Nebo

Proclaimer; prophet. (1.) A Chaldean god whose worship was introduced into Assyria by Pul (Isa. 46:1; Jer. 48:1). To this idol was dedicated the great temple whose ruins are still seen at Birs Nimrud. A statue of Nebo found at Calah, where it was set up by Pul, king of Assyria, is now in the British Museum. (2.) A mountain in the land of Moab from which Moses looked for the first and the last time on the Promised Land (Deut. 32:49; 34:1). It has been identified with Jebel Nebah, on the eastern shore of the Dead Sea, near its northern end, and about 5 miles south-west of Heshbon. It was the summit of the ridge of Pisgah (q.v.), which was a part of the range of the “mountains of Abarim.” It is about 2,643 feet in height, but from its position it commands a view of Western Palestine. Close below it are the plains of Moab, where Balaam, and afterwards Moses, saw the tents of Israel spread along. (3.) A town on the east of Jordan which was taken possession of and rebuilt by the tribe of Reuben (Num. 32:3, 38; 1 Chr. 5:8). It was about 8 miles south of Heshbon. (4.) The “children of Nebo” (Ezra 2:29; Neh. 7:33) were of those who returned from Babylon. It was a town in Benjamin, probably the modern Beit Nubah, about 7 miles north-west of Hebron.

(prophet), Mount, the mountain from which Moses took his first and last view of the promised land. (32:41; 34:1) It is described as in the land of Moab, facing Jericho; the head or summit of a mountain called Pisgah, which again seems to have formed a portion of the general range of Abarim. (Notwithstanding the minuteness of this description, it is only recently that any one has succeeded in pointing out any spot which answers to Nebo. Tristram identifies it with a peak (Jebel Nebbah) of the Abarim or Moab mountains, about three miles southwest of Heshban (Heshbon) and about a mile and a half due west of Baal-meon. “It overlooks the mouth of the Jordan, over against Jericho,” (34:1) and the gentle slopes of its sides may well answer to the “field of Zophim.” (Numbers 23:14) Jebel Nebbah is 2683 feet high. It is not an isolated peak but one of a succession of bare turf-clad eminences, so linked together that the depressions between them were mere hollows rather than valleys. It commands a wide prospect. Prof. Paine, of the American Exploration Society, contends that Jebel Nebbah, the highest point of the range, is Mount Nebo, that Jebel Siaghah, the extreme headland of the hill, is Mount Pisgah, and that “the mountains of Abarim “are the cliffs west of these points, and descending toward the Dead Sea. Probably the whole mountain or range was called sometimes by the name of one peak and sometimes by that of another as is frequently the case with mountains now.—ED.)

NE'BO (proclaimer), one of the Assyrian deities, who is represented, with Nebo. (From a Statue in the British Museum.) Bel, as being unable to resist the destruction to which Cyrus subjected their idols. Isa 46:1. This god was called "he who possesses intelligence," and statues of him are still preserved. One is in the British Museum which was erected by the Assyrian monarch Pul. The word "Nebo" occurs in the compounds Nabopolassar, Nebuchadnezzar, etc., which points to the esteem in which the god was held. Nebo was regarded as the protector against misfortune.

NE'BO (prophet), a mountain of Moab "over against Jericho," from which Moses beheld the land of Canaan. Deut 32:49. "And Moses went up from the plains of Moab unto the mountain of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, . . . and the Lord showed him all the land of Gilead unto Dan." Deut 34:1. Nebo was a mountain in the range of mountains called Abarim. Eusebius says it was shown in his day on the other side of Jordan, six miles to the west of Heshbon. If then definitely known, its location was afterward lost. Of the peaks in the Abarim range which have been suggested as Nebo are - Jebel Atturus, but this is not "over against Jericho," and is too far south: Jehel Jilad, 15 miles farther north than Jericho, and therefore not answering to the scriptural narrative. The explorations of De Sauley, Due de Luynes, Tristram, Warren, Paine, and Merrill have led to the conclusion that Nebo was at the northern end of the Abarim range of mountains, i.e. Jebel Nebo. This mountain was 5 or 6 miles south-west of Heshbon, is about 2700 feet high, and commands a fine view of the country. Paine appears to apply Jebel Nebo to the eastern portion of the northern group of peaks, and Jebel Singbak to the western portion; Dr. Merrill claims that the Arabs use Jebel Nebo, Jebel Musa, and Jebel Singbak indiscriminately for this group. While the discussions respecting Pisgah have been sharp, the majority of explorers and scholars agree in identifying Nebo with the northern end of the Abarim range, Jebel Nebo. See Pisgah.

NE'BO, a city east of the Jordan; rebuilt by the Gadites, Num 32:3, Acts 7:38; Num 33:47; captured by the Moabites. Isa 15:2; Jer 48:1, Josh 11:22. It was 8 miles south of Heshbon; perhaps el Hbais. 2. A town in Benjamin, Neh 7:33; possibly Nubu, 7 miles north-west of Hebron.

that speaks or prophesies

NE'BO, a city east of the Jordan; rebuilt by the Gadites, Num 32:3, Acts 7:38; Num 33:47; captured by the Moabites. Isa 15:2; Jer 48:1, Josh 11:22. It was 8 miles south of Heshbon; perhaps el Hbais. 2. A town in Benjamin, Neh 7:33; possibly Nubu, 7 miles north-west of Hebron.