Bryant G. Wood<\/b><\/p>\n
The location of Beth Aven is important to ABR research because it was situated adjacent to Ai:<\/p>\n
Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth Aven to the east of Bethel (Jos 7:2).<\/p>\n
Ai, Beth Aven, and Bethel were a triad of settlements in close proximity to one another. The Hebrew word translated \u201cnear\u201d in Joshua 7:2 is im<\/i>, which means \u201cclose to,\u201d or \u201cbeside.\u201d Any serious candidate for Joshua\u2019s Ai, then, must have a candidate for Beth Aven near by.<\/p>\n
Scholars have been unable to come up with a viable site for Beth Aven. The reason is clear. Since the inception of historical-geographical research in Palestine, Bethel and Ai have been incorrectly located (Livingston 1998: 77\u201380; Byers 1999), thus obscuring the location of Beth Aven.<\/p>\n
Biblical Requirements for Beth Aven<\/b><\/p>\n
The first mention of Beth Aven, which means \u201chouse of wickedness,\u201d in the Old Testament is in Joshua 7:2. There it states that Beth Aven was close to Ai. Since Ai was east of Bethel, one would expect that Beth Aven was east of Bethel as well. From this passage we conclude that Beth Aven was occupied at the time of Joshua (late 15th century BC), was close to Ai, and was east of Bethel.<\/p>\n
Beth Aven is referred to a second time in the book of Joshua in the description of the northern border of the tribe of Benjamin:<\/p>\n
On the north side their boundary began at the Jordan; then the boundary goes up to the shoulder north of Jericho, then up through the hill country westward; and it ends up at the wilderness of Beth-aven. From there the boundary passes along southward in the direction of Luz, to the shoulder of Luz (the same is Bethel) (Jos 18:12\u201313a, RSV).<\/p>\n
Here we learn that Beth Aven was north of Bethel. Since it was both east (Jos 7:2) and north (Jos 18:13a) of Bethel, in reality it must have been northeast of Bethel.1 <\/p>\n
The next reference to Beth Aven is in the account of Israel\u2019s battles with the Philistines recorded in 1 Samuel 13 and 14. In response to Jonathan\u2019s attack on the Philistine outpost at Geba, the Philistines assembled their forces and \u201cwent up and camped at Micmash, east of Beth Aven\u201d (1 Sm 13:5b). The Philistines were coming from their territory along the Mediterranean coast, so they evidently first passed by Beth Aven and then continued eastward to Micmash, modern Mukhmas.<\/p>\n
Beth Aven was therefore located west of Mukhmas and was occupied at the time of Saul in the mid-11th century BC. Because of Jonathan\u2019s bravery in attacking the Philistine outpost at Micmash, the Israelites were victorious that day. As the Philistines retraced the route back to their homeland, \u201cthe battle moved on beyond Beth Aven\u201d (1 Sm 14:23b).<\/p>\n
Beth Aven is then mentioned in Hosea 4:15, 5:8 and 10:5. No locational information is given in these verses, and in any case nearly all scholars take Beth Aven here to be a pejorative name for Bethel.<\/p>\n
BSP<\/i> 12:4 (Fall 1999) p. 103<\/p>\n
Burg Beitin<\/b><\/p>\n
G. Dalman in 1911 suggested that Burg Beitin on the southeast edge of the modern village of Beitin could be Beth Aven (14). He believed Beitin to be Bethel and, since Beth Aven was next to Bethel, Burg Beitin was a logical candidate. Schunck has made the same proposal (1963: 150, 155 n. 14). Burg Beitin is indeed northeast of El Bireh and west of Mukhmas as required by the Bible, but it could not possibly be Beth Aven since it was not occupied until the Byzantine period (Albright 1928: 9; Finkelstein, Lederman and Bunimovitz 1997: 522; Na\u2019aman 1987: 13).<\/p>\n
Na\u2019aman has a similar theory. He believes that Beth Aven was the name of the sanctuary of Bethel and that it was located to the east of Beitin at a site other than Burg Beitin, yet to be found (1987: 17).<\/p>\n
Burqa<\/b><\/p>\n
