Yigael Yadin on “Hazor, the Head of All Those Kingdoms”

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The site of Hazor, located in upper Galilee, consists of a 30-acre upper tell, plus an adjacent plateau at a lower level of over 175 acres. The tell, unlike the plateau, was occupied almost continuously from the 27th century B.C. to the 2nd century B.C. By contrast, the plateau, or lower city, was a part of Hazor only during the Middle and Late Bronze Ages, from about the time of Abraham to the Israelite conquest. This was the Canaanite period, when Hazor was at its zenith, when, as the Bible tells us, Hazor was “the head of all those kingdoms” (Josh. 11:10), a characterization confirmed by archaeological excavations. In Canaanite times, Hazor was the largest city in the area. Excavations also confirm that this great city was destroyed and burned by Joshua (Josh. 11:11–12).

Life continued thereafter at Hazor only on the upper tell, where it had also been confined before the Middle Bronze Age expansion. Following Joshua’s destruction, only a small unfortified settlement was maintained on the tell by the conquering Israelites. So it remained until Solomon rebuilt the city and re-fortified it with a casemate wall^a connected to a magnificent gate of three chambers on either side and two towers flanking the entrance. This major city of the Israelite monarchy was but one of 21 levels the archaeologists uncovered on the tell.

Yigael Yadin who directed the Hazor excavations presents a survey of his findings in a new volume entitled Hazor, The Head of All Those Kingdoms.^b Originally delivered as the Schweich Lectures before the British Academy, this volume lives up to the high standard maintained by Schweich lectures over the years. It is precise, detailed and, at the same time, a sweeping contribution to our knowledge of the ancient Near East, as so many Schweich volumes have been. Among those earlier contributions was one by Yadin’s father, E. L. Sukenik, whose 1930 Schweich lectures were published in a now-classic volume entitled Ancient Synagogues in Palestine and Greece. No doubt Yadin felt both the honor and weighty responsibilities of this tradition as he himself followed in his father’s path.

For all that, the book is not easy reading. Much of its detail is in the nature of a preliminary archaeological report, and its pages are often supported by a foundation of copious footnotes. Yadin here writes for the serious student; the reader who prefers a more popular treatment would do well to wait for the more popular book which Yadin is preparing on Hazor, in the style of his highly successful Masada and Bar-Kokhba volumes.

The range of Biblical and archaeological problems on which the Hazor excavations bear is enormous. Consider these examples:

A fragment of the earliest known alphabet, Proto-Canaanite, was uncovered.

An enormous earthern embankment and dry moat protected the lower city on the plateau, which tells us much about the fortifications of the Middle Bronze Age, as well as the weapon this glacis was intended to resist, the newly-employed battering ram.

The excavators also found the earliest casemate wall fortification ever discovered in Israel—which dates several centuries before the common casemate walls of the Solomonic period.

A number of pre-Israelite temples were discovered, some of which were in operation simultaneously. From these we get a new glimpse into pre-Israelite worship in the land of Canaan. The plan of one of these temples bears a striking resemblance to the Temple which Solomon was later to build. A late addition to the Canaanite temple, just before the Israelite destruction of Hazor, included two free-standing pillars 004reminiscent of the Jachin and Boaz pillars of the later Solomonic Temple (see 1 Kings 7:21).

A plastered cistern for water storage was discovered which precedes by several centuries the generally accepted date, propounded by the late Professor W. F. Albright, for the invention of lime plaster. Previously, it was thought that this invention to store water enabled the Israelites to settle hundreds of new sites in the hill country which had no ready access to living water. With lime-plastered cisterns, rainwater could be collected and stored in a seep-proof container. Obviously, this theory as to the technological basis for the early Israelite settlements must now be revised.

In the 1968 season, Yadin discovered and excavated Hazor’s monumental water tunnel and its prime water source. A magnificent engineering feat, the water system consists first of a large rectangular shaft which descends by rock-cuts stairs around the side of the shaft. Some of these steps are almost 20 feet wide, extending the entire width of the shaft. From the bottom of the shaft one walks down a long sloping tunnel, at the bottom of which is a spring. This water supply system may now be compared with those found at Megiddo, Gibeon, Gezer, and Jerusalem.

