rebba'', in 1863, and wrote of his impressions of the site: "The ruins are fairly large and cover the summit and slopes of a hill. Many

cisterns A cistern (Middle English ', from Latin ', from ', "box", from Greek ', "basket") is a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Cisterns are often built to catch and store rainwater. Cisterns are distinguished from wells by ...

and vaults embedded in the rock attest to its great antiquity. The houses, of very small dimensions, were for the most part constructed of medium-sized and generally well squared stones; they litter the ground everywhere with their debris. An edifice, also overthrown from top to bottom, seems to have been a church, which proves that, in the Christian era, this town was still inhabited. Six sections of mutilated columns lie in this place. I also notice, on a beautiful rectangular block, two carved Greek crosses."

Conder and Kitchener (1878)

The ruin appears in Conder and Kitchener's 1878 Survey of Palestine map under the name ''Khurbet Rubba''. They noted under "Rabba" that it was a "city of Judah, mentioned with Kirjath Jearim (Joshua XV. 60). In the ''Onomasticon'' a place called Rebbo is mentioned as east of

, which might be the same. A good-sized ruin named ''Rubba'' is found in the low hills south of the valley of Elah, north-east of Beit Jibrin, which would be in a suitable position for the early Christian site." They found there "Caves, cisterns, and heaps of stones, ruined walls, bases of pillars and shafts much worn, two lintel stones with crosses, both measuring about 7 feet by 2½ feet."

Aapeli Saarisalo (pre-1931)

The site was surveyed by Finnish archaeologist A. Saarisalo in the early 20th century, who concluded that the village was inhabited as late as the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

and Early Arab periods.Saarisolo, A. (1931), p. 16

Gallery

File:Remnant of old wall, Rebbo.jpg, Wall at ''Khirbat Rubba'' (Rebbo) File:Razed structures at Rebbo Ruin.jpg, Stone structures at Rebbo File:General view of Tell Rebbo from the dell.jpg, Dell on lower east side of Horvat Rebbo/Khurbet Rubba File:General view of ruins.jpg, Ruins at ''Khirbat Rubba'' File:General view of ruins - 2.jpg, General view of Horvat Rebbo/Khurbet Rubba File:Aderet as seen from the Rebbo Ruin.jpg, Moshav Aderet seen in the distance from Horvat Rebbo/Khurbet RubbaKhurbet Rubba File:View looking southward from Rebbo Ruin.jpg, General view looking south of Rebbo File:Broken mouth of well, Khirbat Rubba (Rebbo).jpg, Broken mouth of well at Rebbo File:Broken Mouth of well at Rebbo.jpg, Broken mouth of well, now sealed File:Cave, Rebbo.jpg, Entrance to cave File:Old wall at Rebbo Ruin.jpg, Remnant of old wall at ''Khirbat Rubba'' File:Open pit at Rebbo (Kh. Rubba).jpg, Pit lined with hewn stones at Rebbo File:Open pit at Rebbo Ruin.jpg, Gaping hole of pit (cavern) at Rebbo File:Pit with grating at Rebbo.jpg, Grating covering pit at Rebbo File:Remains of stone column at Rebbo Ruin.jpg, Column stump at Rebbo File:Wine press at Rebbo Ruin.jpg, Wine press carved in rock at Rebbo File:Slab of stone at Tell Rebbo.jpg, Large slab of stone (wine press?) at Rebbo

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * *

External links

*Survey of Western Palestine, Map 21:
IAAWikimedia commonsArchaeological Survey at Tel Rebbo (2018)
by Eitan Klein, Boaz Zissu, and Amir Ganor (Hebrew) {{Authority control Ancient villages in Israel Former populated places in Israel Tells (archaeology) Hebrew Bible cities Archaeological sites in Israel