CANAANITE HOUSES
Typical types of dwelling in the Iron Age were the "four-room" house and the "three-room" house. The latter is divided into three parts, each with a distinct function, and contains: 1) a central activity area; 2) a stable area; 3) a storage room; 4) sleeping quarters; and 5) clay roof. According to the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology: “A doorway entered into a white-plastered area (1), which served as a space for food processing and other household tasks. In larger houses, this area may have been a courtyard surrounded by rooms and open to the sky above. A row of pillars divided this room from a cobblestone paved area (2) to the side of the house. This space was used for stabling animals and for the storage of agricultural produce. The long broad room at the back of the house (3) was used for long-term storage. Space for sleeping and entertaining guests probably was located on the second floor (4). The second floor may have been reached by a flight of stairs or wooden ladders. The walls of the houses were built of roughly-hewn blocks of stone and the roof (5) consisted of wooden beams covered with layers of branches and smoothed down clay. This style of house is extremely common throughout the Iron Age, especially in the territory of Israel and Judah. Numerous finds from along the Mediterranean coast of Israel and in the highlands of Jordan make it clear, however, that this house type also was used in Ammon, Moab, Edom and Philistia. [Source: University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology |~|]
Gerald A. Larue wrote in “Old Testament Life and Literature”: “The Hebrews were established in Canaan. Their status in the eyes of the Canaanites, how they organized their communities, what patterns of living they developed, and how they worshipped is not known. Some may have lived in tents (Judg. 4:17; 5:24) or caves (Judg. 6:2); others adopted the cultural patterns of settled society. [Source: Gerald A. Larue, “Old Testament Life and Literature,” 1968, infidels.org]
“On the basis of archaeological study, it is surmised that three kinds of Hebrew settlements were developed.12 Villages were built on abandoned tells or in previously unoccupied areas. Where Canaanite cities had been destroyed, new dwellings were constructed amid the ruins. In some instances, by mutual agreement, Hebrews settled more or less peacefully among the Canaanites (Josh. 9:3-7). By comparison with Canaanite dwellings, Hebrew houses were poorly built. In new villages little attention was given to town planning and homes were constructed wherever the owner desired.
Defensive walls were relatively weak and crudely composed, revealing limited mastery of structural engineering principles. Hebrew pottery, in contrast to well levigated, well fired Canaanite ware, appears quite poorly made. Some Hebrews ventured into Canaanite agricultural and commercial pursuits, others continued to raise flocks and herds (I Sam. 17:15, 34; 25:2). Despite efforts of a conservative element, fiercely loyal to old tribal ways, Canaanite cultural patterns were gradually assimilated. The unsettled nature of the times is revealed by the numerous destroyed layers from the thirteenth to eleventh centuries found in some excavations.”
Canaanite Settlement Patterns
In the Middle Bronze Age (2200 - 1570 B.C.), John R. Abercrombie of the University of Pennsylvania wrote: “There is limited evidence of urban or village life throughout the region. Temporary structures, more like sheds than houses, have been uncovered on the sides of some tells (e.g. Jericho [Tell es-Sultan]) and other hillsides. In the Negev, village sites had circular huts with stone pillar in the center. At most sites there is no sedentary evidence of this culture except for the numerous tombs. [Sources: John R. Abercrombie, University of Pennsylvania, James B. Pritchard, Ancient Near Eastern Texts (ANET), Princeton, Boston University, bu.edu/anep/MB.html |*|]
“There is a definite decrease in occupied settlements in the Late Bronze Age (1570 - 1200 B.C.) from the previous Middle Bronze period. Surveys and excavations appear to confirm that the hill country region lacked a sedentary population except at a few major sites (e.g. Shechem or Tell Beit Mirsim). For example, Tell es-Sultan is abandoned by Late Bronze Age ; Gibeon show no sedentary occupation in the Late Bronze period though a single tomb was used in Late Bronze Age A. “Many small and minor sites in the coastal region appear also to be abandoned, and very few new sites (e.g. Tell Abu Hawam) are founded. |*|
