BATH-RABBIM

(Bath-rabʹbim) [Daughter of the Many].

In The Song of Solomon, the Shulammite maiden’s eyes are likened to “the pools in Heshbon, by the gate of Bath-rabbim.” (Ca 7:4) Heshbon was a city in the territory of Gad but was assigned to the Levites. (Jos 21:38, 39) While some believe the name Bath-rabbim is the name of a gate of Heshbon facing toward the city of Rabbah (modern ʽAmman) to the NE, others suggest that Bath-rabbim (meaning “Daughter of the Many”) is used figuratively to mean the populous city of Heshbon itself and that the gate is so called because many people passed in and out of the city or gathered at the gate for assembly. Around the present ruins of the city, evidence remains of ancient pools as well as of a large reservoir. The poetic description gives an apt picture of limpid, serene beauty seen in the shining eyes of the Shulammite, the city gate perhaps representing the forehead.