Dictionaries :: Megiddo

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Megiddo:

place of troops, originally one of the royal cities of the Canaanites (Jos 12:21), belonged to the tribe of Manasseh (Jdg 1:27), but does not seem to have been fully occupied by the Israelites till the time of Solomon (1Ki 4:12; 9:15).

The valley or plain of Megiddo was part of the plain of Esdraelon, the great battle-field of Palestine. It was here Barak gained a notable victory over Jabin, the king of Hazor, whose general, Sisera, led on the hostile army. Barak rallied the warriors of the northern tribes, and under the encouragement of Deborah (q.v.), the prophetess, attacked the Canaanites in the great plain. The army of Sisera was thrown into complete confusion, and was engulfed in the waters of the Kishon, which had risen and overflowed its banks (Jdg 4:5).

Many years after this (B.C. 610), Pharaohnecho II., on his march against the king of Assyria, passed through the plains of Philistia and Sharon; and King Josiah, attempting to bar his progress in the plain of Megiddo, was defeated by the Egyptians. He was wounded in battle, and died as they bore him away in his chariot towards Jerusalem (2Ki 23:29; 2Ch 35:22-24), and all Israel mourned for him. So general and bitter was this mourning that it became a proverb, to which Zechariah (Zec 12:11,12) alludes. Megiddo has been identified with the modern el-Lejjun, at the head of the Kishon, under the north-eastern brow of Carmel, on the south-western edge of the plain of Esdraelon, and 9 miles west of Jezreel. Others identify it with Mujedd'a, 4 miles south-west of Bethshean, but the question of its site is still undetermined.

Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary

Megiddo:

his precious fruit; declaring a message

Nave's Topical Bible

Megiddo: Names Of

Called also Megiddon, and probably Armageddon

Megiddo: A City in the Territory of Issachar

Situated on the southern edge of the plain of Esdraelon,

Jos 17:11; 1Ch 7:29.

Megiddo: Conquest Of

By Joshua,

Jos 12:21.

Megiddo: Walled by Solomon

1Ki 9:15;

included in one of Solomon's commissary districts,

1Ki 4:12.

Megiddo: Ahaziah Dies At

2Ki 9:27

Megiddo: Valley Of

Deborah defeats Sisera in,

Jdg 5:19.

Megiddo: Josiah Killed At

By Pharaoh-Nechoh,

2Ki 23:29, 30; 2Ch 35:22-24.

Megiddo: Prophecy Concerning

Zec 12:11

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Megiddo:

(place of crowns) was in a very marked position on the southern rim of the plain of Esdraelon, on the frontier line of the territories of the tribes of Issachar and Manasseh, 6 miles from Mount Carmel and 11 from Nazareth. It commanded one of those passes from the north into the hill country which were of such critical importance on various occasions in the history of Judea (Judith 4:7). The first mention occurs in Joshua 12:21 where Megiddo appears as the city of one of the kings whom Joshua defeated on the west of the Jordan. The song of Deborah brings the place vividly before us, as the scene of the great conflict between Sisera and Barak. When Pharaoh‐Necho came from Egypt against the king of Assyria, Josiah joined the latter, and was slain at Megiddo (2 Kings 23:29; 2 Chronicles 35:22-24). Megiddo is the modern el‐Lejjun, which is undoubtedly the Legion of Eusebius and Jerome. There is a copious stream flowing down the gorge, and turning some mills before joining the Kishon. Here are probably the "waters of Megiddo" of Judges 5:19.