[b-hebrew] Where Is En-Mishpat?

JimStinehart at aol.com JimStinehart at aol.com
Mon May 11 14:18:00 EDT 2009


Where Is En-Mishpat?
 
After the four invading rulers in chapter 14 of Genesis W-Y$BW/“turn back”/
“return” (Genesis 14: 7) from ravaging the entire Transjordan (Genesis 14: 
5-6), and presumably have “returned”/$WB back to the northern Transjordan, 
Genesis 14: 7 tells us that their next target is En-Mishpat, that is [HW)], 
QD$.  [I view HW) in the Patriarchal narratives as meaning “that is”, and 
as such logically preceding an alternative name for a geographical site, 
rather than meaning “whose later name was”.  As such,  b-o-t-h  En-Mishpat and 
QD$ should be attested in secular history, not just one such name, if 
Genesis 14: 7 is using authentic secular historical geographical nomenclature.]
 
Where is En-Mishpat?  Determining the identity of En-Mishpat should clarify 
whether the QD$ at Genesis 14: 7 is historical QD$ of Upper Galilee, 
well-attested in the Late Bronze Age and a logical target for invaders, or rather 
is (per the scholarly view) Kadesh-barnea, an unattested name for a place 60 
miles south of Gaza, deep in the western Negev Desert, being a desolate 
locale near mighty Egypt that no big-time rational invader would ever touch.
 
En-Mishpat is (YN M$P+, and it appears only at Genesis 14: 7.  I will argue 
that the second name, M$P+, is an alternative spelling/word for the 
similar-sounding MCPH that we see at Joshua 11: 3, 8, where the southern tip of the 
Beqa Valley is clearly being referenced in the latter case.  I will then 
argue that if M$P+/MCPH is the southern edge of the Beqa Valley, then (YN M$P+ 
means “gateway to” the southern Beqa Valley.  Coming from the east (or 
southeast), the gateway to the Beqa Valley was QD$ of Upper Galilee.  Finally, 
I will argue that QD$ (YN [M]$P[+] at Genesis 14: 7 is an alternative 
spelling/phrase for the similar-sounding KD$[N] (EN $-Wi that we see at items 
#4-#5 on the T III list, all of which are QD$ of Upper Galilee.
 
M$P+ = MCPH
 
M$P+ and MCPH have a similar sound.  True, their spellings and underlying 
meanings differ.  But in the ancient world, most people operated on an oral 
basis most of the time.  Accordingly, in the ancient world, unlike after the 
printing press, names of places often changed slightly (by sound) over the 
centuries, as different peoples came to dominate a place, even where that 
slight change in sound meant significant changes in spelling and meaning.  If 
the sound is similar, we have a potential match.  We then proceed to examine 
the context to see if this is an actual match.  MCPH at Joshua 11: 3, 8 is 
the southern tip of the Beqa Valley in northernmost Canaan.  At Joshua 11: 8, 
MCPH is preceded by BQ(H, that is, “Beqa” in English, meaning “valley” 
[in the form of BQ(T], and “the foot of Mt. Hermon” is paired with MCPH at 
Joshua 11: 3, so it’s certain that MCPH means the southern edge of the Beqa 
Valley.  As we will begin to see in this post, every single geographical 
reference in Genesis 14: 7 has a similar sound to an historically-attested name 
in Late Bronze Age northern Canaan, near MCPH.  That is fully consistent with 
M$P+ and MCPH being different spellings (over time) of the same 
geographical place name.  The earlier spelling was M$P+, the later spelling was MCPH, 
and they both reference the southern tip of the Beqa Valley, near Mt. Hermon.
 
