What Judea & Samaria Mean to the Jewish People

by Brandon Marlon
January 17th, 2013

For Jews, the ancient tribal territories of Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, 
and west Menasheh - a.k.a. Judea and Samaria or the West Bank - 
form the very heartland of the homeland. Sadly, ceding these 
central areas to the Arabs remains a political possibility and 
far too many Jews who are disconnected from their history and 
heritage are wholly unaware of what these crucial regions 
of the Land of Israel mean to Jewry collectively.

Here, then, is a pr?cis outlining the provinces' most important 
geographical sites, figures, and historical contexts, in the hope 
of underscoring their great significance to all the People of Israel:

1. Samaria (Shomron) - Capital of the Omride kings of Israel 
(Omri, Ahab, Joram, etc.), and the ancient center of a thriving wine 
and oil industry. Mentioned in I & II Kings and II Chronicles, as well as 
by the prophets Amos, Isaiah, Micah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Obadiah. 
Samaria also appears in Josephus and its orchards are praised in the 
Mishnah. The ruined city was later possessed by Hasmonean king 
Alexander Yannai, rebuilt and renamed Sebaste (Sabastiyah) by Herod 
the Great and controlled by Jewish king Agrippa I until the Roman 
occupation and colonization. The prophet Elisha is said to be buried here, 
as is the Jew known as John the Baptist.

2. Shechem - Situated in the narrow valley between Mounts Ebal and 
Gerizim, Shechem is where Abraham built an altar under the oak of Moreh; 
where Jacob encamped, bought a field, and buried idols and earrings; 
where Dinah was raped and brutally avenged; and where Joseph the 
Righteous is buried. Here Joshua drew up the Mosaic statutes, erected a 
stone monument under the oak tree, and convened the elders and judges 
of Israel before his death, adjuring them to pledge allegiance to God. 
Gideon's sons fought over the city after that great judge's death. 
King David twice versified the city in the Psalms. King Rehoboam was 
crowned here and King Jeroboam was elected here and made it his 
initial capital. Shechem is also a Levitical city and one of the biblical cities 
of refuge. Vespasian built Neapolis (Nablus) on the ruins of the destroyed city, 
which is also mentioned by the prophets Hosea and Jeremiah, Josephus, 
and in the Midrash Rabbah. For the sectarian Samaritans, Shechem equals 
what Jerusalem is to mainstream Jews.

3. Mount Ebal (Eval) - Here Joshua built an altar of unhewn stones and 
made a peace sacrifice to God following the fall of Ai, also inscribing and 
reading the Torah before the Israelites and in the presence of the Ark of 
the Covenant. The taller counterpart of Gerizim, toward which the 
Levites pronounced the Mosaic curses.

4. Mount Gerizim - Where the other half of Israel stood listening to Joshua, 
and toward which the Levites pronounced blessings. The smaller counterpart 
of Ebal is known foremost as the holy mountain for Samaritans, who celebrate 
Passover atop its peak. It is also where Johanan Hyrcanus destroyed the 
pagan shrine built by the Seleucids, and where the Samaritan leader 
Baba Rabbah built a synagogue.

5. Shiloh - From this town Joshua made plans with the assembled people 
to finish apportioning the land to the tribes. Shiloh was for centuries home 
to the Tabernacle (Mishkan) and the Ark of the Covenant after the 
settlement in Canaan, and where the High Priest Eli and his sons officiated. 
The first religious center of the Israelites, to which Elkanah made an annual 
pilgrimage and where his barren wife Hannah vowed to consecrate a 
son to God if she could conceive. After giving birth to the prophet Samuel, 
Hannah recited her song of praise here. Mentioned repeatedly in Jeremiah, 
Shiloh was also home to the prophet Ahijah.

6. Ma'aleh Levonah - Site of the first major Maccabean battle and victory, 
in which Judah Maccabee defeated the Syrian Greeks and killed the Samarian 
mysarch Apollonius, taking his sword for himself.

7. Gilgal - First campsite and base of Joshua and the Israelites upon 
entering Canaan, where Joshua erected the twelve stones gathered from 
the Jordan River, and where the people celebrated Passover and 
circumcised those born in the desert. The prophet Samuel also judged 
Israel here, and King Saul was crowned at this sacred site. 
The prophets Elijah and Elisha passed through the city prior to Elijah's 
whirlwind ascent. Gilgal was a Levitical city in the time of Nehemiah. 
Mentioned by the prophets Amos and Hosea, and in the Talmud.

8. Gophna Hills - These woods served as a refuge and training ground 
for the Maccabees during the rebellion against Antiochus IV and his 
Seleucid Greeks in the second century BCE. Here farmers became 
fighters and militiamen a military, in what would become the only 
successful revolt of Jews against imperial oppressors.

