Tell Maon
خربة معين Arabic
ח'רבת מעין Hebrew
Ruin
Tell Ma'on near Hebron
Tell Ma'on near Hebron
Tell Maon is located in the Southern West Bank
Tell Maon
Tell Maon
Location of Tell Maon
Coordinates: 31°24′34″N 35°08′02″E / 31.40944°N 35.13389°E / 31.40944; 35.13389
Grid position162/090 PAL
RegionWest Bank
DistrictJudea and Samaria Area
Government
 • CouncilHar Hevron (Mount Hebron) Regional Council
Time zoneUTC+2 (IST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (IDT)

Tell Maon (Arabic: Khirbet Ma'in[1][2]) was an ancient town in the Hebron Hills, formerly known simply as Maon (Hebrew: מעון), rising 863 metres (2,831 ft) above sea level. The town, now a ruin, is mentioned in the Book of Joshua (Joshua 15:55 and the Books of Samuel (1 Samuel 25:2). It still had a Jewish population during the Roman and Byzantine periods, and a synagogue was discovered there. The site is located about 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) southeast of Yatta.

History

The site is first mentioned as one of the cities of Judah.[3][4] Maon was the place of birth of Nabal the Carmelite.[5] In 1 Samuel 23:24–25, "the wilderness of Maon" is mentioned as a place of refuge for David when he fled from king Saul.[3] The site is not referred to again in biblical sources, and only after the destruction of the Second Temple is there a reference to the site again, where Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai is said to have gone up to Maon of Judah.[3][6]

In the early 4th-century CE, Maon was mentioned in Eusebius' Onomasticon as being "in the tribe of Judah; in the east of Daroma."[7] The name "Darom" (Arabic: ad-Darum) literally means "south," but in relation to the rest of Palestine it had the general connotation of the immediate territory in and around Bayt Jibrin (Eleutheropolis), as evinced by Al-Muqaddasi.[8]

Archaeology

A synagogue dating back to the Talmudic period was discovered at Tell Maon.[9] Archaeologists have also discovered at the site potsherds dating back to the early Bronze Age, as well as from the Israelite period (where jar handles were found bearing the paleo-Hebrew inscription LMLK (= "for the king") and from the Hellenistic period.[3] Shards have also been found in situ from the Roman and Byzantine periods, and from the Middle Ages.[3]

C.R. Conder of the Palestine Exploration Fund visited the site in 1874,[10] during which time a brief description was written of the site:

Tell Maʻîn –– A mound some 100 feet high. On the west are foundations, caves, and cisterns, and foundations of a tower about 20 feet square. The masonry in this tower is large, with a broad irregular draft and a rustic boss. One stone was 3 feet 8 inches long, 2 feet 9 inches high, the draft about 3 inches wide. There is also a round well-mouth, 5 feet diameter, cut out of a single stone.[11]

Modern era

Tell Maon is situated SE of the Arab town of Yatta, on the north side of regional highway 317. Today, on the northern slope of the Tell are settled several families who have recently moved there from Yatta.

See also

Further reading

  • Ilan, Z. [in Hebrew] (1988). "Maon - A Synagogue from the period of the Talmud (מעון - בית כנסת מתקופת התלמוד)". Sela'it - A Monthly Magazine for the Youth (in Hebrew). Tel-Aviv: The Society for the Protection of Nature. 17 (2): 16–17. ISSN 0334-4479.
  • Ilan, Z. [in Hebrew] (1991). Ancient Synagogues in Erez Israel (בתי כנסת קדומים בארץ ישראל). Tel-Aviv: Miśrad ha-biṭaḥon. ISBN 9650505229. OCLC 26159213.
  • Amit, David (2003). Synagogues at Tell Maon and at Tell 'Anim, and the Jewish settlement in the south of Mount Hebron (בתי הכנסת בחורבת מעון ובחורבת ענים והיישוב היהודי בדרום הר חברון). Jerusalem: Hebrew University (Doctoral dissertation). OCLC 170885342.

References

  1. ↑ Tsafrir, Y.; Leah Di Segni; Judith Green (1994). (TIR): Tabula Imperii Romani. Iudaea, Palestina: Eretz Israel in the Hellenistic , Roman and Byzantine Periods; Maps and Gazetteer. Jerusalem: Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities. p. 178. ISBN 965-208-107-8.
  2. ↑ Aharoni, Y. (1979). The Land of the Bible: A Historical Geography (2 ed.). Philadelphia: Westminster Press. p. 439. ISBN 0664242669. OCLC 6250553. (original Hebrew edition: 'Land of Israel in Biblical Times - Historical Geography', Bialik Institute, Jerusalem (1962))
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Amit (n.d.), pp. 222–223
  4. ↑ Freedman (2000), p. 854
  5. ↑ Guérin (1869), pp. 170–172
  6. ↑ Mekhilta of Rabbi Ishmael on Exodus 19:1
  7. ↑ Chapmann, et al. (2003), p. 72
  8. ↑ Al-Muqaddasi (1994), p. 157
  9. ↑ Amit (1997), p. 155
  10. ↑ Conder (1879), pp. 90–91
  11. ↑ Conder & Kitchener (1883), p. 415

Bibliography

  • Survey of Western Palestine, Map 25: IAA, Wikimedia commons (Tell Máîn shown on upper part of map)
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