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tim´na (×ªÖ¼×ž× ×”, timnaÌ„h, ×ªÖ¼×ž× ×ª×”, timnaÌ„thaÌ„h (; , , ), “allotted portion; Codex Vaticanus Θαμνᾶθα, ThamnaÌtha; also several Greek variations; King James Version has Timnath in , , ; , , ; and Thimnathah in ):
(1) A town in the southern part of the hill country of Judah (). Tibna proposed by Conder, a ruin 8 miles West of Bethlehem, seems too far N. (PEF, III, 53, Sh XVII). It is possible this may be the “Timnah†of , , .
(2) A town on the northern border of Judah (), lying between Beth-shemesh and Ekron. It is probably the same Timnah as Judah visited (-14), and certainly the scene of Samson's adventures ( f); his “father-in-law†is called a “Timnite†(). At this time the place is clearly Philistine (), though in it is reckoned to Dan. Being on the frontier, it probably changed hands several times. In it was captured from the Philistines by Ahaz, and we learn from Assyrian evidence (Prison Inscription) that Sennacherib captured a Tamna after the battle of Alteka before he besieged Ekron (Schrader, Die Keilinschriften und das Altes Testament, 170). The site is undoubted. It is now a deserted ruin called Tibneh on the southern slopes of the Wâdy es Surâr (Valley of Sorek), about 2 miles West of Beth-shemesh. There is a spring, and there are evident signs of antiquity (PEF, II, 417, 441, Sh XVI).
(3) There was probably a Timna in Edom (, , ; , ). Eusebius and Jerome (in Onomasticon) recognized a Thamna in Edom at their time.
(4) The “Thamnatha†of 1 Macc 9:50 (the King James Version) is probably another Timnah, and identical with the Thamna of Josephus (BJ, III, iii, 5; IV, viii, 1). This is probably the Tibneh, 10 miles Northwest of Bethel, an extensive ruin.