[b-hebrew] Where Is En-Mishpat?

James Read J.Read-2 at sms.ed.ac.uk
Mon May 11 14:47:32 EDT 2009


I haven't read it all but, in substance, it looks very plausible to  
me. Well done.

James

Quoting JimStinehart at aol.com:

>
> 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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