Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Yigal Levin <leviny1 AT mail.biu.ac.il>]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "George Athas" <George.Athas AT moore.edu.au>
> Wow, I'm going to note this day down-the day I begged to differ with Yigal 
> Levin: 4 February 2009...
>
> Yigal, isn't there at least two? There certainly seems to be at least one 
> locality called Aphek in the north, either by Lake Galilee (Ein Gev?) 
> and/or somewhere between Haifa and Akko?

No, I don't think that you do. You just mis-read my post. What I wrote was 
that of the 5 Apheks mentioned in the Bible, the Apheks of Josh. 12, 1 Sam. 
4 and 1 Sam. 29 are all the same.

Following is the text on the entry for Aphek, that I've written for the 
forthcoming Encyclopedia of the Bible and its Reception (EBR; De Gruyther; 
Berlin). It's long, but no-one but you, Karl and Jim has to read it. The 
Aphek that we're discussing in no. 4.

Aphek, Aphekah



The name of five places referred to in the biblical text. Despite Albright's 
position (1922) that the name be derived from the Akkadian epêqu, "be 
strong, firm, solid", the basic meaning of the name seems to be "source", as 
in the source of a watercourse, and as such most of the places so named are 
situated at the sources of perennial streams (cf. Aharoni 1979: 109, 125).





Aphek 01. of Asher - Listed next to last in the allotment of Asher (Josh. 
19:30) after Ummah and before Rehob, and again (spelled "Aphik") in the list 
of Asher's unconquered cities in Judges 1:31, also coupled with Rehob. Since 
"Ummah" is generally considered to be a corruption of "Acco" (so in LXX and 
so in the MT of Judges 1:31), this Aphek is generally identified at Tell 
Kurdaneh, 9 km SE of Acco, besides a group of springs that feed into the Na'aman 
stream (Alt 1928: 58-9; Mazar 1975: 160-166; Kallai 1986: 428). An 
alternative identification at the more northern site now known as Tel Kabri 
was first suggested by Saarisalo (1929: 32 n.1), followed by Frankel (1998: 
64), although the excavator of Tel Kabri preferred to identify the site as 
the Rehob of Josh. 19:27-28 (Kempinski 2002: 452). The site of Tel Aphek / 
Kurdaneh and the surrounding wetland is now an Israeli nature reserve, and 
the ancient name has been adopted by a nearby kibbutz.





Aphek 02. of Aram - The location at which Ben Hadad (II) of Damascus 
mustered his troops to attack Israel (1 Kings 20:26) and to which he 
retreated after his defeat (verse 30). Presumably the same location as that 
referred to in Elisha's prophecy in 2 Kings 13:17. This Aphek, then, would 
be on or near the border between Israel and Aram, in the region of Gilead. 
Eusebius mentions "a large village called Apheka near Hippe" 
(Freeman-Grenville 2003: 21), apparently referring to the site of Fiq, 4 km 
east of Hippos/Susita in what is now called the southern Golan. Since no 
Iron Age remains were found at Fiq, Dothan (1975) and Aharoni (1979: 335) 
both suggested that the Iron Age town was at Khirbet el-'Asheq, now within 
Kibbutz 'En Gev on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee. This large 
fortified site was first excavated by Mazar, Biran, Dothan and Dunayevsky in 
1961. They uncovered a fortified site with five strata spanning from the 
mid-tenth century BCE up to the Assyrian conquest of 733, with some evidence 
of occupation through the Hellenistic Period. Cultic objects, including a 
jar inscribed with the word lsqy< "of the cupbearer(s)", convinced Ahlström 
(1985) that the site was in Aramean hands during the ninth and early eighth 
centuries BCE (strata IV-II). Aharoni (1979: 344) interpreted the reference 
in 2 Kings 13:17 as referring to the destruction of level II at 'En Gev. A 
Japanese expedition directed by H. Kanaseki and H. Ogawa worked at the site 
in 1991-2 as part of M. Kochavi's Geshur Regional Project, basically 
confirming earlier results (Sugimoto 1999). An alternative identification 
for Aphek, suggested by Ben-Ami, is the small Iron Age site of Tel Soreg, 
just NW of Fiq (Kochavi 1989: 6-7). This site was fortified and then 
destroyed in the mid-ninth century BCE (Kochavi 1996: 198; Kochavi himself 
preferred to identify Aphek at the larger site of 'En Gev). The modern 
kibbutz Afiq, founded in 1973, preserves the ancient toponym.





