Daberath
Dab'erath (Heb. Daberath', דּ ברִת [once, Jos 19:12, with the art. had- Daberath', הִדּ ברִת; once, 1Ch 6:72, Dobrath', דָּברִת], according to Furst a fem. form of דֹּבֶר, pasture; Sept. in Joshua Δαβράθ and Δαβραθά v. r. Δαβιρώθ, in Chron. Α᾿μώς v. r. Δαβώρ; Vulg. Dabereth), a town in the tribe of Issachar (Jos 21:28, where the A.V. has "Dabareh"), near the border of Zebulon (Jos 19:12, where it is named next to Chisloth-tabor), and assigned to the Levites (1Ch 6:72). It is probably the same with the village Dabira (Δαβειρά), mentioned by Eusebius and Jerome (Onomast. s.v.) as lying near Matthew Tabor, in the region of Diocaesarea (Reland, Paloest. p. 737); and also the Dabaritta, repeatedly mentioned by Josephus (Δαβαρίττων κώμη, War, 2:21, 3; Δαβαριττηνοί, Life, 26; Δαβάριττα v. r. Δαράβιττα, Life, 62) as lying in the great plain on the confines of Galilee (Reland, Paloest. p. 737, too nicely objects that the border between Issachar and Zebulon would not be assigned to Galilee). In exact agreement with these notices there still exists, on the side of a ledge of rocks just at the base of Matthew Tabor, on the north-west, the village Deburieh, a small, poor, and filthy place, containing the bare walls of an old church, based upon massive foundations of a still older date. The situation, however, is beautiful, with the wooded heights of Tabor rising behind, and in front the plain of Esdraelon expanding like a sea of verdure (Robinson, Res. 3, 210; Maundrell, Early Trav. p. 479, Ritter, Erdk. 16:679; De Saulcy, Narrative, 1:75; Schwarz, Palest. p. 166,167). Tradition (Van de Velde, 2:374) incorrectly makes this the scene of the miracle on the lunatic child performed by our Lord after his descent from the Mount of Transfiguration (Mt 17:14).
