Chezib, also known as Achzib of Judah (), is a biblical place-name associated with the birth of Judah's son,

Shelah Shelah may refer to: * Shelah (son of Judah), a son of Judah according to the Bible * Shelah (name), a Hebrew personal name * Shlach, the 37th weekly Torah portion (parshah) in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading * Salih, a prophet described i ...

(Genesis 38:5), corresponding to the ''Achzib'' of the

Book of Joshua The Book of Joshua is the sixth book in the Hebrew Bible and the Old Testament, and is the first book of the Deuteronomistic history, the story of Israel from the conquest of Canaan to the Babylonian captivity, Babylonian exile. It tells of the ...

(15:44), a town located in the low-lying hills of the plain of Judah, known as the

Shefela The Shephelah () or Shfela (), or the Judaean Foothills (), is a transitional region of soft-sloping rolling hills in south-central Israel stretching over between the Judaean Mountains and the Coastal Plain. The different use of the term "Jude ...

. In ''I Chronicles 4:22'', the town is rendered as ''Chozeba''. The place is now a ruin.

Identification

Historical geographers are divided as to the location of Chezib in Judea. While some identify the site as ''Khirbet a-Sheikh Ghazi'',Notley, R.S. & Safrai, Z. (2005), p. 161 (§945), note 945 others say that it is to be recognised in the nearby site of ''Khirbet ʿĒn el-Kizbe'' (grid position 149/122

PAL Phase Alternating Line (PAL) is a color encoding system for analog television. It was one of three major analogue colour television standards, the others being NTSC and SECAM. In most countries it was broadcast at 625 lines, 50 fields (25 ...

). In both cases, the old namesake is preserved in the name of a nearby spring ''ʻAin el-Kezbeh'' (''ʿĒn el-Kizbe''), a place in the

Elah Valley The Valley of Elah, Ella Valley ("Valley of the terebinth"; from the ), or Wadi es-Sunt (), is a long, shallow valley in the Shephelah area of Israel. It is best-known from the Hebrew Bible incident where David defeated Goliath (1 Samuel 17:2 an ...

near Moshav Aviezer, directly south of

Bayt Nattif Bayt Nattif or Beit Nattif (, and alternatively) was a Palestinian Arab village, located some 20 kilometers (straight line distance) southwest of Jerusalem, midway on the ancient Roman road between Beit Guvrin and Jerusalem, and 21 km n ...

. According to IAA archaeologists, Zissu and Gass, the location of ''Khirbet ʿĒn el-Kizbe'' near the ancient road and the water source by the same name "strongly support identifying this site with ancient Achzib/Chezib/Chozeba," both, on account of the preservation of the ancient name at the water source, and that at its site was found pottery from

Iron Age II The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

and the Persian period (including two Royal '' lmlk'' jar handles). Zissu, B. & Gass, E. (2011), p. 405 According to Zissu, the ancient site stretches over an area of approximately eight

dunams A dunam (Ottoman Turkish, Arabic: ; ; ; ), also known as a donum or dunum and as the old, Turkish, or Ottoman stremma, was the Ottoman unit of area analogous in role (but not equal) to the Greek stremma or English acre, representing the amount ...

(nearly 2 acres). Formerly, the site had tentatively been identified with ''Tell el-Beide'', a site now known as ''

Tel Lavnin Lavnin (''Hurvat Libnah'' / ''Tel Lavnin'' / ''Kh. Tell el-Beida'')()(), is a late Bronze Age archaeological site situated in Israel's Adullam region, rising some above sea level. The site lies northwest of Beit Gubrin, and about 1 kilometer w ...

'', while others placed its location at one of the unidentified ruins near '' Khirbet Qila'' and ''Khirbet Beit Nesib''. Archaeologist

Boaz Zissu Boaz (; Hebrew: בֹּעַז ''Bōʿaz''; ) is a biblical figure appearing in the Book of Ruth in the Hebrew Bible and in the genealogies of Jesus in the New Testament and also the name of a pillar in the portico of the historic Temple in Jerus ...

rejects the notion that the site Chezib of Judah could have been ''Tel Lavnin'', saying that "since ''Khirbet Tell el-Bēḍā'' / ''Tel Lavnīn'' was clearly occupied during the

Byzantine Period The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

, it is questionable whether this site is the same as

Eusebius Eusebius of Caesarea (30 May AD 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilius, was a historian of Christianity, exegete, and Christian polemicist from the Roman province of Syria Palaestina. In about AD 314 he became the bishop of Caesarea Maritima. ...

