Abel-beth-maachah - meadow (Abel) of the house (Beth) of Maacah, a city in the north of Israel, in the neighbourhood of Dan and Ijon, in the tribe of Naphtali. It was a place of considerable strength and importance. It is called a "mother in Israel", i.e., a metropolis (2 Sam. 20:19). It was besieged by Joab (2 Sam. 20:14), by Benhadad (1 Kings 15:20), and by Tiglath-pileser (2 Kings 15:29) about 734 BC. It is elsewhere called Abel-maim, meadow of the waters, (2 Chr. 16:4).