Place Old Testament
Abel-beth-maacah
Also known as Abel-beth-maacah =ESV, KJV; Abel Beth Maacah =NIV; Abel Beth-maachah =KJV, Abel, Abel-maim =ESV, KJV; Abel Maim =NIV
Abel-beth-maacah, a fortified city in northern Israel, near Dan. Mentioned in 6 verses across 4 books, first at 2 Samuel 20:14.
Why it matters. A city in northern Israel, also called Abel-maim.
- Location
- 33.269, 35.578 (approximate, within about 2 km)
Coordinates from STEPBible TIPNR (palopenmaps.org link). Approximate; not independently verified.
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team
About Abel-beth-maacah
Abel-beth-maacah, also known as Abel-maim, was a fortified city in northern Israel, located near the city of Dan. It was besieged by Joab, King David's commander, when Sheba son of Bikri took refuge there after rebelling against David (2Sa.20.14-15). The city was known for its wisdom, as seen in the saying, "They used to say in former times, 'Let them inquire at Abel'" (2Sa.20.18). During the reign of King Baasha of Israel, Abel-beth-maacah was captured by Ben-Hadad I of Syria, who was allied with King Asa of Judah (1Ki.15.20; 2Ch.16.4). Later, in the reign of Pekah of Israel, the city was captured by King Tiglath-Pileser III of Assyria (2Ki.15.29).
Description from STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0, lightly reformatted. This is background reference material, not Scripture and not a FaithGraph editorial claim.
Connections
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Appears in Scripture
Named in 6 verses across 4 books. Occurrence data from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0); references only, no translation text.