ABRAHAM AND THE CAVE OF MACHPELAH

the artist Guercino's depiction of Abraham,
courtesy, Wikipedia

In Hebron, there is a massive structure in the middle of town that was built during the time of King Herod. Inside, underneath the structure in a cave are most of the tombs of the Hebrew Patriarchs – Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, and Jacob and Leah (Rachel is buried just outside of Bethlehem). Tradition also states that this is also the burial site of Adam and Eve. This is the Cave of Machpelah, second holiest site in Judaism after Temple Mount in Jerusalem and for thousands of years, it has served as a place of Jewish pilgrimage. It was also long a subject of archeological study. In 1981 Seev Jevin, the former director of the Israel Antiquities Authority, entered the cave passage after a group of local Jews led by Noam Arnon had done so via the entrance near the mihrab and discovered the square stone in the round chamber that concealed the cave entrance. 

Abraham, the first of the Hebrew patriarchs and son of Terah, an idol maker, was born “Abram” in the town of Ur of the Chaldees in Sumer, today, in the Arab-occupied country of “Iraq”. Today, the descendants of the Sumerians, the “Marsh Arabs”, still live in their ancient territory, much of which, now constitutes the marshes of southern Iraq. They are often persecuted by the surrounding Arab settlers, most notably in recent times, by Saddam Hussein. In Abram’s time however, they belonged to a powerful empire and were largely city-dwellers and farmers, worshipping their local gods. In this atmosphere, Abram, while still young, came to the conclusion that there was only one god. How he came to that conclusion is not recorded but in later centuries, rabbis have often speculated as written in later rabbinic writings. Later, Abram, his wife (and half-sister) Sarai, his father Terah, and his nephew Lot and his family, left Ur for Haran, today, in southern Turkey, where Terah died. While sojourning there, Abram was commanded by god to leave Haran and to settle in “the land that I will show you.” He obeyed and taking his family, set out on the long journey south eventually arriving in Canaan. Upon their arrival, they settled in the hamlet of Elon Moreh, just a few miles outside of Shechem (Nablus). This was the first place in Canaan where Abram and his household settled. It was there that “the lord appeared to him and said, ‘Unto your seed will I give this land’” (Gen. 12:7). Eventually, Abram and his family made their way to the southern part of Canaan, today, the Negev desert. While there, disputes erupted between his sheepherders and those of Lot, causing Lot’s household to separate from Abram’s and eventually, they settled in the town of Sodom. Later, Abram and his household settled in Mamre on the northern outskirts of Hebron. At this point, he was still childless and with Sarai’s urging, he took her handmaid Hagar as a concubine. Soon after, Hagar became pregnant and began to oppress Sarai because of that. Again, through Sarai’s urging, Abram cast Hagar out of his household. Wandering aimlessly in the desert, god told her to return to Sarai and submit. She did so and soon, her son Ishmael was born. (Some scholars say that Ishmael was the father of the Arabs, but the Arabs are a people that pre-date Abraham.) It was at this time that god appeared to Abram and changed his name to “Abraham” (Heb. “Avraham” – “father of multitudes”), “for the father of a multitude of nations have I made you…And I will establish my covenant between me and you, and your seed after you in their generations for an everlasting covenant.” Sarai’s name was also changed from “Sarai” to “Sarah”. As a sign of this everlasting contract, Abraham instituted circumcision of every eight-day-old male child. With great daring, he pleaded with god not to destroy the wicked people of Sodom and Gomorrah, even if there were only ten righteous men among them. Ten righteous men could not be found and so the towns were destroyed, but not before three angels of god saved Lot and his family. Finally, at the age of 90, Sarah bore a son and named him Isaac. Eventually, both Hagar and Ishmael were banished from Abraham’s household again for their misbehaviors. This time, both mother and son began to wander aimlessly in the desert when god appeared to Hagar again and told her that Ishmael would become the father of a great nation but Isaac would inherit the succession from Abraham. In the story of the sacrifice of Isaac, Abraham’s submission to the will of god was tested. As commanded, he placed Isaac on the altar preparing to offer him up. An angel of god restrained him, “Lay not thy hand upon the lad…for now I know thou fearest god.” Then Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw a ram “caught up in a thicket by his horns.” This ram he sacrificed instead of his son. Sarah died in Kiryat Arba near Hebron at the age of 127. After Abraham’s mourning period, he requested from Ephron the Hittite, the son of Zohar and leading chieftain of the area, a burial place for his wife, himself, and his son and grandson and their wives. Ephron happened to own a cave at the end of a field known as Machpelah and Abraham offered to buy it for "the full price". Ephron replied that the field was worth four hundred shekels of silver and Abraham agreed to it without any further bargaining. And this was where Sarah was buried. The next burial in the cave was that of Abraham himself, who died at the age of 175 and was buried by his sons Isaac and Ishmael. The title deed to the cave was part of the property of Abraham that passed to his son Isaac. It has serve as a place of Jewish pilgrimage ever since.