Tel Megiddo
“One of Nelson Gleuck's major contribution to the study of cultures in this region was his expeditions in the Transjordan. Gleuck determined that this region of the Near East was generally unoccupied in the Middle and Late Bronze Age. However, in the early Iron Age period numerous small settlement and significant sedentary occupation started. A similar pattern also seems to have occurred in the hill country and Galilee. Surveys show that this area lost sedentary occupation in the Late Bronze Age, but in the early Iron Age numerous small villages appear. |*|
“The ring city is a characteristic plan of ninth-seventh century cities in Judah and Israel (Tell Beit Mirsim, Tell Beer-sheba, Tell en-Nasbeh, Beth Shemesh). A paved or cobblestone inner street runs parallel to the fortification wall with storage houses and other buildings abutting that wall. Just inside the entrance gate there appears to be a square with public buildings. Various other radial streets fan off that square or off the main ring street. Such streets are usually paved or cobblestone and are generally two to three meters wide. The origin of such a plan may indeed be found in the village design of Iron I.In the eighth century, some sites (Hazor, Megiddo Stratum III-II, Dor) show a change in city plan and building structures. The cities are laid out in a grid pattern of blocks with one to two houses per block. Such a construction is more characteristic of Mesopotamian cities.” |*|
Houses and Other Buildings in the Bronze Age
John R. Abercrombie of the University of Pennsylvania wrote: “Large houses, or palaces, followed the same Middle Bronze design of rooms built around a central courtyard (e.g. Megiddo Strata VIII-VII). Some minor changes in style do occur. For example, more rooms seem to surround the central courtyard (Taanach, Megiddo and Bethel) in the Late Bronze Age (1570 - 1200 B.C.) than in the Middle Bronze period. Bethel's house has a well-constructed "French drain system" which discharges rain-water outside the city. The so-called patrician house at Tell Batash (Timnah., pp. 53-67, Fig. 4:18) appears to have two stories and a storage area on the first floor with wooden pillars and stone bases, a design that seems to foreshadow architectural design of the Iron Age. (See house structures in the Iron Age.) [Sources: John R. Abercrombie, University of Pennsylvania, Department of Religious Studies, University of Pennsylvania; James B. Pritchard, Ancient Near Eastern Texts (ANET), Princeton, Boston University, bu.edu/anep/MB.html |*|]
“Probably the most significant palace discovered to date is at Megiddo. Located in the area near the gate, the palace has small rectangular rooms surround courtyards. Like the Ajjul palace it is equipped with in-door plumbing and staircases. The structure underwent several renovations and additions, and although massive in design for this region it is dwarfed in size and intricacy by other palaces in Syria (e.g. Ras Shamra or ancient Ugarit). |*|
“In the Late Bronze Age (1570 - 1200 B.C.) and the beginning of the Iron Age, a number of well-built square-shaped houses can be cited: Tell Sera', Tell Masos, Beth Shan, Tell Hesi, Gerar, Tell Aphek and Tell el-Farah (S). Built on a mud-brick foundation with walls also constructed of mud-brick these structures parallel house designs from Tell el-Amarna and suggest at the very least, Egyptian origin. More likely, they are remains of the Egyptian garrisons that occupied the region. The Beth Shan 1500 and 1700 houses are particularly helpful in noting Egyptian ownership since the door jambs written in hieroglyphics name the Egyptian governor of the site. |*|
Mentions of Canaanite Houses in the Bible: I Kings 22:39: Now the rest of the acts of Ahab, and all that he did, and the ivory house which he built, and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the Book of the Chroniclesof the Kings of Israel? Amos 3:15: I will smite the winter house with the summer house; and the houses of ivory shall perish, and the great houses shall come to an end," says the LORD. Amos 6:4a: Woe to those who lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches.
