The BAS Scholars Series program offers a quarterly, stand-alone presentation by noted scholars of the Bible and archaeology.

On June 4, 2023, join Nava Panitz-Cohen for her compelling talk on Tel Abel Beth Maacah.

Presentation

A Wise Woman and a Bearded Man: Ten Seasons of Excavation at Tel Abel Beth Maacah

The site of Tel Abel Beth Maacah in the Hula Valley on the modern border between Israel, Lebanon and Syria, reflects its geopolitical situation in the Iron Age, when it was at the crossroads of the ancient Israelites, Arameans and Phoenicians. Seven seasons of excavation at this large and prominent Biblical period site, led by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Azusa Pacific University of Los Angeles, have shown that it was a fortified city in the Middle Bronze Age (second millennium BCE) and served as the main urban hub, and possibly cultic center, in the valley during the Iron Age I and IIA (the 12th to 10th centuries BCE). This lecture will present the major finds from the excavations, and discuss the position of the city in relation to its prominent neighbors, Dan and Hazor, as well as to the Biblical text, particularly the so-called Wise Woman of Abel Beth Maacah (2 Samuel 20) and the Arameans (1 Kings 15). Among the significant finds to be presented is a unique, exquisite faience head of a bearded male that possibly represents a royal or elite figure of the Iron Age, currently on display at the Israel Museum.

Speaker

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