Endnote 39 – Redating the Exodus

A low ridge to the northeast of Beitin cannot qualify, for it would not be described as a mountain (Hebrew, har), and since et-Tell lies southeast of Beitin this ridge is in no sense between the two sites. Zevit implies that a low hill immediately west of et-Tell is the mountain in question (see “The Problem of Ai,” BAR 11:02), but this is also probably too small to be described as a har, and in any case is about two miles from Beitin and thus does not suit the wording of Genesis 12:8, which requires a mountain close to Bethel.