9. Beth El (Luz) - Abraham erected a sacred altar to the Lord between 
Beth El and Ai. Here Jacob spent a night dreaming he saw a ladder 
rising heavenward, with angels ascending and descending it. 
A heavenly voice then assured him of divine protection, confirming 
the promise that the land upon which he rested would be for him 
and his descendants. When morning came, Jacob built a sacred pillar 
over which he poured oil as a thanksgiving offering. For a time the 
Tabernacle and Ark of the Covenant were stationed in Beit El, 
and in the conflict with the tribe of Benjamin the Israelites prayed, 
fasted, and offered sacrifices here. The prophetess Deborah lived nearby, 
and Samuel sojourned here to judge the people. King Saul gathered his 
forces here against the Philistines. Frequented by King Jeroboam as a 
central shrine, Beit El hosted a community of prophets during the 
time of Elisha (who was mocked by the children of Beit El), and 
witnessed Amos's righteous indignation against illegitimate worship 
and the impious priest Amaziah. Later, the pious King Josiah cleansed 
the city of its cultic practices. The city hosted General Bacchides's 
Syrian garrisons during the Maccabean Revolt. Mentioned often in 
Joshua, Judges, I & II Kings, Hosea, Jeremiah, and Ezra.

10. Mizpah - Here the Israelites gathered to punish the tribe of Benjamin 
after the outrage committed by the men of Gibeah. Home of the reluctant 
judge Jephthah who repeated his conditions for leadership in Mizpah. 
Also where the prophet Samuel assembled the people to fight and defeat 
the advancing Philistines, and where he annually judged Israel. 
King Asa of Judah fortified the place, and the Babylonian-appointed 
governor Gedaliah established Judah's capital here after the fall of 
Jerusalem and was later assassinated in Mizpah (giving rise to the fast day 
in his memory around the Jewish new year). The city was also a district 
capital in Nehemiah's time, and was later where the Maccabees prayed, 
tore their clothing, wore sackcloth and ashes, fasted, and read the Torah 
before the Battle of Emmaus.

11. Michmash - Where King Saul gathered his army before the Philistines 
encamped there, and from which the latter fled following defeat. 
Mentioned in Isaiah, Ezra, Nehemiah, I Maccabees, and by Josephus, 
and praised in the Mishnah for its excellent wheat. Jonathan the Hasmonean 
resided here prior to assuming the high priesthood.

12. Emmaus (Nicopolis) - Where Judah Maccabee defeated Nicanor and 
frightened off Gorgias in a stunning and strategic double victory over the 
Seleucids. The town was known for its hot springs, and is often mentioned 
in the Talmud. Tannaitic rabbis held discussions here, including local 
scholar Nehunya ben Ha-Kanah, and Yochanan ben Zakkai's prized 
disciple Eleazar ben Arach took up residence in Emmaus.

13. Beth Horon - The sun stood still here for Joshua in battle. Both a village 
fortified by King Solomon and a steep pass where the Canaanites fled 
from Joshua, Judah Maccabee defeated Seron and his phalanx of hoplites, 
and Shimon Bar Giora and other zealot stalwarts similarly defeated 
Roman general Cestius Gallus during The First Revolt.

14. Gibeon (Givon) - The city whose men negotiated in bad faith with 
Joshua, and where Joab fought Abner by the pool and slew Amasa. 
King David conquered the Philistines nearby, and Gibeon is also the 
site at which King Solomon sacrificed a thousand burnt offerings to God, 
Who appeared to Solomon in a dream eliciting then granting the 
king's request for good judgment. Mentioned in I Kings, I & II Chronicles, 
Jeremiah, Nehemiah, and the Talmud.

15. Elasa (Eleazar) - Site of the tragic battle in which the woefully 
outnumbered Judah Maccabee fell, and equated by some to Mount Baal 
Hazor (near Ramallah), mentioned in the Dead Sea Scrolls.

16. Anathoth (Almon) - The Levitical hometown of Evyatar the priest 
and of Jeremiah, in which the hopeful prophet redeemed property from 
his cousin Hanamel in defiance of Judah's dire situation under the 
Babylonians, giving the lie to his reputation as a preacher of doom 
and gloom. Also mentioned in I Chronicles.

17. Ai - Abraham encamped on the hill between Beth El and Ai, 
building an altar and calling upon the Lord. After Jericho, 
Ai was the second royal fortress to fall to Joshua and the Israelites, 
following the initial failed assault hindered by the misdeeds of Akhan. 
Joshua's army pitched camp on Ai's north side, while other troops 
left to ambush and capture the city. Also mentioned in I Chronicles, 
Isaiah, Ezra, and Nehemiah.

