RELIGIOUS ENCYCLOPEDIA
Judea
Shechem, and, according to the Onomasticon, near Kirjath-jearim. Robinson places it at the lofty Nabi Samwil, two miles south of Gibeon, where is a village and a mosque said to contain the tomb of Samuel. In Byzantine times this was the site assigned to Rama or Ramathaim, and the Crusaders built here a church of St. Samuel, changed into a mosque by the Mohammedans. Chephirah is the modern Kafira, north of Kirjath-jearim. Mozah is placed by the Talmud at the modern Kaloniye, near which is a Bet Mizza, which, however, does not fit the situation. Zelah is given (II Sam. xxi. 14) as the place of Saul's burial, but is unidentified. The Gibeath of Josh, xviii. 28 is not to be confused with the Geba of verse 24, but is to be placed near Ramah (ut sup.). The Kirjath of Josh, xviii. 28 is probably shortened from Kirjathjearim.
This list does not include all the cities which belonged to Benjamin. In the plain of the Jordan lay the sanctuary of Gilgal, often mentioned in both early and late annals. The Hebrew generally uses the article with the word, hence it is not a proper name, but signifies merely a " circle " (of stones). It was a locus of significant historical events at the conquest (Josh, iv.-v.), and, according to the Onomasticon, lay two Roman miles from
Jericho, between it and the Jordan. . ui e rp^ name iingers ;n the vicinity as Note Jaljul or Jiljuliye. Dok (Docus), a
fortress of Maccabean times (I Mace, xvi. 15) seems to be Ain Duk at the northeast foot of Jebel Karantal, preserved also in the accounts of the early Christian monasteries and as a Templar's fortress. I Sam. xiii.-xiv. brings into prominence a Michmash which reappears in post-exilic times (Ezra ii. 27; I Mace. ix. 73); the name is preserved in the present Mahmas. North of this is the modern Makrun, which recalls the Migron of Isa. x. 28. Near the large village of Der Diwan is the site of Ai (Josh, vii.-viii.), which reappears in history as Aiath or Ai (Isa. x. 28; Ezra ii. 28); the exact location is disputed. Northeast of Der Diwan is a rocky height called Rammon, which recalls the old Rimmon (Judges xx. 45). South of Jeba (ut sup.) is a village, Hizma, the name of which reminds of Azmaveth (Ezra ii. 24; Neh. xii. 29, cf. vii. 28, Beth-azmaveth). Anata, an hour northeast of Jerusalem, suggests Anathoth (Jer. i. 1). Other place-names are Laishah (Isa. x. 30), Almon (Josh. xxi. 18), and Bahurim (II Sam. xvi. 5). Two places on the Mount of Olives are often mentioned in the history of Jesus. Bethany was two and a half miles from Jerusalem, on the road to Jericho, on the eastern slope of the mountain, the modern al-Azariya (" Place of Lazarus "), where the grave of Lazarus and the house of Martha and Mary are still shown. Not far from Bethany lay Bethphage (Matt. xxi. 1), the site of which was shown in the time of the Crusades between Bethany and the summit of the mountain. To the west or northwest must have lain Emmaus, the scene of the events told in Luke xxiv. 13 sqq., which the textus receptus places sixty furlongs from Jerusalem but Codex Sinaiticus 160 furlongs. Josephus (War, VII., vi. 6) mentions a place of the name thirty furlongs from the city, while the Crusaders in 1099
knew of a Castle of Emmaus which is identified with the modern al-Kubaba, about sixty-three furlongs from Jerusalem. Hitzig and Sepp located Emmaus at Kaluniyeh, called in the Talmud Mosa, thirty-four furlongs from the capital. Somewhere within the territory of Benjamin should be placed the grave of Rachel. Gen. xxxv. 16, 21 reports that Rachel died between Bethel and the tower of Eder (Jerusalem) on the road to Bethel, north of Jerusalem, with which agrees Jer. xxxi. 15. On the other hand, Gen. xxxv. 19, xlviii. 7 connect the grave with Ephrath or Bethlehem, where the tomb is still shown. But Schick has shown that the Mohammedan sanctuary Kubbat Abd al-Aziz, northwest of Jersualem, is also called Kubbat Rahil and corresponds better with the earlier data.
3. The Judean Territory of Dan (Josh. xix. 40- 46): Though the boundaries are not given, it is known that the eastern boundary coincided with the western boundary of Benjamin, its southern border with the western part of the north boundary of Judah, and its northern limits extended to the southern boundary of Ephraim from Beth-horon by Gezer to the sea, reckoning Joppa as part of the territory of Dan. Judges v. 17 places Dan on the coast, i. 34 states that the Amorites forced them back, and chap, xviii. tells of a migration of 600 men to near the sources of the Jordan, while elsewhere places are assigned to Dan which some other parts of Scripture give to Judah or Ephraim. This is the case with the first two towns on the list, Zorah and Eshtaol. Ir-shemesh is the same as Beth-shemesh, a place which is often named in the history, is put by the Onomasticon east of the tenth milestone on the road to Eleutheropolis, and agrees with the modern uninhabited Ain Shams, where ruins are still to be found, on the south side of the Wadi al-Surar. Shaalabin (Shaalbim, Judges i. 35) has been located, probably wrongly, at Selbit, southwest of Beth-horon. Aijalon appears in the history often as a fortress, also as a city of refuge and Levitical city, and as belonging either to Ephraim or Benjamin. The Onomasticon locates it two Roman miles east of Emmaus-Nicopolis, the modern Jalu two miles east of Am was. The plain of Aijalon lies to the north of the village. Timnah is probably the same as the Timnah of Josh. xv. 10, west of Beth-shemesh, and in the history is connected with the Philistines and with the campaign of Sennacherib in 701 B.C. Ekron is the wellknown city of the Philistines, which in Josh. xv. 45 is reckoned to Judah. Eltekeh, a Levitical city (Josh. xxi. 23), corresponds to the Altaku, where Sennacherib overthrew a hostile army, but its site is not known. Gibbethon, also a Levitical city, is not identified. Jehud is located at al-Yehudiya, north of Lydda and east of Jaffa, while Bene-berak is Ibn Ibrak near Jaffa. Westward of Jalu is the little village Amwas, the name of which corresponds to Emmaus, a place often in question in the Maccabean wars, situated on the western edge of the highland, known as Nicopolis about 250, often mentioned in the Onomasticon. Gezer (q.v.) is named Josh. x. 33; Judges i. 29; I Kings ix. 15-17, and often elsewhere, is called one of the border cities of Joseph, and appears as belonging to Ephraim,
Judea Judges