{"id":33559,"date":"2020-09-27T14:56:44","date_gmt":"2020-09-27T18:56:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/?p=33559"},"modified":"2020-09-28T12:20:59","modified_gmt":"2020-09-28T16:20:59","slug":"abel-beth-maacah-in-the-bible","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/daily\/abel-beth-maacah-in-the-bible\/","title":{"rendered":"Abel Beth Maacah in the Bible"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cornell University professor Lauren Monroe from the second season of excavation at Abel Beth Maacah<\/a>, directed by Robert A. Mullins and Nava Panitz-Cohen. <\/em><\/p>\n

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\"Digs<\/a>Situated at the ancient border between the polities of Israel, Aram and Phoenicia, and the modern countries of Israel, Lebanon and Syria, the large tell of Abel Beth Maacah holds tremendous promise<\/a>, both for understanding the history of this multi-cultural arena, as well as for refining \u201cBiblical archaeology\u201d methods themselves.<\/p>\n

In 2 Samuel 20 Sheba ben Bichri, a Benjaminite, flees to Abel Beth Maacah, seeking refuge from David\u2019s wingman, Joab. As Joab and his army build a siege ramp against the city wall, they are interrupted by the \u201cwise woman of Abel\u201d who admonishes, \u201cThey used to say in the old days, \u2018Let them inquire at Abel\u2019; and so they would settle a matter. I am one of those who are peaceable and faithful in Israel; you seek to destroy a city that is a mother in Israel; why will you swallow up the heritage of the Lord?\u201d It is clear from her remarks that Abel has an Israelite history and lore that precedes Joab\u2019s time and is otherwise unknown to him. Whereas Joab is a threat to Abel, Sheba legitimately seeks refuge there. In the pro-David, Judahite perspective of the text in its final form, the city\u2019s allegiance goes with Joab and David, with Sheba\u2019s head handed down to Joab from Abel\u2019s ramparts \u2013 hardly what one expects from the \u201cpeaceful\u201d in Israel.<\/p>\n

\"In<\/a>

In this illustration of 2 Samuel 20 from the Morgan Bible, Sheba\u2019s head is handed down to Joab from the ramparts at Abel Beth Maacah.<\/p><\/div>\n

There seem to be two competing perspectives on the city in this text: one that preserves a memory of the city as Israelite, but not in any way connected to or invested in David\u2019s political ambitions, and another that represents the city as an active participant in David\u2019s rise to power. A representation of the city as inimical to David may also be preserved in 2 Samuel 10:6-8, but here Abel is associated with the Aramaeans: “When the Ammonites saw that they had become odious to David, the Ammonites sent and hired the Arameans of Beth-rehob and the Arameans of Zobah, twenty thousand foot soldiers, as well as the king of Maacah, one thousand men, and the men of Tob, twelve thousand men… The Ammonites came out and drew up in battle array at the entrance of the gate; but the Arameans of Zobah and of Rehob, and the men of Tob and Maacah, were by themselves in the open country.” If \u201cMaacah\u201d here refers to our site, then this text preserves a memory of the site as Aramaean in the exact same period that 2 Samuel 20 identifies it as \u201cA mother in Israel.\u201d To further complicate matters, 1 Kings 15:20 (1 Chronicles 16:4) lists Abel Beth Maacah among the cities conquered by the Aramaean King Ben Hadad, in the early 9th century, a detail that makes little sense if 2 Samuel 10:6 is to be trusted.<\/p>\n

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FREE ebook: Israel: An Archaeological Journey<\/strong>. Sift through the storied history of ancient Israel.\r\n<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

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