Heartland of the Homeland: Judea & Samaria

For the Jewish people, the ancient tribal territories of eastern Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and western Menasheh—also known as “Judea & Samaria”—form the very heartland of the homeland. In the contemporary political climate, ceding these foundational areas remains an ongoing possibility, and many individual Jews disconnected from their heritage and their history remain unacquainted with what these crucial regions of the Land of Israel mean to Judaic civilization and to Jewry as a whole.

Here, then, is a précis outlining the provinces’ most important geographical sites, personages, and historical contexts, thereby highlighting their momentous significance to Jewish identity.

1. Samaria (Shomron/Sebaste) – Capital of the Omride kings of Israel (Omri, Ahab, Yehoram, etc.), and the ancient center of thriving wine and oil industries. Mentioned in I & II Kings and II Chronicles, as well as by the prophets Amos, Isaiah, Mikhah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Ovadiah, Samaria also appears in the writings of the priestly historian Joseph ben Matityahu (Flavius Josephus) and its orchards are praised in the Mishnah. The ruined city was later possessed by the Hasmonean monarch King Yannai Alexander of Judea, rebuilt by King Herod the Great of Judea and renamed Sebaste (the feminine form of “Sebastos”, the Greek equivalent of the Latin “Augustus”) in honor of his patron Augustus Caesar, and controlled by King Agrippa I of Judea until the advent of the Roman procurators (44–70 CE). The prophet Elisha is said to be buried here, as is the hermetic Jewish preacher John the Baptist.
2. Shekhem – Situated in the narrow valley between Mount Eival and Mount Gerizim, and along the ancient Derekh HaAvot (The Way of the Patriarchs/The Ridge Route) national highway connecting Lower Galilee and the Negev Desert, Shekhem is where Abraham built an altar under the oak of Moreh; where Jacob encamped, bought a field, and buried idols and earrings; where Dinah was raped and brutally avenged; and where Joseph is buried. Here Joshua drew up the Mosaic statutes, erected a stone monument under the oak tree, and convened the elders and judges of Israel before his decease, adjuring them to pledge allegiance to God. Gidon’s sons fought over the city after that great Judge’s decease. King David twice versified the city in Psalms. King Rehoboam of Judah was crowned here and King Jeroboam I of Israel was elected here and made the city his initial capital. Shekhem, deemed the midpoint of the Land of Israel—exactly 71.5 miles from both Dan in the north and Be’ersheva in the south—is also a Levitical city and one of the biblical cities of refuge. Emperor Vespasian of Rome built Neapolis (Nablus) near the ruins of the city, which is also mentioned by the prophets Hosea and Jeremiah, by the priestly historian Joseph ben Matityahu (Flavius Josephus), and in Midrash Rabbah. Shekhem is the Jerusalem of Samaritans.
3. Mount Eival – Here Joshua built an altar of unhewn stones and made a peace sacrifice to God following the fall of Ai, and inscribed and read the Torah before the Israelites and in the presence of the Ark of the Testimony (Ark of the Covenant). Eival—the taller counterpart of Gerizim—is the peak from which (or else toward which) curses were pronounced in a momentous national ceremony convened during the period of the Israelite repatriation to the Land of Israel (c. 1273–1245 BCE).
4. Mount Gerizim – Gerizim is where the other half of Israel stood listening to Joshua, and from which (or else toward which) blessings were pronounced in a momentous national ceremony convened during the period of the Israelite repatriation to the Land of Israel (c. 1273–1245 BCE). The smaller counterpart of Eival is known foremost as the holy mountain for Samaritans, who celebrate their version of the Passover festival atop its peak. It is also where the Hasmonean ruler and high priest Yohanan Hyrkanos destroyed the Samaritan temple in 111/110 (the date of this victory, 21 Kislev, was thenceforth celebrated as “the Day of Mount Gerizim”), and where the Samaritan leader Baba Rabbah built a synagogue in the 300s CE.
5. Shiloh – At Shiloh Joshua made plans with the assembled Israelites to finish apportioning the Promised Land to the tribes. As the first religious center of the repatriated Israelites, Shiloh was for more than two centuries home to the Tabernacle and the Ark of the Testimony (Ark of the Covenant), and where the high priest Eli and his sons officiated. Elkanah made an annual pilgrimage to Shiloh, which is also where his barren wife Hannah vowed to consecrate a son to God if she could conceive a child. After giving birth to the future Judge and prophet Samuel, Hannah recited her song of praise here. Mentioned repeatedly in Jeremiah, Shiloh was also home to the prophet Ahiyah of Shiloh.
