Bible Encyclopedias
Moladah

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

mol´a - da , mṓ - lā´da ( מולדה , mōlādhāh ; Μωλαδά , Mōladá ): A place in the far south (Negebh) of Judah, toward Edom ( Joshua 15:26 ), reckoned to Simeon (Joshua 19:2; 1 Chronicles 4:28 ). It was repopulated after the captivity (Nehemiah 11:26 ). It is mentioned always in close proximity to Beersheba. Moladah is probably identical with Malatha, a city in Idumea to which Agrippa at one time withdrew himself (Josephus, Ant. , XVIII , vi, 2). The site of this latter city has by Robinson and others been considered to be the ruins and wells of Tell el -Milḥ , some 13 miles to the East of Beersheba and some 7 miles Southwest of Arad. The chief difficulty is the statement of Eusebius and Jerome that Malatha was "by Jattir," i.e. ‛Attir ; if this is correct the Tell el -Milḥ is impossible, as it is 10 miles from ‛Attir , and we have no light at all on the site. See SALT , CITY OF . For Tell el-Milch see PEF , III, 415-16, Sh XXV .