’ ruined ''Chasbi''," since Eusebius puts Chezib as a "deserted place" in his days. Like many of the ruins of ancient cities in Israel, the site near ''Kh. a-Sheikh Ghazi'' has no very well-defined characteristics, but appears to be spread over a considerable area. One of the problems of identification is that ''Achzib'' is grouped with a list of nine towns in which are generally thought to be within relatively close proximity to each other in the low lying hills (

Shefelah The Shephelah () or Shfela (), or the Judaean Foothills (), is a transitional region of soft-sloping rolling hills in south-central Israel stretching over between the Judaean Mountains and the Coastal Plain. The different use of the term "Jude ...

) south of the

. For this reason, some have proposed that ''Achzib'' of Judah be sought for somewhere between ''

Keilah Keilah () was a city in the lowlands of the Kingdom of Judah. It is now a ruin known as Khirbet Qeyla near the modern village of Qila, Hebron, east of Bayt Jibrin and about west of Kharas.. History Late Bronze The earliest historical record ...

'' and ''

Mareshah Maresha was an Iron Age city mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, whose remains have been excavated at Tell Sandahanna (Arabic name), an archaeological mound or 'tell' renamed after its identification to Tel Maresha (). The ancient Judahite city bec ...

''.

Etymology

The name ''Chezib'', etymologically, is derived from the word "disappointment," "delusion," "failing" or "lying." In the

Aramaic Targum A targum (, ''interpretation'', ''translation'', ''version''; plural: targumim) was an originally spoken translation of the Hebrew Bible (also called the ) that a professional translator ( ''mǝṯurgǝmān'') would give in the common language o ...

of Pseudo-Yonathan ben Uzziel on Gen. 38:5, as well as in

Genesis Rabba Genesis Rabbah (, also known as Bereshit Rabbah and abbreviated as GenR) is a religious text from Judaism's classical period, probably written between 300 and 500 CE with some later additions. It is an expository midrash comprising a collection of ...

(§85), Chezib is rendered as ''Paskath'', said to be the Aramaic equivalent of Chezib ("failing"). Others say that its name is allegedly derived from Shelah's son, Cozeba, who is mentioned in

I Chronicles The Book of Chronicles ( , "words of the days") is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Chronicles) in the Christian Old Testament. Chronicles is the final book of the Hebrew Bible, concluding the third section of the Jewish Ta ...

(4:22).

History

The

Lachish Letters The Lachish Letters are a series of letters written in carbon ink containing ancient Israelite inscriptions in Ancient Hebrew on clay ostraca. The letters were discovered at the excavations at Lachish (Tell ed-Duweir). The ostraca were discov ...

makes mention of a certain "Beit Achzi in the Shefelah, the lower stratum of the Judean range, believed to be the Chezib of Judah.

, in his ''

Onomasticon Onomasticon may refer to: *Onomasticon (Eusebius) *Onomasticon of Amenope *Onomasticon of Joan Coromines *Onomasticon of Julius Pollux Julius Pollux (, ''Ioulios Polydeukes''; fl. 2nd century) was a Greeks, Greek scholar and rhetorician from Naucr ...

'', notes of the place that "there the sons of Judah were born; now a desolate place, shown in the territory of

Eleutheropolis Bayt Jibrin or Beit Jibrin ( lit. 'House of the Powerful') was an Arab village in the Hebron Subdistrict of British Mandatory Palestine, in what is today the State of Israel, which was depopulated during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. It was ...

near

Adullam Adullam (, ) is an ancient ruin once numbered among the thirty-six cities of Canaan whose kings "Joshua and the children of Israel smote" (Joshua 12:7–24). After that, it fell as an inheritance to the tribe of Judah and was included in the nort ...