Aphek 03. of Lebanon - In Josh. 13:4-6, the northwestern sector of the 
unconquered land is described as "and Mearah that belongs to the Sidonians, 
to Aphek, to the boundary of the Amorites and the land of the Gebalites, and 
all Lebanon, toward the east, from Baal-gad below Mount Hermon to 
Lebo-hamath, all the inhabitants of the hill country from Lebanon to 
Misrephoth-maim, even all the Sidonians". Despite Dothan's understanding the 
reference to Hermon and Lebo-hamath as indicating that this Aphek is to be 
found on the eastern border of Canaan, in the area of Aphek 02 (1975), most 
scholars believe that this Aphek is to found on or near the Phoenician 
("Sidonian") coast of the Mediterranean Sea. As "the Gebalites" are the 
inhabitants of the well-known city of Gebal/Byblos, modern Jubeil north of 
Beirut, the Aphek mentioned here is commonly identified with the site of 
Afqa, on the sources of the Nahr Ibrahim east of Byblos (Abel 1938: 247; 
Aharoni 1979: 125). In Aharoni's view (Ibid. 73), the Nahr Ibrahim and 
Byblos were the boundary between Late Bronze Age Canaan and the kingdom of 
Amurru ("the boundary of the Amorites"), a boundary that was then adopted by 
the biblical definitions of Canaan (though this date and background for the 
boundary system has not been accepted universally - see Na'aman 1999; Levin 
2006). From there, the northern border of Canaan passed eastward to 
Lebo-hamath, identified by Mazar at Lebweh in the Lebanese Beqa' valley 
(1975: 167-181).





Aphek 04. in Sharon - In the list of the kings defeated by Joshua: "The king 
of Aphek, one; the king of Lasharon, one" (12:18 KJV, NRSV etc.). As 
"Lasharon" seems to refer to the Sharon coastal region, most scholars prefer 
to read "The king of Aphek in Sharon, one", just as verses 22-23 list "the 
king of Jokneam of Carmel, one; the king of Dor of Naphath-Dor, one; the 
king of Goiim in Gilgal (LXX: Galilee), one". This seems to be the same 
Aphek as that from which the Philistines fought Israel at Eben-ezer (I Sam. 
4:1), resulting in the capture of the Ark, and again, the place at which the 
Philistines gathered on their way to victory over Saul at the battle of 
Gilboa (I Sam. 29:1). Despite attempts to identify this Aphek in the 
vicinity of the Jezreel Valley (Relandi 1714: 572; Schwartz 1852: 62-63) or 
the Gilboa range (Tolkowsky 1922), Wellhausen (1894: 39) seems to have been 
the first to suggest that this Aphek be sought in the Sharon region. However 
the appearance of an <pqn on the topographical list of Thutmose III after 
what would seem to be Ono and Lod and before Socho of the Sharon (Aharoni 
1979: 161), as well as an "Apqu in the land of Samaria" that was conquered 
by Esarhaddon on his way to Egypt in 671 BCE (ANET 292; Aharoni 1979: 401) 
have led almost all more modern scholars to search for this Aphek in the 
vicinity of Tell Ras el-'Ain, by the sources of Wadi el-'Aujja, today's 
Yarkon river. Albright (1922), true to his understanding of the name Aphek 
as "stronghold" and citing Josephus' mention of a "Tower of Aphek" near 
Antipatris (War 2. 513), suggested the site of Majdal Yaba (today's Migdal 
Tsedek) to the SE of the springs; Alt insisted that the city of Aphek was at 
the large tell itself (1925: 51; cf. also Abel 1938: 246). Such a location 
on a strategic section of the main international route would make the site a 
critical one for any military power interested in controlling the region.

Two early rescue excavations, by J. Ory in 1934-36 and by A. Eitan in the 
1960's, produced only limited results (for details see Kochavi 2000: 4-6). 
Large-scale excavations, together with a regional survey, were conducted by 
M. Kochavi in 1972-85. A preliminary summary of the excavations was 
published in 1989. The first volume of the full report appeared in 2000; 
additional volumes are forthcoming.

