Cabul (Hebrew: כבול), classical spelling: Chabolo; Chabulon, is a location in the Lower Galilee mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, now the Kabul local council in Israel, 9 or 10 miles (16 km) east of Acco.
Cabul
| |
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Local council (from 1974) | |
Hebrew transcription(s) | |
• ISO 259 | Kabbul |
• Also spelled | al-Kabul (official) |
Cabul | |
Coordinates: 32°52′11″N 35°12′8″E / 32.86972°N 35.20222°E | |
Grid position | 170/252 PAL |
District | Northern |
Founded | 1200 BCE (Biblical Cabul) |
Area | |
• Total | 7,149 dunams (7.149 km2 or 2.760 sq mi) |
Population (2022)[1] | |
• Total | 14,628 |
• Density | 2,000/km2 (5,300/sq mi) |
Name meaning | (Phoenician) = "what does not please"[2] |
Cabul is first mentioned as one of the landmarks on the boundary of Asher, in Joshua 19:27. Josephus refers to it as "the village of Chabolo situated in the confines of Ptolemais",[3] and was the western border of Lower Galilee before joining the Phoenician coast.[4] It was assigned to the Tribe of Asher.[5] The name "Kabul" may have been derived from the Aramaic word mekubbal, which means "clad", as in the inhabitants were "clad" in gold and silver.[6]
King Solomon handed over a district in the north-west of Galilee near Tyre, containing twenty cities, to Hiram I, the king of Tyre, in repayment for his help in building Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem.[7] Hiram was not pleased with the gift, however, and called them "the land of Cabul", the name signifying "good for nothing". The writer of 1 Kings 9 says they were called by this name "to this day".[7] Josephus interprets "Cabul" as meaning "what does not please" (in Phoenician)[8] but doubt has been cast on this interpretation of the term.[citation needed] The Pulpit Commentary suggests they were unacceptable because "really they were mere villages".[9]
Archaeological excavations at Khirbet Rosh Zayit, located 2km northeast of modern Kabul, Israel, have revealed an Israelite settlement from the 12th century BCE, and built upon it a Phoenician fortification from the 10th century BCE. The excavator suggests that this is evidence of Solomon's transfer of the area to Tyrian control.[10]
Josephus describes Cabul as being "the place that divides the country of Ptolemais from our nation" (War II 18:503).[11] The architecture of Cabul, unlike other cities of the Galilee, was similar to that of Tyre, Sidon, and Beirut. In the First Jewish-Roman War, Cabul was attacked by Cestius Gallus in 66 CE.[12] Upon the approach of the Roman army, the inhabitants of Cabul (Greek: Χαβουλών, translated in some English texts as Zabulon)[13] had fled the city, while the soldiery were given leave to plunder and burn the city.[14] For a time it served as Josephus' headquarters in Galilee in 67 CE.[15]
Judah and Hillel, sons of R. Gamaliel III, were received as guests in Cabul with great honor and paid a visit to a local bath.[16] It was the home of a Rabbi Zakkai,[17] and was famous for its abundance of wine and oil; it also had a synagogue and public baths. After the fall of Jerusalem, priests of the Shecaniah (Shekhanyah) family settled there.
In the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, it was the seat of a seigniory known as Cabor.[12]
In 2010, an archaeological survey of Cabul was conducted by Omar Zidan on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA).[18]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). "Cabul". The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.