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DIBON.—1. A city east of the Dead Sea and north of the Arnon, in the land which, before the coming of the Israelites, Sihon, king of the Amorites, had taken from a former king of Moab (Num_21:26; Num_21:30). The Israelites dispossessed Sihon, and the territory was assigned to Reuben (Jos_13:9; Jos_13:17), but the city Dibon is mentioned among those built (or rebuilt) by Gad (Num_32:3; Num_32:34), hence the name Dibon-gab by which it is once called (Num_33:45). The children of Israel were not able to retain possession of the land, and in the time of Isaiah Dibon is reckoned among the cities of Moab (Isa_15:1-9). In Isa_15:9 Dimon is supposed to he a modified form of Dibon, adopted in order to resemble more closely the Heb. word for blood (dam), and support the play on words in that verse. The modern name of the town is Dhiban, about half an hour N. of ‘Ara‘ir, which is on the edge of the Arnon Valley. It is a dreary and featureless ruin on two adjacent knolls, but has acquired notoriety in consequence of the discovery there of the Moabite Stone.
2. A town in Judah inhabited in Nehemiah’s time by some of the children of Judah (Neh_11:25). Perhaps it is the same as Dimonah (Jos_15:22) among the southernmost cities of Judah.