An isolated mountain of Galilee, on the northeastern side of the plain of Esdraelon, an arm of which extends beyond the mountain in the same direction. It is of limestone formation, conical in form, and well-wooded, especially on the north side, with fine oaks and other trees and odoriferous plants. It rises 1,350 feet above the plain at its base, which Isaiah 400 feet above the Mediterranean, and by a winding path on the north-west side one may ride to its summit in an hour. There is a small oblong plain on the summit, surrounded by a larger but less regular tract, perhaps a mile inn circumference. The prospect from Mount Tabor is extensive and beautiful. Dr. Robinson and many others speak of it as one of the finest in Paletine; and Lord Nugent declared it the most splendid he could recollect having ever seen from any natural height. See Jeremiah 46:18. Its general features are the same as those of the view from the heights of Nazareth, five miles to the west. See NAZARETH. Glimpses of the Mediterranean appear over the high grounds, which intervene. In the plain at the southern base of the mountain are the sources of the brook Kishon, and the villages Endor and Nain, famous in Bible history. Besides the fertile expanse of Esdraelon, and mounts Carmel, Gilboa, etc., on its borders, the view embraces a portion of the sea of Galilee in the northeast; and towards the north the mountains of Galilee, with the town of Safed crowning the highest of them all, recalling the proverb which it is said to have first suggested, "A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid." Still farther to the north and east, the snowcrowned head of Hermon overlooks the fifty miles which intervene, Psalms 80:12.

On the summit of Tabor a fortified town anciently stood, probably of the same name, 1 Chronicles 6:77. This was in existence, and was garrisoned by the Romans in the time of Christ, which conflicts with the tradition that makes Tabor the scene of the transfiguration. Ruins of ancient walls enclose the area of the summit; and at various points there are remains of fortifications and dwellings, some of which are of the age of the crusaders, and others of more ancient date. Tabor lay on the borders of Issachar and Zebulun, Joshua 19:12,22. The host of Barak encamped upon it, before the battle with Sisera, Judges 4:6,12,14. At a later day it appears to have been desecrated by idolatry, Hosea 5:1.

A height. Now Jebel et-Tur, a cone-like prominent mountain, 11 miles west of the Sea of Galilee. It is about 1,843 feet high. The view from the summit of it is said to be singularly extensive and grand. This is alluded to in Psalms 89:12; Jeremiah 46:18. It was here that Barak encamped before the battle with Sisera (q.v.) Judges 4:6-14. There is an old tradition, which, however, is unfounded, that it was the scene of the transfiguration of our Lord. (See HERMON .) "The prominence and isolation of Tabor, standing, as it does, on the border-land between the northern and southern tribes, between the mountains and the central plain, made it a place of note in all ages, and evidently led the psalmist to associate it with Hermon, the one emblematic of the south, the other of the north." There are some who still hold that this was the scene of the transfiguration (q.v.).

A town of Zebulum (1 Chronicles 6:77).

The "plain of Tabor" (1 Samuel 10:3) should be, as in the Revised Version, "the oak of Tabor." This was probably the Allon-bachuth of Genesis 35:8.

TA'BOR, n. Eng. tap. A small drum used as an accompaniment to a pipe or fife.

TA'BOR, v.i. To strike lightly and frequently.

Her maids shall lead her as with the voice of doves, taboring upon their breasts. Nah.2.

1. To play on a tabor or little drum.

(a mound ), or Mount Tabor, one of the most interesting and remarkable of the single mountains in Palestine. It rises abruptly from the northeastern arm of the plain of Esdraelon, and stands entirely insulated, except on the west where a narrow ridge connects it with the hills of Nazareth. It presents to the eye, as seen from a distance, a beautiful appearance, being symmetrical in its proportions and rounded off like a hemisphere or the segment of a circle, yet varying somewhat as viewed from different directions. The body of the mountain consists of the peculiar limestone of the country. It is now called Jebel-et-Tur . It lies about six or eight miles almost due east from Nazareth. The ascent is usually made on the west side, near the little village of Deburieh --probably the ancient Daberath, (Joshua 19:12) --though it can be made with entire ease in other places. It requires three quarters of an hour or an hour to reach the to the top. The top of Tabor consists of an irregular platform, embracing a circuit of half an hour’s walk, and commanding wide views of the subjacent plain from end to end. Tabor does not occur in the New Testament, but makes a prominent figure in the Old. The book of Joshua (Joshua 19:22) mentions it as the boundary between Issachar and Zebulun, See ver. 12. Barak, at the command of Deborah, assembled his forces on Tabor, and descended thence, with "ten thousand men after him," into the plain, and conquered Sisera on the banks of the Kishon. (Judges 4:6-15) The brothers of Gideon each of whom "resembled the children of a king," were murdered here by Zebah and Zalmunna. (Judges 8:18,19) There are at present the ruins of a fortress round all the summit of Tabor. The Latin Christians have now an altar here at which their priests from Nazareth perform an annual mass. The Greeks also have a chapel, where, on certain festivals they assemble for the celebration of religious rites. The idea that our Saviour was transfigured on Tabor prevailed extensively among the early Christians, and still reappears often in popular religious works. It is impossible, however, to acquiesce in the correctness of this opinion. It can be proved from the Old Testament and from later history that a fortress or town existed on Tabor from very early times down to B.C. 53 or 50; and as Josephus says that he strengthened the fortifications there about A.D. 60, it is morally certain that Tabor must have been inhabited during the intervening Period that is in the days of Christ. Tabor, therefore, could not have been the Mount of Transfiguration [see HERMON]; for when it is said that Jesus took his disciples "up into a high mountain apart, and was transfigured before them (Matthew 17:1,2) we must understand that he brought them to the summit of the mountain, where they were alone by themselves.

is mentioned in the lists of 1Chr 6 as a city of the Merarite Levites, in the tribe of Zebulun. ver. (1 Chronicles 6:77) The list of the towns of Zebulun. Josh 19 contains the name of Chisloth-tabor. ver. (Joshua 19:12) It is, therefore, possible, either that Chisloth-tabor is abbreviated into Tabor by the chronicler, or that by the time these later lists were compiled the Merarites had established themselves on the sacred mountain, and that Tabor is Mount Tabor.