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Meaning, origin and etymology of the name Hobah


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Hobah Hobah

Hobah is a town north of Damascus. During the War of Four Against Five Kings (Gen 14:9), the victorious Four abduct Abram's nephew Lot. Abram pursues the Tetrad Alliance as far as Hobah, defeats it and rescues Lot. Immediately after his return Abram meets Melchizedek.

The name Hobah comes from the verb haba (haba 590) meaning to hide; of people usually 'in fear for their lives' (TWOTOT ). A curious detail is that this verb is somewhat similar in meaning as the verb upon which the name Lot is based. If the author of this scene hadn't explicitly mentioned that Hobah is a town, we could have interpreted Abram's chase to have lasted until the enemy had crawled under any rock they could find.

The name Hobah means Hiding Place.



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