Horvat Maon (western Negev) explained

Horvat Maʿon (Hebrew) or Tell Maʿin / Khirbet el-Maʿin^[1] (Arabic) is an archaeological site located southwest of Gaza, southwest of Kibbutz Nirim in the Negev, the arid southern portion of Israel; in the Roman period, the site is thought to have formed the western boundary of the Limes Palaestinae.

Biblical cities named Maon

A different Maon (Khirbet Ma'in), southeast of Hebron, near Carmel and Ziph, is mentioned in 15:55 HE in the tribal territory of Judah, and not to be confused with Horvat Maon of the Negev.^{[2] [3]} Others have sought to place Horvat Maon of the Negev with Beth-baal-meon (13:17 ) and Beth-meon (48:23 ).^[4]

History and archaeology

Horvat Maʿon, under the name Menois, was the capital of Saltus Constantinianus,^[5] also known as Saltus Constantiniaces,^[6] an administrative district formed by either Constantine the Great or Constantius II.^[7]

Excavations there have uncovered the Maon Synagogue, known for its mosaics adorned with various animals and likely built around 600 CE.^{[8] [9]} The date of the mosaic has been alternatively given as the first half of the 6th century, based on its style.^[10]

Notes and References

1. Negev & Gibson (2005), p. 314
2. Book: Amit . David . Ben-Yosef, Sefi. Hurvat Ma'on. Israel Guide - Judaea (A useful encyclopedia for the knowledge of the country). 9 . Keter Publishing House, in affiliation with the Israel Ministry of Defence . Jerusalem. n.d.. 222–223 . he. 745203905 .
3. Book: David Noel Freedman. Allen C. Myers. Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible. 31 December 2000. Amsterdam University Press. 978-90-5356-503-2. 854.
4. Book: Karel van der Toorn. Bob Becking. Pieter Willem van der Horst. Na'aman. N. .

   he:נדב נאמן

   . Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible. 1999. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. 978-0-8028-2491-2. 147.
5. Aharoni, Y. "The Land of Gerar." Israel Exploration Journal, vol. 6, no. 1, 1956, p. 30. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/27924640.
6. Book: Steven H. Werlin. Ancient Synagogues of Southern Palestine, 300-800 C.E.: Living on the Edge. 7 August 2015. BRILL. 978-90-04-29840-8. 264.
7. Book: Hagith Sivan. Palestine in Late Antiquity. 2008. OUP Oxford. 978-0-19-928417-7. 337.
8. Yeivin, S. "A Year's Work in Israel." Archaeology, vol. 11, no. 4, 1958, pp. 244–245. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/41663614.
9. http://www.antiquities.org.il/article_Item_eng.asp?sec_id=25&subj_id=240&id=1513&module_id=#as
10. Negev, Avraham & Gibson, Shimon. Mosaics. Archaeological encyclopedia of the Holy Land, Continuum International Publishing Group, 2005, pp. 314-315.