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ANATHOTH

(Heb. ʿănāṯôṯ)

A levitical city in the tribal territory of Benjamin. Abiathar, David’s priest, owned some fields there and was banished to the city by Solomon (1 Kgs. 2:26-27). Two of David’s elite warriors, Abiezer (2 Sam. 23:29) and Jehu (1 Chr. 12:3), were from Anathoth. The prophet Jeremiah came from Anathoth (Jer. 1:1; 29:27) and owned a field there (32:7-9); ironically, some of Jeremiah’s fiercest opposition came from the people of Anathoth (11:21-23). After the Babylonian Exile, people from this city were among the first to return to Judah (Ezra 2:23).

The location of Anathoth has not been identified conclusively. Two sites have been suggested, one near modern Anata (175135; 5 km. [3 mi.] NE of Jerusalem) and the other immediately S of Anata at Râs el-Kharrûbeh (174135). Soundings at the latter site have yielded small quantities of sherds from the Iron through the Roman periods. Some scholars believe the site shifted from Râs el-Kharrûbeh during the Iron Age to Anata during the Hellenistic and Roman periods. Recently, Khirbet Deir es-Sidd has been suggested as a third possibility; soundings from the site indicate a settlement during the late 7th and early 6th centuries b.c.

Bibliography. Y. Nadelman, “The Identification of Anathoth and the Soundings at Khirbet Deir es-Sidd,” IEJ 44 (1994): 62-74.

Scott M. Langston

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

ANATHOTH

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)