Endnote 19 – The Fortresses King Solomon Built to Protect His Southern Border

The Bible contains a great deal of information about the highways in this area. The “Way of the Spies” was the principal route from Kadesh-Barnea to Arad. The “Way of Shur” (Genesis 16:7; 20:1) ran from Beer-Sheva through the area of Halussa, Nissana, and from there to the Sinai interior, on the way towards Egypt. The Bible also alludes to the “Way of Mount Seir” (Deuteronomy 1:1–2), the “Way of the Mount of the Amorites” (Deuteronomy 1:19), and the “Way of the Red Sea” (Exodus 13:18; Numbers 21:4; 14:25; Deuteronomy 1:40; 2:1). There is a striking resemblance between the array of fortresses along the eastern edge of the Central Negev—from Horvat Rahba south to the Sede Boqer area until beyond Mishor Haruah, and then west to Ein Qedeis and Kadesh-Barnea—and the southern border of the tribe of Judah as described in Joshua 15:1–4: “The portion that fell by lot to the various clans of the tribe of Judah … Their southern boundary began from the tip of the Dead Sea, from the tongue that projects southward. It proceeded to the south of the Ascent of Akrabbim, passed on to Zin, ascended to the south of Kadesh-Barnea, passed on to Hezron, ascended to Addar … and the boundary ran to the Sea. That shall be your southern boundary.” Such a border would also explain why no remains of Israelite fortresses have been located south of Makhtesh Ramon. Aharoni believed that the Negev fortress network continued down the Aravah, via Yotveta, to the Eilat district, where Solomon’s Red Sea harbor was presumably located (Aharoni, “Forerunners,” IEJ 17 [1967]). However, subsequent research has shown that there is no archaeological basis for this view. Ze’ev Meshel’s excavations at Yotveta have revealed that the fortress here postdates considerably those of the Central Negev network (Meshel, “Notes and News: Yotveta,” IEJ 24 [1974] pp. 273–274) and a recent re-examination of Glueck’s finds at Tel el-Kheleifeh (which he identified with Ezion-geber) has conclusively proved that the tenth-century B.C. pottery is not represented (Gary Pratico, “Tell el Kheleifeh 1938–1940: A forthcoming reappraisal,” BA, 1982, pp. 120–121). It may be, therefore, that Solomon employed the Edomite King’s Highway in Transjordan (which was under his control), and that the actual site of the port is in the vicinity of present-day Akabah.