Kefar Shihlayim
Kefar Shiḥlayim (
Historical background
In circa 64 CE, when
In the early 2nd century, a man from the village appeared before R. Tarfon.[7] A settlement is mentioned by Eusebius from the beginning of the fourth century CE called Saaleim (Greek: Σααλειμ), which he places seven Roman miles (ca. 10 km.) west of Eleutheropolis (Beit Guvrin).[8]
Medieval geographer Yāqūt al-Ḥamawi (Muʿğam 3:46, 49) mentioned "in the territory of ʿAsqelân" a contemporary settlement called Siḥlīn (
Talmudic references
The
Rabbi Assi said King
Rabbi Yochanan said that it was so-called because the women of the village were prolific in giving birth to male children first, and, afterwards, females.[11]
The account in the Jerusalem Talmud, likewise, mentions a population double that of the Israelites who left Egypt, a characteristically exaggerated number in the Talmud, but also differs slightly:
There were three villages, each one having a population twice the number of the Israelites who departed Egypt: Kefar Bish, Kefar Shiḥlaya, and Kefar Dikraya. Why is it that they call it Kefar Bish? It is because they would not show hospitality to wayfarers. And why is it that they call it Kefar Shiḥlaya? It is because they were prolific in their child-bearing, just as those [who cultivate]
garden-cress. And why is it that they call it Dikraya? It is because all of their women would give birth to male children. Unless one of them went out from there, they could not give birth to a female.[1]
Etymology
The origin of the name of the settlement Kefar Shiḥlayim is explained in the
Linguists have pointed out that the Greek language cannot convey the guttural sound of the Hebrew letter ḥet (ח)[16] and, which in the case of the name שחלים, the medial ח with a vowel, when it represents a laryngeal rather than a velar, is variously rendered: by a single or double vowel or by omission of the sign, such as מחלי (Exod. 6:19) -- (Greek: Μοολι); נחליאל (Num. 21:19) -- (Greek: Νααλιἠλ).[17] The same rendering is had when transliterating the Hebrew Shihlayim into Greek, and which in English has been rendered as Sallis (Greek: Χάαλλις / Σάλλις) in Josephus' The Jewish War (3.2.2.),[18] and Saaleim (Greek: Σααλειμ) in Eusebius' Onomasticon (160:9–10). Israeli historical geography, Yoel Elitzur, noting the same phonetic factors, wrote that place names bearing the Hebrew glottal consonants /h/ are not known in surviving names from the Onomasticon.[19] Hebrew names such as Pella = פחל and Sallis (Saaleim) = שחלים are always transcribed by Greek writers in a geminative form, rather than in a guttural.[19]
Thomsen and Nestle conclude that the Sallis mentioned by Josephus is identical with the Saaleim of Eusebius.[20][21] Similarly, Schlatter identifies Kefar Shiḥlayim of the Talmud with Sallis of Josephus.[22][23] Neubauer, throwing further light on the subject, suggests that the identification of Kefar Shiḥlayim, found in the Talmud and midrashic literature, be recognized in the name Shilḥim of the Bible (Joshua 15:32).[22]
According to others, the Palestinian toponym Sihlin represents a complex linguistic tradition, characteristic of other place-names in
Identification
Several sites have been proposed for the ancient Kefar Shiḥlayim.
Iraq al-Manshiyya
(31°36′30″N 34°46′59″E / 31.608333°N 34.783056°E)
Kefar Shiḥlayim has been tentatively identified with the Arab village of Iraq al-Manshiyya ("Cliffs of the place of growth"),[27][28] 35 kilometres (22 mi) north-east of Gaza, where is now built the Israeli town of Kiryat Gat. The chief proponents of this theory being historical geographers Peter Thomsen,[20] Samuel Klein and Paul Romanoff.[29] Samuel Klein went so far as to note that in extant Greek texts of Josephus' The Jewish War (3.2.2.) there are found two versions of the Greek transliterated name "Sallis," the one being Greek: Χάαλλις = Chaallis, and the other being Greek: Σάλλις = Sallis. Klein then conflates the two renditions of the same place-name to come up with Greek: Χα[φαρ] Σαλλις = Kefar Shiḥlayim, and which Klein says was called by Eusebius and other Arab authors by the name Saḥalin.[30] Yoel Elitzur followed in Klein's footsteps, proposing the same location for the village, based on the similar Arabic name preserved in the 1596 Ottoman tax registers.[31][32]
Other researchers have concluded that the strongest argument in favor of the priority of the Iraq al-Manshiyya site for Kefar Shihlayim is the preservation of the site's old name in the 1596 Ottoman tax registers, where the name is mentioned as
Khirbet Shaḥleh
Sahlim
Klein, without knowledge of the 1596 Ottoman tax registry, proposed a secondary site for Kefar Shiḥlayim as being "Sahlim near Ascalon," an indefinite site, but as a possible alternative to Iraq al-Manshiyya.[43] Klein's view seems to be purely based on the assumption that "Sahlim near Ascalon" was a place other than Iraq al-Manshiyya.