6. Ma’aleih Levonah – The site of the first major Maccabean battle and victory, in which the Hasmonean hero Judah Maccabee defeated the Seleucids (Syrian-Greeks) and slew Apollonius the Mysarch (commander of mercenaries from Mysia in northwestern Asia Minor), taking his sword for himself.
7. Gilgal – The first campsite and base of Joshua and the Israelites upon entering Canaan, where Joshua erected 12 stones gathered from the Jordan River, and where the people celebrated the Passover festival and circumcised those born in the desert. The prophet Samuel sojourned here to judge the people, and King Saul was crowned at this sacred site. The prophets Elijah and Elisha passed through the site prior to Elijah’s whirlwind ascent. Gilgal was a Levitical city in the time of Nehemiah, and the site is mentioned by the prophets Amos and Hosea and in the Talmud.
8. Gophnah Hills – In the hill country of Ephraim, just northwest of Beit El, the Maccabees trained in guerilla warfare to prepare for battle against Emperor Antiochus IV of Syria and his Seleucid (Syrian-Greek) forces. In the secluded heights and caverns of Gophnah, east of their hometown of Modi’in, the glorious brothers Yohanan, Shimon, Judah, Elazar, and Jonathan established a command center and drilled their followers into a formidable Maccabean army, which went on to liberate Judea and to regain Jewish independence and sovereignty in the Land of Israel in the second century BCE.
9. Beit El (Luz) – A key locus along the ancient Derekh HaAvot (The Way of the Patriarchs/The Ridge Route) national highway connecting Lower Galilee and the Negev Desert. Abraham erected a sacred altar to the Lord between Beit El and Ai. Here Jacob spent a night dreaming he saw a ladder rising heavenward, with angels ascending and descending it. A heavenly voice then assured him of divine protection, confirming the promise that the land upon which he rested would be for him and his descendants. When morning came, Jacob built a sacred pillar over which he poured oil as a thanksgiving offering. The Tabernacle and the Ark of the Testimony (Ark of the Covenant) were stationed for a time in Beit El, and in the conflict with the tribe of Benjamin the Israelites prayed, fasted, and offered sacrifices here. The Israelite Judge and prophetess Dvorah lived nearby, and later the Judge and prophet Samuel sojourned here to judge the people. During the United Monarchy of Israel (1030–931 BCE), King Saul mustered his forces here against the Philistines. Frequented by King Jeroboam I of Israel as a central shrine, Beit El hosted a community of prophets during the prophethood of Elisha (who was mocked by the children of Beit El), and witnessed the prophet Amos’ righteous indignation against illegitimate worship and the impious priest Amatzyah. Later, the pious King Josiah of Judah cleansed the city of its cultic practices. Beit El hosted the formidable Seleucid (Syrian-Greek) general Bacchides’ garrisons during the Maccabean Rebellion (167–134 BCE), and is mentioned often in Joshua, Judges, I & II Kings, Hosea, Jeremiah, and Ezra. Beit El is most likely modern Beitin/Baytin, just northeast of Al-Bireh.
10. Mitzpah – Here the Israelites gathered to punish the tribe of Benjamin after the outrage committed by the men of Givah. Home of the reluctant Israelite Judge Yiftah, who repeated his conditions for leadership in Mitzpah. This is also where the Judge and prophet Samuel assembled the people to fight and defeat the advancing Philistines, and where he annually judged Israel. King Asa of Judah fortified the place, and the Babylonian-appointed governor Gidalyah ben Ahikam established Judah’s administrative center here after the first Fall of Jerusalem (586 BCE) and was later assassinated in Mitzpah (giving rise to the annual fast day in his memory after the Jewish New Year). The city was also a district capital in Nehemiah’s time under Persian rule, and was later where the Maccabees prayed, tore their clothing, wore sackcloth and ashes, fasted, and read the Torah before the Battle of Emmaus (166 BCE). There are several loci named Mitzpah in the Land of Israel; Mitzpah of Benjamin is most likely Tel en-Nasbeh, just southeast of modern Ramallah.
11. Mikhmash – Mikhmash strategically guards the northern side of the pass across Wadi es-Suweinit and thereby helps control traffic to and from the Central Benjamin Plateau. At Mikhmash King Saul gathered his army before the Philistines encamped there, until their defeat and flight. Mikhmash is mentioned in Isaiah, Ezra, Nehemiah, I Maccabees, and by the priestly historian Joseph ben Matityahu (Flavius Josephus), and praised in the Mishnah for its excellent wheat. The Hasmonean leader Jonathan Maccabee resided here prior to assuming the high priesthood. Mikhmash is the modern village of Mukhmas.
