Anathoth

A beautiful village, in the tribe of Benjamin, about three miles from Jerusalem, remarkable for being the birthplace of the prophet Jeremiah. The name, if taken, as may be supposed, from Anath, signifies song.

An´athoth, one of the towns belonging to the priests in the tribe of Benjamin, and as such a city of refuge (Jos 21:18; Jer 1:1). It occurs also in 2Sa 23:27; Ezr 2:23; Neh 7:27; but is chiefly memorable as the birthplace and usual residence of the prophet Jeremiah (Jer 1:1; Jer 11:21-23; Jer 29:27). Dr. Robinson appears to have discovered this place in the present village of Anata, at the distance of an hour and a quarter from Jerusalem. It is seated on a broad ridge of hills, and commands an extensive view of the eastern slope of the mountainous tract of Benjamin; including also the valley of the Jordan, and the northern part of the Dead Sea. It seems to have been once a walled town and a place of strength. Portions of the wall still remain, built of large hewn stones, and apparently ancient, as are also the foundations of some of the houses. It is now a small and very poor village. From the vicinity a favorite kind of building-stone is carried to Jerusalem.

One of the cities given to the priests, in Benjamin; identified by Robinson in Anata, some four miles north by east of Jerusalem, Jos 21:18 ; 1Ch 6:60 . It was the birthplace of the prophet Jeremiah, Jer 1:1 ; 32:7. It’s people, however, rejected his words, and sought his life, Jer 11:21 .\par

Anathoth. (answers to prayer).

1. Son of Becher, a son of Benjamin. 1Ch 7:8.

2. One of the "heads of the people" who signed the covenant in the time of Nehemiah. Neh 10:19. (B.C. 410).

3. A priests’ city belonging to the tribe of Benjamin, with "suburbs." Jos 21:18; 1Ch 6:60. Anathoth lay about three miles from Jerusalem. Isa 10:30.

The cultivation of the priests survives in tilled fields of grain, with figs and olives. There are the remains of walls and strong foundations, and the quarries still supply Jerusalem with building stones.

1. 1Ch 7:8.

2. 1Ch 10:19.

3. A priests’ city of Benjamin. ("echoes".) (Jos 21:18; 1Ch 6:60). Abiathar the priest was banished thither by Solomon after his attempt to put Adonijah on the throne (1Ki 2:26). Abiezer’s birthplace, one of David’s 30 captains (2Sa 23:27); Jehu’s also, one of his mighties (1Ch 12:3); Jeremiah’s, the priest and prophet, also (Jer 1:1). Among the restored captives from Babylon were 128 men of Anathoth The name is variously given: Anethothite, Anetothite, Antothite. Near the road, about three miles N. from Jerusalem (Isa 10:30). Now Anata, on a broad ridge, amidst fields of grain, figs, and olives. There are remains of walls, and quarries supplying stone to Jerusalem.

(Heb., A nathoth’, עֲנָתוֹת, answers, i.e. to prayers; Sept. Α᾿ναθώθ), the name of one city and of two men.

