Biblical Hebrew Forum

[jimstinehart AT aol.com]

Prof. Yigal Levin:
 
You wrote:  “All of the rest of the place-names [at the end of Genesis 14: 6 
and in Genesis 14: 7] listed are known to be in the Dead Sea or Negev areas. 
None, except in your fantasies, are in the north.”
 
Since that is my main argument, I wonder if, with your permission, we might 
examine that statement of yours?
 
Would you agree with my assertion that in the secular history of the ancient 
world, (i) virtually none of those places is attested by those names in the 
Dead Sea or Negev areas, and (ii) most of them are attested in the north?  
Since you are an expert in Biblical geography, your opinion on the 7 specific 
items set forth below is extraordinarily important.  Let’s take a look.
 
1.       Horites (at Seir)
 
The Horites are generally viewed as being the Hurrians, or perhaps people 
whose rulers had Hurrian-type names.  Per Amarna Letter EA 197, we may have 
the Horites attested as far south as Bezer/Busruna, just north of the north 
end of the Dead Sea.  But to the best of my knowledge, the Hurrians are not 
attested south of the Dead Sea in the secular history of the ancient world.
 
2.       El-paran
 
This word is only used once in the Bible, at Genesis 14: 6.  It probably 
refers to a desert, but at least out of context, it is not clear to which 
desert.  To me, it logically refers here to the Eastern Desert, straight east 
of Jazer.  (Pursuant to Jacob being unable to avoid Esau of Seir when Jacob 
travels from Harran to Shechem, the Seir of the Patriarchal narratives likely 
refers to the hill country north and south of Jazer, although later books in 
the Bible use that word differently.)  To the best of my knowledge, there is 
no support in the secular history of the ancient world for the scholarly 
assumption that here, El-paran means the Gulf of Aqaba.
 
3.       QD$
 
You know better than anyone, having published a long article on the subject, 
that no place in the Sinai is attested by the name QD$, or Kadesh-barnea, in 
the secular history of the ancient world.  By contrast, QD$, with various 
spellings, is well-attested for Qadesh of Upper Galilee.
 
4.       En-mishpat
 
There is no place by this name attested in the Negev or Sinai or south of the 
Dead Sea in the secular history of the ancient world.  Yes, En could mean 
spring, as it usually does in geographical place names, and there are 
hundreds of places in Canaan with springs.  But what would be “Mishpat” near 
a desert oasis in the eastern Sinai?
 
Qadesh of Upper Galilee has a spring.  So En fits.  But the normal meaning of 
En is “eye”.  So here, En-mishpat could mean:  Eye on Mishpat.  At Qadesh of 
Upper Galilee, the Mishpat then would obviously be nearby towering Mt. 
Hermon.  In the Patriarchal Age, the pagans saw Mt. Hermon as being Baal’s 
“seat of (divine) justice”.
 
Although different spellings are used, and a different metaphor is used for 
Mt. Hermon, we may see basically these same two names, being contemporary 
alternative names for the same place, at items #4 and #5 of the mid-15th 
century BCE Thutmose III list.  We know from the Amarna Letters that the city 
name QD$ can be spelled many different ways, so item #4 may be an alternative 
spelling of QD$.  As to item #5, the first word is En, just as is the first 
word in En-misphat.  Scholars like Anson Rainey view the second word as being 
a scribal error.  But more likely the second word, though it is not mishpat, 
may mean “arise”.  So a second name for Qadesh of Upper Galilee in the 
ancient world may have been “Eye on Arise”, referring to nearby Mt. Hermon.
 
5.       Amalekites vs. Beqa Valley
 
It makes no sense on any level for Abraham’s opponents to be portrayed at 
Genesis 14: 7 as dealing with the descendants of Abraham’s illegitimate 
great-great-great-grandson Amalek, which is the usual explanation of this 
word at Genesis 14: 7.  More likely is that scribes transposed two interior 
consonants.  So although we see (MLQY in the received text, the original word 
was (MQLY.  If so, that’s (MQ + L + Y.  (MQ is Amq, meaning valley, with Amqu 
being the word used in the Amarna Letters for the Beqa Valley.  The L is a 
suffix meaning “great”, and the Y is an archaic case ending.
 
