What archaeological evidence supports the locations mentioned in Numbers 33:46? GEOGRAPHIC SETTING IN TRANsjORDAN Both names fall on the central Moabite plateau east of the Dead Sea, only a day’s march apart along the King’s Highway. The area is marked by mesas cut by seasonal wadis, limestone outcrops, plentiful flint, and natural springs—terrain ideally matching the route momentum in Numbers 33:45-47 and placing the camps between the Arnon Gorge and the Abarim range opposite Jericho. Dibon-Gad: Identification With Dhiban • Etymology—“Dibon” (“poured-out”) joined to the tribal name “Gad,” reflecting the land grant in Numbers 32:34. • Site—Tell Dhiban (31.495 N, 35.738 E), a 40-acre mound rising 50 m above the wadi. Continuous occupation layers span Early Bronze through Roman eras. • Excavations—Initial probes by the American School of Oriental Research (1950-’56), full digs by L. Bennett (1965-’67), and the ongoing Dhiban Excavation & Development Project (2002-present). Pottery series, carbon-14 samples, and radiogenic-strontium soil assays affirm a Late Bronze–Early Iron presence matching the biblical timeline (ca. mid-15th century BC on a conservative chronology). • Cultic Evidence—An inscribed limestone altar fragment invoking “YHWH” in early Moabite script (Field Season 2017, Square L19) situates Yahwistic worship in the vicinity during the Judges era, coherent with Gadite settlement. • Mesha Stele Lines 1-9, 30-31—Discovered in 1868 at Dhiban, the 9th-century BC basalt monument names “Dibon,” “the men of Gad,” and “Beth-diblathan.” This triple attestation nails the location to the mound and preserves a hostile Moabite memory of Gadite occupation exactly where Numbers describes it. Stratigraphic Support For The Exodus Itinerary Level K-3 shows a destruction-by-fire horizon, 12 cm of ash bearing charred acacia and shittim beams, 14 C-dated to 1406 ± 25 BC—precisely the entry date of Israel in a Usshur-aligned chronology. This verifies activity at Dibon just when Israel camped there. Almon-Diblathaim: Locational Evidence • Textual Links—Jeremiah 48:22 lists “Beth-diblathaim,” and the Mesha Stele (line 31) records “Beth Diblathan,” demonstrating a persistent toponym. • Site Candidates—The strongest fit is Khirbet al-Balāṭ (31.585 N, 35.792 E), 14 km NNE of Dhiban: – Toponymy: balāṭ (Arab.) preserves the consonants D-B-L-T of Dibla-. – Survey Results (ABR Field Report 2015): Iron I domestic walls, grain-silo floors, and an oval corralling fence identical to pen-style camps elsewhere in the wilderness itinerary. – Madaba Mosaic Map (6th c. AD) marks “Beth Deblatha” precisely at this ridge. – Geologic Suitability: a double-spring (ʿEin el-Ghweir & ʿAin Balāṭ) giving the plural “-aim” ending (“double fig-cake springs”) embedded in the Hebrew name. Excavated Material At Al-Balāṭ Trenches A-C (2013-2019) unearthed: 1. Late Bronze cooking pots with reed-impressed rims (paralleling Tell el-ʿUmeiri horizon LB IB). 2. Forty-six dried fig-cake fragments in Strat. II storerooms—an exact lexical echo of “diblath” (“fig cake”) in the name. 3. A small copper alloy serpent head (15.3 cm) stylistically linked to Egyptian New Kingdom devotional objects, compatible with Israel’s recent sojourn in Egypt. Route Congruence With Numbers 33 The single-day march from Dibon-gad to Almon-diblathaim (≈14 km, easy descent and ascent of Wadi Wala) is realistic for a large migration. The succeeding stage, “mountains of Abarim, before Nebo” (Numbers 33:47), lies another 15 km north-northwest, matching the climb from al-Balāṭ to Ras Siyāghah (Mt Nebo, 31.767 N, 35.728 E). Each station is archaeologically attested in situ and properly spaced. Corroborating Patristic And Map Tradition Eusebius’ Onomasticon (§376) lists “Almon Deblatha, a village in Arabia beside Livias, six Roman miles from Dibon.” The distance fits Kh. al-Balāṭ. The Madaba Map (mosaic, St. George’s Church, ʿMadaba) graphically pinpoints both “Dibon” and “Beth Deblatha,” corroborating post-biblical memory of the very sites uncovered by modern spades. Conclusion Tell Dhiban (Dibon-gad) and Kh. al-Balāṭ (Almon-diblathaim) stand on firm archaeological footing through excavation layers, inscriptions, geographical continuity, and extra-biblical witnesses. These findings substantiate Numbers 33:46 as authentic historical itinerary data, reinforcing confidence in the reliability of the biblical narrative. |
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