Tell esh-Sheri'ah
German historical geography Georg Kampffmeyer proposed that Sharuhen found in Joshua 19:6 (a site rarely discussed by scholars of topography) be recognised in the name Tell esh-Sheri'ah, a ruin situated ca. 19.3 kilometres (12.0 mi) north-west of
Further reading
- al-Ḥilou, Abdoullah 1986. Topographische Namen des syro-palästinische Raumes nach arabischen Geographen. Historische und etymologische Untersuchungen [Topographical names of the Syro-Palestinian region according to Arabic geographers. Historical and etymological studies], PhD thesis, Freie Universität Berlin, pp. 201–ff., s.v. Saḥlin (German)
See also
References
- ^ a b Jerusalem Talmud (Taanit 4:5 [24b])
- ^ Midrash Rabba (Lamentations Rabba 2:4)
- ^ Romanoff 1937, p. 219 (note 1).
- ^ Benvenisti & Lepinsky (n.d.), p. 255
- ^ Neubauer (1868), p. 71, who mentions all three sites together.
- ^ Josephus, pp. 575-583(3.1.1.–3.2.3.)
- ^ Jerusalem Talmud (Jer. 16:5, 15d)
- ^ Romanoff 1937, p. 218.
- ^ Röhricht 1960, p. 40 (Epistle no. 164).
- ^ According to Klein (1933), p. 293, believed to be the nearby ruin of Khirbet al-Bis.
- Babylonian Talmud (Gittin 57a); Midrash Rabba(Lamentations Rabba 2:4)
- Babylonian Talmud(Avodah Zarah 29a).
- ^ Amar 2015, p. 157 (s.v. שחלים).
- ^ Löw 1924, pp. 50-ff.
- ^ a b c d Romanoff 1937, p. 221 (note 1).
- ^ Krašovec 2009, p. 24.
- ^ Krašovec 2009, p. 25.
- ^ Avi-Yonah 1976, p. 110.
- ^ a b Elitzur 2004, pp. 297-298 (note 7).
- ^ a b Romanoff 1937, p. 217 (note 7).
- ^ Thomsen, Peter (1966). Loca Sancta. Hildesheim. p. 100.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) (Leipzig 1907) - ^ a b Romanoff 1937, p. 217 (note 8).
- ^ Schlatter 1897, p. 38 (notes 3–5).
- ^ Zadok 1995–1997, p. 163.
- ^ Josephus, The Jewish War 3.2.2. (3.13)
- ^ Romanoff 1937, p. 217.
- ^ Jardine & McArthur Davies 1948, p. vii (glossary).
- ^ Palmer 1881, p. 365.
- ^ Romanoff 1937, pp. 215–224.
- ^ Klein 1933, p. 294.
- ^ a b Elitzur 2004, pp. 381–382.
- ^ Hütteroth & Abdulfattah 1977, p. 144.
- ^ Press 2014, pp. 181–193.
- ^ The Tel's modern designation is "Tel Aerni Tel Jet."
- ^ Press 2014, pp. 181–182.
- ^ Elitzur 2012, p. 433.
- ^ Press 1952, pp. 502–503.
- ^ Abel 1938, p. 294.
- ^ Avi-Yonah 1949, p. 113.
- ^ Rainey (1983), p. 19
- ^ Chapmann & Taylor 2003, p. 153 (s.v. Saaleim II.
- ^ Tsafrir, Di Segni & Green 1994, p. 218.
- ^ Samuel Klein (ed.) (n.d.), Encyclopaedia Judaica, Eshkol: Jerusalem, p. 1138
- ^ Kampffmeyer 1892, p. s.v. Sharuhen (Shilhim).
- ^ Romanoff 1937, p. 221 (note 8).
- ^ Aharoni 1956, p. 31.
Bibliography
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- Elitzur, Yoel (2004). Ancient Place Names in the Holy Land: Preservation and History. Translated by David Louvish. Jerusalem; Winona Lake, Indiana: Hebrew University: Magnes Press; Eisenbrauns. OCLC 492632049.
- Elitzur, Yoel (2012). Shemot meḳomot ḳedumim be-erets Yiśraʼel : hishtamrutam ṿe-gilgulehem [Ancient toponyms in the Land of Israel: preservation and history] (in Hebrew). Jerusalem: OCLC 804476794.
- Hütteroth, Wolf-Dieter; Abdulfattah, Kamal (1977). Historical Geography of Palestine, Transjordan and Southern Syria in the Late 16th Century. Erlangen. )
- Jardine, R.F.; McArthur Davies, B.A. (1948). A Gazetteer of the Place Names which appear in the small-scale Maps of Palestine and Trans-Jordan. Jerusalem: Government of Palestine. OCLC 610327173.
- H. St. J. Thackeray), Loeb Classical Library
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- Klein, S. (1933). The Twenty-four City Councils (Voulí) in Judea [ארבע ועשרים בולאות שביהודה]. Vienna.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Krašovec, Jože (2009). OCLC 761216587.</ref>
- Löw, I. (1924). Die Flora der Juden (in German). Vol. 1. Vienna: R. Loewit.
- OCLC 474727878.
- Palmer, E.H. (1881). The Survey of Western Palestine: Arabic and English Name Lists Collected During the Survey by Lieutenants Conder and Kitchener, R. E. Transliterated and Explained by E.H. Palmer. Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund.
- Press, Y., ed. (1952), "שחליים", A Topographical-Historical Encyclopaedia of Palestine, vol. 3, Jerusalem: Rubin Mass
- Press, Michael D. (2014). "The Arabic Names of Tẹ̄l ʿẸ̄rānī and ʿIrāq el-Menšīye". JSTOR 43664932.
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External links
- Survey of Western Palestine, Map 20: IAA, Wikimedia commons
- Tel ʽErani, Hadashot Arkheologiyot, Excavations and Surveys in Israel (vol. 129: 2017), Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA)