Akrabbim
Akrabbim or Acrabbim (Hebrew: עקרבים, meaning "scorpions") is probably the general name given to the ridge containing the pass between the south of the Dead Sea and Zin, es-Sufah, by which there is an ascent to the level of the Negev desert. Scorpions are said to abound in this whole district, and hence the name (Num. 34:4). It is called "Maaleh-acrabbim" in Joshua 15:3, and "the ascent of Akrabbim" in Num. 34:4.
"Maaleh-acrabbim" in the Book of Judges[]
There is another "Maaleh-acrabbim" mentioned in Judges 1:36, "The Amorite border ran from Maaleh-acrabbim to Sela, and above." This was the border between the Amorites (Philistines) on the coastal plain and the tribe of Dan in the hills southwest of Ephraim.
Josephus' "Acrabbene"[]
Flavius Josephus, in The Wars of the Jews (ed. William Whiston, A.M.) book 3, section 48, places a toparchy called Acrabbene at the border between Samaria and Judea, as the southernmost part of Samaria: "Now as to the country of Samaria, it lies between Judea and Galilee; it begins at a village that is in the great plain called Ginea, and ends at the Acrabbene toparchy, and is entirely of the same nature with Judea; for both countries are made up of hills and valleys, and are moist enough for agriculture, and are very fruitful."
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Easton, Matthew George (1897). Easton's Bible Dictionary (New and revised ed.). T. Nelson and Sons.
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Coordinates: 30°55′23″N 35°08′01″E / 30.92306°N 35.13361°E
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