Ziklag
Ziklag ( Sekela , Hebrew צִקְלַג, Greek Σεκελαγ or Σικελεγ) is an ancient city in the south of today's Israel on the edge of the Negev . Most researchers today identify it with Tell eš-Šerī'a or Tel Šera '.
history
In the biblical tradition, Ziklag is assigned to both the area of Judas ( Jos 15.31 EU ) and the area of Simeon ( Jos 19.5 EU ). It later belonged to the Philistines, but was given by King Achish to David as a residence ( 1 Sam 27.6 EU ), and has since been the domain of the kings of Judah.
archeology
In March 2019, a 1700-year-old Greek inscription was found during an excavation in the Negev that contains the first archaeological evidence for the name of the city of Haluza. The name Haluza is mentioned in many historical sources, but this is the first archaeological evidence of the city's name, which is on the site itself. It is one of the two most important possible locations for the biblical city of Ziklag.
Haluza, in the Greek description Elusa, was founded at the end of the 4th century BC as an important station on the smokehouse route that led Petra in what is now Jordan to Gaza. The export of the wine produced in the Negev highlands also led to economic prosperity in the entire region. At the end of the 7th century, after the Arab conquest, the city was no longer populated.
literature
- Georg Beer : Sekela . In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume II A, 1, Stuttgart 1921, column 1130.
- Joachim Vette: Ziklag. In: Michaela Bauks, Klaus Koenen, Stefan Alkier (Eds.): The Scientific Biblical Lexicon on the Internet (WiBiLex), Stuttgart 2006 ff.
Individual evidence
- ↑ City name confirmed by a 1,700 year old inscription. In: Israelnetz .de. March 15, 2019, accessed March 24, 2019 .