Cities and Houses in Iron Age Palestine
Bronze Age Arad House
Abercrombie wrote: “At Bethel, Tell Deir Alla (Succoth?), Hazor, Dan and Tell Beit Mirsim (Debir ?), the Bronze Age cities were destroyed and a village culture with pillared houses and silos was constructed on the destruction layers. Numerous other unfortified villages were built on sites that were either uninhabited in the Late Bronze Age (1570 - 1200 B.C.) or even in any previous archaeology period: 'Izbet Sartah, Ai, Mt. Ebal, Tirzah. Later in Iron I, the transition at Megiddo is particularly instructive as lowlands city states show a similar change from Bronze Age city to the early Iron Age village culture. [Sources: John R. Abercrombie, University of Pennsylvania, James B. Pritchard, Ancient Near Eastern Texts (ANET), Princeton, Boston University, bu.edu/anep/MB.html |*|]
“The four-room house with rows of pillar is a defining trait of Iron Age (1200 - 550 B.C.) and found both in the hill country and on the Philistine plain. By the late Iron Age this house design becomes almost a de facto standard in domestic architecture. Tell el-Farah (N), ancient Tirzah, provides some of the best examples in strata predating the move of the capitol from Tirzah to Samaria. Due to the thickness of the walls and sometimes the appearance of stairs, one could surmise that the houses had a secondary story at one end, or over the entire house as some suggest. The pillars in a courtyard area probably held up a shed area where cooking and other chores were performed and where animals may have been stabled. Rooms were generally elongated rectangles. Later levels of Tirzah show further developments in the pillared house. Solid walls replaced the row of pillars. Houses also are less uniform in size. Some of the smaller ones were flimsy in construction. |*|
“Strata VII-V at Tell es-Sa'idiyeh provide excellent examples of the variety of house structures in the Jordan valley. The houses of Stratum VII, the earlier stratum probably dating to the ninth century, are small rectangular structures with two or, in once case, three rooms. The houses open on a narrow street with a drainage ditch in the center. In the next level the houses are rectangular one room structures, a style more characteristics of the Transjordan. In Stratum V, the pillared house is the exclusive type of house structure. A complete block of houses, constructed of mud-brick and with earthen amd stone floors, ovens, and storage bins between pillars, could be entered from the narrow streets surrounding the block. Pritchard uncovered considerable evidence of burning with fragments of root timbers, layer of gray ash and scourched bricks and artifacts. He hypothesized that the level was destroyed at the end of the seventh century when the Assyrian kings destroyed most of the other cities in the kingdom of Israel. |*|
Buildings and Palaces in Iron Age Palestine
Kabri palace
Abercrombie wrote: “At a number of sites (Tell Abu Hawam, Beer-sheba, Hazor, Tell el-Hesi, Lachish, Tell Qasile) various building structures have been identified as warehouses. Some of these structures, long deep building adjacent to the walls (see Beer-sheba and even Tell Beig Mirsim), may have served as storage warehouses for grain and other agricultural and commercial products. Some scholars have suggested that these buildings may aid in reinterpreting the stables at Megiddo, one of the more monumental buildings from ninth century. Although an earlier debate about the Megiddo stables focused on whether to date them to the tenth or ninth centuries, recent discussions have dealt with their actual functionality given the structural problems with designating them as stables, and given the recent discoveries of warehouse structures in many of biblical "stored cities." [Sources: John R. Abercrombie, University of Pennsylvania, James B. Pritchard, Ancient Near Eastern Texts (ANET), Princeton, Boston University, bu.edu/anep/MB.html |*|]
“Excavators have identified a number of other types of structures as evidence of industrial activities: iron smelting and processing (Arad and Ezion Geber), dye and taning (Tell Beit Mirsim), oil pressing (Ekron, Timnah), viticulture (Gibeon), weaving (Tell es-Sa'idiyeh) and pottery manufacture (Sarepta). Some of these activities appear to be local, cottage industries (Tell es-Sa'idiyeh), although others seem to be truly industrial parks (e.g. Sarepta's kilns, Gibeon's winery). |*|
“Late Bronze Age (1570 - 1200 B.C.) palaces do not disappear early in the early Iron Age and continue to be occupied for the first half of the early Iron Age (see, Megiddo). At Beth Shan, a square house with central courtyard with rooms off the courtyard is built on an egyptian model best represented at Tell el-Amarna, the capital of Amunhotep IV. The hieroglyphic door lintels and other objects from the site suggest that at least for the first half of the early Iron Age Beth Shan remained a central administrative point for Egypt. |*|
