Bible Encyclopedias
Rehoboth by the River

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

( הנּהר רחבות , reḥōbhōth ha - nāhār ; Codex Vaticanus Ῥοωβὼθ ( Ῥωβὼθ in Chronicles) ἡ παρὰ ποταμόν , Rhoōbṓth ( Rhōbṓth ) hē parā potamón ; Codex Alexandrinus Ῥωβώθ , Rhōbṓth ): This city is mentioned only as the residence of Shaul, one of the rulers of Edom ( Genesis 36:37; 1 Chronicles 1:48 ). There is nothing to guide us with certainty as to the situation of the city. Eusebius (Onomasticon ) places it in Idumaea (Gebalene), but no trace of a name resembling this has been found in the district. "The river" usually means the Euphrates. If the city could have been so far from Edom, it might be identified with Rahaba on the West of the river, 8 miles South of its confluence with the Khabūr . Winckler thinks it might possibly be on the boundary between Palestine and Egypt, "the river" being Wâdy el -‛Arı̄sh , "the brook of Egypt" (Nu 5; Joshua 15:4 , etc.).