Tentatively identified by Conder & Kitchener with the biblical city of Rabba (Josh. 15:60) because of their phonetic similarity, and which site is located in the territory given by lot to the tribe of Judah. Still, it is only a conjecture, without any valid oral tradition to substantiate the claim, or otherwise refute the claim.[159] Others have speculated that the Rabbah of Joshua 15:60 may be the town known as Rbt, an unidentified town believed to have been near the biblical Gezer and mentioned in Thutmosis III’s list of Canaanite cities (no. 105), and what is also thought to be mentioned in a cuneiform letter found at Taanach. According to two el-Amarna letters (289, 290) sent by the king of Jerusalem to the pharaoh, Milkilu, the king of Gezer, together with Shuwardata captured Rubutu with the aid of mercenaries.[160] The problem with this identification, however, is that no one has yet found a city near Gezer by the name of Rbt or Rubutu, and even if they had, Gezer - and by way of extension, Rabbah - would not be in the territorial domain of the tribe of Judah, but rather in what belonged to Ephraim (cf. Josh. 21:20–21). It was, therefore, imperative to look for the Rabbah in the tribal inheritance of Judah.
Conder, C. R. (1881). Palmer, E. H. (ed.). "Survey of Western Palestine: Arabic and English Name Lists". Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund: iv–v. To determine the exact meaning of Arabic topographical names is by no means easy. Some are descriptive of physical features, but even these are often either obsolete or distorted words. Others are derived from long since forgotten incidents, or owners whose memory has passed away. Others again are survivals of older Nabathean, Hebrew, Canaanite, and other names, either quite meaningless in Arabic, or having an Arabic form in which the original sound is perhaps more or less preserved, but the sense entirely lost. Occasionally Hebrew, especially Biblical and Talmudic names, remain scarcely altered.
Rainey, 1978, p.230: “What surprised western scholars and explorers the most was the amazing degree to which biblical names were still preserved in the Arabic toponymy of Palestine”
Swedenburg, Ted (31 December 2014). Memories of Revolt: The 1936–1939 Rebellion and the Palestinian National Past. University of Arkansas Press. p.49. ISBN9781610752633. Robinson concluded that the surest way to identify biblical place names in Palestine was to read the Bible conjointly with existing Arab nomenclature, and during a three-month stay in Palestine during 1839 used this method to identify over a hundred biblical sites.
Rainey, 1978, p.231: “In the majority of cases, a Greek or Latin name assigned by Hellenistic or Roman authorities enjoyed an existence only in official and literary circles while the Semitic- speaking populace continued to use the Hebrew or Aramaic original. The latter comes back into public use with the Arab conquest. The Arabic names Ludd, Beisan, and Saffurieh, representing original Lod, Bet Se’an and Sippori, leave no hint concerning their imposing Greco-Roman names, viz., Diospolis, Scythopolis, and Diocaesarea, respectively”
Mila Neishtadt. 'The Lexical Substrate of Aramaic in Palestinian Arabic,' in Aaron Butts (ed.) Semitic Languages in Contact,BRILL 2015 pp.281-282:'As in other cases of language shift, the supplanting language (Arabic) was not left untouched by the supplanted language (Aramaic) and the existence of an Aramaic substrate in Syro-Palestinian colloquial Arabic has been widely accepted. The influence of the Aramaic substrate is especially evidence in many Palestinian place names, and in the vocabularies of traditional life and industrials: agriculture, flora, fauna, food, tools, utensils etc.'
Amar, Z.; Serri, Yaron (2004). The Land of Israel and Syria as Described by al-Tamimi – Jerusalem Physician of the 10th Century (in Hebrew). Ramat-Gan: Bar-Ilan University. pp.79–80 (note 262). ISBN965-226-252-8. OCLC607157392., citing French archaeologist and historical geographer, Victor Guérin, in his Description géographique, historique et archéologique de la Palestine, vol. 4, pp. 106–108, published in French in 1868. Amar makes note of the fact that the village underwent a metamorphosis in name change; the name evolving from Būrīs, or Wadīs by another account, to what it is today. According to Amar, the name can be traced back, etymologically, to its earlier Greek pronunciation Baoureis (Baoureim) (with the absence of the voiceless pharyngeal fricative "chet", which has a slight aspirated sound in Hebrew, since it does not exist in Greek pronunciation).
