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40-403: Macalister , the first to excavate the structure in the 1920s, called the remains he had found a "ramp" and believed it to be Jebusite . Work continued in the 1960s with Kathleen Kenyon , who dated the structure to the start of Iron Age II (1000–900 BCE). Yigal Shiloh excavated in the 1970s–80s. After the discoveries by Kenyon and Shiloh, some scholars have suggested that the structure might be

80-588: A Hurrian goddess . Whether Abdi-Ḫeba was himself of Hurrian descent is unknown. There is a mix of Canaanite and Hurrian influences (cf. Mitanni Empire) in this region. During Abdi-Ḫeba's reign the region was under attack from marauding bands of Habiru . Abdi-Ḫeba made frequent pleas to the Pharaoh of Egypt (probably Amenhotep III ), for an army or, at least, an officer to command. Abdi-Ḫeba also made other requests for military aid in fighting off his enemies, both Canaanite warlords and bands of Apiru: Say to

120-658: A stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This geography of the State of Palestine article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Jebusite The Jebusites ( / ˈ dʒ ɛ b j ə ˌ s aɪ t s / ; Hebrew : יְבוּסִי , romanized :  Yəḇūsī ) were, according to the books of Joshua and Samuel from the Hebrew Bible , a Canaanite tribe that inhabited Jerusalem , called Jebus ( Hebrew : יְבוּס , romanized :  Yəḇus , lit.   'trampled place') before

160-472: A retaining wall of a large administrative building or fortress. Israel Finkelstein et al. propose and argue that the upper part of the structure was either built, or substantially rebuilt in the Hasmonean period. However, Jodi Magness argues that the archaeological evidence suggests that the structure was initially built in the 12th century BCE (Iron Age I). It is hypothesized that the structure may be

200-527: A saying about the blind and the lame, Rashi quotes a midrash which argues that the Jebusites had two statues in their city, with their mouths containing the words of the covenant between Abraham and the Jebusites; one figure, depicting a blind person, represented Isaac , and the other, depicting a lame person, representing Jacob . The politicians Yasser Arafat and Faisal Husseini , among others, have claimed that Palestinian Arabs are descended from

240-468: Is actually a disguised reference to Araunah, the ר ( r ) having been corrupted to ד ( d ) . The argument originated from Cheyne, who, prior to knowledge of the Hittite language, proposed the reverse. The narrative is considered by some scholars to be aetiological and of dubious historicity . It is unknown what ultimately became of these Jebusites . According to the "Jebusite hypothesis", however,

280-632: The Books of Chronicles ) is described by the Books of Samuel as having sold his threshing floor to King David, which David then constructed an altar on, the implication being that the altar became the core of the Temple of Solomon . Araunah means the lord in Hittite , and so most scholars, since they consider the Jebusites to have been Hittite, have argued that Araunah may have been another king of Jerusalem; some scholars additionally believe that Adonijah

320-523: The blind and lame could withstand David's siege. According to the version of the story in the Masoretic Text , David manages to conquer the city by a surprise attack, led by Joab , through the water supply tunnels (Jerusalem has no natural water supply except for the Gihon Spring ). Ever since its discovery in the 19th century, Warren's Shaft , part of a system which connects the spring to

360-530: The Amarna letters, it is called Beth-Shalem, the house of Shalem. The Sumero-Akkadian name for Jerusalem, uru-salim , is variously etymologised to mean "foundation of [or: by] the god Shalim ": from Semitic yry, "to found, to lay a cornerstone", and Shalim, the Canaanite god of the setting sun and the nether world, as well as of health and perfection. Lemche states: There is no evidence of Jebus and

400-711: The Biblical Millo . A recent excavation by Eilat Mazar directly above the Stepped Stone Structure shows that the structure connects with and supports the Large Stone Structure . Mazar's interpretation of the evidence yields her hypothesis that the Large Stone Structure was an Israelite royal palace in continuous use from the tenth century until 586 BCE. She motivates her conclusion that the stepped stone structure and

