Endnote 49 – Redating the Exodus

It is frequently assumed that the Ai of the late monarchy and post-Exilic periods was not located at et-Tell but at another site somewhere in the general area. While a shift in location is theoretically possible, no site with suitable occupation periods has yet been found in the vicinity of et-Tell. See Zevit, “Archaeological and Literary Stratigraphy in Joshua 7–8, ” BASOR 251 (1983), p. 34, note 14. Some commentators have assumed that the Aiath mentioned in Isaiah 10:28 is Ai, but if Ai is to be located at Khirbet Nisya, Aiath must be distinguished from it. The topographical list of Isaiah 10:28–32 suggests a site for Aiath near Deir Dibwan, and a possible candidate is Khirbet Haiyan where some Iron Age II sherds were found, see Kochavi, Judea, Samaria and the Golan, p. 178, site No. 96. (We owe this suggestion to Gordon Franz.) A more detailed investigation of the site than hitherto undertaken would be needed to check this possibility.