Beth-nimrah

Beth-Nimrah (Hebrew: בית נמרה‎‎), also called Nimrin, was a town in Transjordan and features prominently in early Jewish history.

The town was located in the Jordan Valley, approximately 12 kilometers (7.5 mi) north of the Dead Sea and 16 kilometers (9.9 mi) east of Jericho. It was assigned to the Tribe of Gad.[1] In late antiquity, the town took on the name Nimrin, until its demise. The town is described as being "in the low plain". The name is preserved in the names Tel Nimrin and Wadi Nimrin (Riverine gulch of Nimrin), which last marks the northern limit of the Plains of Moab. The ancient site is believed to have straddled over three ancient mounds: Tel Nimrin (also called Tel esh-Shunah), Tel Bleibil and Tel el-Mustaḥ.[2] Tel Nimrin is situated almost immediately east of the Arab village of Shuneh, on the south side of Wadi Nimrin. In the Book of Joshua it was said to have belonged formerly to the kingdom of Sihon.[3]

In the 4th century BCE, the town was settled by Israelites who had returned from the Babylonian exile and marked the furthest extent eastward of Jewish settlement in Transjordan.[4] The town is also mentioned in the 3rd century CE Mosaic of Rehob.

References

  1. ↑ Numbers 32:36
  2. ↑ Nelson Glueck, Some Ancient Towns in the Plains of Moab, Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, Issue No. 91 (Oct., 1943), p. 12 (See: Glueck, Nelson (1943). "Ancient Towns in the Plains of Moab". Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research. 91: 7–26. JSTOR 3219054. (registration required (help)).).
  3. ↑ Joshua 13:27
  4. ↑ Samuel Klein, Eber hay-Yarden hay-Yehudi (The Jewish Transjordan), pub. in: Palestinian Studies: Neue Beiträge zur Geschichte und Geographie Galiläas (New contributions to the history and geography of Galilee), vol. 1 - Issue no. 3, Vienna 1925, p. 13 (Hebrew)
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