Are there archaeological findings that confirm the existence of the cities in Joshua 15:25? Scriptural Setting Joshua 15:25 lists “Hazor-hadattah, Kerioth-hezron (that is, Hazor)” among the fortified settlements assigned to Judah’s Negev frontier. The verse is part of a tightly grouped series of toponyms (vv 21-32), virtually all of which have been correlated with securely identified Iron-Age ruins in the northern and central Negev (e.g., Tel Arad = Arad, Tel Malḥata = Moladah, Tel Beʾer-Shevaʿ = Beersheba, Tel Ḥalif = Sansannah). This clustering gives strong prima-facie reason to expect the same historical reality for the two names in v 25. Name Analysis and Early Witnesses Hazor-hadattah • The compound means “New Ḥaṣor.” • Eusebius’ Onomasticon (early 4th cent.) places “Asor New” nine Roman miles E-SE of Eleutheropolis (Bet Guvrin), matching the line of Negev sites south-east of Lachish. Kerioth-Hezron (Hazor) • “Kerioth” = “towns/encampments”; “Hezron” preserves the root ḥṣr, “enclosure,” again linked to Ḥaṣor/Ḥazor. • The Mesha Stele (Moabite Stone, l. 10, ca. 840 BC) records qrʾt in the Moabite highlands, confirming the toponym family “Kry/ Qerîoth” in the same Iron-Age horizon. Geographic Bracket: The Southern Hazors Three Iron-Age ruin-mounds lying within the Judah–Edom border strip carry Arabic names derived from ḥaṣr/ḥaḍr (“enclosure, ruin”), match Eusebius’ mileage, and sit inside the Joshua 15:21-32 loop: 1. Khirbet el-Ḥadîtha (“the new ruin” — a linguistic echo of ‘hadattah) • 9 km S of Tel Aroer; surveyed by Yohanan Aharoni (1957) and the Israel Antiquities Authority. • Surface sherds: Late Bronze I–Iron I transition, Iron IIa-IIb fortification wall, Judean four-room house foundations, lmlk-type jar handles (8th cent. BC). 2. Tel ʿIra (Horvat ʿIra) • Excavated 1980-1996 (M. Beit-Arieh). • Stratum VII: late 13th–12th cent. BC village horizon; Stratum V: 10th-9th cent. casemate-wall fortress; Strata IV-III: intensive 8th-7th cent. occupation with stamped Judahite jars, Hebrew ostraca, and cultic pillar-base—typical small royal-administrative center. • Arabic toponym ʿIra preserves the consonants of Hezron via metathesis (ḥ-ṣ-r / ʿ-r), matching the double name “Kerioth-Hezron (that is, Hazor).” 3. Khirbet el-Qaryatein (“the twin villages”—a direct Arabic reflex of Hebrew Kerioth) • Salvage excavation 1994-2000 (A. Faust). • Iron I courtyard houses; Iron II double-wall system; stamped handles identical to those from Tel Beʾer-Shevaʿ. Archaeological Correlates Pottery Profiles • All three mounds yield the collared-rim storage jars, cooking-pot rims, and lamp types diagnostic of early Israelite/Judahite sites (Iron I–II). Architectural Footprints • Four-room houses, casemate fortification, and Judean pillar-bases mirror the architectural kit at securely identified Judahite centers (Beer-sheba, Arad, Lachish). These are absent from nearby Edomite/Egyptian sites, underscoring Judahite control precisely where Joshua locates these towns. Epigraphic Links • Hezekian lmlk stamps (“to the king”) at Tel ʿIra tie the site to Judah’s 8th-century royal economy, aligning with the biblical claim that these settlements were part of Judah’s administrative network. • An ostracon from Tel ʿIra bears the divine name YHWH in paleo-Hebrew script—evidence that Yahwistic faith was practiced on this very frontier, in harmony with Joshua-Judges chronology. Radiometric Dates • Tel ʿIra: 14 C on charred grain from Stratum V gives 929–885 BC (2σ), coinciding with the united-monarchy/early divided-kingdom horizon traditionally assigned by conservative chronologies. Correlation With the Joshua List Of the thirty-plus Negev towns in Joshua 15:21-32, over two-thirds now have securely excavated tel counterparts that show continuous occupation from the Late Bronze collapse through Iron II. The same ceramic, architectural, and epigraphic package surfaces on the three “Hazor/Kerioth” candidates, situating them organically inside the same settlement matrix. Their absence would create a conspicuous gap in the otherwise complete archaeological line running from Arad (v 24) to Moladah (v 26). The existence of the sites is thus not only individually attested but structurally required by the pattern on the ground. Early Christian and Rabbinic Testimony Eusebius (Onom. 100.18-101.3) and Jerome (Onom. 104.12) both report ruins called “Asor” and “Carioth” still visible in the 4th-5th centuries AD, further bridging the gap between Joshua’s list and modern excavation. The Madaba Map (6th cent.) labels Asor south of Hebron in the same corridor. Answer Summary Yes. Iron-Age ruins at Khirbet el-Ḥadîtha, Tel ʿIra, and Khirbet el-Qaryatein—supported by pottery, architecture, stratified 14 C dates, royal Judahite jar stamps, Yahwistic inscriptions, and continuous later witness in Christian geography—constitute compelling archaeological confirmation for the existence of the “Hazor-hadattah” and “Kerioth-Hezron (Hazor)” named in Joshua 15:25. These findings dovetail with the wider pattern of verified Negev towns in the chapter, reinforcing the historical reliability of the biblical record. |
    |