Ai (Bible)
Encyclopedia
Ai refers to one or two places in ancient Israel
:
is also mentioned by the Book of Genesis as having been a religious sanctuary, which it claims was founded by Abraham
; Abraham's tent, i.e. the area he settled, is stated by the Bible to have been between Bethel
and Ai.
In the Book of Joshua
chapter 7-8 in the Bible, the Israelites attempt to conquer Ai on two occasions, the first in Joshua 7 failing. The Biblical account portrays the failure as being due to a prior sin of Achan
; for which Achan, his children, wife, sheep, and other livestock, are stoned to death
by the Israelites. On the second attempt in Joshua 8, Joshua
, who is identified by the narrative as the leader of the Israelites, plans and leads an ambush at the rear of the city on the western side. When the city is captured, it is set on fire and razed to the ground. "So Joshua burned Ai and made it a permanent heap of ruins" --Joshua 8:28 NIV.
Edward Robinson
suggested in 1838 that Et-Tell
could be the location of the Biblical city of Ai, as did Charles Wilson in 1866, on the evidence of Biblical references and nearby topography
. This identification was backed by the American
scholar William Foxwell Albright, who further argued in a 1924 paper that the site of et-Tell held the ruins of a great Canaan
ite city. A further point in its favour is the fact that the Hebrew name Ai means more or less the same as the modern Arabic name et-Tell. Albright's identification has been accepted by the majority of the archaeological community, and today et-Tell is widely believed to be one and the same as the Biblical Ai.
If et-Tell is indeed Ai, this poses a problem for defenders of the literal historicity of the Biblical accounts concerning the origin of ancient Israel
; the reason for this is that traditional dating schemes place the Exodus
from Egypt in 1440 BC and Joshua's conquest of Canaan around 1400 BC, a time at which the archaeological evidence
shows Ai to have been completely unoccupied, as it had been for almost 1000 years. The later Iron Age
I village appeared with no evidence of initial conquest, and the Iron I settlers seem to have peacefully built their village on the forsaken mound, without meeting resistance. In addition Ai, meaning Ruin is a particularly strange name for a city to have, while it is a quite ordinary name for a pile of rubble to have; Ai would only really be expected to become Ai after it had been destroyed not before.
Some archeologists and biblical scholars have suggested that the Biblical account of the conquest of Ai derives from an etiological myth - a type of tale which "explains the origin of a custom, state of affairs, or natural feature in the human or divine world." Ancient folk lore contained tales of impressive ruins as well as vague details of their destruction. The destruction of Ai could have been one of these tales which was retold to fit with the Israelite invasion and conquest. Since the ruin was a ruin since c. 2400 BC, a time when Canaan was under Egyptian
control, and it remained uninhabited until about 1000 B.C. when the Israelites are thought to have settled there, this means that Ai would have been in ruins for over a thousand years before the biblical account of its destruction. There are three main theories about how to explain the biblical story surrounding Ai in light of archaeological evidence. The first is that the story was created later on to explain it; Israelites related it to Joshua because of the fame of his great conquest. The second is that there were people of Bethel inhabiting Ai during the time of the biblical story and they were the ones who were invaded. A problem with this theory is the several times mentioned “king of Ai” in Joshua 8. The most accepted theory comes from Professor Albright, who combines these two theories to present a more probable explanation. This theory basically states that the story of the Conquest of Bethel, which was only a mile and a half away from Ai, was later transferred to Ai in order to explain the city and why it was in ruins. Support for this can be found in the Bible, which does not mention the actual capture of Bethel, but does speak of it in memory in Judges 1:22-26.
Callaway has proposed that the city somehow angered the Egyptians (perhaps by rebelling, and attempting to gain independence), and so they destroyed it as punishment. Although the vast majority of archaeologists support the identification of Ai with Et-Tell, a few opponents, prominently including Bryant Wood
, object to this identification. The alternative proposal is that the Bible's chronology of events is accurate, and the Biblical Ai is not to be located at et-Tell, but a different site entirely. Dr. Bryant Wood has proposed that Ai should instead be located at the site of Kirbet el-Maqatir arguing that the evidence for this site being Ai is stronger than at et-Tell.
Et-Tell
is unsuitable as the Ai of the time of Joshua, since Joshua indicates that Ai was smaller than Jericho and Gibeon, whereas et Tell is double their size (Kirbet el-Maqatir is indeed smaller than Jericho and Gibeon, and was occupied and destroyed in Late Bronze I). Probably the main reason Kirbet el-Maqatir has been overlooked is that the correct site for Bethel (al Birah) has not been accepted.