440-422: The Jebusites and Yabusi'um may have been separate people altogether. In the Amarna letters, mention is made that the contemporaneous king of Jerusalem was named Abdi-Heba , which is a theophoric name invoking a Hurrian goddess named Ḫepat . This implies that the Jebusites were either Hurrians, were heavily influenced by Hurrian culture, or were dominated by the maryannu (a warrior-class elite). Moreover,

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480-507: The Jebusites as continuing to dwell at Jerusalem, within the territory otherwise occupied by the Tribe of Benjamin . According to the 2 Samuel, the Jebusites still had control of Jerusalem at the time of King David , but David wished to take control of the city. Understandably the Jebusites contest his attempt to do this, and since Jebus was the strongest fortress in Canaan they gloat that even

520-482: The Jebusites outside of the Old Testament . Some scholars reckon Jebus to be a different place from Jerusalem; other scholars prefer to see the name of Jebus as a kind of pseudo-ethnic name. Theophilus G. Pinches has noted a reference to "Yabusu", which he interprets as an old form of Jebus, on a contract tablet that dates from 2200 BC. The Hebrew Bible contains the only surviving ancient text known to use

560-460: The Jebusites persisted as inhabitants of Jerusalem and comprised an important faction in the Kingdom of Judah , including such notables as Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Bathsheba , the queen and mother of the next monarch, Solomon . According to this hypothesis, after the disgrace of a rival Elide faction of priests in the struggle for succession to David, the family of Zadok became

600-421: The Jebusites, and that they lack any significant connection to them. Johns Hopkins University Professor William F. Albright questioned "the surprising tenacity" of "the myth of the unchanging East" and rejected any assertion of continuity between the "folk beliefs and practices of the modern peasants and nomads" and "pre-Arab times." Abdi-Heba Abdi-Ḫeba ( Abdi-Kheba , Abdi-Ḫepat , or Abdi-Ḫebat )

640-795: The Jebusites, in an attempt to argue that the Palestinians have a historic claim to Jerusalem that precedes the Jewish one. Professor Eric H. Cline of the George Washington University Anthropology Department and co-director of the University of Haifa asserts that a general consensus exists among historians and archeologists that modern Palestinians are "more closely related to the Arabs of Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Jordan, and other countries" than to

680-572: The Judahites were confident in delivering the corpse of Adoni-Bezek , a foreign enemy king, to Jebus in Judges 1:7. A similar incident occurred in 1 Samuel 17:54, where David delivers Goliath 's head to Jebus, which occurs before the city's conquest. In addition, the Jebusites are portrayed in a more positive light than the residents of Gibeah in the Levite's concubine narrative . Farber believes this

720-440: The case, though less so. However, an increasingly popular view, first put forward by Edward Lipiński , professor of Oriental and Slavonic studies at KU Leuven , is that the Jebusites were most likely an Amorite tribe; Lipiński identifies them with the group referred to as Yabusi'um in a cuneiform letter found in the archive of Mari, Syria . Lipinski also suggests that more than one clan or tribe bore similar names and thus

760-528: The city of Jebus, the ancient Jerusalem , which they inhabited. These rabbinical sources also argue that as part of the price of Abraham's purchase of the Cave of the Patriarchs (Cave of Machpelah), which lay in the territory of the Jebusites, the Jebusites made Abraham grant them a covenant that his descendants would not take control of Jebus against the will of the Jebusites, and then the Jebusites engraved

800-588: The city was conquered by King David in 1003 BC. The identification of Jebus with Jerusalem has been disputed, principally by Niels Peter Lemche . Supporting his case, every non-biblical mention of Jerusalem found in the ancient Near East refers to the city as "Jerusalem". An example of these records are the Amarna letters , several of which were written by the chieftain of Jerusalem Abdi-Heba and call Jerusalem either Urusalim ( URU ú-ru-sa-lim ) or Urušalim ( URU ú-ru-ša 10 -lim ) (1330s BC). Also in

