Geshur
Geshur was a territory in ancient Levant mentioned in the early books of the Hebrew Bible. One of the Amarna letters may contain a possible mention of Geshur.[1]
Hebrew Bible
The Bible describes it as being near the Bashan, adjoining the province of Argob (Deuteronomy 3:14) and the kingdom of Aram or Syria (2 Samuel 15:8; 1 Chronicles 2:23). According to the Bible, it was allotted to the half-tribe of Manasseh which settled east of the Jordan river, but its inhabitants, the Geshurites, could not be expelled (Joshua 13:13).
In the time of David, Geshur was an independent Aramean kingdom, and David married Maachah, a daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur (2 Samuel 3:3, 1 Chronicles 3:2). Her son Absalom fled to his mother's native country after the murder of his half-brother and David's eldest son, Amnon. Absalom stayed there for three years before being rehabilitated by David (ib. 13:37, 15:8). By the 9th century BCE the kingdom of Geshur had disappeared from history.[1]
Location
Geshur is identified with the area stretching along the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee and reaching south up to the Yarmuk River.[1] Israeli archaeologists are holding this view and therefore place Geshur in what is now the southern Golan Heights.[2]
Capital at et-Tell
Archaeologists tend to agree that the capital of the kingdom was situated at et-Tell, a place later made famous under the name Bethsaida by the important position it takes in the New Testament.[3] Imposing archaeological finds, mainly the Stratum V city gate, date to the post-Geshurite 8th century BCE, but there are indications, as of 2016, that the archaeologists are close to locating the 10th-century, that is: Geshurite, city gate as well.[3]
References
- ^ a b c Avraham Negev and Shimon Gibson (2001). Geshur. New York and London: Continuum. p. 196. ISBN 0-8264-1316-1.
{{cite book}}:|work=ignored (help) - ^ Rediscovered! The Land of Geshur, Moshe Kochavi, Timothy Renner, Ira Spar and Esther Yadin, BAR 18:04, Jul/Aug 1992
- ^ a b Philippe Bohstrom (20 July 2016). "Mighty Fortifications Found by Archaeologists Show Kingdom of Geshur More Powerful Than Thought". Haaretz. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
Further reading
- Pakkala, Juha 'What do we know about Geshur?'. Scandinavian Journal of the Old Testament 24 (2): 155-173.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). "Geshur, Geshurites". The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.
