The site is located about 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) southeast of
Yatta. Immediately to the north lies the modern small village of
Ma'in.
Etymology
The Hebrew name is variously spelled as Horvat Ma'on,[2]Horvat Maon,[1] or Hurbat Ma'on. Tel Ma'on is sometimes also used.[5]
The Hebrew word ma'on means 'dwelling', 'habitation'.[6]
Horvat, horbat, hurbat, hurvat are transliteration variants of the Hebrew word for 'ruins' and direct equivalents of the Arabic
khirbet.
Tell is the transliteration of the Arabic word, tel of the Hebrew one, both meaning mound created by accumulation of settlement layers.
The site is first mentioned as one of the cities of
Judah.[7][8] Maon was the place of birth of
Nabal the Carmelite.[9] In
1 Samuel 23:24–25, "the wilderness of Maon" is mentioned as a place of refuge for
David when he fled from
king Saul.[7] The site is not referred to again in biblical sources.[7]
Late Roman (?) and Early Byzantine period
After the destruction of the
Second Temple, there is again a reference to the site, when Rabban
Yohanan ben Zakkai is said to have gone up to Maon of Judah.[7][10]
In the early 4th century CE, Maon was mentioned in
Eusebius' Onomasticon as being "in the tribe of Judah; in the east of
Daroma."[11] During the Late Roman-Early Byzantine period, Darom or Daroma (Hebrew and
Aramaic for "South") became a term used for the southern Hebron Hills in
rabbinic literature and in Eusebius' Onomasticon.[12][11] At the time, the Hebron Hills were demographically separated into two distinct districts, with only the southern one retaining a Jewish population along with a newer, Christian one.[13]
Archaeology
Occupation periods
Archaeologists have discovered at the site potsherds dating back to the
Early Bronze Age, the
Iron Age (
Israelite period) including jar handles bearing the
palaeo-Hebrew inscription
LMLK, 'for the king', and from the
Hellenistic period.[7]Sherds have also been found in situ from the
Roman and
Byzantine periods, as well as from the
Middle Ages.[7]Wine and
olive presses from the Roman and Byzantine periods were discovered on the west slope of the tell.[14] The ancient synagogue of Ma'on is dated to the Byzantune period (see below).[14] The absence of material traces from the late 7th-early 8th century are an indication of the abandonement of the village at that time.[14]
Byzantine-period synagogue
A synagogue dating back to the Byzantine/
Talmudic period was discovered at Hurvat (Horbat) Ma'on.[15] Two occupation phases were discerned, covering the 4th/5th through the 7th century.[14]
Tell Maʻîn –– A mound some 100 feet high. On the west are foundations, caves, and cisterns, and foundations of a tower about 20 feet square. The masonry in this tower is large, with a broad irregular draft and a rustic boss. One stone was 3 feet 8 inches long, 2 feet 9 inches high, the draft about 3 inches wide. There is also a round well-mouth, 5 feet diameter, cut out of a single stone.[17]
Horbat Maon is situated SE of the Arab town of
Yatta, on the north side of
regional highway 317. Today,[when?] on the northern slope of the
tell are settled several families[who?] who have recently moved there from
Yatta.[citation needed]
Further reading
Ilan, Z.[in Hebrew] (1988). "Maon - A Synagogue from the period of the Talmud (מעון - בית כנסת מתקופת התלמוד)". Sela'it - A Monthly Magazine for the Youth (in Hebrew). 17 (2). Tel-Aviv: The Society for the Protection of Nature: 16–17.
ISSN0334-4479.
Ilan, Z.[in Hebrew] (1991). Ancient Synagogues in Erez Israel (בתי כנסת קדומים בארץ ישראל). Tel-Aviv: Miśrad ha-biṭaḥon.
ISBN9650505229.
OCLC26159213.
Amit, David (2003). Synagogues at Tell Maon and at Tell 'Anim, and the Jewish settlement in the south of Mount Hebron (בתי הכנסת בחורבת מעון ובחורבת ענים והיישוב היהודי בדרום הר חברון). Jerusalem: Hebrew University (Doctoral dissertation).
OCLC170885342.
Gallery
The ancient hill of Tel Ma'on,[which?] South Hebron Hills
^
abAmit, David (1998). "Architectural Plans of Synagogues in the Southern Judean Hills and the 'Halakah'". In Dan Urman; Paul Virgil McCracken Flesher (eds.).
Ancient Synagogues: Historical Analysis and Archaeological Discovery. Studia Post Biblica (47)/Themes in Biblical Narrative (47). BRILL. p.
130.
ISBN9004112545. Retrieved 8 February 2024.130]
^Aharoni, Y. (1979). The Land of the Bible: A Historical Geography (2 ed.). Philadelphia: Westminster Press. p. 439.
ISBN0664242669.
OCLC6250553. (original Hebrew edition: 'Land of Israel in Biblical Times - Historical Geography',
Bialik Institute, Jerusalem (1962))
^David Amit page at IAA website. Accessed 8 Feb 2024.
Al-Muqaddasi (1994). The Best Divisions for Knowledge of the Regions. Translated by Basil Anthony Collins. Reading: Garnet Publishing.
ISBN1-873938-14-4.
Amit, David (n.d.). "Hurvat Ma'on". In Ben-Yosef, Sefi (ed.). Israel Guide - Judaea (A useful encyclopedia for the knowledge of the country) (in Hebrew). Vol. 9. Jerusalem: Keter Publishing House, in affiliation with the Israel Ministry of Defence.
OCLC745203905.
Chapman III, Rupert L.;
Taylor, J.E., eds. (2003). Palestine in the Fourth Century A.D.: The Onomasticon by Eusebius of Caesarea. Translated by G.S.P. Freeman-Grenville. Jerusalem: Carta. p. 72.
ISBN965-220-500-1.
OCLC937002750.