The earliest remains of settlement at the tell date to the Chalcolithic 
Period (4500-3300 BCE). A large town founded during the Early Bronze Age I 
(c. 3100 BCE) grew into a fortified city with a large palace and residential 
structures. This city was abandoned around 2200 BCE. Remains of six distinct 
strata reflect the Middle Bronze Age II, beginning with the site's 
resettlement c. 2000 BCE. The city's acropolis, including a large palace 
built on massive fills, was founded during the second phase. An additional 
palace was built on the western slope of the tell during phase 3, in the 
18th century. The excavators attributed the mention of Aphek in the Egyptian 
Execration texts to this phase. During phase 4 the western palace was 
replaced by a residential quarter and the city's administrative center 
returned to the acropolis. A pottery-producing area was founded in the SW 
quarter, near the springs. Additional finds from this period included 
several cemeteries. The large palace on the acropolis remained in use 
through phase 6, perhaps destroyed by the invading Egyptians c. 1550 BCE.

The Late Bronze Age (1550-1200 BCE) is the period of Egyptian rule in 
Canaan. Like many cities, settlement at Aphek declined, though the acropolis 
was occupied throughout. Aphek, due to its strategic location, is mentioned 
in several Egyptian inscriptions, including the topographical list of 
Thutmose III (c. 1480) and the annals of Amenhotep II (c. 1440). During the 
final centuries of the LBA Aphek was became an Egyptian administrative 
center, and a well-preserved two-story governor's residency replaced the 
former palaces. This phase also produced a wealth of written material: two 
Egyptian dedications, a royal Hattian stamp impression, fragments of two 
cuneiform lexicons and an Akkadian letter from the governor of Ugarit, on 
the northern coast of Syria (for which see Singer 1983). Other finds from 
this phase include two wine-making installations, a tomb and pottery 
imported from all over the eastern Mediterranean.

The residency at Aphek was destroyed c. 1230 BCE, and the piles of rubble 
remained untouched for centuries to come. The first Iron Age settlement (c. 
1200) consisted of well-dressed stone houses in two areas on the acropolis, 
abandoned after a short time. During the late 12th century, the site was 
occupied by the Philistines, as is shown by large amounts of bi-chrome ware 
found at the site, together with a scarab bearing the cartouche of Ramses IV 
(c. 1150 BCE). An inscription in an unknown script may be "early Philistine" 
writing. Aphek's strategic importance is reflected in the biblical 
traditions that mention it as a staging ground for the Philistine attacks on 
Israel (1 Sam. 4:1-3; 29:1-4), one of a series of sites on the N Philistine 
frontier (Gadot 2006). After the Philistines' withdrawal c. 1000 BCE, 
perhaps driven from the site by David, the site was occupied by settlers 
from the Israelite hill-country. The 10th century stratum includes 
"silo"-pits, four-roomed houses and pottery typical of the period. The 
sudden violent destruction of the site was attributed by the excavators to 
the campaign of Shishak (c. 925 BCE). The 9-5th centuries produced 
relatively few finds, due to both accelerated erosion of the upper strata of 
the acropolis, and to the city's decline into a minor border-post. 
Nevertheless, mention of the site in the LXX-L version of 2 Kings 13:22, in 
Esarhaddon's description of his journey to "the stream of Egypt" and in an 
Aramaic papyrus from Saqqarah from c. 600 BCE (Porten 1981) are all 
testimony to the site's continued importance on the main road from Syria to 
Egypt (Kochavi 1989: 90-91; 2000: 18). The site was eventually abandoned, to 
be resettled only in the 3rd century BCE, renamed Pegae, later Antipatris.





