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Rehob meaning

Rehob in Biblical Hebrew
רחב
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Source: https://www.abarim-publications.com/Meaning/Rehob.html

🔼The name Rehob: Summary

Meaning
Width, Wide Place
Etymology
From the verb רחב (rahab), to be wide or spacious.
Related names
• Via רחב (rahab): Beth-rehob, Rahab, Rehabiah, Rehoboam, Rehoboth-ir

🔼The name Rehob in the Bible

There are two men and one to four cities named Rehob in the Bible. The cities named Rehob are:

  • A city first mentioned in the story of the twelve spies who scouted out Canaan as far as Rehob at Lebo-hamath, which was north of Israel (Numbers 13:21).
  • When the land was divided, it appears that two cities named Rehob came to be situated in the territory allotted to the tribe of Asher (Joshua 19:28 and 19:30), but Asher gave at least one of them to the Gershonite Levites (Joshua 21:31, 1 Chronicles 6:75). It's not clear if the Gershonites derived much pleasure from owning their Rehob, because Asher never drove out the indigenous Canaanites (Judges 1:31).
  • In 2 Samuel 10:6 we read about four separate armies, namely that of Beth-rehob, Zobah, Maacah and Tob. In 2 Samuel 10:8 the same four armies are mentioned, except that Beth-rehob is now called Rehob. Beth-rehob was situated in the far north and it's certainly possible that this Rehob is the same as the first one.

The men named Rehob are:

  • The father of king Hadadezer of Zobah, whom David defeated (2 Samuel 8:3). Some commentators (Alfred Jones in his Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names) say that the Rehob mentioned in 2 Samuel 10:8 is not the same as the Beth-rehob of verse 10:6, but rather the Zobahite king-father Rehob mentioned in 2 Samuel 8:3. This is conjecture, and although there's no proof either way, the rhythm of the text seems to favor Beth-rehob's identity of the northern city Rehob.
  • A Levite who was among the signers of Nehemiah's Sealed Document (Nehemiah 10:11).

🔼Etymology of the name Rehob

The name Rehob comes from the verb רחב (rahab), meaning to be wide:

Excerpted from: Abarim Publications' Biblical Dictionary
רחב

The verb רחב (rahab) means to be or become large or wide — mostly of territory but also of fame, abilities, courage, trouble and so on.

This verb's derivatives are: the nouns רחב (rahab) and רחב (rohab), width or wideness; adjective רחב (rahab), broad or wide; noun רחוב (rehob), a broad open place or plaza, and noun מרחב (merhab), a broad or roomy place.

— See the full Dictionary article —

🔼Rehob meaning

For a meaning of the name Rehob, NOBSE Study Bible Name List reads Open Place and Jones' Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names has Open Space.

BDB Theological Dictionary does not translate Rehob but refers to Beth-rehob which BDB translates with Place Of A Street or Market.