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Easton's Bible Dictionary
a sandy place, an ancient royal city of the Canaanites,
on the south-western border of the plain of Esdraelon, 4 miles south of Megiddo.
Its king was conquered by ( Joshua
12:21 ). It was assigned to the Levites of the family of Kohath ( Joshua
17:11 - 18
; 21:25
). It is mentioned in the song of Deborah ( Judges
5:19 ). It is identified with the small modern village of Ta'annuk.
Hitchcock's Dictionary of Bible Names
who humbles thee; who answers thee
Smith's Bible Dictionary
(sandy) an ancient Canaanitish city whose king is enumerated
among the thirty-one kings conquered by Joshua. ( Joshua
12:21 ) It came into the half tribe of Manasseh, ( Joshua
17:11 ; 21:25
; 1
Chronicles 7:29 ) and was bestowed on the Kohathite Levites. ( Joshua
21:25 ) Taanach is almost always named in company with Megiddo, and they were
evidently the chief towns of that fine rich district which forms the western portion
of the great plain of Esdraelon. ( 1
Kings 4:12 ) It is still called Taannuk , and) stands about four miles southeast
of Lejjun and 13 miles southwest of Nazareth.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
ta'-nak (ta'anakh, or ta'nakh; the Septuagint Tanach,
with many variants):
A royal city of the Canaanites, the king of which was slain by Joshua (12:21).
It was within the boundaries of the portion of Issachar, but was one of the cities
reckoned to Manasseh (Joshua
17:11; 1
Chronicles 7:29), and assigned to the Kohathite Levites (Joshua
21:25). The Canaanites were not driven out; only at a later time they were
set to taskwork (Joshua
17:12; Judges
1:27). Here the great battle was fought when the defeat of Sisera broke the
power of the oppressor Jabin (Judges
5:19). It was in the administrative district of Baana ben Ahilud (1
Kings 4:12). The name appears in the list of Thothmes III at Karnak; and Shishak
records his plundering of Taanach when he invaded Palestine under Jeroboam I (compare
1
Kings 14:25 f). Eusebius says in Onomasticon that it is a very large village,
3 miles from Legio. it is represented by the modern Ta'annek, which stands on
a hill at the southwestern edge of the plain of Esdraelon. Megiddo (Tell el-Mutesellim)
lies 5 miles to the Northwest. These two places are almost invariably named together.
The great highway for traffic, commercial and military, from Babylon and Egypt,
ran between them. They were therefore of high strategic importance.
Excavations were recently conducted on the site by Professor Sellin, and a series
of valuable and deeply interesting discoveries were made, shedding light upon
the social and religious life and practices of the inhabitants down to the 1st
century BC, through a period of nearly 2,000 years. The Canaanites were the earliest
occupants. In accordance with Biblical history, "there is no evidence of a break
or abrupt change in the civilization between the Canaanite and the Israelite occupation
of Taanach; the excavations Show rather gradual development. The Canaanites will
have gradually assimilated the Israelites drawn to them from the villages in the
plain" (Driver, Schweich Lectures, 1908, 84). In the work just cited Driver gives
an admirable summary of the results obtained by Professor Sellin. In his book
on the Religion of Ancient Palestine, Professor Stanley A. Cook has shown, in
short compass, what excellent use may be made of the results thus furnished.
W. Ewing
Tags:
bible commentary, bible reference, bible study, define, history of, taanach
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