840-632: The city, has been cited as evidence for the plausibility of such a line of attack. The account in 1 Chronicles 11 :5 mentions the advantage of a speedy attack but does not mention use of the water shafts, and according to many textual scholars the claim in the Masoretic Text could simply be a scribal error; the Septuagint version of the passage states that the Israelites had to attack the Jebusites with their dagger[s] rather than through

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880-526: The conquest initiated by Joshua ( Joshua 11:3 , Joshua 12:10 ) and completed by King David ( 2 Samuel 5:6–10 ), although a majority of scholars agree that the Book of Joshua holds little historical value for early Israel and most likely reflects a much later period. 1 Chronicles 11:4 states that Jerusalem was known as Jebus before this event. The identification of Jebus with Jerusalem is sometimes disputed by scholars. According to some biblical chronologies ,

920-406: The covenant into bronze; the sources state that the presence of the bronze statues are why the Israelites were not able to conquer the city during Joshua's campaign. The rabbis of the classical era go on to state that King David was prevented from entering the city of Jebus for the same reason, and so he promised the reward of captaincy to anyone who destroyed the bronzes – Joab performing

960-442: The dirt at your feet. I fall at the feet of the king, my lord, my god, my Sun, 7 times and 7 times. The king, my lord, permitted me to wage war against Qeltu (Keilah). I waged war. It is now at peace with me; my city is restored to me. Why did Abdi-Heba write to the men of Qeltu, "Accept silver and follow me?"… Moreover, Labaya, who used to take our towns, is dead, but now another Labaya is Abdi-Heba, and he seizes our town. So, may

1000-533: The fact that other Jebusites resident in pre-Israelite Jerusalem bore names invoking the principle or god Zedek (Tzedek) (e.g., Melchizedek and Adonizedek ). Under this theory the Aaronic lineage ascribed to Zadok is a later, anachronistic interpolation. A Jebusite is mentioned in the Acts of Barnabas as accompanying his martyrdom. According to classical rabbinical literature , the Jebusites derived their name from

1040-411: The grace of Pharaoh , but this might be flattery rather than an accurate representation of the situation. At this time the area he administered from his garrison may have had a population of fifteen hundred people and Jerusalem would have been a 'small highlands stronghold' in the fourteenth century BC with no fortifications or large buildings. Abdi-Ḫeba's name can be translated as "servant of Ḫebat ",

1080-402: The king gave it to me. Consider the deed! This is the deed of Milkilu and the deed of the sons of Lab'ayu , who have given the land of the king to the 'Apiru . Consider, O king, my lord! I am in the right!… EA 287. As a result, conspiracy charges are made against Abdi-Ḫeba, who defended himself strenuously in his correspondence with Pharaoh. Abdi-Ḫeba's ultimate fate is unknown. Abdi-Ḫeba

1120-399: The king provide for archers and send the archers against men that commit crimes against the king, my lord. If this year there are archers, then the lands and the hazzanu (client kings) will belong to the king, my lord. But if there are no archers, then the king will have neither lands nor hazzanu. Consider Jerusalem! This neither my father nor my mother gave to me. The strong hand (arm) of

1160-529: The king's permission had retaken Keilah . But Abdi-Heba had sent a message to the Men of Qiltu to follow him. Thus, the city had been captured again. Lab'aya is reported as dead, but Abdi-Heba is considered as a new Lab'aya by Suwardata for capturing his cities. EA 280 should be later than EA 366, when both of them were fighting the Habiru. Say to the king, my lord, my god, my Sun : Message of Shuwardata, your servant,

1200-458: The king, my lord: Message of Abdi-Heba, your servant. I fall at the feet of my lord 7 times and 7 times. Consider the entire affair. Milkilu and Tagi brought troops into Qiltu against me… May the king know (that) all the lands are at peace (with one another), but I am at war. May the king provide for his land. Consider the lands of Gazru , Ašqaluna , and Lakisi . They have given them [my enemies] food, oil and any other requirement. So may

