Biblical Hebrew Forum

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

Dear Ian,

You asked what hamlets, villages, towns and cities I would expect to
"surface" in a Primary History (Genesis- 2Kings) composed in the course of
Hellenistic-Hasmonean era. See below for some sites that are attested as
being no earlier than this era. As I noted earlier, I have not found a
single site that came into being later than the 7th century BCE in the
Primary History.

I would expect at least "a few" place-names from a Primary History
"allegedly written in the Hellenistic age." The absence of the below sites
should be a "wake-up call" for those advocating a late creation. How will
they explain ALL of these sites NON-APPEARANCE in a Hellenistic creation
(Some of these sites, however, DO APPEAR in other Hellenistic compositions,
like for instabce, Maccabees I-IV).

The below book or "manual" focuses primarily on Israel from Dan to
Beersheba. Along this peripherey appear sites in Lebanon, Jordan, the Arabah
and Negev.

My reference is :

J.Monson, et. al. Student Map Manual, Historical Geography of the Bible
Lands. Jerusalem. Pictorial Archive. 1st edition, 1979 [distributed by
Zondervan Publishing House. Grand Rapids, Michigan] ISBN 0-310-42980-3.


A Listing of Sites which came into being in the course of the Hellenistic
and Hasmonean Periods (cf. "Section 15-2, Index of Main Names," J. Monson)

A Mini Archive Reference Number  precedes the site

004  Abila (Gilead); 023 Adasa; 046 Alexandrium/Sartaba; 073 Apollonia; 081
Arbela (Galilee); 085 Ariedela (Gharandel); 087 Aristobulias; 102 Asphar;
292 Docus; 299 Eeitha; 307 Elasa; 315 Emmaus (Nicopolis); 333 Ephron
(Gilead); 352 Gadara; 357 Gamala; 359 Garaba; 380 Gerasa (Gilead); 434
Hippias; 567 Malumas; 504 Kedron (Gedrus); 558 Macherus; 564 Mahalol; 579
Masada; 581 Mazraa; 614 Modein; 627 Nadabath; 643 Nessana; 651 Oboda; 652
Odollam; 657 Orda; 662 Pella (existed in LB but not in Iron Age); 666
Pharathon; 693 Ragaba; 728 Samaga; 744 Seleucia (Golan); 748 Sepphoris; 768
Skoufiye.
Walter Reinhold Warttig Mattfeld
Walldorf by Heidelberg
Baden-Wurttemburg, Germany
www.bibleorigins.net