Herodian building over the Cave of Machpelah, courtesy, Wikipedia

Between 31 and 4 BCE, Herod the Great built a large, rectangular enclosure over the cave to commemorate the site for his subjects. It is the only fully surviving Herodian structure from the period of Hellenistic Judaism. After the compilations of the Palestinian and Babylonian Talmuds in the 4^th and 6^th centuries respectively, Machpelah was often mentioned. The Piacenza Pilgrim (c. 570) noted in his pilgrimage account that Jews and Christians shared possession of the site. After the Arab Muslim conquest in the 7^th century, the Muslims permitted the building of two small synagogues at the site. When the Crusaders took control of it, Jews were banned from using the synagogues but access to the caves was occasionally allowed. During this period, the Damascene nobleman and historian Ibn al-Qalanisi in his chronicle alluded to the discovery of relics purported to be those of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, a discovery that excited eager curiosity among all three monotheistic communities in the southern Levant, especially among the Jews. Towards the end of the period of Crusader rule, in 1165 Maimonides visited Hebron and wrote, "On Sunday, 9 Marheshvan (17 October), I left Jerusalem for Hebron to kiss the tombs of my ancestors in the Cave. On that day, I stood in the cave and prayed, praise be to God, (in gratitude) for everything." In 1170, Benjamin of Tudela visited the Tombs of the Patriarchs which he referred to as the St. Abram Church. Shmuel ben Shimshon visited the cave in 1210 and stated that the visitor must descend by twenty-four steps in a passageway so narrow that the rock touches him on either hand. The successor to Crusader rule, the Mamluks, established a mosque at the site and forbade Jews from entering the cave at all, allowing them only as close as the fifth step on a staircase at the southeast, but after some time this was increased to the seventh step.

After Jordan occupied Judea and Samaria in 1948, no Jew was allowed in the territory and consequently, Jews could visit the tomb. Following the Israeli liberation in the Six-Day War, Hebron returned to Jewish control for the first time in 2,000 years and the 700-year-long restriction limiting Jews to the seventh step was lifted. According to the autobiography of the Chief Rabbi of the Israel Defense Forces, Major General Rabbi Shlomo Goren, on June 8, 1967, during the Six-day war, he (Goren) made his way from Gush Etzion to Hebron where he realized that the Arabs had surrendered and quickly made his way to the Cave of the Patriarchs. He entered and began to pray, becoming the first Jew to enter the compound in 700 years. While praying, a messenger from the Mufti of Hebron delivered a surrender note to him, whereby the rabbi replied, "This place, Ma'arat HaMachpela, is a place of prayer and peace. Surrender elsewhere." After the war, a small synagogue was reestablished under the mosque and the first Jewish wedding ceremony took place on the site on August 7, 1968. The first Jew to enter the underground caves was Michal Arbel, the 13-year-old daughter of Yehuda Arbel, chief of Shin Bet operations, on October 9, because she was slender enough to be lowered into the narrow, 11 inch wide hole. At the same time though, the Zionist authorities allowed Arab terrorism to be rife in the area. In 1968, a special arrangement was made to accommodate Jewish services on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. This led to a hand-grenade being thrown on the stairway leading to the tomb. 47 Israelis were injured, 8 seriously. On November 4, a large explosion went off near the gate to the compound and 6 people, Jews and Arabs, were wounded. On Yom Kippur eve, October 3, 1976, an Arab mob destroyed several Torah scrolls and prayer books at the tomb. In May 1980, an attack on Jewish worshippers returning from prayers at the tomb left 6 dead and 17 wounded.

In a rare showing of Jewish vigilantism on Arabs, the Cave of the Patriarchs massacre, February, 1994, committed by Baruch Goldstein, left 29 Arab Muslims dead and scores injured. The resulting riots led to a further 35 deaths. As a result, the Wye River Accords, signed between the Zionists and the Arabs, included a temporary status agreement for the site restricting access for both Jews and Muslims. As a result, the waqf (Islamic charitable trust) today controls 81% of the site. This includes the whole of the southeastern section, which lies above the only known entrance to the caves and possibly over the entirety of the caves themselves. Jews are restricted to entering by the southwestern side, and limited to the southwestern corridor and the corridors that run between the cenotaphs, while Muslims may enter only by the northeastern side but are allowed free rein of the remainder of the enclosure. As a consequence, Jews are not permitted to visit the Cenotaphs of Isaac or Rebecca, which lie entirely within the southeastern section, except for 10 days a year that hold special significance in Judaism. One of these days is the Shabbat Chayei Sarah, when the Torah portion concerning the death of Sarah and the purchase of the cave by Abraham, is read. In addition, the Zionists do not allow the Jewish religious authorities the right to maintain the site and allow only the waqf to do so. Tourists are permitted to enter but security has increased since the Intifada. On February 21, 2010, the Zionists uncommonly announced that it would include the site in a national heritage site protection and rehabilitation plan. Of course, an expected anti-Semitic reaction from much of the world followed.