1240-554: The land of the Jebusites. According to Joshua 10 , Adonizedek led a confederation of Jebusites and the tribes from the neighbouring cities of Jarmuth , Lachish , Eglon and Hebron against Joshua but was soundly defeated and killed. However, Joshua 15 :63 states the Judahites could not dislodge the Jebusites, who were living in Jerusalem ("to this day the Jebusites live there with the people of Judah"). Judges 1:21 portrays

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1280-510: The large stone structure are parts of a single, massive royal palace by citing the biblical reference to the House of Millo in 2 Kings 12:21 as the place where King Joash was assassinated in 799 BCE while he slept in his bed. Millo is derived from "fill", (Hebrew milui ). The stepped stone support structure is built of fills. This article relating to archaeology in the Near East is

1320-580: The last Jebusite king, Araunah , mentioned in 1 Chronicles 21 :15, bore a name generally understood as based on the Hurrian honorific ewir . Richard Hess shows four Hurrian names in the Bible's conquest narrative: Piram, king of Jarmuth and Hoham, king of Hebron ( Joshua 10:3 ), and Sheshai and Talmai, sons of Anak ( Joshua 15:14 ) with Hurrian-based names. Zev Farber believes that the Jebusites were unrecognized Israelites. According to Farber, it explains why

1360-437: The sole authorized Jerusalem clergy, so that a Jebusite family monopolized the Jerusalem clergy for many centuries before becoming sufficiently attenuated to be indistinguishable from other Judeans or Judahites. Elsewhere in the Bible, the Jebusites are described in a manner that suggests that they worshipped the same God ( El Elyon —Ēl ‘Elyōn) as the Israelites (e.g., Melchizedek ). Further support for this theory comes from

1400-463: The task and so gaining the prize. The covenant is dismissed by the rabbis as having been invalidated due to the war the Jebusites fought against Joshua, but nevertheless David (according to the rabbis) paid the Jebusites the full value of the city, collecting the money from among all the Israelite tribes, so that the city became their common property . In reference to 2 Samuel 5:6, which refers to

1440-586: The term Jebusite to describe the inhabitants of Jerusalem; according to the Generations of Noah ( Genesis 10 ), the Jebusites are identified as Canaanites, listed in third place among the Canaanite groups between the biblical Hittites and the Amorites . Before modern archaeological studies, most biblical scholars held the opinion that the Jebusites were identical to the Hittites, which continues to be

1480-449: The water shaft . The First Book of Chronicles states that the inhabitants of Jebus forbade King David from coming to Jerusalem shortly after he was made king. Joab went up first and took the city and became chief and captain of David's armed forces. The Books of Kings state that once Jerusalem had become an Israelite city, the surviving Jebusites are forced by Solomon to become serfs . Another Jebusite, Araunah (referred to as Ornan by

1520-559: Was a local chieftain of Jerusalem during the Amarna period (mid-1330s BC). Egyptian documents have him deny he was a mayor ( ḫazānu ) and assert he is a soldier ( we'w ), the implication being he was the son of a local chief sent to Egypt to receive military training there. Also unknown is whether he was part of a dynasty that governed Jerusalem or whether he was put on the throne by the Egyptians. Abdi-Ḫeba himself notes that he holds his position not through his parental lineage but by

1560-528: Was anti- Saul propaganda, with Gibeah being the city of Saul and Jebus being the city of David . The Hebrew Bible describes the Jebusites as dwelling in the mountains beside Jerusalem in Numbers 13 :29 and Joshua 11 :3. In the narration of the burning bush in Exodus 3:18, the "good and large land, flowing with milk and honey" that was promised to Moses as the future home of the oppressed Hebrews included

1600-473: Was the author of letters EA 285–290. EA 366 by Shuwardata to the King of Egypt. He states he defeated the Habiru. All his brothers (equals) had abandoned him, so that only he and Abdi-Heba were hostile to the Habiru. Surata of Akko and Intaruta of Aksapa, came to assist Suwardata with 50 chariots. He ask for the commissioner Yanḥamu. EA 280 by Shuwardata to the King of Egypt. Šuwardata states that he with

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