🔼The name Tabbath: Summary
- Meaning
- Perpetual
- Etymology
- From the verb טבב (tabab), to be perpetual, to be stable.
🔼The name Tabbath in the Bible
The name Tabbath occurs only once in the Bible. It serves as a marker, located nearby Abel-meholah, to where the army of the Midianites fled after Gideon and his men blew their 300 trumpets (Judges 7:22).
🔼Etymology of the name Tabbath
The name Tabbath comes from an otherwise unused verb טבב (tabab), which we here at Abarim Publications assume to mean to be perpetual, to be stable:
טוב יטב
The verb טוב (tob) means to be good or pleasant, and ultimately to be sustained or sustainable, first relative to society but ultimately to the universe at large. Adjective and noun טוב (tob) means good; noun טוב (tub), describes a good thing or goodness, and noun טובה (toba) denotes welfare.
Closely related verb יטב (yatab) means to be or do good (to do sustainable things). Noun מיטב (metab) means the best.
A proposed root טבב (tabab) may have meant something like to keep forever, to be perpetual, to be stable.
🔼Tabbath meaning
For a meaning of the name Tabbath, NOBSE reads Extension and Alfred Jones (Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names) has Renowned, Celebrated, explaining that the verb טבב (tabab) may actually mean to spread a good report. BDB Theological Dictionary neither translates this name nor hints at its etymology.