Beth-Anath
Beth-Anath was mentioned in the Bible as "one of the fenced cities that fell to the lot of Naphtali (Joshua 19:38), and from which the Canaanites were not driven out (Judges 1:33)."[1]
Early history[edit]
Among the place names found in a list of Ramses II, Beth-anath remains the only name that clearly refers to the Galilee according to Judges 1:33.[2]
Beth-Anath has been translated to mean "temple of Anat", a Canaanite goddess linked to a Sumerian predecessor called Ninhursag.[3]
Beth-Anath continued to be settled by the native Canaanites, even after Israel's conquest of the land during the early Iron Age.[4] The Zenon Papyri (mid 3rd-century BCE) mentions a certain estate belonging to Apollonius in Βαιτανατα (Beth-anath), a way-stop along the route traveled by the Zenon party as it passed through ancient Palestine.[5][6][7] In the 2nd-century CE, Beth-Anath was considered a borderline village, inhabited by both Jews and Gentiles.[8]
Eusebius, in his Onomasticon, placed it 9 miles (14 km) from Dora (Tanturah), however this falls outside the territory of Naphtali.[1]
Identification[edit]
Several places have been identified with Beth-Anath.
Aynata[edit]
Aynata in Lebanon was suggested by van de Velde in 1854,[9] by W.M. Thomson in 1859,[10] and later Victor Guérin[11] to be the ancient site of Beth-Anath. The same view was held by historical geographer Georg Kampffmeyer (1892).[12]
Bi'ina[edit]
Bi'ina in the Beit HaKerem Valley which divides Upper Galilee from the Lower Galilee was suggested by Ze'ev Safrai as being the biblical Beth-Anath,[13][14] a view that had been established long before him, by a host of archaeologists and historical geographers: W.F. Albright, (1921/1922: 19–20); Neubauer (1868:235–ff.); Abel (1928, pp. 409–415; 1938: 266); Alt (PJB 22, 1926, pp. 55–ff.; 24, 1928, p. 87); Saarisalo ("Boundary", p. 189); Rafael Frankel, et al. (2001:136); Aviam (2004:53); Reeg (1989:72–73). The site dates back to the Iron Age.[15] Initially, Albright thought that Beth-Anath might be Tell Belat,[16] but later changed his mind for the site at Bi'ina (Dayr al Ba'ana), based on the name given for the village in the Jerusalem Talmud (Orlah 3:7), and which more closely resembles the site's present name.[17]
Albright conjectured that the ancient site of Beth-Anath was probably situated at the mound of Jelamet el-Bi'ina, less than a mile southeast of the present site of Bi'ina, a place surrounded by fertile fields. The word jelameh, meaning "hill" or "mound," is sometimes employed instead of tell.[18] Israeli archaeologist Yoram Tsafrir remained undecided where to place Beth-anath, saying that it could have either been where is now Bi'ina, or where is now Bu'eine.[19]
Bu'eine Nujeidat[edit]
Tsafrir et al. suggested that Beth-Anath could be at Bu'eine Nujeidat, or Bi'ina.[19]
Hinah[edit]
Historical geographer Samuel Klein (1934:18–34 ) placed Beth-Anath in Hinah, a town on the southeast side of Mount Hermon. His view is supported by Grintz (1964:67), who cites Josephus (Antiquities 5.1.22) as corroborating Klein's view, insofar that Naphtali's territory is said to have extended as far as Damascus in the east.[20]
Safad el-Battikh[edit]
Aharoni (1957:70-74) held the view that Beth-Anath was to be identified with Safed el-Battikh, in the Bint Jbeil District. Aharoni cites Eusebius' Onomasticon and his mention of Batanaia being distant 15 miles from Caesarea, a place thought by Aharoni to refer to Cesarea Philippi (1957:73). According to him, this would put Batanaia (=Beth-Anath) in the vicinity of Safed el-Battikh.[21]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ a b W.L.A., in Kitto, 1862, p. 344
- ^ See p. 82 in: Gal, Zvi (1988). "The Late Bronze Age in Galilee: A Reassessment". Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research. 272 (Nov): 79–84. doi:10.2307/1356788. JSTOR 1356788. S2CID 164010807., and where the copyist erroneously cited Joshua 1:33, instead of Judges 1:33.
- ^ Naʼaman, 2005, pp.248 ff
- ^ Judges 1:33
- ^ Jack Pastor, Land and Economy in Ancient Palestine, London 2013, note 47.
- ^ Stephen G. Wilson & Michel Desjardins, Text and Artifact in the Religions of Mediterranean Antiquity: Essays in honour of Peter Richardson, Canadian Corporation for Studies in Religion: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, Waterloo Ontario 2000, p. 121, ISBN 0-88920-356-3.
