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

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

Several places have been identified with Beth-Anath.

Aynata
Main article: Aynata

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
Main article: Bi'ina

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
Main article: Bu'eine Nujeidat

Tsafrir et al. suggested that Beth-Anath could be at Bu'eine Nujeidat, or Bi'ina.[19]

Hinah
Main article: 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.[20]

Safad el-Battikh
Main article: 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.[21]

See also

References
  1. W.L.A., in Kitto, 1862, p. 344
  2. 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.
  3. Naʼaman, 2005, pp.248 ff
  4. Judges 1:33
  5. Jack Pastor, Land and Economy in Ancient Palestine, London 2013, note 47.
  6. 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.
  7. Tcherikover (1933), pp. 47–226
  8. Tosefta (Kila'im 2:16)
  9. Van de Velde, 1854, I,170
  10. Thomson, 1859, p. 315
  11. Guérin, 1880, p. 374
  12. Kampffmeyer, 1892, p. 71
  13. Safrai, 1985, p. 62
  14. Safrai & Safrai, 1976, pp. 18–34
  15. Frankel, R., et al. (2001), p. 22
  16. Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society, 1921, p.55, note 3
  17. Albright, W. F. (1923), p. 19 (note2)
  18. Albright (1923), p. 19
  19. Tsafrir, et al. (1994), p. 80
  20. 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)
  21. 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
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