Eshtaol () is a moshav in central Israel, and a biblical location mentioned in the Books of Joshua and Judges and in the first Book of Chronicles. Located north of the city of Beit Shemesh,Google Maps using Route 38 it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Yehuda Regional Council. In , it had a population of .
Hebrew Bible was in the territory allotted to the Tribe of Dan (), and located on the border of the tribe of Judah. Although listed in as being a city in the plain, it is actually partly in the hill country, partly in the plain. According to the biblical narrative, Samson began to be agitated by the Spirit of God in the locality of Mahaneh Dan (the camp of Dan), the district "between Zorah and " (). After his death in Gaza, Samson's body was brought back for burial in the tomb of his father Manoah between and Zorah (). Five scouts from and Zorah were sent out to find a land suitable for the tribe of Dan. ().Eshtaol – Walking in Their Sandals – location profile
History and archaeology Neolithic settlement
In 2013, archaeological excavations conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority near discovered the oldest structure ever found in the Shfela region of the Judean Hills, dating back to the first permanent human settlement in the area some 10,000 years ago.Israel Antiquities Authority, Excavators and Excavations Permit for Year 2013, Survey Permit # A-6869. The excavation was led by archaeologists Amir Golani, Ron Beeri, Jacob Vardi, and Benjamin Eliezer Storchan on behalf of Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA). Excavations at the site continued into 2014, led by A. Yaroshevich on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority.Israel Antiquities Authority, Excavators and Excavations Permit for Year 2014, Survey Permit # A-7163
Modern Eshtaol Eshtaol was founded on the lands of the depopulated Arab villages of and after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.Harel Brigade report from the diary of operations of Operation Danny Palmach It was part of a plan to establish villages in the Jerusalem corridor to create a contiguous bloc between the coastal plain and Jerusalem. The first residents were Jewish immigrants from Yemen, who settled there in December 1949. They worked in land reclamation and forestry. The Jewish National Fund (JNF) established a 45-dunam nursery in to supply saplings for JNF forests. Later, the moshav branched out into poultry and other agricultural enterprises. At the end of the 1990s, the moshav absorbed 100 new families.
References
Bibliography Golani, Amir (27 November 2008): Eshta’ol, Hadashot Arkheologiyot – Excavations and Surveys in Israel, No. 120. Solimany, Gideon (11/03/2009): Eshta’ol Junction, Hadashot Arkheologiyot – Excavations and Surveys in Israel, No. 121. Golani, Amir and Dan Storchan (1 January 2009): Eshta’ol, Hadashot Arkheologiyot – Excavations and Surveys in Israel, No. 121. Freikman, Michael (23 July 2010): Eshta’ol, Hadashot Arkheologiyot – Excavations and Surveys in Israel, No. 122. Storchan, Dan (20 December 2010): Eshta’ol, Survey of Sha‘ar Ha-Gāy–Hartuv Junctions, Hadashot Arkheologiyot – Excavations and Surveys in Israel, No. 122. Storchan, Dan (22 November 2012): Eshta’ol, Hadashot Arkheologiyot – Excavations and Surveys in Israel, No. 124.
External links
Official website