Biblical Hebrew Forum

[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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