12. Emmaus (Nicopolis) – Emmaus is where the Hasmonean hero Judah Maccabee defeated the general Nicanor and frightened off another general, Gorgias, in a stunning and strategic double victory over the Seleucids (Syrian-Greeks). The town was known for its hot springs and is mentioned often in the Talmud. Tannaim held discussions here, including local scholar Nehunya ben HaKanah, and Yohanan ben Zakkai’s prized disciple Elazar ben Arakh took up residence in Emmaus, where his erudition diminished in the absence of his rabbinical colleagues. Emmaus, whose name likely derived from the (construct form of the) Hebrew word for hot springs (hammat), received its Greek name Nicopolis (“City of Victory”) once rebuilt at the request of Christian traveler and historian Sextus Julius Africanus in 220/221.
13. Beit Horon – Both a steep pass where Joshua pursued the Amorites routed in the Battle of Ayalon, and a twofold town fortified by King Solomon; where the Hasmonean hero Judah Maccabee defeated Seleucid (Syrian-Greek) general Seron and his phalanx of hoplites in the Battle of Beit Horon (166 BCE) during the Maccabean Rebellion (167–134 BCE); and where Zealot leader Shimon bar Giora and other stalwarts similarly defeated the Roman general Cestius Gallus during the Great Revolt (66–73 CE). Lower Beit Horon is the modern village of Beit Ur al-Tahta; Upper Beit Horon is the modern village of Beit Ur al-Fauqa.
14. Givon – Givon is the city whose men negotiated in bad faith with Joshua, and where according to Scripture the sun stood still for Joshua in battle. King David’s nephew and general Yo’av fought his military counterpart Avner by the Givon pool, and later slew his own cousin and rival Amasa here. David conquered the Philistines nearby, and Givon is also the site at which King Solomon sacrificed a thousand burnt offerings to God, who reportedly appeared to Solomon in a dream eliciting then granting the king’s request for wisdom. Givon is mentioned in I Kings, I & II Chronicles, Jeremiah, Nehemiah, and the Talmud. Givon’s ruins lie at the southern edge of the modern village of al-Jib.
15. Elasah – A town near Beit Horon apparently named after a scion of Benjamin, and the site of the fateful Battle of Elasah (160 BCE) wherein, woefully outnumbered, the Hasmonean hero Judah Maccabee fell. Elasah is identified with Khirbat al-Ishshi, southwest of Al-Bireh, but also equated by others to Mount Ba’al-Hatzor (near Ramallah), mentioned in the Dead Sea Scrolls.
16. Anatot – The Levitical hometown of Evyatar the high priest and of the prophet Jeremiah, in which the hopeful prophet redeemed property from his cousin Hanamel in defiance of Judah’s dire situation under the conquering Babylonians, giving the lie to his reputation as a preacher of doom and gloom. The site is also mentioned in I Chronicles. Anatot is most likely the modern village of Anata.
17. Ai – Abraham encamped on the hill between Beit El and Ai, where he erected an altar and called upon the Lord. After Jericho, Ai was the second royal fortress to fall to Joshua and the Israelites, following the initial failed assault hindered by the misdeeds of Akhan ben Kharmi, who had absconded with forbidden spoils of war. Joshua’s army pitched camp on Ai’s northern side, with other troops left to ambuscade and capture the city. Ai is also mentioned in I Chronicles, Isaiah, Ezra, and Nehemiah. Ai’s ruins likely lie beneath the modern village of Deir Dibwan.
18. Jericho – The “City of the Moon”, one of the most famous cities in the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) and in the Talmud, Jericho was a walled palm and balsam oasis encountered by the likes of Joshua, Rahav, King David’s ambassadors to Ammon, the prophets Elijah and Elisha (two onetime residents), the doomed fugitive King Zedekiah of Judah, the Hasmonean rulers, King Herod the Great of Judea, etc. Centuries later the Arabian Jewish tribe of Banu Nadir sought refuge here from Muhammad.
19. Qumran – The former desert monastery of the sectarian “Yahad” community (probably Essenes) on the shores of the Salt Sea (Dead Sea), whose scriptorium hosted the creation of the Dead Sea Scrolls ultimately found in the surrounding, cave-pocked Judean Hills.