1. One of the towns belonging to the priests in the tribe of Benjamin, and as such a city of refuge (Jos 21:18). it is omitted from the list in Jos 18:1-28, but included “suburbs” (1Ch 6:60 [45]). Hither, to his “fields,” Abiathar was banished by Solomon after the failure of his attempt to put Adonijah on the throne (1Ki 2:26). This was the native place of Abiezer, one of David’s 30 captains (2Sa 23:27; 1Ch 11:28; 1Ch 27:12), and of Jehu, another of the mighty men (1Ch 12:3). The “men” (אֲנָשִׁים, not בָּנִים, as in most of the other cases; compare, however, Netophah, Michmash, etc.) of Anathoth returned from the captivity with Zerubbabel (Ezr 2:23; Neh 7:27; 1Es 5:18). It is chiefly memorable, however, as the birthplace and usual residence of the prophet Jeremiah (Jer 1:1; Jer 11:21-23; Jer 29:27; Jer 32:7-9), whose name it seems to have borne in the time of Jerome, “Anathth of Jeremiah” (Onomast. s.v.). The same writer (Comment. in Jer 1:1-19; Jer 1:1-19) places Anathoth three Roman miles north of Jerusalem, which correspond with the twenty stadia assigned by Josephus (Ant. 10, 7, 3). In the Talmud (Yoma, 10) it is called Anath (עֲנָת). (For other notices, see Reland’s Paloest. p. 561 sq.) Anathoth lay on or near the great road from the north to Jerusalem (Isa 10:30). The traditional site at Kuriet el-Enab does not fulfill these conditions, being 10 miles distant from the city, and nearer west than north. Dr. Robinson (Researches, 2, 109) appears to have discovered this place in the present village of Anata, at the distance of an hour and a quarter from Jerusalem (Tobler, Topogr. 5, Jerus. 2, 394). It is seated on a broad ridge of hills, and commands an extensive view of the eastern slope of the mountainous tract of Benjamin, including also the valley of the Jordan, and the northern part of the Dead Sea (see Hackett’s Illustr. of Script. p. 191). It seems to have been once a walled town and a place of strength. Portions of the wall still remain, built of large hewn stones, and apparently ancient, as are also the foundations of some of the houses. It is now a small and very poor village; yet the cultivation of the priests survives in tilled fields of grain, with figs and olives. From the vicinity a favorite kind of building-stone is carried to Jerusalem. Troops of donkeys are employed in this service, a hewn stone being slung on each side; the larger stones are transported on camels (Raumer’s Paldistina, p. 169; Thomson’s Land and Book, 2, 548).

Its inhabitants were sometimes called ANATHOTHITES SEE ANATHOTHITES (Annethothi’, עִנְּתֹתִי, “Anethothite,” 2Sa 23:27; or Anthothi’, עִנְתֹתִי, “Antothite,” 1Ch 11:28;

“Anetothite,” 27:12). SEE ANTOTHITE.

2. The eighth named of the nine sons of Becher, the son of Benjamin (1Ch 7:8). B.C. post 1856.

3. One of the chief Israelites that sealed the covenant on the return from Babylon (Neh 10:19), B.C. cir. 410.

Anathoth (ăn’a-thŏth), answers or echoes. A Levitical city in Benjamin, Jos 21:18; 1Ch 6:60; the birthplace of Jeremiah, Jer 1:1; Jer 11:21; Jer 11:23; Jer 32:7-9; on the route of the Assyrians, Isa 10:30; some of its people returned with Zerubbabel, Ezr 2:23; Neh 7:27.

[An’athoth]

1. Beniamite, son of Becher. 1Ch 7:8.

2. One of the chiefs of the people who sealed the covenant. Neh 10:19.

3. City assigned to the priests in the territory of Benjamin, where Abiathar the high priest had his own ’fields,’ and where Jeremiah was born: its inhabitants persecuted the prophet. Identified with Anata , 31° 49’ N, 35° 15’ E. Jos 21:18; 1Ki 2:26; 1Ch 6:60; Ezr 2:23; Neh 7:27; Neh 11:32, Isa 10:30; Jer 1:1; Jer 11:21; Jer 11:23; Jer 29:27; Jer 32:7-9.

By: Ira Maurice Price

A town in the territory of Benjamin in Palestine, included among the original Levitical cities (Josh. xxi. 18; compare I Chron. vi. 60). It has been identified by Robinson with the modern village 'Anâta, about two and one-half miles northeast of Jerusalem. It was the home of Abiathar (I Kings, ii. 26) and of Jeremiah, the prophet (Jer. i. 1). It was also probably one of the towns occupied by the exiles who returned from captivity. Its importance was due largely to its superior commanding elevated location. See Anath.

