Beth-Anath

Beth-Anath was mentioned in the Bible Book of Joshua (Joshua 19:38) and the Book of Judges (Judges 1:33) as a land given to Naphtali.

Early history

Beth-Anath continued to be settled by the native Canaanites, even after Israel's conquest of the land during the early Iron Age.[1] 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.[2][3][4] In the 2nd-century CE, Beth-Anath was considered a borderline village, inhabited by both Jews and Gentiles.[5]

Identification

Several places have been identified with Beth-Anath.

Ain Aata

(33.43639°N 35.779446°E / 33.43639; 35.779446 (Ain Aata))

Ain Aata in Lebanon was suggested by Charles William Meredith van de Velde and Victor Guérin (1880:374) to be the ancient site of Beth-Anath. The same view was held by historical geographer Georg Kampffmeyer (1892).

Bi'ina

(32.929444°N 35.272778°E / 32.929444; 35.272778 (Bi'ina))

Bi'ina in the Beit HaKerem Valley which divides Upper Galilee from the Lower Galilee was suggested by Ze'ev Safrai.[6][7] This view is accepted 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.[8] Initially, Albright thought that Beth-Anath might be Tell Belat,[9] 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.[10]

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.[11]

Safad el-Battikh

(33.2001°N 35.4327°E / 33.2001; 35.4327 (Safad el-Battikh))

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.[12]

Hinah

(33.35°N 35.95°E / 33.35; 35.95 (Hinah))

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.[13]

See also

References
  1. Judges 1:33
  2. Jack Pastor, Land and Economy in Ancient Palestine, London 2013, note 47.
  3. 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.
  4. Tcherikover (1933), pp. 47–226
  5. Tosefta (Kila'im 2:16)
  6. Safrai, 1985, p. 62
  7. Safrai & Safrai, 1976, pp. 18–34
  8. Frankel, R., et al. (2001), p. 22
  9. Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society, 1921, p.55, note 3
  10. Albright, William F. (1923), p. 19 (note2)
  11. Albright (1923), p. 19
  12. Freedman, David Noel, ed. (1992), The Anchor Bible Dictionary, 1, New York, p. 681 (s.v. Beth-Anath)
  13. Freedman, David Noel, ed. (1992), The Anchor Bible Dictionary, 1, New York, p. 680 (s.v. Beth-Anath)

Bibliography
  • 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). 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 School of Oriental Research (AASOR). New Haven: Yale University Press. 2–3. JSTOR 3768450.
  • Aviam, Mordechai (2004). Jews, Pagans and Christians in the Galilee. 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 (Galilée) (in French). 2. Paris: L'Imprimerie nationale.
  • Kampffmeyer, G. (1892). Alte Namen im heutigen Palästina und Syrien (in German). Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel. pp. 38, 42, 61, 64, 85, 87. OCLC 786490264.
  • 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). Jerusalem: Mossad Harav Kook. 78: 18–34.
  • Safrai, Z. (1985). Chapters of Galilee, During Mishnaic and Talmudic Times: Pirkei Galil (in Hebrew). Jerusalem. p. 62.
  • Tcherikover, V. (1933). "Palestine in the Levant of the Papyric of Zenon". Tarbiz (in Hebrew). Institute of Jewish Studies (now Mandel Institute for Jewish Studies) at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. 33: 47–226.
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