Ezion-Geber
Ezion-Geber (
Idumea,[dubious ] a seaport on the northern extremity of the Gulf of Aqaba, in modern terms somewhere in the area of modern Aqaba and Eilat.[1]
According to Targum Jonathan, the name means "city of the rooster" (כְּרַך תַּרְנְגוֹלָא).
Biblical references
Ezion-Geber is mentioned six times in the
Tanakh.[2] According to the Book of Numbers, Ezion-Geber was a place first mentioned as an Israelite campsite toward the close of the nation's 40 years in the wilderness after the Exodus from Egypt.[3]
The "ships of
Book of II Chronicles, Jehoshaphat, the King of Judah, joined with Ahaziah, the King of Israel, to make ships in Ezion-geber; but God disapproved of the alliance, and the ships were broken in the port.[4]
In 1 Kings 9:26 (King James Version) it says:
- And king Solomon made a navy of ships in Eziongeber, which is beside Eloth, on the shore of the Red sea, in the land of Edom.
- And Hiram sent in the navy his servants, shipmen that had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon.
- And they came to Ophir, and fetched from thence gold, four hundred and twenty talents, and brought it to king Solomon.
Archaeological search
The location of Ezion-Geber is debated and has yet to be confirmed by archaeology.
Tell el-Kheleifeh
Ruins at
Late Bronze Age onwards.[6]
Pharaoh's Island
Alternatively, some scholars identify the site of Pharaoh's Island with biblical Ezion-Geber.[7]
References
- ^ Catholic Encyclopedia, Asiongaber, accessed 7 November 2017
- ^ Numbers 33:35, Deuteronomy 2:8, 1 Kings 22:49, 2 Chronicles 8:17, 2 Chronicles 20:36. The general site of Ezion-Geber is indicated in 1 Kings 9:26
- ^ Numbers 33:35
- ^ 2 Chronicles 20:37
- ^ Pratico, Gary D. "Nelson Glueck's 1938-1940 Excavations at Tell el-Kheleifeh: A Reappraisal" Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, No. 259 (Summer, 1985), pp.1-32
- ISBN 978-90-04-35761-7.
- ^ Flinder, Alexander (July–August 1989). "Is This Solomon's Seaport?". Biblical Archaeology Review. 15 (4). Biblical Archaeology Society. Retrieved 28 September 2021 – via bible.ca.
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