." In classical Hebrew literature, the town is mentioned as being confederate with Pekah the son of Remaliah, the king of the northern tribes of Israel, for which it incurs the divine wrath of the prophet

Micah Micah (; ) is a given name. Micah is the name of several people in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), and means "He who is like God”. The name is sometimes found with theophoric extensions. Suffix theophory in '' Yah'' and in ''Yahweh'' result ...

, who uses a play on words to denounce the towns of

Maresha Maresha was an Iron Age city mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, whose remains have been excavated at Tell Sandahanna (Arabic name), an Tell (archaeology), archaeological mound or 'tell' renamed after its identification to Tel Maresha (). The ancient ...

, Achzib, and

. Israelite potters are said to have occupied the site during the pre-exilic, late First Temple period. "''Sh ikhGhazy''" and "''ʾAin el Kezbeh''" are both shown in the 1880 map published by Conder & Kitchener's ''

Survey of Western Palestine The PEF Survey of Palestine was a series of surveys carried out by the Palestine Exploration Fund (PEF) between 1872 and 1877 for the completed Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) and in 1880 for the soon abandoned Survey of Eastern Palestine. The ...

''. Today, the sites have mostly been planted over with pine trees by the

Jewish National Fund The Jewish National Fund (JNF; , ''Keren Kayemet LeYisrael''; previously , ''Ha Fund HaLeumi'') is a non-profit organizationProfessor Alon Tal, The Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, The Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben Gurion ...

(''Keren Kayemet'').

Site's distinguishing features

The site at ''Khirbet a-Sheikh Ghazi'' is strewn with the remains of razed buildings, and thick walls that are partially standing and which were constructed of

fieldstone Fieldstone is a naturally occurring type of stone, which lies at or near the surface of the Earth. Fieldstone is a nuisance for farmers seeking to expand their land under cultivation, but at some point it began to be used as a construction mate ...

s. Within the environs of the site is a burial chamber built in the face of a cliff, containing six '' kokîm'' (niches) and which, according to C.R. Conder, signifies a Jewish burial place, dating back to a period before the nation became subject to the Western powers of Greece and Rome. Conder & Kitchener (1883), p
441
/ref> The site has revealed archaeological relics dating back to the

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

, until as late as the

Byzantine period The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

Gallery

File:Burial cave entrance - Chezib of Judah.jpg, Near ''Khirbet Ghazy'' (Chezib of Judah), showing entrance to burial cave File:Burial tomb with niches, Chezib.jpg, Niches within burial cave near Chezib of Judah (near ''Khirbet Ghazy'') File:Old stone structures at Chezib (Kh. Ghazy).jpg, Old ruins near Chezib of Judah File:Old wine press and vat near Chezib.jpg, Rock-carved wine vat and press, near the ancient ruin of Chezib of Judah File:Reused stones.jpg, Reused stones near ruin of Chezib File:Elah Valley Wheat Fields.jpg, Wheat fields in Elah valley near Chezib File:Stones that have been reused.jpg, Reused stones that form a wall at Chezib (Achzib) of Judah File:Primitive Wine press carved from rock, near Chezib.jpg, Primitive wine press carved from rock, near Chezib File:Ruins near En el-Kezbe.jpg, Wall at ruin near En el-Kezbe, near Bayt Nattif File:Wall in ruin near En el-Kezbe.jpg, Wall at ruin near En el-Kezbe File:Walled structure near En el-Kezbe.jpg, View from ruin near En el-Kezbe, looking south across the Elah Valley

References

Bibliography

* (volume 2, 1938) * * * * (Appendix - ''Notes on the Architecture in Palestine'') * * * * (Hebrew) * * * * * * * * * * (Leipzig 1907) * *

External links

* *Survey of Western Palestine, 1880 Map, Map 17
IAA

Wikimedia commons Wikimedia Commons, or simply Commons, is a wiki-based Digital library, media repository of Open content, free-to-use images, sounds, videos and other media. It is a project of the Wikimedia Foundation. Files from Wikimedia Commons can be used ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chezib of Judah Former populated places in Israel Land of Israel Canaanite cities Biblical geography Hebrew Bible cities Kingdom of Judah Ancient Jewish history Valley of Elah