What is "akrabbim"

Akrabbim (, meaning "scorpions") is probably the general name given to the ridge containing the pass between the south of the Dead Sea and Zin, es-Sufah, by which there is an ascent to the level of the Negev desert. Scorpions are said to abound in this whole district, and hence the name (Num. 34:4). It is called "Maaleh-acrabbim" in Josh. 15:3, and "the ascent of Akrabbim" in Num. 34:4.

There is another "Maaleh-acrabbim" mentioned in Judges 1:36, "The Amorite border ran from Maaleh-acrabbim to Sela, and above." This was the border between the Amorites (Philistines) on the coastal plain and the tribe of Dan in the hills southwest of Ephraim.

Flavius Josephus, in The Wars of the Jews (ed. William Whiston, A.M.) book 3, section 48, mentions Akrabbim in this way: "Now as to the country of Samaria, it lies between Judea and Galilee; it begins at a village that is in the great plain called Ginea, and ends at the Acrabbene toparchy, and is entirely of the same nature with Judea; for both countries are made up of hills and valleys, and are moist enough for agriculture, and are very fruitful."

Category:Hebrew Bible places