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
:
- A city mentioned along with HeshbonHeshbonHeshbon was an ancient town located east of the Jordan River in the modern Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and historically within the territories of Ammon and Ancient Israel....
by JeremiahJeremiahJeremiah Hebrew：יִרְמְיָה , Modern Hebrew:Yirməyāhū, IPA: jirməˈjaːhu, Tiberian:Yirmĭyahu, Greek:Ἰερεμίας), meaning "Yahweh exalts", or called the "Weeping prophet" was one of the main prophets of the Hebrew Bible...
49:3, whose location is currently unknown, and which may or may not be the same as: - A CanaanCanaanCanaan is a historical region roughly corresponding to modern-day Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, and the western parts of Jordan...
ite royal city which according to the Book of JoshuaBook of JoshuaThe Book of Joshua is the sixth book in the Hebrew Bible and of the Old Testament. Its 24 chapters tell of the entry of the Israelites into Canaan, their conquest and division of the land under the leadership of Joshua, and of serving God in the land....
was conquered by the Israelites on their second attempt. The ruins of the city are popularly thought to be in the modern-day archeological site Et-TellEt-TellEt-Tell is an archaeological site in the West Bank that is popularly thought to be the Biblical city of Ai.- Location :The site of et-Tell is about 3 km east of the modern village of Beitin , atop a watershed plateau overlooking the Jordan Valley and the city of Jericho 14 km east.-...
(see below).
The Ai of Joshua
The Ai mentioned by the Book of JoshuaBook of Joshua
The Book of Joshua is the sixth book in the Hebrew Bible and of the Old Testament. Its 24 chapters tell of the entry of the Israelites into Canaan, their conquest and division of the land under the leadership of Joshua, and of serving God in the land....
is also mentioned by the Book of Genesis as having been a religious sanctuary, which it claims was founded by Abraham
Abraham
Abraham , whose birth name was Abram, is the eponym of the Abrahamic religions, among which are Judaism, Christianity and Islam...
; Abraham's tent, i.e. the area he settled, is stated by the Bible to have been between Bethel
Bethel
Bethel was a border city described in the Hebrew Bible as being located between Benjamin and Ephraim...
and Ai.
In the Book of Joshua
Book of Joshua
The Book of Joshua is the sixth book in the Hebrew Bible and of the Old Testament. Its 24 chapters tell of the entry of the Israelites into Canaan, their conquest and division of the land under the leadership of Joshua, and of serving God in the land....
chapter 7-8 in the Bible, the Israelites attempt to conquer Ai on two occasions, the first in Joshua 7 failing. The Biblical account portrays the failure as being due to a prior sin of Achan
Achan (Bible)
Achan , also called Achar, is a figure mentioned by the Book of Joshua in connection with the fall of Jericho and conquest of Ai.According to the narrative of Joshua chapter 7, Achan pillaged an ingot of gold, a quantity of silver, and a costly garment, from Jericho; the text states "But all the...
; for which Achan, his children, wife, sheep, and other livestock, are stoned to death
Collective punishment
Collective punishment is the punishment of a group of people as a result of the behavior of one or more other individuals or groups. The punished group may often have no direct association with the other individuals or groups, or direct control over their actions...
by the Israelites. On the second attempt in Joshua 8, Joshua
Joshua
Joshua , is a minor figure in the Torah, being one of the spies for Israel and in few passages as Moses's assistant. He turns to be the central character in the Hebrew Bible's Book of Joshua...
, who is identified by the narrative as the leader of the Israelites, plans and leads an ambush at the rear of the city on the western side. When the city is captured, it is set on fire and razed to the ground. "So Joshua burned Ai and made it a permanent heap of ruins" --Joshua 8:28 NIV.
Edward Robinson
Edward Robinson (scholar)
Edward Robinson was an American biblical scholar, known as the “Father of Biblical Geography.” He has been referred to as the “founder of modern Palestinology.” -Biography:...
suggested in 1838 that Et-Tell
Et-Tell
Et-Tell is an archaeological site in the West Bank that is popularly thought to be the Biblical city of Ai.- Location :The site of et-Tell is about 3 km east of the modern village of Beitin , atop a watershed plateau overlooking the Jordan Valley and the city of Jericho 14 km east.-...
could be the location of the Biblical city of Ai, as did Charles Wilson in 1866, on the evidence of Biblical references and nearby topography
Topography
Topography is the study of Earth's surface shape and features or those ofplanets, moons, and asteroids...
