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  • From: Yigal Levin <leviny1 AT mail.biu.ac.il>
  • To: B-Hebrew <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Aphek
  • Date: Wed, 04 Feb 2009 08:06:29 +0200


----- 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).

M. Kochavi (ed.), Judaea, Samaria and the Golan - Archaeological Survey 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.

Id., "The Land of Geshur - History of a Region in the Biblical Period", Eretz-Israel 25 (1996) 184-201 (Hebrew).

Id., Aphek-Antipatris I (Tel Aviv, 2000).

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

B. Mazar, Cities and Districts in Eretz-Israel (Jerusalem 1975) (Hebrew).

B. Mazar, A. Biran, M. Dothan and I. Dunayevsky, "'Ein Gev - Excavation in 1961", IEJ 14 (1964) 1-49.

N. Na'aman, "Lebo-Hamath, Subat-Hamat, and the Northern Boundary of the Land of Canaan", UF 31 (1999), 417-441.

A. Ofer, "The Highland of Judah During the Biblical Period" (PhD Dissertation; Tel Aviv, 1993) (Hebrew).

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





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