Tel Dothan

Dothan (Hebrew: דֹתָן) (also Dotan) was a location mentioned twice in the bible. It has been identified with Tel Dothan (Arabic: تل دوثان‎), also known as Tel al-Hafireh, located adjacent to the Palestinian town of Bir al-Basha,[1] and ten kilometers (driving distance) southwest of Jenin, near Dotan Junction of Route 60.[2][3][4]

View of Tel Dothan
Northern views. Joseph's Well at Dothan

History
1940s Survey of Palestine map of the area

Dothan is first mentioned in the Hebrew Bible (Genesis 37:17) in connection with the history of Joseph, as the place where Jacob (Israel's) sons had moved their sheep and where, at the suggestion of Judah, the brothers sold Joseph to the Ishmaelite merchants (Gen. 37:17). It later appears as the residence of Elisha (2 Kings 6:13) and the scene of a vision of chariots and horses of fire surrounding the mountain on which the city stood.[5] The city served as an Israelite administrative center during this period and archaeology has discovered a large complex and Hebrew inscriptions from the site.[6][7]

The Israeli settlement of Mevo Dotan (lit. Approach to Dothan) is named for the city, as is Dothan, Alabama.

Modern discovery

Tel Dothan

Charles William Meredith van de Velde visited the site in 1851, and was considered the first modern traveller to visit it.[8] He described the discovery in his 1854 book:[9]

...I saw a huge tell at the distance of only a few hundred yards from our way, covered over with ruins, and the fragment of an ancient aqueduct, that had been supported on arches. I asked Abu Monsur the name of the tell, and the answer was, "Haida Dothan" (that is, Dothan). "Dothan," I asked, "Dothan?" "Nahm; Dothan, Dothan, Dothan!" exclaimed the testy old shech, as if hurt at my not believing him at the instant. My object in reiterating the question was to get him to repeat the name; for the discovery of Dothan was a very special circumstance, with respect to which I was anxious to assure myself, by having the name properly pronounced.

van de Velde's visit had taken place a few days before Edward Robinson's;[4] Robinson credited van ve Velde with the discovery.[10]

Eusebius places Dothan 12 miles to the north of Sebaste; broadly consistent with the modern location.[11]

Other proposed locations

van de Velde noted that the Crusaders and later travellers in the middle ages had located Dothan, at the village of Hittin.[9]

Tel Dothan

Crusader period

Castellum Beleismum (Latin) or Chastiau St Job (medieval French)[12] was the Frankish name of a tower built by the Crusaders on the ancient tell in 1156 and given to the Hospitallers in 1187.

See also

References
  1. Shahin, Mariam (2005). Palestine: A Guide. Interlink Books. ISBN 978-1-56656-557-8. Tel al-Hafireh (Tel Dothan) Tel al-Hafireh is an archeological site that lies 6 kilometers south of Jenin, close to the village of Bir al-Basha.
  2. Daniel M. Master; John Monson. "Tel Dothan 2002 Overview". Harvard University: Faculty of arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on 2010-07-04. Retrieved 2011-07-24.
  3. "Tel Dothan (photo and map)". panoramio.com. Retrieved 2011-07-24.
  4. Robinson, Edward, Biblical Researches in Palestine and the Adjacent Regions, second edition, page 122; "footnote 434: We learned afterwards from Mr Van de Velde, that he too had unexpectedly lighted upon Dothan a few days earlier."
  5. 2 Kings 6:17
  6. Master; Monson; Lass; Peirce (2005). Dothan I: Remains from the Tell (1953-1964). Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns.
  7. Miglio (2014). "Epigraphic Artifacts from Tell Dothan". BASOR.
  8. Bonar, Horatius (1858). The Land of Promise: Notes of a Spring-journey from Beersheba to Sidon. James Nisbet & Company. p. 384. See Van de Velde's Syria and Palestine vol. i. p. 364. That traveller may claim the discovery of the site. He visited the spot, whereas E Robinson, like ourselves, only had it pointed out at a distance
  9. Velde, van de, Charles William Meredith (1854). Narrative of a journey through Syria and Palestine in 1851 and 1852. 1. William Blackwood and son. p. 364.
  10. Master, Daniel M.; Larsen, Timothy; Monson, John; Egon H. E. Lass; George A. Pierce (2005). Dothan: Remains from the Tell (1953-1964). Eisenbrauns. p. 7. ISBN 978-1-57506-115-3.
  11. Eusebius of Caesarea, Onomasticon (1971), Notes edited by. C. Umhau Wolf under "Merran", accessed 27 December 2017
  12. Ellenblum, Ronnie (2007). Crusader Castles and Modern Histories. Cambridge University Press. p. 173. ISBN 9781139462556. Retrieved 7 June 2020.

Bibliography

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