The Hazor excavations, also provide a significant and direct insight to several major Biblical problems—for example, the nature of the Israelite conquest, especially in the north. Was it a peaceful infiltration culminating in small local conflicts or was it launched by the major military action described in Joshua 11? The Hazor excavations strongly support the historicity of Joshua 11, with the destruction of Hazor occurring shortly after the Israelites entered the land of Canaan in the 13th century, B.C. There could not have been a peaceful infiltration prior to this early destruction of Hazor.

Another Biblical problem involves the story of the prophetess Deborah, her champion Barak, and their war with the Canaanite general Sisera, which is described in Judges 4. According to this Biblical account, Barak’s action was fought against Jabin, the King of Hazor, whom Sisera served. Yet at this time, according to the Biblical chronology, Joshua had already destroyed and burnt Hazor. How could the king of Hazor hold Israel in thrall, as he apparently does in the account of Judges 4, if the Israelites had already destroyed his kingdom, as they did according to Joshua 11?

The answer, according to Yadin, is that the references to Hazor in Judges 4 are a later and inaccurate gloss. Hazor, according to Yadin, was not the setting for the Sisera episode, for it lay in ruins from a time soon after the Israelites entered Canaan. That the references to Hazor and Jabin in Judges 4 are a late gloss is suggested not only by the archaeological evidence, but by the literary evidence as well. The story of Deborah and Barak, and their encounter with Sisera, is told in prose in Judges 4 and is repeated in a poetic song version—a hymn of battle—in Judges 5. In the latter, no mention is made of the fact that Sisera commanded the forces of Jabin, King of Hazor. Sisera is simply the leader of the Canaanite forces. Moreover, in both versions the battle takes place in the western part of the Jezreel Valley, far from Hazor. It is unlikely that the king of Hazor would be fighting a battle against the Israelites so far from home. All of this supports Yadin’s conclusion that in Judges 4 a later editor attempted to ascribe Hazor as the background for the battle of the Jezreel Valley, and, for this purpose, inserted the references to Hazor and Jabin in the prose version of the story.

However, another explanation is possible: The Biblical chronology may be in error. According to this argument, the sequence should be reversed: the battle of Deborah and Barak with Sisera may have preceded the destruction of Hazor, in which case Hazor could have been the setting for the Sisera episode. This view has been adopted by several scholars, including Yohanan Aharoni. However, such a theory is now difficult to reconcile, not only with the Biblical chronology, but also with the fact that the Israelite destruction of Hazor, as pinned down by Yadin’s excavation, clearly took place soon after the Israelites entered Canaan—in the 13th century, B.C. Deborah could hardly have been earlier than the 13th century—the Israelites were in the desert then.

As in any modern excavation of a Biblical site, only a fraction of Hazor has 015been excavated, even though it was one of Israel’s major archaeological undertakings. Many historical riches still remain buried in the ground to entice future excavators. This fact is emphasized by the finding of a cuneiform tablet after the excavations were closed, presumably on the surface of the mound. Yadin refers to the tablet in an appendix to his book. He has seen only a photograph of the tablet and advises the reader that, “For various reasons this [tablet] is beyond my control at the present moment.” Yadin refuses to say any more about the tablet lest this jeopardize his efforts to retrieve it. According to the Jerusalem rumor mill, however, it was found by an American tourist who illegally smuggled it out of the country. Efforts to retrieve it supposedly include the threat of extradition proceedings. The find is an important one. The text of the tablet involves an ancient lawsuit over some property in Hazor—it even mentions the name of the city, which lays to rest any lingering doubt as to the identification of the site. But the most intriguing fact about the tablet is its clear archival character—it is probably part of a royal administrative document center which still lies buried and undiscovered. Such an archive, if uncovered, could well rival the libraries of Amarna or Nuzi. Anyone want to volunteer to return with Yadin to Hazor?

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The site of Hazor, located in upper Galilee, consists of a 30-acre upper tell, plus an adjacent plateau at a lower level of over 175 acres. The tell, unlike the plateau, was occupied almost continuously from the 27th century B.C. to the 2nd century B.C. By contrast, the plateau, or lower city, was a part of Hazor only during the Middle and Late Bronze Ages, from about the time of Abraham to the Israelite conquest. This was the Canaanite period, when Hazor was at its zenith, when, as the Bible tells us, Hazor was “the head of all those […]