Choba

Choba is one of the towns which the Jews fortified when Holofernes invaded Pal. (Judg 4:4)—perhaps c. 350 b.c. After Judith had stealthily decapitated Holofernes in his bedroom the bewildered “Assyrians” fled in panic. The Jews chased them as far N as Choba (15:4, 5) and even beyond Damascus.

The precise location of Choba is unknown, but it should not be confused with Choba in Mauretania Sitifensis on the coast of N Africa. Choba might be Coabis—since it is mentioned with Jericho (4:4). Another possibility is Choba in Syria (cf. Gen 14:15). Perhaps the best scholarly guess is el-Mekhubbi c. eleven m. from Tubass and three m. from Besan.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915)

ko’-ba, ko’-ba-i (Choba, Judith 4:4; Chobai, 15:4 f): A place named along with Jericho, Asora, and the valley of Salem (Judith 4:4; 15:4 f). Reland’s (Pal, 721) suggestion of Choabis, which the Peutinger Tables give as 12 Roman miles from Scythopolis, seems probable. It may be identical with el-Mekhubby, about 11 miles from Beisan (Scythepolis), and 3 miles from Tubas.