Arbela

The site of a major battle when General Bacchides invaded Judea from Syria (1 Maccabees 9:1–2). The historian Josephus called it a city of Galilee and noted that the caves of Arbela in lower Galilee were made strong for defense against robbers who would attack suddenly. Today, we are not sure exactly where Arbela was located. Possible identifications include Beth-arbel in Gilead and the Galilean Khirbet Irbid overlooking the wadi el-Hamam, west of the Sea of Galilee.