18. Jericho - One of the most famous cities in the Torah, Jericho was 
a walled palm and balsam oasis that encountered the likes of Joshua, 
Rahab, King David's ambassadors to Ammon, the prophets Elijah and 
Elisha (two onetime residents), the doomed fugitive King Zedekiah, 
the Hasmoneans and Herod. Centuries later the Arabian Jewish tribe 
of Banu Nadir sought refuge here from Muhammad.

19. Qumran - The desert monastery on the shores of the Dead Sea of 
the sectarian Essenes, whose scriptorium hosted the creation of the 
famed Dead Sea Scrolls ultimately found in the surrounding 
cave-pocked Judean Hills.

20. Betar - Shimon Bar Kochba finally fell in his hilltop headquarters 
after the city had endured a prolonged Roman siege. The sage Eleazar 
of Modi'in also died here. The bastion was known for its spring and 
defensible location as a steep neck of land bounded with valleys 
on three sides. Often mentioned in the Mishnah, Tosefta, Talmud, 
and Midrash Rabbah.

21. Bethlehem (Efrat) - Where our matriarch Rachel is buried and 
where the convert Ruth married Boaz. Bethlehem was the home of 
the shepherd youth and slinger (a descendant of Ruth) who would 
become the warrior and psalmist King David, and the birthplace 
of another famous Jew, Jesus, who inspired a new world religion.

22. Tekoa - A village that was home to the wise woman who 
convinced King David to pardon his rebellious son Absalom, 
and that was later fortified by King Rehoboam. Most of all, 
it was home of the herdsman and prophet Amos who gathered 
its sycamore fruit and is buried there. Also home to Caleb's 
descendants and the site where King Jehoshaphat withstood 
the attack from neighboring nations. Tekoa was renowned for 
its oil and honey.

23. Herodium (Herodion) - An artificially built mountain visible 
from southern Jerusalem where Herod the Great commemorated 
an early military victory and later had himself inhumed. The mound 
was fortified during The First Revolt and fell only after the 
destruction of Jerusalem. A synagogue from The First Revolt era 
remains in situ. It was thereafter refortified as a district headquarters 
during the Bar Kochba Revolt.

24. Beth Zechariah - Eleazar the Hasmonean fell in battle here in 
his bold attempt to kill an elephant by stabbing its underbelly. 
The falling beast crushed him, and thus died the first of the 
five brave Maccabee brothers.

25. Beth Zur - A town mentioned in Joshua, later fortified by 
King Rehoboam, and eventually a key Maccabean fortress 
along the border between Judah and Edom. Also the locale of 
a major Maccabean victory that paved the way for the recapture 
of Jerusalem and the advent of Chanukah.

26. Hebron - Also known as Mamre and Kiryat Arba, and renowned 
for its terebinths, Hebron is one of the four holiest cities in Judaism 
and the location of the Cave of the Patriarchs (and most Matriarchs) 
where Abraham/Sarah, Isaac/Rebecca, and Jacob/Leah are interred. 
Tradition also places the graves of Adam and Eve here. 
Abraham was a local resident after arriving in Canaan. Hebron was 
also where King David was anointed and established his capital 
for seven years before the conquest of the Jebusite citadel of 
Jerusalem. The first Judge of Israel, Otniel ben Kenaz, is also 
entombed in Hebron. Judah Maccabee and later Shimon Bar Giora 
reconquered the city from its Idumaean and Roman occupiers. 
Hebron is also one of the six cities of refuge in the Torah and 
is mentioned therein 87 times. Numerous rabbinical authors have 
lived here, among them Elijah de Vidas, author of Reshit Chochmah; 
Abraham Israel Ze'evi, author of Urim Gedolim; Aaron Alfandari, 
author of Yad Aharon and Merkebet ha-Mishneh; Mordecai Ruvio, 
author of Shemen ha-Mor; Elijah Sliman Mani, author of 
Kissei Eliyahu; Rachamim Joseph Franco, author of Sha'arei 
Rachamim; and many more. For Jews, Hebron is second in 
stature only to Jerusalem.

* * * * * These are only some of the seminal places, events, 
and people associated with Judea and Samaria, added to which 
are the modern sites and inhabitants of Ariel, Elon Moreh, 
Hashmonaim, Ma'aleh Adumim, Mevasseret Zion, Efrat, 
Alon Shevut, Kfar Etzion, Migdal Oz, and many others.

In sum, the length and breadth of Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, 
and west Menasheh are steeped in four millennia of Jewish history, 
religion, culture, and civilization - ongoing in the present day and 
into the future. Forsaking these regions would mean disintegrating 
Jewish identity and disavowing Jewish heritage.
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About the Author: Brandon Marlon is a Canadian-Israeli playwright, 
poet, and freelance writer. He is the author of "Judean Dreams and 
Inspirations of Israel: Poetry for a Land and People."