View source for Anathoth

{{Short description|City in the Hebrew Bible}}
{{distinguish|Azathoth}}

[[File:Anathoth (Anata), p. 549 in Thomson, 1859.jpg|255px|right]]
'''Anathoth''' {{IPAc-en|ˈ|æ|n|ə|ˌ|θ|ɒ|θ}}<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Anathoth |encyclopedia=The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia |year=2013 |publisher=Columbia University Press |url=http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Anathoth }}</ref> is the name of one of the [[Levitical city|Levitical cities]] given to "the children of [[Aaron]]" in the [[tribe of Benjamin]] ({{Bibleref2|Joshua|21:13–18}}; {{Bibleref2|1 Chronicles|6:54–60}}). Residents were called Antothites or Anetothites.<ref name=smith1863/>

==Name==
The name of this town may be derived from a Canaanite goddess, `[[Anat]]. It is also mentioned as the name of an Israelite person in [[1 Chronicles]] ({{Bibleref2|1 Chr|7:8}}), and in [[Nehemiah]] ({{Bibleref2|Neh|10:19}}).

==History according to the Hebrew Bible==
[[File:Schnorr von Carolsfeld Bibel in Bildern 1860 140.png|thumb|right|The [[Jeremiah#Calling|Call of Jeremiah]] occurred in Anathoth, depicted in this 1860 woodcut by [[Julius Schnorr von Karolsfeld]]]]
Anathoth is mentioned as the native place of Abiezer the Anetothite, one of [[David]]'s "[[David's Mighty Warriors|thirty]]" ({{Bibleref2|2 Samuel|23:27}}), and of Jehu, another of his mighty men ({{Bibleref2|1 Chr|12:3}}). King [[Solomon]] banishes [[Abiathar]] the Priest to Anathoth, "unto thine own fields".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Kings+2%3A26&version=AKJV|title=1 Kings 2:26 AKJV - - Bible Gateway}}</ref> It is perhaps best known as the home town of the prophet [[Jeremiah (prophet)|Jeremiah]] ({{Bibleref2|Jer|1:1}}; {{Bibleref2|Jer|29:27||29:27}}; {{Bibleref2|Jer|32:7-9||32:7-9}}). He delivers a prophecy of tribulation by the sword against the residents of Anathoth, who were plotting against him ({{Bibleref2|Jer|11:21-23}}).

Anathoth suffered greatly from the army of [[Nebuchadnezzar II|Nebuchadnezzar]], and only 128 men returned to it from the [[Babylonian exile]] ({{Bibleref2|Neh|7:27}}; {{Bibleref2|Ezra|2:23}}). It lay about 3 miles north of [[Jerusalem]].

==Modern identification==
The [[Arab]] village of [['Anata]] was identified as the site of Anathoth by [[Edward Robinson (scholar)|Edward Robinson]]. Robinson's identification echoes that of [[Epiphanius of Salamis|Epiphanius]].<ref>''Epiphanius' Treatise on Weights and Measures - The Syriac Version'' (ed. James Elmer Dean), University of Chicago Press 1935, p. 72 (section 66)</ref> The modern [[Israeli settlement]] of [[Almon, Mateh Binyamin|Anatot]] (also known as Almon) was named after it.

[[Abu Ghosh]] has also been associated with Anathoth by [[Claude Reignier Conder|Conder]] and [[Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener|Kitchener]] in their 1883 [[Survey of Western Palestine]].<ref>Conder and Kitchener, 1883, p. [https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp03conduoft#page/18/mode/1up 18]</ref>

==In Christianity==
Some Christians{{Who|date=April 2024}} believe that Jeremiah prophesied that the field there would be bought from money by the chief priests, that [[Judas Iscariot]] had returned after he had betrayed [[Jesus]] before he hanged himself, an interpretation possibly favored by the [[Gospel of Matthew]]. ({{Bibleref2|Jeremiah|32:1-15}}; [[Matthew 27]]:3-10) Other readers{{Who|date=April 2024}} suggest that Jeremiah 32 simply shows Jeremiah purchasing the field as one of his many prophetic actions, indicating that the [[Babylonian captivity]] would come to an end and people would be returned to the land of Judah.

==References==
{{reflist|refs=
<ref name=smith1863>{{cite book | page=lxviii | title=A dictionary of the Bible: comprising its antiquities, biography, geography, and natural history | volume=3 |editor=William Smith | publisher=Little, Brown, and Co. | year=1863 }}</ref>
}}

{{Eastons|wstitle=Anathoth}}

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[[Category:Levitical cities]]
[[Category:13 Kohanic cities]]
[[Category:Cities of Refuge]]
[[Category:Anat]]