Early-Historical-Israel-Dan-Beersheba-Judea

Geshur () was a territory in the ancient

Levant The Levant ( ) is the subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west, and forms the core of West Asia and the political term, Middle East, ''Middle East''. In its narrowest sense, which is in use toda ...

mentioned in the early books of the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' Golan Heights. Some scholars suggest it was established as an independent city-state during the early

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 ...

from the middle of the tenth century BCE, maintaining its autonomy for about a century until it was annexed in the third quarter of the eighth century by Tiglath-Pileser III, the king of

Assyria Assyria (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , ''māt Aššur'') was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization that existed as a city-state from the 21st century BC to the 14th century BC and eventually expanded into an empire from the 14th century BC t ...

Location

Geshur is identified with the area stretching along the eastern shore of the

Sea of Galilee The Sea of Galilee (, Judeo-Aramaic languages, Judeo-Aramaic: יַמּא דטבריא, גִּנֵּיסַר, ), also called Lake Tiberias, Genezareth Lake or Kinneret, is a freshwater lake in Israel. It is the lowest freshwater lake on Earth ...

and reaching south to the Yarmuk River, in what is now called the Golan Heights. This location places it on one of the routes connecting the region of Bashan with the

Phoenicia Phoenicians were an Ancient Semitic-speaking peoples, ancient Semitic group of people who lived in the Phoenician city-states along a coastal strip in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily modern Lebanon and the Syria, Syrian ...

n coast. Tel Dover, located southeast of the Sea of Galilee on the Jarmuk (Yarmuk) River, may have been the kingdom's southern border. Surveys conducted within the Golan Heights have not discovered many settlements within the territory of Geshur.

Historical sources

Hebrew Bible

The name "Geshur" is found primarily in biblical sources and has been taken to mean "stronghold or fortress". The Bible describes it as being near Bashan, adjoining the province of Argob () and the kingdom of Aram or

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

(; ). According to the Bible, it was allotted to the half-

tribe of Manasseh According to the Hebrew Bible, the Tribe of Manasseh (; Hebrew: ''Ševet Mənašše,'' Tiberian: ''Šēḇeṭ Mănašše'') was one of the twelve tribes of Israel. After the catastrophic Assyrian invasion of 720 BCE, it is counted as one ...

which settled east of the Jordan River, but its inhabitants, the Geshurites, could not be expelled (). reports that

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...

undertook raids against the Geshurites while stationed in Ziklag in the kingdom of Gath. In the time of David's rule over Israel, Geshur was an independent Aramean kingdom, and David married Maachah, a daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur (, ). Her son Absalom fled to his mother's native country after the murder of his half-brother and David's eldest son, Amnon. Absalom stayed there for three years before being rehabilitated by David (ib. , ). By the 9th century BCE the kingdom of Geshur had disappeared from history.

Amarna letters

Two of the Late

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

Amarna letters ( EA 256 and EA 364) identify 'the land of Garu', as a disputed territory in the Golan between the city states of Hazor and Ashtaroth. Some scholars believe that this 'Garu' is identical with the biblical Geshur, although this is contested by others who contend that it is based on a "hypothetical and disputed assumption".

Statue of Shalamaneser III

Some scholars believe the inscription on the broken statue of

Shalmaneser III Shalmaneser III (''Šulmānu-ašarēdu'', "the god Shulmanu is pre-eminent") was king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from 859 BC to 824 BC. His long reign was a constant series of campaigns against the eastern tribes, the Babylonians, the nations o ...

that describes cities captured by him may include the phrase "the Geshurite seized my feet. I received his tribute", although this is by no means certain.

Archaeology

Capital at et-Tell

Archaeologists tend to agree that the capital of the kingdom was situated at et-Tell, a place also inhabited on a lesser scale during the first centuries BCE and CE and sometimes identified with the town of Bethsaida of

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

fame. Most imposing archaeological finds, mainly the Stratum V city gate, date to the 8th century BCE. As of 2024, archaeologists have also found the northwestern chamber wall of the Geshurite city gate of Stratum VI, dating to the 11th-10th centuries BCE. The et-Tell site would have been easily the largest and strongest city to the east of the Jordan Valley during Iron II era.

Tell Hadar

Tell Hadar is a small site located on the northeastern shore of the Sea of Galilee which archaeological surveys have revealed as containing architectural features distinct from those of ancient Israel. Some archaeologists have suggested the site may have been under the control of Geshur.

Tel Dover

This small Iron I-IIa settlement located southeast of Galilee near the Yarmuk River may have marked the southern border of the kingdom.

Haspin

In 2020, a dig supervised by the Israel Antiquities Authority uncovered a massive fortress dating to Iron Age I in the vicinity of Haspin. Artefacts from the site, believed to depict some sort of

lunar deity A lunar deity or moon deity is a deity who represents the Moon, or an aspect of it. These deities can have a variety of functions and traditions depending upon the culture, but they are often related. Lunar deities and Moon worship can be foun ...

, were found to greatly resemble similar objects found during excavation at et-Tell, which lead the head archeologists to conclude that the two sites were connected in some way. Others remain skeptical, as a concrete connection between the two sites has not been exhibited by any other evidence found during the excavation, at the time.

Regional overview

According to Sugimoto (2015), the Iron Age IB (mid-eleventh century BC) cities in this northeastern region of the Sea of Galilee likely reflect the activities of the Kingdom of Geshur. Also, the later Iron Age IIA (tenth to mid-ninth centuries BC), and Iron Age IIB cities here are linked with the southern expansion of Aram Damascus. Sugimoto presented the results of the archaeological excavations at five key sites in this region: Tel Dover, Tel ‘En Gev, Tel Hadar, Tel Bethsaida, and Tel Kinrot. According to him, “The material culture of these cities, particularly the architecture, is ... more similar to that of the Aramaean and Neo-Hittite cities in northern Syria than to Canaanite cities in the southern Levant during both periods.” IMJ view 20130115 202912

Religion

Excavations of et-Tell have revealed evidence of the Geshurite religious practices including high places, decorated stelae, offering vessels, sacrificial animals and dedicatory inscriptions. This material culture reveals strong influences from neighbouring countries. Their religious worship appears to have centered around worship of the moon-god in the form of a bull which was common in southern Syria, whilst an Egyptian influence can be seen in their art and amulets. The bull stele from the city gate has alternatively been interpreted as either a symbol of the chief god Hadad, in charge of rainfall; the moon god, who brought about the swelling of the rivers; or a combination of the two. Cultic stele, Bethsaida, Iron Age II, 9th-8th century BCE.
From ''The Israel Museum'', Publisher: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 2005 The influence of the Israelite religion to the south may be seen in dietary practices and the selection of sacrificial animals.

References

External sites

Geshurites
- in the Bible -- biblehub.com {{Ancient states and regions of the Levant Hebrew Bible regions Historical regions Bethsaida Golan Heights