Genesis 14: 7 references both QD$ and Amorites, which are closely tied to 
northern Canaan.  If we ignore the medieval pointing done in the Middle Ages, 
as we certainly should, QD$ is a dead ringer for historical QD$ of Upper 
Galilee.  That QD$ is well-attested by the name QD$ in Ugaritic literature, 
and as we shall see, by similar-sounding names on the T III list and in the 
Amarna Letters.  By contrast, the name QD$ or Kadesh-barnea is not 
historically attested south of Gaza prior to the common era.  Likewise, we know that 
historically, the Amorites operated primarily in northern Canaan and Lebanon, 
having their own Amorite state, Amurru, in Lebanon in the 14th century BCE.  
Although not quite as obvious, it is also the case that every other people 
and place mentioned in Genesis 14: 7 has a similar match to Late Bronze Age 
nomenclature in northern Canaan as well.  Accordingly, it makes perfect 
sense for the M$P+ at Genesis 14: 7 to be the MCPH at Joshua 11: 3, 8.  The 
sounds are similar, and each of MCPH and M$P+ references the southern tip of the 
Beqa Valley on the northern edge of Canaan.  
 
Starting from just east of the Sea of Galilee and heading northwest toward 
conquests in the enticing Beqa Valley, the one major city in northeast 
Canaan proper that one would pass by is QD$ of Upper Galilee.  Because of the 
mountainous terrain, this is one of the few routes an invading army can take 
into the southern Beqa Valley.  I see Thutmosis III, the four invading rulers 
in chapter 14 of Genesis, and Ramses the Great as all three taking that 
identical route, with similar objectives.  [That route for Ramses the Great is 
set forth here:  _http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/kadesh.htm_ 
(http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/kadesh.htm)   “The main body of his 
[Ramses the Great’s] forces followed the route inland through Canaan, traversing 
the eastern side of Lake Galilee [and] afterwards entering the Bekaa Valley 
in order to reach Kumidi.”]
 
(YN M$P+ = “Gateway to the Beqa Valley”
 
(YN literally means “eye” or “fountain”, but in English, the phrase we 
would more likely use here is “gateway to”.  QD$ of Upper Galilee was the “
gateway to” the southern Beqa Valley” for an invading army.  [Unlike MCPH at 
Joshua 11: 3, 8, QD$ of Upper Galilee is not located in the Beqa Valley 
itself, but rather is the “gateway” thereto:  (YN M$P+.]  As just noted, 
starting from just east of the Sea of Galilee and proceeding northwest to the 
fertile Beqa Valley, the main city in northeast Canaan proper that one would 
pass is QD$ of Upper Galilee.  Upon leaving a conquered or secured QD$ of Upper 
Galilee, the marching soldiers would certainly chant excitedly:  “Next stop 
-- Beqa Valley!”  So to any conqueror of the Beqa Valley who did not enter 
the Beqa Valley from the north, the logical route to the attractive Beqa 
Valley runs right by QD$ of Upper Galilee, a locale just southeast of the 
southern edge of the enticing Beqa Valley.  In that important sense, QD$ of Upper 
Galilee truly was the “gateway to the Beqa Valley”.
 
MCPH at Joshua 11: 3, 8 is the southern edge of the Beqa Valley.  (YN M$P+ 
at Genesis 14: 7 is the “gateway” to the southern Beqa Valley, that is, the 
gateway to MCPH/M$P+, namely:  QD$ of Upper Galilee.
 
Genesis 14: 7 tells us that after “returning”/W-Y$BW to the northern 
Transjordan, the four invading rulers attacked the “gateway to the Beqa Valley”
/(YN M$P+, that is/HW), QD$ [of Upper Galilee].
 
 QD$ (YN [M]$P[+] = KD$[N] (EN $-Wi
 
The last thing we need to do is to confirm that all  t-h-r-e-e  names of 
QD$ of Upper Galilee at Genesis 14: 7 match all  t-h-r-e-e  names for QD$ of 
Upper Galilee that are set forth at items #4-#5 on the T III list.  QD$ of 
Upper Galilee was such an important city in northeast Canaan in the Late 
Bronze Age that it must be on the T III list, and the only entries that will fit 
the bill are items #4-#5.
 
In comparing these names, we note that in M$P+ in Hebrew, the M is a mere 
prefix, which might be dropped, and the + sounds like a routine, optional 
city name suffix that might be dropped [and that has a mere he/H as its 
equivalent in MCPH].  So the key letters in [M]$P[+] at Genesis 14: 7 are $-P.  As 
to KTSN at item #4 on the T III list, based on the other 118 items on the T 
III list, the Egyptian T is likely a dalet/D in Hebrew, the S is likely a 
shin/$ in Hebrew, and the final N is a routine, optional city name suffix that 
could be dropped.  [As to the second letter, this city’s name in the Amarna 
Letters is Guddashuna, so the second letter is dalet/D, not tav/T, and the 
S sound is a shin/$.  The first letter there, G, could be either kaf/K, or th
e similar-sounding qof/Q.]  Thus the relevant letters to match here are KD$.
 