20. Beitar – The only man ever anointed as the Jewish Messiah, Shimon bar Kosiba (Bar Kokhba), finally fell in his hilltop headquarters in 135 CE after the city had endured a prolonged Roman siege. The sage and priest Elazar of Modi’in, Bar Kokhba’s uncle, also died here. The bastion was known for its natural spring and its defensible location as a steep neck of land bounded by valleys on three sides. Often mentioned in the Mishnah, Tosefta, Talmud, and Midrash Rabbah. Beitar is known today as Khirbat al-Yahud (“Ruin of the Jews”) and lies at the western edge of the modern village of Battir.
21. Beit Lehem (Ephrat) – A key locus along the ancient Derekh HaAvot (The Way of the Patriarchs/The Ridge Route) national highway connecting Lower Galilee and the Negev Desert. Beit Lehem is the storied locus just outside of which the matriarch Rahel is buried, and where Ruth, the Moabite proselyte to Judaism, married the wealthy Israelite landowner Bo’az. Beit Lehem was the home of the shepherd youth and slinger (a descendant of Ruth) who would become the warrior and psalmist King David, and the recorded birthplace of the Jewish reformer Jesus of Nazareth, who inspired a new world religion.
22. Tekoa – The village of Tekoa was home to the wise woman who convinced King David to pardon his rebellious son Avshalom, and was thereafter fortified by King Rehoboam of Judah. Most of all, it was home to the herdsman and prophet Amos, who gathered its sycamore fruit and who is buried there. Tekoa was also home to Khaleiv’s descendants and the site where King Yehoshaphat of Judah withstood the attack from neighboring nations. Tekoa was renowned for its oil and honey.
23. Herodium (Herodion) – Herodium is a partially manmade mountain where King Herod the Great of Judea commemorated an early military victory and later had himself inhumed. The mound was fortified during the Great Revolt (66–73 CE) and fell only after the destruction of Jerusalem. A synagogue from the Great Revolt era remains in situ. It was thereafter refortified as a district headquarters during the Bar Kokhba Revolt (132–135 CE).
24. Beit Zikharyah – Here Elazar Maccabee fell in the Battle of Beit Zikharyah (162 BCE) during his bold attempt to kill an elephant by stabbing its underbelly. The falling beast crushed him, and thus died the first of the five glorious Maccabee brothers.
25. Beit Tzur – A strategic site mentioned in Joshua that was later fortified by King Rehoboam of Judah and that eventually became a key Maccabean fortress along the border between Judea and Idumea. It was also the locus of a major Maccabean victory that paved the way for the Maccabees’ recapture of Jerusalem and for the advent of the Hanukah festival.
26. Hebron (Mamre/Kiryat Arba) – Hebron is one of the four holiest cities in Judaism and the locus of the Cave of the Patriarchs (and most Matriarchs), where Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rivkah, and Jacob and Leah are interred. Jewish tradition also locates the graves of Adam and Havah here. Abraham was a local resident after arriving in Canaan, and Hebron served as a key locus along the ancient Derekh HaAvot (The Way of the Patriarchs/The Ridge Route) national highway connecting Lower Galilee and the Negev Desert. Hebron was also where King David was anointed and established his capital for seven and a half years before the conquest of the Jebusite citadel of Jerusalem. The first Israelite Judge, Otniel ben Kenaz, is also entombed in Hebron. The Hasmonean hero Judah Maccabee and later the Zealot leader Shimon bar Giora reconquered the city from its Idumean and Roman occupiers, respectively. Renowned for its terebinths, Hebron is also one of the six cities of refuge in the Torah, and is mentioned therein 87 times. Numerous rabbinical authors have lived here, such as: Elijah de Vidas (1525), author of Reishit Hokhmah; Israel Tzvi (1731), author of Urim Gdolim; Aaron Alfandari (1772), author of Yad Aharon and Merkevet HaMishneh; Hayyim Abraham Israel Tzvi (1776), author of Be’er Mayyim Hayyim; Mordekhai Ruvio (1785), author of Shemen HaMor; Elijah Sliman Mani (d. 1878), author of Kisei Eliyahu; Rahamim Joseph Franco (d. 1901), author of Sha’arei Rahamim; and many more. For Jews, Hebron is second in stature only to Jerusalem.

The exempla above are only some of the seminal places, events, and key figures associated with the heartland of the homeland, wherein lie the modern communities and inhabitants of Ariel, Elon Moreh, Hashmonaim, Ma’aleih Adumim, Mevasseret Tzion, Ephrat, Alon Shevut, Kfar Etzion, Migdal Oz, and many, many others. In sum, the length and breadth of eastern Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and western Menasheh are steeped in 4,000 years of Jewish history, religion, culture, and civilization—ongoing in the present day and into the future.