Albright, W.F. (1923). "Contribution to the Historical Geography of Palestine". Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research. 2–3: 19–20. Albright's view is supported by Neubauer (Géographie du Talmud, p. 235–ff.), Abel ("La Liste géographique du Papyrus 71 de Zénon", RB 1928, pp. 409–415; idem. Géog. II, p. 266), Alt (PJB 22, 1926, pp. 55–ff.; 24, 1928, p. 87), Saarisalo ("Boundary", p. 189), Safrai ("Beth-Anath", Sinai 78, 1976, pp. 18–34), Rafael Frankel (Settlement dynamics and regional diversity in ancient Upper Galilee, 2001, p. 136), Yoel Elitzur (Ancient Place Names in the Holy Land, 2004, p. 374).
Yizhaqi, Arie (ed.): Madrich Israel (Israel Guide: An Encyclopedia for the Study of the Land), Vol.9: Judaea, Jerusalem 1980, Keter Press, p.383 (in Hebrew)
Seymour Gitin and Trude Dothan (1987). "The Rise and Fall of Ekron of the Philistines: Recent Excavations at an Urban Border Site". The Biblical Archaeologist. 50 (4): 197–222. doi:10.2307/3210048. JSTOR3210048. S2CID165410578.
Seymour Gitin (1989). "Tel Miqne-Ekron: A type-site for the inner coastal plain in the Iron Age II period". In Seymour Gitin and William Dever (ed.). Recent Excavations in Israel: Studies in Iron Age Archaeology. Eisenbrauns. p.24. ISBN978-0-89757-049-7.
Eusebius, Onomasticon - The Place Names of Divine Scripture, (ed.) R. Steven Notley & Ze'ev Safrai, Brill: Leiden 2005, p. 84 (§429), note 429 ISBN0-391-04217-3
Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews (Book viii, chapter vii, section 3; 8:186); Burial Places of the Fathers, published by Yehuda Levi Nahum in book: Ṣohar la-ḥasifat ginzei teiman (Heb. צהר לחשיפת גנזי תימן), Tel-Aviv 1986, p. 253, who quotes from an ancient rabbinic source: "Between Beth-Lehem and Hebron is the great pool, being the [water] duct that Hezekiah made, and the pool that he made, and it is [known as] Ein Etam." Rashi, who had not seen Josephus' writings, surmised that Ein Etam was the place known as "the waters of Nephtoah" (cf. Rashi's commentary on Yoma 31a and Zevahim 54b, s.v. עין עיטם); see also Rashi's comments on Joshua 15:8 and Deuteronomy 33.
Jerusalem Talmud (Kila'im 9:3; Genesis Rabba § 98:15; not a ruin, per se, but a recognised land feature (i.e. "wine press") known to the ancients, situate some 3 biblical miles from Sepphoris. Conder and Kitchener, in their Survey of Western Palestine (vol. 1, p. 365), thinks this place to have been the village of el-Messhed, about 2.5 miles south-east of Sepphoris and where is now the alleged tomb of Jonah the prophet, a view corroborated by Jerome (in his Proaem. to Jonah) and by Benjamin of Tudela. Marcus Jastrow explains "Gob'batha" as meanings "hills". In J. Payne Smith's A Compendious Syriac Dictionary the word is explained as meaning "a pit, hole, den, cavern." In the Leiden MS. of the Jerusalem Talmud, the name is written in a variant form, גו פפתה, while in the Rome MS. of the Jerusalem Talmud the word is written גופפתה. The place is said to have been the birthplace of Jonah the prophet.