“The Hilani house with its pillared portico, central court and subsidiary rooms some with stairways occurs at a number of sites (Megiddo 1723, 6000) and is one form of large house structure that can be cited from the so-called royal cities in Judah and Israel. Some scholars conclude that this house style may be the type of construction of Solomon's palace. Megiddo (1732), Stratum V-IV
“A different palace style found at Ramat Rahel and Samaria, the royal palace, may be an alterative plan for Solomon's palace. These royal (?) complexes are surrounded by casemate wall system. Other special features of the such sites are: ashlar construction, Proto-Aeolic capitals , banisters with palmette pillars with volute capitals. Proto-Aeolic capitals also have been uncovered at Hazor (St. VIII), Jerusalem and Megiddo. “A rather unique fortress/residence complex at Lachish has no known parallels. This large, monumental structure shows continual rebuilding through most of The Late Iron Age. |*|
Fortifications in the Canaanite Era
Abercrombie wrote: “Middle Bronze fortifications systems were reused in the Late Bronze Age (1570 - 1200 B.C.) (Hazor, Shechem and Megiddo) without significant changes. New fortification systems were constructed at Ashdod, Tell Abu Hawam, Tell Beit Mirsim and Beth Shan. Some important sites (e.g. Lachish), however, show no significant fortifications and may even be unfortified. Perhaps this lack of fortifications may be a direct consequence of the way Egypt disarmed the local population. Other evidence for Egyptian control of the population can be found in the Amarna tablets (Amunhotep III and IV) and inscriptions dating to the reign of Thothmosis III. A migdol fortress may have been uncovered in Beth Shan VIII-VII. Although damaged by later Roman and Byzantine remains, the structure parallels contemporary fortresses along the "Way of Horus," the coastal road in the Sinai and at Tell Mor, Deir el-Balah. A building next to this migdol may, in fact, be a residency. It also varies from other contemporary buildings in that it lacks a courtyard. [Sources: John R. Abercrombie, University of Pennsylvania, Department of Religious Studies, University of Pennsylvania; James B. Pritchard, Ancient Near Eastern Texts (ANET), Princeton, Boston University, bu.edu/anep/MB.html |*|]
Gate at Ashkelon
Gate systems follow the same general plan as those from the Middle Bronze Age. The gate systems at Megiddo, Hazor and Shechem continue to be used throughout the period and undergo little significant modifications. Parts of a three pier gate may have been construction at Beth Shan (Stratum IX). The roadway leading to the gate followed the all system. A basalt orthostat, depicting a dog attacking a lion, may be part of the decoration in the gate area. |*|
“Many of the fortification lines built in the Bronze Age continued into the Iron Age (1200 - 550 B.C.) especially at sites in the lowlands. In the Philistine plain, several cities (Ashdod and Ekron) are surrounded by newly constructed solid brick walls, however. In the hill country, which was sparsely populated in the Bronze Age, most newly established villages (Kibbutz Sasa, Ai, Raddana, Bethel, Tell Beit Mirsim, Arad, Tell Malhata, Tell Masos) were unfortified throughout Iron I. Some sites, however, do have houses built around the perimeter, thus creating a flimsy form of protection. There exist a number of forts dated to the end of Iron I. Such forts consist of casemate walls and towers located at the corners, thus extending the defensible perimeter. Probably the most famous such forts, Tell el-Ful (possibly ancient Gibeah) was excavated by W.F. Albright and was the royal residence of Saul (I Sam. 11:4; 15:34; 22:6; 23:19). |*|
Slightly later gates at Dan and Beersheba have similar designs to the so-called Solomonic gates, but also additional features. The number of chambers decreases from six to four (Beer-sheba, Dan, Dor, Megiddo, Timnah) in those dated to beginning of the next century. The entrances become more complex:large towers at the main entrance in front of the gate, a right angle bend in the road inside gate entrance itself (Tell Dan) and perhaps even an inner gate (Tel Dan and later Lachish). The gate at Dan is probably one of the most interesting complexes for further study not only for understanding the fortifications, but also other religious (masseboth) and legal (canopy bench) uses of the gate area. In gates dating more towards the end of The Late Iron Age, the number of chambers decreases to one (Lachish, Megiddo, Dor, Tell en-Nasbeh) or even none (Tell el-Farah N, Lachish St. II). Large towers may also be constructed by the gate and the access to the city becomes less direct with the roadway following the perimeter of the wall before entering the gate area (e.g. Tell en-Nasbeh). [Biblical references here 2K 7:1, Deut 21:19, 22:15; Amos 5:12, Ruth 4:1-11, 1K 22:10, Isa 29:12, Amos 5:10, Jer 38:7 2 Chr 32.6]
