Eshtaol Explained

Eshtaol
Other Name:	اشتأول
Pushpin Map:	Israel jerusalem#Israel
Pushpin Mapsize:	250
Pushpin Label Position:	left
Coordinates:	31.7811°N 35.01°W
Subdivision Type2:	District
Established Title:	Founded
Established Date:	8000 BCE (Earliest settlement) 1200 BCE (Israelite settlement) 1600s or earlier (Arab village) 1949 (Israeli moshav)
Unit Pref:	dunam
Population Density Km2:	auto
Website:	www.eshtaol.org.il

(Hebrew: אֶשְׁתָּאוֹל) is a moshav in central Israel, and a biblical location mentioned in the Books of Joshua and Judges and in the first Book of Chronicles. Located 6km (04miles) north of,^[1] it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Yehuda Regional Council. In, it had a population of .

History

Antiquity

In 2013, archaeological excavations conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority near discovered the oldest structure ever found in the Shfela region of the Judean Hills, dating back to the first permanent human settlement in the area some 10,000 years ago.^{[2] [3]} Excavations at the site continued into 2014, led by A. Yaroshevich on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority.^[4]

Biblical era

was in the territory allotted to the Tribe of Dan (Joshua 19:41), and located on the border of the tribe of Judah. Although listed in Joshua 15:33 as being a city in the plain, it is actually partly in the hill country, partly in the plain. According to the biblical narrative, Samson began to be agitated by the Spirit of God in the locality of Mahaneh Dan (the camp of Dan), the district "between Zorah and " (Judges 13:25). After his death in Gaza, Samson's body was brought back for burial in the tomb of his fatherManoah between and Zorah (Judges 16:31). Five scouts from and Zorah were sent out to find a land suitable for the tribe of Dan. (Judges 18:1–29).^[5]

Modern

Modern was founded on the lands of the depopulated Arab villages of and after the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.^{[6] [7]} It was part of a plan to establish settlements in the Jerusalem Corridor to create a contiguous bloc between the coastal plain and Jerusalem. The first residents were Jewish immigrants from Yemen, who settled there in December 1949. They worked in land reclamation and forestry. The Jewish National Fund (JNF) established a 45-dunam nursery in to supply saplings for JNF forests. Later, the moshav branched out into poultry and other agricultural enterprises. At the end of the 1990s, the moshav absorbed 100 new families.

See also

• Eshtaol Forest
• Cities in the Book of Joshua

Bibliography

• Golani, Amir (27 November 2008): Eshta’ol, Hadashot Arkheologiyot – Excavations and Surveys in Israel, No. 120.
• Solimany, Gideon (11/03/2009): Eshta’ol Junction, Hadashot Arkheologiyot – Excavations and Surveys in Israel, No. 121.
• Golani, Amir and Dan Storchan (1 January 2009): Eshta’ol, Hadashot Arkheologiyot – Excavations and Surveys in Israel, No. 121.
• Freikman, Michael (23 July 2010): Eshta’ol, Hadashot Arkheologiyot – Excavations and Surveys in Israel, No. 122.
• Storchan, Dan (20 December 2010): Eshta’ol, Survey of Sha‘ar Ha-Gāy–Hartuv Junctions, Hadashot Arkheologiyot – Excavations and Surveys in Israel, No. 122.
• Storchan, Dan (22 November 2012): Eshta’ol, Hadashot Arkheologiyot – Excavations and Surveys in Israel, No. 124.

External links

• Moshav website

Notes and References

1. [Google Maps]
2. News: Hasson . Nir . Rare, 10,000-year-old Structure Emerges From Judean Hills . 25 November 2013 . . 2 May 2019.
3. [Israel Antiquities Authority]
4. [Israel Antiquities Authority]
5. https://web.archive.org/web/20000422202856/http://www.ancientsandals.com/overviews/eshtaol.htm Eshtaol – Walking in Their Sandals – location profile
6. https://web.archive.org/web/20110718151559/http://www.palmach.org.il/show_item.asp?levelId=38612&itemId=5888&itemType=0 Harel Brigade report from the diary of operations of Operation Danny
7. Book: Khalidi, Walid . Walid Khalidi

   . Walid Khalidi . All that Remains . Institute for Palestine Studies . Washington DC . 0-88728-224-5 . 1992. 294.