Rabbi Saadia Gaon's Judeo-Arabic Translation of the word Gerar (Judeo-Arabic: אלכ'לוץ = al-Khalūṣ) in the Pentateuch (Tafsir), s.v. Genesis 10:19, Genesis 20:2, Genesis 26:17, 20. On Haluza's proximity to Gerar, see: M. Naor, Gerar — Tell el Far'a, Bulletin of the Israel Exploration Society (1955), pp. 99–102 (Hebrew)
Victor Guérin, Description de la Palestine, Judée, Description de la Judée, Paris 1869, p. 298; See: Guérin, V. (1869). Description Géographique Historique et Archéologique de la Palestine (in French). Vol.1: Judee, pt. 3. Paris: L'Imprimerie Nationale. Others identify Giloh with Khirbet Jala, ca. 8 km. (5 mi.) north, northwest of Hebron. See: David Noel Freedman and Allen C. Myers, Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible, Grand Rapids 2000, p. 505 (s.v. Giloh) ISBN0-8028-2400-5
Schmitt, G., 1980. ‘Gat, Gittaim und Gitta’, in R. Cohen and G. Schmitt (eds.), Drei Studien zur Archäologie und Topographie Altisraels (Beihefte zum Tübinger Atlas des Vorderen Orients. Beihefte, Reihe B [Geisteswissenschaften], Nr. 44), Wiesbaden: Ludwig Reichert, 77–138.
Jerusalem Talmud, Erubin 5:7; Tosefta, Erubin 7:2; cf. Jerusalem Talmud, Megillah 1:1 (2a). Hammath was, originally, an independent town (separate from Rakkath where Tiberias stands), but the suburbs of both towns merged into one. The Jerusalem Talmud mentions that Hammath was within the Sabbath-day walking distance, meaning, less than 1 biblical mile from Tiberias.
Thought by Yeshayahu Press, editor of Topographical-Historical Encyclopedia of the Land of Israel, to be the biblical Hapharaim, in the territory given to tribe of Issachar. Ishtori Haparchi, differing in view, thought that the old namesake is represented in the nearby village of Kefrah (see: Ishtori Haparchi, Kaftor wa-Ferach, vol. 2, [3rd edition, published by ed. Avraham Yosef Havatzelet], chapter 11, Jerusalem 2007, p. 63 -- note 144)
Ishtori Haparchi, Kaftor wa-Ferach vol. 2, (3rd edition, published by ed. Avraham Yosef Havatzelet), chapter 11, Jerusalem 2007, p. 63 (note 145) (Hebrew); Site now a ruin, seen on Palestine Exploration Fund Map: Jezreel (Sheet IX). Others, including Aaron Demsky, thought that Ibleam was to be identified with Belameh, located a little over one mile (1.6 km) south of Jenin.
"Itinerary from Bordeaux to Jerusalem - 'The Bordeaux Pilgrim' (333 A.D.)", translated by Aubrey Stewart, pub. in: Palestine Pilgrim's Text Society, vol. 1, London 1887, p. 17 (note 5)
Carta's Official Guide to Israel and Complete Gazetteer to all Sites in the Holy Land. (3rd edition 1993) Jerusalem, Carta, p.479f, ISBN965-220-186-3
Negev, Avraham; Gibson, Shimon (2001) [1972]. Archaeological Encyclopedia of the Holy Land. New York, London: The Continuum Publishing Group. p.550. ISBN9780826485717.
Ishtori Haparchi, Kaftor wa-Ferach, vol. II (3rd edition, published by ed. Avraham Yosef Havatzelet), chapter 11, Jerusalem 2007, p. 64 (Hebrew), where he cites the Babylonian Talmud (Megillah 6a).
"the identification of Tell ed-Duweir with Lachish has been generally accepted." Avi-Yonah, Michael; Stern, Ephraim (1977). Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land, Vol III. Englewood Cliffs N.J.: Prentice Hall. p.735. ISBN0132751313.)
