Chorath Explained

Chorath, Kerith (Hebrew: נַחַל כְּרִית), or sometimes Cherith (; from the Septuagint's Χειμάῤῥους Χοῤῥάθ), is the name of a wadi, or intermittent seasonal stream[1] mentioned in the Hebrew Bible.[2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] The prophet Elijah hid himself on the banks of the Chorath and was fed by ravens during the early part of the three years' drought which he announced to King Ahab (17:3 ).

Etymology and toponymy

Cherith is a common English spelling of the Hebrew name כְּרִית Kərīṯ, that comes from the Hebrew root כרת (Ḵ-R-T) meaning to cut off or cut down.[10] [11] The name also signifies to engrave or carve, a cutting, separation, gorge, torrent-bed, or winter-stream.

Chorath is the name used in the 3rd-century BCE Greek translation of the Torah or Pentateuch, known as the Septuagint.

Cherith is referred to as a nahal in Hebrew (נחל,), a seasonal stream often described in a MENA context as a wadi, from the Arabic term وادي ().

Identification

Wadi al-Yabis

It is usually identified with Wadi al-Yabis, a stream in western Jordan, which flows into the Jordan River at a spot opposite of Beit She'an and slightly south of it.[12] Travellers have described it as one of the wildest ravines of the Fertile Crescent, and peculiarly fitted to afford a secure asylum to the persecuted. During the summer, the stream is very dry.[13] Olive trees grow on its banks, and it is home to an array of wildlife including gazelle, hyrax, and egret.[14]

According to the 1994 Peace treaty between Israel and Jordan, Israel can maintain its use of the Jordan River waters between the Yarmouk and Wadi al-Yabis.[15] [16]

Wadi Kelt

Alternatively, the stream Chorath has been identified by some with Wadi Kelt at St. George's Monastery.[17] If 1 Kings 17:3 is to be translated "Wadi Chorath, which is east of the Jordan", this identification would be in contradiction to the Bible, since Wadi Qelt is west of it. The King James version states Elijah should "turn eastward" (from Samaria); therefore the brook could be anywhere east of Samaria (now Sebastia, West Bank), on either side of the River Jordan.[18] Some translations (i.e. the Orthodox Jewish Bible: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Kings+17%3A3&version=OJB) allow such an interpretation, by stating that Chorath is merely "near the Yarden" (Yarden being the Hebrew name of the River Jordan).

Wadi Fusail

Conder and Kitchener noted, while writing of Qaryut, that "[t]his place, being at the head of Wady Fusail, seems to have given rise to the mediaeval identification of that valley as the Brook Cherith (mentioned by Marino Sanuto in 1321)."[19] Sanuto commented that the stream extended into Phasaelis, which was named after Prince Phasael, the brother of King Herod.[20] This identification would again contradict the more common translation of 1 Kings 17:3 (see comment above at "Wadi Kelt"), since Wadi Fusail with both modern Qaryut and ancient Phasaelis lie west, not east of the Jordan.

Other uses of the name

The name is also a Mizrahi Jewish surname, specifically among Jews of Yemenite extraction. They descend from the tribe of Bnei Chorath (Hebrew version of Arabic Banu al-Harith), which is of Qahtanite origin and was once one of the most important tribes of the city of Najran.[21]

Irish novelist, short-story writer, poet, art critic, memoirist and dramatist George Moore (1852-1933) wrote The Brook Kerith: A Syrian Story published in 1916, a retelling of the New Testament account of the life of Jesus.

Notes and References

  1. Frederick Fyvie Bruce, The Gospel of John: Introduction, Exposition, Notes, p. 339. Eerdmans, 3rd edition (1994)
  2. Web site: A dictionary of the Bible; comprising its antiquities, biography, geography, and natural history . Che'rith, the brook . 26 August 2011.
  3. Book: Keller, David . 2011 . Desert Banquet: A Year of Wisdom from the Desert Mothers and Fathers .
  4. M.. Waheeb. The Discovery of Elijah's Hill and John's Site of the Baptism, East of the Jordan River from the Description of Pilgrims and Travellers. Asian Social Science . 8 . 8. 2012 . 10.5539/ass.v8n8p200. free.
  5. S. . Fitzgerald . Apostolic Geography: The Origins and Continuity of a Hagiographic Habit . Dumbarton Oaks Papers . 64 . 2010 . 5–25 . Academia.
  6. Web site: The Life Of John The Elder And The Cave Of Sapsas . St. Luke the Evangelist Greek Orthodox Church . 18 September 2014 . 26 February 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210226193405/http://saintlukecolumbia.org/orthodoxy-articles/2011/3/28/the-life-of-john-the-elder-and-the-cave-of-sapsas.html . dead .
  7. Web site: The Peraea and the Dead Sea. The Madaba Mosaic Map. 26 August 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110727182851/http://www.christusrex.org/www1/ofm/mad/sources/sources017.html. 27 July 2011. dead.
  8. Book: Johnson, Scott Fitzgerald . 2016 . Literary Territories: Cartographical Thinking in Late Antiquity .
  9. Book: Pustet, Anton . 1901 . Studien und Mitteilungen zur Geschichte des Benediktinerordens und seiner Zweige .
  10. http://biblehub.com/hebrew/3747.htm Kerith on Bible Hub
  11. http://biblehub.com/hebrew/3747.htm Definition of karath, New American Standard: Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible
  12. Book: Armstrong, George . 1895 . Names and places in the Old and New Testament and apocrypha: With their modern identifications .
  13. Book: Easton, Matthew George . 1897 . The Bible Dictionary: Your Biblical Reference Book . Thomas Nelson . 9780933186590 . 1st .
  14. Web site: The Peraea and the Dead Sea . Jordan Beauty . 19 August 2012.
  15. [Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs]
  16. Book: Shapland, Greg . Rivers of Discord: International Water Disputes in the Middle East . 1st . 1997 .
  17. Web site: The Life Of John The Elder And The Cave Of Sapsas . St. Luke the Evangelist Greek Orthodox Church . 9 July 2016 . 26 February 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210226193405/http://saintlukecolumbia.org/orthodoxy-articles/2011/3/28/the-life-of-john-the-elder-and-the-cave-of-sapsas.html . dead .
  18. King James Bible; 1 Kings 17:3
  19. Book: Conder. C.R.. Claude Reignier Conder. Kitchener. H.H.. Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener. The Survey of Western Palestine: Memoirs of the Topography, Orography, Hydrography, and Archaeology. 288. Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund. 2. 1882. London. 7 July 2021.
  20. Book: Armstrong, George . 1895 . Names and places in the old and new testament and apocrypha: With their modern identifications .
  21. [Norman A. Stillman]