Libnah

Libnah or Lobna (Hebrew: לִבְנָה‎, whiteness; Latin: Lobna) was a town in the Kingdom of Judah listed among the 13 Kohanic cities (Joshua 21:13). The town of revolted during the reign of King Jehoram of Judah, according to II Chronicles (21:10), because he "had abandoned [the] God of his fathers."

Josiah, King of Judah, married Hamutal, daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah (1 Chronicles 3:15; 2 Kings 23:31-32;2 Kings 24:17-18; Jeremiah 22:11). Two of their sons, Jehoahaz and Zedekiah also became Kings of Judah.

As recorded in the Bible at 2 Kings 19 and Isaiah 37, in 732 BCE , 185,000 Assyrian soldiers under King Sennacherib were killed by an angel of God while encamped near Libnah, thwarting their advance from Lachish to Jerusalem.

Exodus station

Libnah is also the name of the 17th station among of the places the Israelites stopped on the Exodus, most likely this Libnah is located in the Sinai Desert where the Israelites traveled prior to entering the Land of Canaan.

Possible Sites and Excavations

• The excavators of Tell Zeitah have suggested it as a possible location of Libnah.
• An excavation has been initiated at Tel Burna, which has also been identified as the possible site of Libnah. Tel Burna, was fortified, lies between the Philistine city of Gath and the Judahite city of Lachish, and was inhabited continuously from the Bronze Age onwards. Until the Judahite period, it appears to have been a pagan cultic centre.

Notes

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