Keilah

Keilah (Hebrew: קעילה), meaning Citadel^{[citation needed]}, was a city in the lowlands of Judah.^[1] It is now a ruin, known as Kh. Qeila, near the modern village of Qila, 7 miles (11 km) east of Beit Gubrin, and about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) west of Kharas.^[2]^[3]

History

The earliest historical record of Keilah is found in the Amarna letters, from the 14th-century BCE.^[2] In some of them is mentioned Keilah and her king Shuwardatha.^[2] It is possible to infer from them the importance of this city among the cities of Canaan that bordered near Egypt, before the conquest of Canaan by the Israelites.

According to the

wilderness of Ziph. "And David was in the wilderness of Ziph, in a wood" (1 Samuel 23:15). Here his friend Jonathan sought him out, "and strengthened his hand in God": this was the last meeting between David and Jonathan.^[7]

Keilah is mentioned in the

Amarna tablets

under the corruption Ḳilta.

Second Temple period

Keilah is mentioned in the Book of Nehemiah as one of the towns resettled by the Jewish exiles returning from the Babylonian captivity and who helped to construct the walls of Jerusalem during the reign of the Persian king Artaxerxes I (Xerxes).^[2]^[14]^[15] Nehemiah further records that those returnees were the very descendants of the people who had formerly resided in the town before their banishment from the country, who had all returned to live in their former places of residence.^[16]

During the

First-fruits,^[2] a thing normally reserved only for fresh fruits (when brought from places near Jerusalem), and for raisins and dried figs when brought from distant places.^[17]^[2]

The town's present residents are Bedouins who were expelled during 1948 Arab–Israeli War from areas around Beer Sheba.

Description of ruin

Khirbet Qeila (Ruin of Keilah) is situated on a terraced, dome-shaped hill at the end of a spur that descends to the east, adjacent to a small Arab village which bears the same name.

dunams (12.3 acres).^[2] Remains of walls can be seen on its slopes, and in the north is seen the ascent to the city gate, which is made like unto a ramp with a retaining wall.^[2] At the foot of the tell, on the side of the road, burial caves were hewn.^[2] The pottery finds at the tell indicate that it had an almost continuous settlement from the Bronze Age to the Crusader and Mamluk periods.^[2]

The remnants of an old road leading from Keilah to the

Elah Valley via Adullam can still be seen, and from Keilah to Tarqumiyah. Another ancient road breaks off from Keilah in the direction of Kefar Bish, now a ruin 4.5 kilometres (2.8 mi) to the west of Keilah, but once a Jewish village settled during the Roman occupation of Palestine.^[2]

References

^ Joshua 15:44
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m Amit n.d., p. 308 (s.v. קעילה‎)
^ Avi-Yonah 1976, p. 111
^ Rainey 1983, p. 6
^ 1 Samuel 23:1
^ 1 Samuel 23:10–12
^ 1 Samuel 23:16–18
^ Conder 2002, p. p. 213.
^ Conder & Kitchener 1883, p. 314
^ Tsumura 2007, p. 550.
^ Chapmann III & Taylor 2003, p. 65
^ Guérin 1869, pp. 341–343; Guérin 1869, pp. 350-351.
^ Conder & Kitchener 1883, p. 118}.
^ Nehemiah 3:17–18
^ Josephus 1981, p. 236 (Antiquities 11.5.7.)
^ Nehemiah 7:6
^ Jerusalem Talmud (Bikkurim 3:3), Solomon Sirilio's commentary there.

Bibliography

Amit, David (n.d.). "Keilah (Qila)". In Ben-Yosef, Sefi (ed.). Israel Guide - Judaea (A useful encyclopedia for the knowledge of the country) (in Hebrew). Vol. 9. Jerusalem: Keter Publishing House, in affiliation with the Israel Ministry of Defence.
OCLC 745203905
.

JSTOR 43587090
.

Chapmann III, R.L.;
OCLC 937002750
.

ISBN 978-1-4021-8987-6
.

Conder, C.R.; Kitchener, H.H. (1883). The Survey of Western Palestine: Memoirs of the Topography, Orography, Hydrography, and Archaeology. Vol. 3. London: Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund.
Guérin, V. (1869). Description Géographique Historique et Archéologique de la Palestine (in French). Vol. 1: Judee, pt. 3. Paris: L'Imprimerie Nationale.
ISBN 0-8254-2951-X
.

JSTOR 1356823
.

OCLC 918498742
. (reprinted in 2009)

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Easton, Matthew George (1897). "Keilah". Easton's Bible Dictionary (New and revised ed.). T. Nelson and Sons.

External links

Survey of Western Palestine, Map 21: IAA, Wikimedia commons

[1] Joshua 15:44

[AmitDavid-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m Amit n.d., p. 308 (s.v. קעילה‎)

[3] Avi-Yonah 1976, p. 111

[4] Rainey 1983, p. 6

[5] 1 Samuel 23:1

[6] 1 Samuel 23:10–12

[7] 1 Samuel 23:16–18

[Conder213-8] Conder 2002, p. p. 213.

[9] Conder & Kitchener 1883, p. 314

[10] Tsumura 2007, p. 550.

[11] Chapmann III & Taylor 2003, p. 65

[12] Guérin 1869, pp. 341–343; Guérin 1869, pp. 350-351.

[13] Conder & Kitchener 1883, p. 118}.

[14] Nehemiah 3:17–18

[15] Josephus 1981, p. 236 (Antiquities 11.5.7.)

[16] Nehemiah 7:6

[17] Jerusalem Talmud (Bikkurim 3:3), Solomon Sirilio's commentary there.

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