In 1924 Albright thought that perhaps the modern village of Burqa was Beth Aven (1924: 145). To the present author\u2019s knowledge, the only other scholar to give credence to this possibility is Howley (1979: 318). Burqa cannot be Beth Aven since it is located southeast of El Bireh, not northeast, and was not occupied prior to the Hellenistic period (Finkelstein and Magen 1993: 35*, 179; Na\u2019aman 1987: 13).<\/p>\n
Et-Tell<\/b><\/p>\n
In view of the almost universal acceptance of et-Tell as the site of Joshua\u2019s Ai, it is surprising that a few scholars have placed Beth Aven there. The first to do so was R. Dussaud in 1937 (134\u201341). He was followed by Albright (1939: 16\u201317), Kaufmann (1959: 118), Grinz (1961: 213\u201316), and Schmitt (1980: 51\u201358). Sellin also thought that et-Tell could be the location of Beth Aven (1900: 1\u20133). Although et-Tell is northeast of El-Bireh and west of Mukhmas, excavations have shown that it was not occupied in the 15th century BC (Cooley 1997) and therefore does not qualify to be Beth Aven.<\/p>\n
Tell Maryam<\/b><\/p>\n
The most popular candidate for Beth Aven in recent years has been Tell Maryam, 7 km (4 mi) southeast of El Bireh. This suggestion was put forward by Zecharia Kallai in 1956 (Kallai-Kleinmann 1956; cf. Kallai 1986: 128 n. 68). Others who have favored this location are Aharoni (1979: 256, 431), Howley (1979: 318), Boling (1982: 222), and Arnold (1992).<\/p>\n
Tell Maryam is the least qualified of the possible sites for Beth Aven. It is southeast of El Bireh rather than northeast, it is too far from the candidate sites to be considered \u201cnext to\u201d Ai, and it was not occupied prior to the Hellenistic period (Finkelstein and Magen 1993: 35*, 180; Na\u2019aman 1987: 13). Its small size, 0.5 dunam (1\/8 acre) (Finkelstein and Magen 1993: 35*, 180), precludes it from being a settlement of any significance.<\/p>\n
Kh.<\/b> <\/b>Tell el-ʿAskar<\/b><\/p>\n
Kallai recognized the shortcomings of Tell Maryam, so in 1991 he abandoned that site in favor of Kh. Tell el-ʿAskar 1 km (0.6 mi) north-northeast of Mukhmas (Kallai 1991: 175\u201377). In spite of Kallai\u2019s confidence, 2 this site fares little better than Tell Maryam. It is southeast of El Bireh, not northeast, and is east of Mukhmas rather than west. In addition, it is far from the candidate sites for Ai. A survey of the site did not produce evidence for occupation at the time of Joshua in the 15th century BC (Finkelstein and Magen 1993: 37*, 187\u201388).<\/p>\n
Beitin<\/b><\/p>\n
The best suited of the possible sites for Beth Aven is Beitin 3 km (2 mi) northeast of El Bireh. Since nearly all scholars have identified Beitin as Bethel, it largely has been overlooked as a possible candidate for Beth Aven. Early on, one of the pioneer explorers in Palestine, Claude Conder, recognized that the Hebrew name Beth Aven may be preserved in the modern Arabic name Beitin (1878: 335; 1881: 101). In his opinion, however, Beth Aven was simply another name for Bethel, that he considered to be located at Beitin.<\/p>\n
After correcting the location of Bethel from Beitin to El-Bireh, ABR\u2019s own David Livingston was the first to suggest that Beitin possibly could be Beth Aven (1994: 158). He pointed out that the Pilgrim of Bordeaux (AD 333) located a village named Bethar, which the translator Wilkinson equated with Beth Aven, 1 Roman mile north of Bethel (Wilkinson 1981: 155).3 The turn off to Beitin from the main north-south Roman road is exactly 1 Roman mile north of El Bireh. With Bethel at El Bireh, this would place Beth Aven at Beitin. Beitin is northeast of El Bireh and west of Mukhmas as required for Beth Aven, but does the archaeology of the site support this identification?<\/p>\n
Archaeology of Beitin<\/b><\/p>\n
A sounding was made at Beitin in November of 1927 by W.F. Albright (Albright 1928). He was fortunate enough to encounter the inside face of a fortification wall (at C on the plan). Major campaigns were then carried out in 1934 under the direction of Albright, and in 1954, 1957 and 1960 under the direction of James Kelso. Unfortunately, Beitin was poorly excavated and poorly published.<\/p>\n
