AKRABATTENE

Place where Judas Maccabeus destroyed the strongholds of the “sons of Esau,” from which they were harassing the Jews (1 Macc 5:3; 2 Macc 10:14-23). “In Idumea, at Akrabattene” probably refers to a northern Edomite enclave at or near Acraba (Jdt 7:18) rather than to an area in the Negev Desert as was formerly thought.