Bible Encyclopedias
Timnah

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

tim´na ( תּמנה , timnāh , תּמנתה , timnāthāh ( Joshua 19:43; Judges 14:1 , Judges 14:2 , Judges 14:5 ), "allotted portion; Codex Vaticanus Θαμνᾶθα , Thamnátha ; also several Greek variations; King James Version has Timnath in Genesis 38:12 , Genesis 38:13 , Genesis 38:14; Judges 14:1 , Judges 14:2 , Judges 14:5; and Thimnathah in Joshua 19:43 ):

(1) A town in the southern part of the hill country of Judah (Joshua 15:57 ). Tibna proposed by Conder, a ruin 8 miles West of Bethlehem, seems too far N. (PEF , III, 53, Sh XVII ). It is possible this may be the "Timnah" of Genesis 38:12 , Genesis 38:13 , Genesis 38:14 .

(2) A town on the northern border of Judah (Joshua 15:10 ), lying between Beth-shemesh and Ekron. It is probably the same Timnah as Judah visited (Genesis 38:12-14 ), and certainly the scene of Samson's adventures (Judges 14:1 f); his "father-in-law" is called a "Timnite" ( Judges 15:6 ). At this time the place is clearly Philistine (Judges 14:1 ), though in Joshua 19:43 it is reckoned to Dan. Being on the frontier, it probably changed hands several times. In 2 Chronicles 28:18 it was captured from the Philistines by Ahaz, and we learn from Assyrian evidence (Prison Inscription) that Sennacherib captured a Tamna after the battle of Alteka before he besieged Ekron (Schrader, Die Keilinschriften und das Altes Testament , 170). The site is undoubted. It is now a deserted ruin called Tibneh on the southern slopes of the Wâdy es Surâr (Valley of Sorek), about 2 miles West of Beth-shemesh. There is a spring, and there are evident signs of antiquity (PEF , II, 417, 441, Sh XVI ).

(3) There was probably a Timna in Edom (Genesis 36:12 , Genesis 36:22 , Genesis 36:40; 1 Chronicles 1:39 , 1 Chronicles 1:51 ). Eusebius and Jerome (in Onomasticon ) recognized a Thamna in Edom at their time.

(4) The "Thamnatha" of 1 Maccabees 9:50 (the King James Version) is probably another Timnah, and identical with the Thamna of Josephus ( BJ , III, iii, 5; IV, viii, 1). This is probably the Tibneh , 10 miles Northwest of Bethel, an extensive ruin.