Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Walter Mattfeld" <mattfeld AT mail.pjsnet.com>]

Dr. Ronning HAS CORRECTLY NOTED that the northern border of Benjamin, said
to begin at the Jordan and near Jericho, ascends to Beth-Aven (bet awen) and
then TURNS SOUTH TO BETHEL (Joshua 18:12-13):

"It began at the Jordan, then goes up to the shoulder north of Jericho, then
up through the hillcountry westward, and ends at the wilderness of Beth
Awen. From there the boundary passes SOUTH in the direction of Luz, the
shoulder of Luz (which is Bethel)."

In an earlier post I noted that there appeared to be only two ways to get to
the vicinity of et-Tell (Ai ?) and Betein (Bethel ?) from Jericho, either by
a track going up from Mukhmas (biblical Michmash ?) or via Rummon which lies
just ENE of Deir Dibwan.

Furthermore, I argued that the descent of Shebarim was probably the track
from Deir Shebab which descends to link up with the Rummon track to Jericho.

I note that near Shebab the track ascending from the Rummon, TURNS SOUTH TO
BEITIN, which I understand to be correctly identified as being Bethel (cf.
map titled "Jerusalem," 1:40,000 scale, April 1918, Survey of Egypt).

So, I would argue that the Northern border of Benjamin which is being
described in Joshua 18:12-13, is in fact, the track going up from Jericho to
Rummon, passing the north side of Deir Dibwan (Beth-Aven, bet-awen ?) and
et-Tell (Ai ?) and on to Shebab (Shebarim ?), THEN TURNING SOUTH to Beitin
(Bethel ?).

The "shoulder of Luz (which is Bethel)" (Joshua 18:13), I suspect, is
describing the "high ridge" which extends from Beitin to et-Tell, from which
it descends to the vicinity of Deir Dibwan.

I have noted in an earlier post that the northern Benjaminite border is
suggested in the southern border of Ephraim which is contiguous:

"The portion of the sons of Joseph started on the east at the Jordan
opposite Jericho (the waters of Jericho) through the desert rising from
Jericho into the highlands of Bethel; from Bethel it went to Luz, and on
towards the frontier of the Archites at Ataroth; then passed downwards and
westwards to the frontier of the Japhletites as far as the border of Lower
Beth-horon..." (Joshua 16:1-3, The New Jerusalem Bible [Catholic])

I furthermore proposed that the border from "Bethel_to_Luz" was khirbet ein
Lozah just west of Beitin, the Archites (Hebrew: arki) are Ein Arik and wadi
Arik, and the Japhelites are at Khirbet Hafy, these sites, like sitting
ducks in row, extend from Beitin (Bethel ?) to Lower Beth-horon (Arabic:
Beit-Ur et-Tahta).

So, I suspect that when the border is being described as going to the
"wilderness of Beth-awen" it is describing in "general terms" the end of
cultivated slopes near Deir Dibwan, the wilderness of Beth-awen being the
arid lands below Deir Dibwan. The track (Benjamin's border being this track)
does not go "literally" to Deir Dibwan, it passes by it on the north,
ascending to Rummon, Shebab, and TURNING SOUTH TO Beitin/Bethel.

All the best,

Walter

Walter Reinhold Warttig Mattfeld
Walldorf by Heidelberg
Baden-Wurttemburg
Germany