- ^ Tcherikover (1933), pp. 47–226
- ^ Tosefta (Kila'im 2:16)
- ^ Van de Velde, 1854, I,170
- ^ Thomson, 1859, p. 315
- ^ Guérin, 1880, p. 374
- ^ Kampffmeyer, 1892, p. 71
- ^ Safrai, 1985, p. 62
- ^ Safrai & Safrai, 1976, pp. 18–34
- ^ Frankel, R., et al. (2001), p. 22
- ^ Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society, 1921, p.55, note 3
- ^ Albright, W. F. (1923), p. 19 (note2)
- ^ Albright (1923), p. 19
- ^ a b Tsafrir, et al. (1994), p. 80
- ^ Freedman, D.N., ed. (1992), The Anchor Bible Dictionary, vol. 1, New York, p. 680 (s.v. Beth-Anath)
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Freedman, D.N., ed. (1992), The Anchor Bible Dictionary, vol. 1, New York, p. 681 (s.v. Beth-Anath)
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
Bibliography[edit]
- Abel, F.M. (1928). "La Liste géographique du Papyrus 71 de Zénon". RB (in French).
- Abel, F.M. (1938). Géographie de la Palestine, géographie physique et historique (Géographie politique, Les villes) (in French). Vol. 2. Paris: J. Gabalda.
- Aharoni, Y. (1957). The Settlement of the Tribes of Israel in the Upper Galilee. Jerusalem: Magnes Press.
- Albright, W.F. (1922). "Contribution to the Historical Geography of Palestine". Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research. 2–3: 1–46.
- Albright, W.F. (1923). Warren J. Moulton (ed.). "Contribution to the Historical Geography of Palestine". The Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research. 2–3. New Haven: Yale University Press: 1–46. doi:10.2307/3768450. JSTOR 3768450.
- Aviam, Mordechai (2004). Jews, Pagans and Christians in the Galilee. Vol. Land of Galilee 1. Rochester, N.Y.: University of Rochester Press, Institute of Galilean Archaeology. ISBN 1-58046-171-9.
- Frankel, Rafael; Getzov, Nimrod; Aviam, Mordechai; Degani, Avi (2001). "Settlement Dynamics and Regional Diversity in Ancient Upper Galilee (Archaeological Survey of Upper Galilee)". Israel Antiquities Authority. 14.
- Grintz, Jehoshua (1964). Studies in the Bible: presented to M.H. Segal. Jerusalem: Kiryat Sepher.
- Guérin, V. (1880). Description Géographique Historique et Archéologique de la Palestine (in French). Vol. 3: Galilee, pt. 2. Paris: L'Imprimerie Nationale.
- Kampffmeyer, G. [in German] (1892). "Alte Namen im heutigen Palästina und Syrien". Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins. 15: 1– 33, 65- 116.
- Kitto, J. (1862). Encyclopedia of Biblical Literature. Edinburgh A. & C. Black. p. 344.
- Klein, S. (1934). "Notes on History of Large Estates in Palestine". Yediot - Bulletin of the Jewish Palestine Exploration Society. 1.
- Naʼaman, Nadav (2005). Canaan in the 2nd Millennium B.C.E. Eisenbrauns. pp. 248–. ISBN 978-1-57506-113-9. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
- Neubauer, A. (1868). La géographie du Talmud : mémoire couronné par l'Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres (in French). Paris: Lévy. OCLC 474727878.
- Reeg, Gottfried (1989). Die Ortsnamen Israels nach der rabbinischen Literatur (in German). Wiesbaden: L. Reichert.
- Safrai, Z. (1976). "Beth-Anath". Sinai (in Hebrew). 78. Jerusalem: Mossad Harav Kook: 18–34.
- Safrai, Z. (1985). Chapters of Galilee, During Mishnaic and Talmudic Times: Pirkei Galil (in Hebrew). Jerusalem. p. 62.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Tcherikover, V. (1933). "Palestine in the Levant of the Papyric of Zenon". Tarbiz (in Hebrew). 33. Institute of Jewish Studies (now Mandel Institute for Jewish Studies) at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem: 47–226.
- Thomson, W.M. (1859). The Land and the Book: Or, Biblical Illustrations Drawn from the Manners and Customs, the Scenes and Scenery, of the Holy Land. Vol. 1 (1 ed.). New York: Harper & brothers.
- Tsafrir, Y.; Leah Di Segni; Judith Green (1994). (TIR): Tabula Imperii Romani. Iudaea, Palestina: Eretz Israel in the Hellenistic , Roman and Byzantine Periods; Maps and Gazetteer. Jerusalem: Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities. p. 80. ISBN 965-208-107-8.
- Velde, van de, C.W.M. (1854). Narrative of a journey through Syria and Palestine in 1851 and 1852. Vol. 1. William Blackwood and son.
External links[edit]
- Jewish Encyclopedia (1906), Beth-Anath