TAANACH
TAANACH (
Θανάκ and
Θαναάχ), a town in Palestine, not far from Megiddo, with which it is generally mentioned, was originally one of the royal cities of the Canaanites. (
Josh. 12.21;
Judges, 5.19; 1
Kings, 4.12.)
It was assigned to Manasseh (
Josh. 17.11), but was afterwards one of the cities given to the Levites. (
Josh. 21.25.) “Taanach by the waters of Megiddo” was the scene of the great battle of Deborah and Barak. (
Judges, 5.19.)
In the time of the Judges the Canaanitish inhabitants still remained in Taanach (
Judges, 1.27), but in the reign of Solomon it appears as an Israelitish town. (1
Kings, 4.12.) Eusebius describes it as 3 Roman miles, and Jerome as 4 Roman miles from Legio, which is undoubtedly the Megiddo of Scripture. [
LEGIO] Taanach is still called
Ta'annuk, a village standing on the slope of the hills which skirt the plain of Esdraelon towards the south. (Robinson,
Bibl. Res. vol. ii. p. 316, vol. iii. p. 117, 2nd ed.; Stanley,
Sinai and Palestine, p. 331.)