Sufficient work was done, however, to demonstrate that there was a small fortress on the site in the Middle Bronze and Late Bronze periods (Kelso 1968: 10\u201319). The north, west and south walls of the fortress were located. They were well-built stone walls ca. 3.5 m (11.5 ft) wide founded on bedrock.<\/p>\n
The south wall was not plotted on the site plan, nor related to the other walls in the excavation report, so it is difficult to determine the north-south dimension of the fortress with accuracy. It was found just to the north of the Deir Dibwan road. From the aerial photo, it appears that the distance from the northwest corner of the fortress to the south wall is ca. 200 m (220 yd). The east wall was not excavated, but the excavators believed it was located beneath a paved road ca. 70 m (77 yd) east of the west wall (Kelso 1968: 18). If this is the case, the fortress was quite small\u2014on the order of 75 x 200 m (82 x 220 yd), or 3 1\/3 acres.<\/p>\n
Abundant pottery from the Late Bronze I period was found at Beitin. In particular, a type of bowl with interior concentric circles painted in red (Kelso 1968: Pl. 34. 25, 27, 28, 32\u201334).<\/p>\n
BSP<\/i> 12:4 (Fall 1999) p. 105<\/p>\n
Picture<\/p>\n
Late Bronze I pottery from Beitin. The pottery shown here demonstrates that the fortress at Beitin was in existence at the time of Joshua\u2019s attack against Ai. Numbers 1 and 4 are large pithoi similar to those ABR archaeologists are finding in abundance at Kh. el-Maqatir. The other vessels are: 2 and 5, carinated bowls with vertical upper wall; 3, 6, 7 and 11, flaring carinated bowls; 8\u201310, dipper juglets; 12\u201323, cooking pots. (Drawing by the author.)<\/b><\/p>\n
BSP<\/i> 12:4 (Fall 1999) p. 107<\/p>\n
Picture<\/p>\n
View northwest down the Wadi Gayeh. The houses of Deir Dibwan are at the lower left and et-Tell is in the left center. Beitin (Beth Aven) is visible in the upper right corner, and across the shallow northwest end of Wadi Gayeh is Kh. el-Maqatir at the upper left.<\/b><\/p>\n
Bibliography<\/b><\/p>\n
Abel, F.M.<\/b><\/p>\n
1938 G\u00e9ographie de la Palestine<\/i>, Vol. 2. Paris: J. Gabalda.<\/p>\n
Aharoni, Y.<\/b><\/p>\n
1979 The Land of the Bible: A Historical Geography<\/i>, Philadelphia: The Westminster Press.<\/p>\n
Albright, W.F.<\/b><\/p>\n
1924 Ai and Beth-aven. Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research<\/i> 4: 141\u201349.<\/p>\n
1928 A Trial Excavation in the Mound of Bethel. Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research<\/i> 29: 9\u201311.<\/p>\n
1939 The Israelite Conquest of Canaan in the Light of Archaeology. Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research<\/i> 74: 11\u201323.<\/p>\n
1963 The Biblical Period from Abraham to Ezra<\/i>. New York: Harper & Row.<\/p>\n
Arnold, P.M.<\/b><\/p>\n
1992 Beth-Aven. P. 682 in The Anchor Bible Dictionary<\/i>, Vol. 1, ed. D.N. Freedman. New York: Doubleday.<\/p>\n
Boling, R.G.<\/b><\/p>\n
1982 Joshua: A New Translation with Notes and Commentary<\/i>. The Anchor Bible, Vol. 6. Garden City NY: Doubleday.<\/p>\n
Byers, G.A.<\/b><\/p>\n
1999 ABR and the Search for Ai. Bible and Spade<\/i> 12: 5\u201310.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Bryant G. Wood The location of Beth Aven is important to ABR research because it was situated adjacent to Ai: Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth Aven to the east of Bethel (Jos 7:2). Ai, Beth Aven, and Bethel were a triad of settlements in close proximity to one … Continue reading “BETH
\nAVEN: A SCHOLARLY CONUNDRUM”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15271","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15271","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15271"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15271\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15271"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15271"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15271"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}