“By ninth-eighth centuries new fortification lines replace the casemate wall systems of the tenth century at Megiddo (?), Hazor, Tell en-Nasbeh (Mizpah). These solid walls, some with crenelations, may have appeared to offer more protection against Assyrian siege equipment. By late in the eighth century and certainly in seventh century, there is a return to the construction of casemate wall system. |*|
“Depictions of the siege of Lachish by the armies of Sennacherib (701) give a good picture of the type of mudbrick superstructure surrounding these ancient cities. Lachish Level III, which most excavators now date to the end of the eighth century, had two fortification lines, one half-way down the slope and the other at the crest of the mound. An elaborate gate system provided entrance into the city. The depictions show towers built along the wall at regular intervals. The towers have parapets with shield-like designs. Windows also are located below the towers, Fortifications at Lachish as depicted on the reliefs of Sennacherib, Depiction of Sennacherib's siege of Lachish fortification lines] |*|
“Fortresses, much like those of Iron I, seem to be constructed in this period. Probably the most interesting of these forts, Arad, shows continuous occupation and modification in design throughout The Late Iron Age. The fort's building structures, its temple and store rooms, provide further information on the material culture of the region.” |*|
feeding or water trough from Megiddo
Abercrombie wrote: “Plough points, lithic sickles and other agricultural tools occur in domestic areas on tells. Grinding stones and bowls are common implements uncovered mostly but not exclusively in domestic areas on tells. (Note: grinding stones did occur in the Temple VII and suggest preparation of ritual meals perhaps.) There is little variations in style of such stones from third millennium to the common era. The chalice, found in the Temple of VII, is dated to just the Late Bronze and early Iron Age. [Sources: John R. Abercrombie, University of Pennsylvania, Department of Religious Studies, University of Pennsylvania; James B. Pritchard, Ancient Near Eastern Texts (ANET), Princeton, Boston University, bu.edu/anep/MB.html |*|]
“Polished limestone or diorite dome-shaped weights occur from time to time at seventh-sixth century levels. Use of such weights is well attested in the Bible (Gen. 23:16, Deut. 25:13-15). Although most weights are unscribed, a number do have measure values written on them. Usually the stone is inscribed with the hieratic symbol for weight followed by the actual shekel weight in Phoenician script. The earlier whorls tend to be conical in shape. Towards the end of the late Iron Age period, whorls become more round. |*|
“Numerous examples of wooden boxes with bone inlay do occur at arid sites like Jericho (Tell es-Sultan) or the delta region of Egypt. In addition to the wooden boxes, wood bowls with rams and lion (?) heads on the bowl's rim are common and sometimes duplicated in clay as is the case from Gibeon (el Jib). Wooden combs, when preserved, occur in the wooden cosmetic boxes or in reed baskets. At Jericho, Kenyon uncovered fine collection of wooden tables and stools. |*|
“The stone throne from Beth Shan Temple VII, other examples from Hazor,and also the depiction of a throne on the Megiddo ivory or the Ahiram sarcophagus form a useful corpus for describing chairs of royalty and perhaps deities. The Beth Shan throne, like the one etched on one of the Megiddo ivories, has griffins, or cherubs, depicted on its sides. On the back of the throne is a tree and the depictions together reminds one of the typical motifs of animals surrounding the tree of life that occur on cylinder seals and some pottery pieces. The common phrase when referring to Yahweh as king in association with the ark, he who sits/enthrone on cherubs (add passages here), might have been visualized by the ancient Israelites in these terms. |*|
Water Systems in Canaan and Ancient Israel
Tel Megiddo water system excavations
References to Canaanite water systems in the Bible: II Kings 20:20: The rest of the deeds of Hezeki'ah, and all his might, and how he made the pool and the conduit and brought water into the city, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 2 Chronicles 32:30: It was Hezekiah who stopped the upper outlet of the waters of Gihon and directed them down to the west side of the Citadel of David.
