Abel-beth-maachah: Meadow of the house of Maachah, a city in the north of Palestine, in
the neighbourhood of Dan and Ijon, in the tribe of Naphtali. It was a
place of considerable strength and importance. It is called a "mother
in Israel", i.e., a metropolis
(2 Samuel 20:19) It was besieged by Joab
(2 Samuel 20:14) by Benhadad
(1 Kings 15:20) and by Tiglath-pileser
(2 Kings 15:29) about B.C. 734 It is elsewhere called Abel-maim,
meadow of the waters,
(2 Chronicles 16:4) Its site is occupied by the
modern Abil or Abil-el-kamh, on a rising ground to the east of the
brook Derdarah, which flows through the plain of Huleh into the
Jordan, about 6 miles to the west-north-west of Dan.