McKinny, Chris; Tavger, Aharon (2018). "6: From Lebonah to Libnah". In Gurevich, David; Kidron, Anat (eds.). Exploring the Holy Land: 150 Years of the Palestine Exploration Fund. Hebrew University of Jerusalem. ISBN9781781797068.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
List of Geographical Names, (A Memo of the National Committee to the Government of the Land of Israel on the Method of Spelling Transliterated Geographical and Personal Names, plus Two Lists of Geographical Names), Lĕšonénu: A Journal for the Study of the Hebrew Language and Cognate Subjects, Benjamin Maisler, Tel-Aviv 1932, p. 51
See p. 51 in: Maisler, Benjamin (1932). "A Memo of the National Committee to the Government of the Land of Israel on the Method of Spelling Transliterated Geographical and Personal Names, plus Two Lists of Geographical Names". Lĕšonénu: A Journal for the Study of the Hebrew Language and Cognate Subjects. 4 (3): 1–92. JSTOR24384308. (Hebrew)
Maisler (Mazar), Benjamin (1932). "The Method of Transcribing Geographical and Personal Names". Lĕšonénu: A Journal for the Study of the Hebrew Language and Cognate Subjects: 19. JSTOR24384308.; Shmuel Klein, Eretz Yehudah (Heb. ארץ יהודה: מימי העליה מבבל עד חתימת התלמוד), Tel-Aviv 1939, s.v. אונו (Ono)
James Elmer Dean (ed.), Epiphanius' Treatise on Weights and Measures, Chicago University Press: Chicago 1935, pp. 72–73 (s.v. Ḥafrå); W.F. Albright, "The Site of Tirzah and the Topography of Western Manasseh", in: The Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society, vol. XI, Jerusalem 1931, p. 248, who says that the Arabic name eṭ Ṭaiyibeh (shortened for Ṭaiyibet al-Ism) was given to the city Ophrah as a euphemism, meaning "the goodly," to offset the name Afrīn which, in Arabic connotation, means "demons" (cf. Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research [AASOR], IV, pp. 130–ff.; ibid. VI (1926), p. 35; Albrecht Alt, PJB 1926, pp. 68–ff.). Although the meaning of "Ophrah" in Hebrew has nothing to do with its Arabic connotation, nevertheless, such appellations for cities were thought of as being offensive, warranting its name change.
C.R. Conder & H.H. Kitchener, The Survey of Western Palestine: Memoirs of the Topography, Orography, Hydrography, and Archaeology, vol. 3, Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund: London 1883, p. 314.
Negev, Avraham; Gibson, Shimon (2001) [1972]. Archaeological Encyclopedia of the Holy Land. New York, London: The Continuum Publishing Group. p.451. ISBN9780826485717.
Eusebius, Onomasticon, in whose time the town was called Beth Sarisa; site, now Khirbet Sirisia, is shown on SWPmap no. 14, east, southeast of Kafr Qasim.
Kenneth A. Kitchen: The World of Ancient Arabia Series. Documentation for Ancient Arabia. Part I. Chronological Framework and Historical Sources p.110; Sefer Me'or ha-Afelah of Rabbi Nethanel ben Isaiah (ed. Yosef Qafih), Kiryat Ono 1983, p. 74 (Parashat Noah) (Hebrew), being an eponym for one of the sons of Joktan.
Magen, Yitzhak; Kagan, Evgeni D.; Tzionit, Yoav; Malka, Ayelet Hashahar; Ben-Lulu, Avia; Peleg, Yuval; Levin, Edward (2012), "Corpus of Christian Sites [165-364]", in Malka, Ayelet Hashahar (ed.), Christians and Christianity, Vol II, Corpus of Christian sites in Judea, vol.14 (1ed.), Israel Antiquities Authority / רשות העתיקות, p.157, doi:10.2307/j.ctt1x76gt8.5, ISBN978-965-406-253-4, retrieved 2025-10-05
List of Geographical Names, (A Memo of the National Committee to the Government of the Land of Israel on the Method of Spelling Transliterated Geographical and Personal Names, plus Two Lists of Geographical Names), Lĕšonénu: A Journal for the Study of the Hebrew Language and Cognate Subjects, Benjamin Maisler, Tel-Aviv 1932, p. 38 (Part II)
According to the Samaritan Chronicle, in Kefr Ghuweirah (now called Awarta) is found the tomb of Joshua bin Nun. Conder and Kitchener, citing another Samaritan tradition, say rather that it was Eleazer the priest who was buried a "little way west of Awarta (at al 'Azeir)," while Joshua bin Nun was buried at Kefr Haris. See: Conder and Kitchener, 1882, p. 218 - 219
E. Robinson & E. Smith, Biblical researches in Palestine, Mount Sinai and Arabia Petraea (vol. 2), Boston 1841, pp. 339–340, 343; C.R. Conder, Tent Work in Palestine (vol. 1), London 1879, pp. 274–275; Ishtori Haparchi, Kaphtor u'ferach (3rd edition), vol. II -- chapter 11, Jerusalem 2007, p. 78 (note 282) (Hebrew), et al.
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