. This identification was backed by the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
scholar William Foxwell Albright, who further argued in a 1924 paper that the site of et-Tell held the ruins of a great Canaan
Canaan
Canaan is a historical region roughly corresponding to modern-day Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, and the western parts of Jordan...
ite city. A further point in its favour is the fact that the Hebrew name Ai means more or less the same as the modern Arabic name et-Tell. Albright's identification has been accepted by the majority of the archaeological community, and today et-Tell is widely believed to be one and the same as the Biblical Ai.
If et-Tell is indeed Ai, this poses a problem for defenders of the literal historicity of the Biblical accounts concerning the origin of ancient Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
; the reason for this is that traditional dating schemes place the Exodus
The Exodus
The Exodus is the story of the departure of the Israelites from ancient Egypt described in the Hebrew Bible.Narrowly defined, the term refers only to the departure from Egypt described in the Book of Exodus; more widely, it takes in the subsequent law-givings and wanderings in the wilderness...
from Egypt in 1440 BC and Joshua's conquest of Canaan around 1400 BC, a time at which the archaeological evidence
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
shows Ai to have been completely unoccupied, as it had been for almost 1000 years. The later Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
I village appeared with no evidence of initial conquest, and the Iron I settlers seem to have peacefully built their village on the forsaken mound, without meeting resistance. In addition Ai, meaning Ruin is a particularly strange name for a city to have, while it is a quite ordinary name for a pile of rubble to have; Ai would only really be expected to become Ai after it had been destroyed not before.
Some archeologists and biblical scholars have suggested that the Biblical account of the conquest of Ai derives from an etiological myth - a type of tale which "explains the origin of a custom, state of affairs, or natural feature in the human or divine world." Ancient folk lore contained tales of impressive ruins as well as vague details of their destruction. The destruction of Ai could have been one of these tales which was retold to fit with the Israelite invasion and conquest. Since the ruin was a ruin since c. 2400 BC, a time when Canaan was under Egyptian
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
control, and it remained uninhabited until about 1000 B.C. when the Israelites are thought to have settled there, this means that Ai would have been in ruins for over a thousand years before the biblical account of its destruction. There are three main theories about how to explain the biblical story surrounding Ai in light of archaeological evidence. The first is that the story was created later on to explain it; Israelites related it to Joshua because of the fame of his great conquest. The second is that there were people of Bethel inhabiting Ai during the time of the biblical story and they were the ones who were invaded. A problem with this theory is the several times mentioned “king of Ai” in Joshua 8. The most accepted theory comes from Professor Albright, who combines these two theories to present a more probable explanation. This theory basically states that the story of the Conquest of Bethel, which was only a mile and a half away from Ai, was later transferred to Ai in order to explain the city and why it was in ruins. Support for this can be found in the Bible, which does not mention the actual capture of Bethel, but does speak of it in memory in Judges 1:22-26.
Callaway has proposed that the city somehow angered the Egyptians (perhaps by rebelling, and attempting to gain independence), and so they destroyed it as punishment. Although the vast majority of archaeologists support the identification of Ai with Et-Tell, a few opponents, prominently including Bryant Wood
Bryant G. Wood
Bryant G. Wood is a Young Earth creationist and biblical archaeologist and Research Director of the inerrantist Associates for Biblical Research. He is known for his 1990 proposed redating of the destruction of Jericho to accord with the biblical chronology of c. 1400 BC. The proposal was later ...
, object to this identification. The alternative proposal is that the Bible's chronology of events is accurate, and the Biblical Ai is not to be located at et-Tell, but a different site entirely. Dr. Bryant Wood has proposed that Ai should instead be located at the site of Kirbet el-Maqatir arguing that the evidence for this site being Ai is stronger than at et-Tell.
Et-Tell
Et-Tell
Et-Tell is an archaeological site in the West Bank that is popularly thought to be the Biblical city of Ai.- Location :The site of et-Tell is about 3 km east of the modern village of Beitin , atop a watershed plateau overlooking the Jordan Valley and the city of Jericho 14 km east.-...
is unsuitable as the Ai of the time of Joshua, since Joshua indicates that Ai was smaller than Jericho and Gibeon, whereas et Tell is double their size (Kirbet el-Maqatir is indeed smaller than Jericho and Gibeon, and was occupied and destroyed in Late Bronze I). Probably the main reason Kirbet el-Maqatir has been overlooked is that the correct site for Bethel (al Birah) has not been accepted.