Aphekah 05. of Judah - Known only from the Judahite town-list in Josh. 
15:53, its position in district 6 of this list together with Dumah, 
Beth-tappuah and Hebron places it in the central part of the Judean 
hill-country. Within this area, different scholars have proposed various 
Iron Age sites that are situated near major springs or watercourses. Alt 
(1932: 16-17) suggested the site of Khirbet ed-Dharrameh, also called 
Khirbet el-îadab, on a hill above the large spring of 'Ain Fawar, 7 km SW of 
Hebron. Kochavi (1972: 29, site 176) at first accepted this proposal, but 
later (1973: 51 note 16) suggested the site of Khirbet el-Marajim, near the 
large springs in the Seil ed-Dilbeh valley (for the initial survey of this 
site see Kochavi 1972: 66, site 168). Ofer (1993: 3: 18), who surveyed the 
Judean hill-country intensively, accepted this identification. The site 
shows evidence of settlement during the Iron I, Iron II, Persian and 
Hellenistic periods. The alternative site of Khirbet Kan'an, suggested by 
Abel (1938: 247) is considered untenable by more recent scholars because of 
its distance from the springs and its being a "roadside fort" rather than a 
tell (Kochavi 1972: 29, site 149; also cf. Kallai 1986: 388-9; Ofer 1993: 3: 
18).







Bibliography

F.-M. Abel, Geographie de la Palestine II (Paris, 1938).

Y. Aharoni, The Land of the Bible (2nd ed., Philadelphia 1979).

G.W. Ahlström, "The Cultroom at 'En Gev", Tel Aviv 12 (1985) 93-95.

W.F. Albright, "One Aphek or Four?", JPOS 2 (1922) 184-189.

A. Alt, "Das Institut im Jahre 1924", PJB 21 (1925) 5-58.

Id., "Das Institut im Jahre 1931", PJB 28 (1932) 5-47.

M. Dothan, "Aphek on the Israel-Aram Border and Aphek on the Amorite Border", 
Eretz-Israel 12 (1975) 63-65 (Hebrew).

R. Frankel, "The Territory of the Tribe of Asher", in From the Sites of 
Ancient Israel: Essays on Archaeology, History and Theology in Memory of 
Aapeli Saarisalo (ed. T. Eskola and E. Junkaala; Helsinki 1998) 49-76.

G.S.P. Freeman-Grenville, The Onomasticon by Eusebius of Caesarea 
(Jerusalem, 2002).

Y. Gadot, "Aphek in the Sharon and the Philistine Northern Frontier", BASOR 
341 (2006) 21-36.

Z. Kallai, Historical Geography of the Bible (Jerusalem - Leiden 1986).

A. Kempinski, Tel Kabri - the 1989-1993 Excavation Seasons (Tel Aviv 2002).

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1967-1968 (Jerusalem, 1972).

Id., "Khirbet Rabûd - Ancient Debir", in Excavations and Studies (FS Shemuel 
Yeivin; ed. Y. Aharoni; Tel Aviv, 1973) 49-75 (Hebrew).

Id., "The Land of Geshur Project: Regional Archaeology of the Southern Golan 
(1987-1988 Seasons)", IEJ 39 (1989) 1-17.

Id., Aphek-Antipatris: Five Thousand Years of History (Tel Aviv, 1989) 
(Hebrew).

Id., "Tel 'En Gev", IEJ 41 (1991) 183-184.

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Y. Levin, "Numbers 34:2-12, the Boundaries of the Land of Canaan and the 
Empire of Necho", JANES (2006) 55-76.

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B. Mazar, A. Biran, M. Dothan and I. Dunayevsky, "'Ein Gev - Excavation in 
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N. Na'aman, "Lebo-Hamath, Subat-Hamat, and the Northern Boundary of the Land 
of Canaan", UF 31 (1999), 417-441.

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B. Porten, "The Identity of King Adon", BA 44 (1981) 36-52.

H. Relandi, Palaestina ex Monumentis Veteribus Illustrata (Utrecht 1714).

A. Saarisalo, "Topographical Researches in Galilee", JPOS 9 (1929) 27-40.

J. Schwartz, Das Heilige Land (Frankfurt, 1852).

I. Singer, "TakuÆlinu and ïaya - Two Governors in the Ugarit Letter from Tel 
Aphek", Tel Aviv 10 (1983) 3-25.

T. Sugimoto, "Iron Age Potteries from Tel En-Gev, Israel: Seasons 1990-1992", 
Orient (Tokyo) 34 (1999) 1-21.

S. Tolkowsky, "Aphek - A Study in Biblical Toponomy", JPOS 2 (1922) 145-158.





Yigal Levin