ANATHOTH.—1. A town in Benjamin given to the Levites (Jos 21:18); the modern ‘Anâta, 2¹/4 miles N. of Jerusalem, an insignificant village with considerable ruins. It was the home of Abiathar (1Ki 2:26) and of Jeremiah (Jer 1:1); re-occupied after the exile (Neh 7:27; Neh 10:19). 2. A Benjamite, son of Becher (1Ch 7:8).

W. Ewing.

Possibly plural of Anath, a feminine Chaldean deity, worshipped in Chanaan [Enc. Bib. s. v. Anath; Lagrange, "Juges" (Paris, 1903), 62-63].(1) Anathoth is identified with Anata, about two and a half miles north--east of Jerusalem, and everything favours that identification; around Anata are found the names of the villages mentioned in Isaias, x, 28. From its height (2235 ft.), Anata, which seems to have been fortified in the past, commands a fine but desolate view east and south-east the north end of the Dead Sea and the Lower Jordan are visible across the hills of the wilderness. Between Jerusalem and Anata rise the heights of the Scarus (Mesarif), where Titus and his legions encamped when besieging Jerusalem. On those heights is built the village of El ’Tsawiyeh (2390 ft.), perhaps the Laisa mentioned with Anathoth in Isaias, x, 30 (Buhl, Geographic des alten Palästina, 175). Anathoth is reckoned among the Levitical cities of Benjamin (Joshua 21:18; 1 Chronicles 6:60). Abiezer, one of Davids valiant men was from that city (2 Samuel 23:27), which had also given to David one of his first followers in the person of Jehu (1 Chronicles 12:3). There Abiathar the priest, had lands, to which he was banished by Solomon, suspicious of the understanding between his brother Adonias and Abiathar (1 Kings 2:26). One hundred and twenty eight men of Anathoth returned from Babylon, according to the list in I Esd. (Ezra), ii, 23 and II Esdr. (Neh.), vii, 27. But its chief interest lies in the fact that it was the home of Jeremias family (Jeremiah 1:1; 29:27; 32:7-9). But there he also, "the . . . of the incomparable One", experienced that "no prophet is accepted in his own country" (Jeremiah 11:21-23).(2) One of the sons of Bechor (Becher in the genealogy of Benjamin) I Par., vii, 8.(3) One of the subscribers to the covenant [II Esd. (Neh.), x, 19].----------------------------------- CHEYNE, Jeremiah, his Life and Times (1888), 21-22; BUHL, Geographie des alten Palästina (1896), 175; SMITH, The Historical Geography of the Holy Land, (12th ed. New York, 1906), 253, n. 4; a 315, sqq.; BÆDEKER-BENZIGER, Palästina und Syrien, (6th ed. Leipzig, 1904), 88. EDWARD ARBEZ Transcribed by W.S. French, Jr. The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume ICopyright © 1907 by Robert Appleton CompanyOnline Edition Copyright © 2003 by K. KnightNihil Obstat, March 1, 1907. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., CensorImprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York

an´a-thoth (ענתות, ‛ănāthōth; Ἀναθώθ, Anathō̇th): A town which lay between Michmash and Jerusalem (Isa 10:30), in the territory of Benjamin, assigned to the Levites (Jos 21:18). It was the native place of Abiathar (1Ki 2:26), and of the prophet Jer (Jer 1:1; Jer 11:21, etc.). Here lay the field which, under remarkable circumstances, the prophet purchased (Jer 32:7). Two of David’s distinguished soldiers, Abiezer (2Sa 23:27) and Jehu (1Ch 12:3), also hailed from Anathoth. It was again occupied by the Benjamites after the return from the Exile (Neh 11:32, etc.). It is identified with , ‛Anātā, two and a quarter miles Northeast of Jerusalem, a small village of some fifteen houses with remains of ancient walls. There are quarries in the neighborhood from which stones are still carried to Jerusalem. It commands a spacious outlook over the uplands to the North, and especially to the Southeast, over the Jordan valley toward the Dead Sea and the mountains of Moab. There is nothing to shelter it from the withering power of the winds from the eastern deserts (Jer 4:11; Jer 18:17, etc.).