Abercrombie wrote: “The Late Iron Age Water systems were constructed to provide access to underground springs, especially during times of siege. Hidden staircases (Tell es-Sa'idiyeh) leading down the outside of the tell to underground water occur at the end of the Bronze Age and the beginning of the Iron Age. Such systems, although providing access to the water, may have proved to be vulnerable to enemies surrounding the city. Another early water system at Gibeon was a large circular shaft inside the city walls. Stairs along the perimeter of the pit led down to the base and underground water. This water system seems to have been used for most of the Iron Age (1200 - 550 B.C.) and was filled in some time in the late seventh and sixth centuries. [Sources: John R. Abercrombie, University of Pennsylvania, James B. Pritchard, Ancient Near Eastern Texts (ANET), Princeton, Boston University, bu.edu/anep/MB.html |*|]
“The hidden staircase down the slope of the tell continued to be used into earliest parts of the late Iron Age (Megiddo). In the ninth century, more developed water tunnels appeared at Megiddo, Hazor, Beer- sheba, Gibeon and Gezer. A winding staircase is cut down inside the site to just above the water level. From there a tunnel would lead down to the underground spring outside the city's walls. Inhabitants would walk down the stairs and through the tunnel to the water supply. By the eighth century, the underground water tunnel was modified so that the water flowed from the outside spring into the city itself. The water tunnel in Jerusalem, dated to the time of Hezekiah, is a good example of this technological advancement. |*|
Siloam Tunnel and "Mystery" Ducts (9th-7th Century B.C.)
Siloam Tunnel (also known as Hekezekia's Tunnel) connects Gihon Spring with Pool of Siloam near the Old City of Jerusalem. A dark, 1748-foot tunnel, it is thought to have been built under King Hezekiah in the 7th century B.C. to bring water to the city in the case of a siege (the pool at that time was in the city walls). A siege by Assyrians occurred in 701 B.C. and failed in part, presumably, because the people in the city had enough water. The tunnel was thought to have been built by construction crews who started at opposites ends and met each other halfway. An inscription marking the meeting point reads: "whilst three cubits [remained] to be bored...the voice of a man calling his fellow [was heard]...the tunnellers struck, in the direction of his fellow, pick against pick. And the water started to flow."
The tunnels twists and turns in a meandering way. Scholars have long wondered why a serpentine 1748-foot tunnel was built rather than an a direct 1050-foot one and how the construction crews could find each in an era before compasses had been invented. Studies by geologists later showed that the tunnel was not really built. The builders of the tunnel simply modified existing natural tunnels.
The inscription found in the Siloam tunnel is generally dated on paleographic grounds and content (see 2 Kings 22:20 and 2 Chronicles 32:30) to the reign of Hezekiah. [...when] (the tunnel) was driven through. And this was the way in which it was cut through:- While [...] (were) stil [...] axe (s), each man toward his fellow, and while there were still three cubits to be cut through, [there was heard] the voice of a man calling to his fellow, for there was an overlap in the rock on the right [and on the left]. And when the tunnel was driven through, the quarrymen hewed (the rock), each man toward his fellow, axe against axe; and the water flowed from the spring toward the reservoir for 1,200 cubits, and the height of the rock above the head (s) of the quarrymen was 100 cubits. [Source: James B. Pritchard, Ancient Near Eastern Texts, (ANET), p. 321, Princeton, 1969, web.archive.org]
In 2023, archeologists announced the discovery of a 2,800-year-old network of hewn-rock “”mystery” ducts outside Jerusalem's walled Old City. Yiftah Shalev, Director of Excavation for the Israel Antiquities Authority, told Reuters: "What we got here...is a very interesting installation made out of several channels that used to drain liquid to the north. What was the purpose of this installation, we don’t really know, there are no parallels to such an installation not here in Israel, neither in other places in the world. We know the installation is. dated to the late 9th century B.C.E almost 2,800 years ago, during the time of the first temple period in Jerusalem. During that time Jerusalem is standing in becoming bigger and important city. We got the temple to the north, we got the rest of the city with the palaces to our south, and this installation is right in the middle. So it must’ve been an important part of the economy of Jerusalem during the time." Archeologists say the channels may have been used to prepare a commodity such as linen which requires soaking or date honey [Source: Reuters Videos, August 30, 2023]
Image Sources: Wikimedia, Commons, Schnorr von Carolsfeld Bible in Bildern, 1860
Text Sources: John R. Abercrombie, University of Pennsylvania, Department of Religious Studies, University of Pennsylvania; James B. Pritchard, Ancient Near Eastern Texts (ANET), Princeton, Boston University, bu.edu/anep/MB.html; “Old Testament Life and Literature” by Gerald A. Larue, New International Version (NIV) of The Bible, biblegateway.com; Wikipedia, National Geographic, BBC, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Smithsonian magazine, Times of London, The New Yorker, Reuters, AP, AFP, Lonely Planet Guides, and various books and other publications.
Last updated March 2024