1337. Bath-rabbim
Lexical Summary
Bath-rabbim: Bath-rabbim

Original Word: בּת רַבִּים
Part of Speech: Proper Name Location
Transliteration: Bath Rabbiym
Pronunciation: bath-rah-BEEM
Phonetic Spelling: (bath rab-beem')
KJV: Bath-rabbim
NASB: Bath-rabbim
Word Origin: [from H1323 (בַּת - daughter) and a masculine plural from H7227 (רַב - Many)]

1. the daughter (i.e. city) of Rabbah

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
Bath-rabbim

From bath and a masculine plural from rab; the daughter (i.e. City) of Rabbah -- Bath-rabbim.

see HEBREW bath

see HEBREW rab

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
from bath and rab
Definition
"daughter of multitudes," a name for Heshbon or its gate
NASB Translation
Bath-rabbim (1).

Brown-Driver-Briggs
בַּתרַֿבִּים proper name, of a location (daughter of multitudes) appellation of populous city of Heshbon, or of its gate, Cant 7:5 ("" חֶשְׁבּוֺן).

Topical Lexicon
Entry Overview

Bath-rabbim appears once in Scripture, in Song of Songs 7:4, where the bride’s eyes are compared to “pools in Heshbon by the gate of Bath-rabbim”. The name itself can be rendered “daughter of multitudes” and likely denotes a populous sector or gateway of the Transjordan city of Heshbon.

Geographical Setting

Heshbon lay in the high table-land east of the Jordan River, territory once held by the Amorite king Sihon, later allotted to Reuben (Numbers 21:25–26; Joshua 13:15–17). Archaeology identifies the site with modern Ḥesbān in Jordan, where extensive water-storage systems—large reservoirs fed by springs—have been uncovered. A gate titled “Bath-rabbim” would have opened toward one of these engineered pools, functioning as a civic center where trade, judgment, and social life converged. The epithet “daughter of multitudes” suits an entrance that admitted crowds and symbolized the city’s vigor.

Literary and Poetic Function in Song of Songs

The Song layers sensory images to praise the bride’s beauty. By invoking the pools of Heshbon, Solomon draws on:

1. Clarity and depth—still waters that mirror the sky, evoking tranquil, transparent eyes.
2. Abundance—Heshbon’s large pools supplied many citizens, paralleling the bride’s capacity to refresh and bless.
3. Protection—the gate imagery links her gaze to a fortified entrance, suggesting discernment that guards the relationship.

The single mention thus anchors a personal compliment in real geography, rooting romantic devotion in concrete covenantal land.

Theological and Spiritual Significance

1. Provision and Refreshment: As Heshbon’s reservoirs sustained a community, so godly affection and spiritual insight sustain marriage and fellowship.
2. Ordered Beauty: The built pools and fortified gate reflect purposeful design. In redeemed relationships, beauty is neither chaotic nor sensualist but architected by covenant loyalty.
3. Corporate Blessing: “Daughter of multitudes” hints at overflow beyond the couple. The Song models a love that, though intimate, is meant to edify the wider people of God.

Lessons for Christian Ministry

• Discipleship resembles water storage: leaders dig deep reservoirs of truth to nourish many.
• Gates represent discernment; ministries must steward access, protecting flock and doctrine.
• Public testimony (“multitudes”) and private devotion (the bridegroom’s praise) are not at odds; holiness fuels witness.

Intertextual Resonance

Heshbon’s pools recall other salvation-water motifs—Isaiah’s “wells of salvation” (Isaiah 12:3) and Christ’s living water promise (John 4:14). The bridal eyes poised at a city gate prefigure the Church as “the wife of the Lamb” (Revelation 21:9–12), whose gates are perpetually open to the nations’ multitudes.

Summary

Bath-rabbim serves as more than a rare toponym; it frames the eyes of the bride as clear, life-giving, and guarded, while weaving civic imagery into covenant love. Historically rooted in the water-rich precincts of Heshbon, it resonates theologically with themes of provision, protection, and missional abundance—encouraging believers to cultivate depth with God that refreshes many.

Forms and Transliterations
רַבִּ֔ים רבים rab·bîm rabBim rabbîm
Links
Interlinear GreekInterlinear HebrewStrong's NumbersEnglishman's Greek ConcordanceEnglishman's Hebrew ConcordanceParallel Texts
Englishman's Concordance
Songs 7:4
HEB: שַׁ֙עַר֙ בַּת־ רַבִּ֔ים אַפֵּךְ֙ כְּמִגְדַּ֣ל
NAS: By the gate of Bath-rabbim; Your nose
KJV: by the gate of Bathrabbim: thy nose
INT: By the gate of Bath-rabbim your nose the tower

1 Occurrence

Strong's Hebrew 1337
1 Occurrence


rab·bîm — 1 Occ.

1336
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