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] In the 2nd-century CE, Beth-Anath was considered a borderline village, inhabited by both Jews and Gentiles.[4]

Identification

Several places have been identified with Beth-Anath.

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

Bi'ina in the Beit HaKerem Valley which divides Upper Galilee from the Lower Galilee was suggested by Ze'ev Safrai.[5][6] 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.[7] Initially, Albright thought that Beth-Anath might be Tell Belat, 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.[8]

Safed 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.[9]

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.[10]

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. Tosefta (Kila'im 2:16)
  5. Safrai, 1985, p. 62
  6. Safrai & Safrai, 1976, pp. 18–34
  7. Frankel, R., et al. (2001), p. 22
  8. Albright, William F. (1923), p. 19 (note2)
  9. Freedman, David Noel, ed. (1992), The Anchor Bible Dictionary, 1, New York, p. 681 (s.v. Beth-Anath)
  10. 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.
  • 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.
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