The Biblical site of Kiriath-jearim will soon be exposed—for the first time in millennia.
The Hebrew Bible records that this is the site where the Ark of the Covenant was kept for about 20 years after it had been captured by the Philistines and subsequently returned by them when Samuel was judging Israel (1 Samuel 6:1—7:2). During King David’s reign, the ark was brought from Kiriath-jearim to Jerusalem (1 Chronicles 13).
Israel Finkelstein of Tel Aviv University and Christophe Nicolle and Thomas Römer of the Collège de France will lead the new excavation. They hope to uncover information about Kiriath-jearim during the Iron Age (the time of the Israelite monarchies), and they expect to find a temple—or another significant place of worship—where the Ark of the Covenant possibly may have rested.
The Kiriath-jearim excavations are significant because they will be the first ever undertaken at the site. In fact, Kiriath-jearim is the only major Biblical site in ancient Judah that has not yet been excavated. Located on the hill where the Deir El-Azar Monastery currently stands, Kiriath-jearim is near the Arab town of Abu Gosh and about 7 miles west of Jerusalem.
Kiriath-jearim is alternatively called Kiriath-baal, Baalah and Baale-Judah in the Hebrew Bible (see, e.g., Joshua 15:60; 2 Samuel 6:2; 1 Chronicles 13:6), which implies that the city was affiliated with Baal worship before the ark ever arrived on its doorstep.
It seems likely that some sort of a temple or cultic place of worship will be uncovered at the site. But only time will tell.
The Biblical site of Kiriath-jearim will soon be exposed—for the first time in millennia.
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