Atarot

Atarot, as mentioned in the Moabite Stone (Mesha Stele) is likely a reference to the Biblical town of Ataroth as mentioned in Numbers 32:3, 34. Its connection in both the Stele and the Biblical record to the Tribe of Gad, makes this probable. Ataroth lay within the tribal allotment of Reuben, but was built up by the Gadites during the period of Israelite conquest (Numbers 32:34).

In Mandate Palestine, Atarot was a Jewish village which was captured by the Jordanian Arab Legion in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and depopulated.

Today, Atarot is an industrial zone in Jerusalem, Israel, containing an airport which is seldom functional due to the security situation in the area and its proximity to Palestinian areas.

See also

• Kalandia

References

• Atlas of Bible Lands; Harry Thomas Frank, Ed. Hammond Inc. 1997
• Atarot