The Archaeological Encyclopedia of the Holy Land

THIRD EDITION

Edited by AVRAHAM NEGEV

Preface

This encyclopedia lists the majority of the geographical names mentioned in the Bible, both places in the Holy Land and countries and cities in other parts of the Middle East, identifying them as far as possible, describing the excavations that have been carried out at or near them, and analyzing the importance of the finds they have yielded. As well as tracing their history in biblical times, the encyclopedia discusses historical references to them in later periods up to the Arab conquest.

Three of the articles—Archaeology of the Holy Land, Archaeology: methods of research, and Prehistory—are a valuable introduction to the encyclopedia. In addition there are several general articles which provide a survey of specific aspects of the life and customs of the peoples of the Holy Land and the surrounding areas in pre-biblical, biblical and post-biblical times, and thus complement the information provided in the geographical entries. The following articles, which appear in their correct alphabetical position in the encyclopedia, will be particularly useful background reading for anyone who is unfamiliar with these periods: Agriculture, Baths and bathing, Burial, Cult objects, Embalming, Flint tools, Fortifications, Houses, Hunting and fishing, Inscriptions, Metals, Monasteries, Money, Musical instruments, Palaces, Precious stones, Roads, Seals, Stone implements, Stores, Synagogues, Trade, Water supply, Weapons and warfare, Weights and measures, and Writing materials.

Additional aids to the reader are to be found at the end of the book: they include an extensive glossary, a chronological chart of prehistory and of historical events in biblical and post-biblical times, and some information about the ancient sources which are frequently referred to in the text.

An asterisk (*) has been used throughout this encyclopedia for cross-references and to draw the reader’s attention to other entries in which related subjects are discussed.

Foreword

There’s something remarkable about that small stretch of territory hemmed in between the great Syrian Desert and the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. In its unexpected variety of climate and landscape—ranging from the rugged, snowcapped mountains of Lebanon in the north to the arid Wilderness of Zin in the south, from the fertile plains of Philistia and Sharon on the west to the silent, salty Dead Sea on the east—it has been the scene of thousands of years of civilization, bitter warfare, intellectual and religious achievement, political wrangling, accommodation, and tragic inflexibility. And at the heart of the world’s fascination with this small country is its greatest literacy production—the Bible—a timeless collection of wisdom, law, chronicle, prophecy, and poetry that is central to the faith of Jews and Christians and to the historical traditions of Islam.

The names that have been used over the centuries to describe ...