Items #4-#5 on the T III list are probably alternative names for QD$ of 
Upper Galilee (just as scholars agree that items #7-#8 are alternative names 
for Kumidi). 
 
Look how close in sound all  t-h-r-e-e  of these names are, in comparing 
Genesis 14: 7 to items #4-#5 on the mid-15th century BCE T III list:
 
(1)  QD$ vs. KD$
 
(2)  (YN vs. (EN
 
(3)  $-P vs. $-Wi
[Each of P, and W as a true consonant, may have sounded somewhat like an 
English B.]
 
Conclusion
 
M$P+ at Genesis 14: 7 is MCPH at Joshua 11: 3, 8, meaning in both cases the 
southern tip of the Beqa Valley, in northernmost Canaan.  (YN M$P+ at 
Genesis 14: 7 means “gateway to the Beqa Valley”, and as such is a very suitable 
name for QD$ of Upper Galilee, which effectively was indeed the “gateway to 
the Beqa Valley” for most would-be conquerors of the Beqa Valley.  And in 
looking at the significant letters and considering the overall sound, QD$ (YN 
$-P at Genesis 14: 7 is a good match to similar-sounding KD$ (EN $-Wi at 
items #4-#5 on the T III list, in both cases referencing QD$ of Upper Galilee 
as the gateway to the Beqa Valley.  [In case you’re wondering, the scholarly 
view is that (i) the T III list unaccountably “forgot” to include QD$ of 
Upper Galilee, and that (ii)  (EN $-Wi at item #5 on the T III list is a 
scribal error, rather than there being any matches here to Genesis 14: 7.]
 
We begin to see the pinpoint historical accuracy of the northern Canaan 
geography of the Patriarchal narratives.  The close matches to geographical 
place names that are well-attested in the secular history of Late Bronze Age 
northern Canaan are right there, staring us in the face, if only we (unlike 
scholars) are willing to look to  n-o-r-t-h-e-r-n  Canaan for such matches.  
It was Ezra, under horrendous circumstances, who initiated a radical, 
ultra-southerly reinterpretation of the geography of the Patriarchal narratives 
after the Exile.  But if we ignore the pointing done in the Middle Ages that 
follows Ezra’s geographical reinterpretation, and if we likewise ignore the 
questionable geographical claims in Ezra-era compositions such as II 
Chronicles, then the actual, historical northern Canaan Late Bronze Age geography of 
the Patriarchal narratives comes shining through, with pinpoint accuracy, in 
the unpointed received text of Genesis.
 
En-Mishpat/QD$ at Genesis 14: 7 is historical Qadesh of Upper Galilee, in 
Late Bronze Age northern Canaan.  It’s not, as scholars would have it, a 
fictional reference to a fictional name of a place 60 miles south of Gaza, a 
place never referenced in the secular history of the ancient world as QD$ or 
Kadesh-barnea, and a place that no rational big-time invader would touch with 
a 10-foot pole anyway (given the lack of loot and the proximity to mighty 
Egypt).  The scholarly view as to the underlying geography of Genesis 14: 7 is 
untenable in all respects, and on all levels, except in one important 
aspect.  That scholarly view faithfully follows every jot and tittle of the 
radical, ultra-southerly reinterpretation of the geography of the Patriarchal 
narratives that was first introduced to the world (especially to the watchful, 
governing Persians) by Ezra, under great duress, in post-Exilic times.  But 
that scholarly view has no relationship whatsoever to the actual 
geographical underpinning of Genesis 14: 7, which is thoroughly Late Bronze Age 
historical northern Canaan all the way, in every way.  (Catch the pulsating 
excitement of the Patriarchal narratives!)
 
Jim Stinehart
Evanston, Illinois

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