6.       Amorites
 
As you know, the Amorites are not attested in the secular history of the 
ancient world as being south of the Dead Sea or in the Negev.  Rather, the 
Amorites are closely associated with Lebanon.  We know from Amarna Letter EA 
175 that the ruler of Hasi in the northern Beqa Valley was an Amorite, 
because his name starts with Il.
 
Professor, when you consider that the Horites/Hurrians and the Amorites were 
historically in the northern Transjordan and Lebanon, and were not south of 
the Dead Sea or in the Negev, doesn’t that raise a question as to whether the 
longstanding geographical interpretation of Genesis 14: 6-7 is correct?
 
7.       Hazezon (or Hazezon-tamar)
 
Although the spellings differ slightly, Hazezon could easily be historical 
Hasi/Hizzin in the northern Beqa Valley, to which the optional suffix –N has 
been added, which was commonplace for geographical place names in the ancient 
world.  Outside of II Chronicles, I know of no Hazezon or Hazezon-tamar 
attested at or near the Dead Sea or in the Negev.     
 
Professor, it would be extremely informative if you would state which, if 
any, of the foregoing 7 items you see as being attested by those names in the 
secular history of the ancient world south of the Dead Sea or in the Negev.  
On balance, and relying on inscriptions from the ancient world, the argument 
seems much stronger that all 7 are attested, rather, in the north.  That in 
turn would enable us to give $WB at Genesis 14: 7 its normal meaning of 
“return”.  I realize that $WB does not require a return to the exact point of 
origin, and does not require retracing one’s steps.  But in a geographical 
context, it usually means “return”.  Here, on my view of the above 7 items, 
Genesis 14: 7 is saying that this military contingent “returned (back north 
to the Ashteroth area)”.
 
Please tell us if you have inscriptions in the secular history of the ancient 
world south of the Dead Sea or in the Negev for any one or more of the names 
(1) Horites, (2) El-paran, (3) QD$, (4) En-mishpat, (5) Amalekites, (6) 
Amorites, (7) Hazezon.
 
If you in fact are 0 for 7 as to that list, then wouldn’t it make sense to 
take a new look at Genesis 14: 5-7, from a geographical point of view?  In my 
controversial view, the #1 reason why Genesis 14: 5-7 is currently viewed by 
most university scholars as being fictional, rather than historical, is 
because of a complete misunderstanding of the underlying geography.  I 
believe that all of those peoples and places being referenced there are in 
the north, based on my research as to the geography of ancient Canaan.
 
Jim Stinehart
Evanston, Illinois 






-----Original Message-----
From: Yigal Levin <leviny1 AT mail.biu.ac.il>
To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
Sent: Sat, Feb 13, 2010 12:40 pm
Subject: [b-hebrew] $WB, Gen 14 and Amarna 197


The verb $WB is used hundreds of times in the Bible, with several different,
ut related, meanings. Its basic meaning is "to turn" (and is related to SWB
ith a samekh). It often does mean "to RE-turn", but not always. In Ex.
3:20, the Israelites leave Succoth and encamp at Etham. In 14:1-2 God
rders Moses to tell them to "$wb" and encamp before Pi-Hahiroth between
igdol and the sea before Baal-Zephon. This text is similar to that of Gen.
4, since it is also an itinerary. $WB here does not mean "return to point
f origin" but simply "turn around". Similarly in Gen. 14: 7, all $wb means
s that the invading kings got as far as El-Paran and then did an
bout-face. All of the rest of the place-names listed are known to be in the
ead Sea or Negev areas. None, except in your fantasies, are in the north.
A 197 says nothing about a "year 14", nor does most of the action take
lace in Transjordan. Ashtaroth is not the main player there, but rather
murru, in Lebanon, and Kumudi in the southern Beqa'a Valley. There is no
ign of a "Hittite" invasion. All the writer claims, is that some of the
ther rulers are in league with Hatti. 
 
I think you've stated your case. No-one else is buying. Now let's move on. 
 
 
Yigal Levin
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