ABNER, SON OF NER, AND BURIAL SITE

medieval portrait of Abner (in green),
courtesy, Wikipedia

In the Hebrew Bible, Abner was the cousin of King Saul and the commander-in-chief of his, and later David’s army. He was buried in Hebron not far from the Cave of Machpelah and, along with Machpelah, was a place of Jewish pilgrimage for thousands of years.

According to the Book of Samuel, Abner was initially mentioned as the son of Ner, Saul's uncle, and the commander of Saul's army. He is next mentioned as the commander who introduced David to Saul following David's killing of Goliath. After Saul’s death in the Battle of Gilboa, Abner set up Saul’s youngest son, Ishboshet (or Eshbaal) as king over all Israel at Mahanaim, east of the Jordan. David, who was accepted as king by Judah alone, was meanwhile reigning at Hebron, and for some time civil war was carried on between the two parties. In this war, Abner was defeated and put to flight. He was closely pursued by Asahel, brother of Joab, who is said to have been "light of foot as a wild roe". As Asahel would not desist from the pursuit, though warned, Abner was compelled to slay him in self-defence. This originated a deadly feud between the leaders of the opposite parties, for Joab, as next of kin to Asahel, was by the law and custom of the country the avenger of his blood. Ish-bosheth, for his part, accused Abner of sleeping with Rizpah, one of Saul's concubines, an alliance which, according to contemporary notions, would imply pretensions to the throne. Abner was indignant at the rebuke, and immediately opened negotiations with David, who welcomed him on the condition that his wife Michal should be restored to him. This was done, and the proceedings were ratified by a feast. Abner then granted David control over the tribe of Benjamin putting him in David's favor. Almost immediately after, however, Joab, who had been sent away, perhaps intentionally returned and slew Abner at the gate of Hebron in revenge for Asahel (although he should have been safe from such a revenge killing. Hebron was a City of Refuge). Although David had no part in this, he could not venture to punish its perpetrators. David had Abner buried in Hebron, as it states in Samuel 3:31-32, "And David said to all the people who were with him, 'Rend your clothes and gird yourselves with sackcloth, and wail before Abner.' And King David went after the bier. And they buried Abner in Hebron, and the king raised his voice and wept on Abner's grave, and all the people wept."

In the middle of the first century of the common era, one of the most prominent families in Jerusalem, Zizit haKesat, claimed descent from Abner (Gen. R. xcviii.). Throughout the centuries, many travelers have recorded visiting Abner’s tomb. Benjamin of Tudela, who began his journeys in 1165, wrote in the journal, "The valley of Eshkhol is north of the mountain upon which Hebron stood, and the cave of Makhpela is east thereof. A bow-shot

Tomb of Abner in Hebron, courtesy, Shavei Hebron

west of the cave is the sepulchre of Abner the son of Ner." Rabbi Jacob ben Netanel Hacohen in the same period, records visiting the tomb and states, "I…journeyed with much difficulty, but God helped me to enter the Holy Land, and I saw the graves of our righteous Patriarchs in Hebron and the grave of Abner the son of Ner." Rabbi Moses Basola records visiting the tomb in 1522, "Abner's grave is in the middle of Hebron; the Muslims built a mosque over it." However, another visitor of the same period states that "at the entrance to the market in Hebron, at the top of the hill against the wall, Abner ben Ner is buried, in a church, in a cave." This visit was recorded in Sefer Yihus ha-Tzaddiqim (Book of Genealogy of the Righteous), a collection of travelogues from 1561. Menahem Mendel of Kamenitz, considered the first hotelier in the Land of Israel, wrote about the Tomb of Abner in his 1839 book Korot Ha-Itim, "Here I write of the graves of the righteous to which I paid my respects. Hebron – Described above is the character and order of behavior of those coming to pray at the Cave of ha-Machpelah. I went there, between the stores, over the grave of Avner ben Ner and was required to pay a Yishmaeli (“Arab” ed.) – the grave was in his courtyard – to allow me to enter." The author and traveler J. J. Benjamin mentioned visiting the tomb in his book Eight Years in Asia and Africa (1859), "On leaving the Sepulchre of the Patriarchs, and proceeding on the road leading to the Jewish quarter, to the left of the courtyard, is seen a Turkish dwelling house, by the side of which is a small grotto, to which there is a descent of several steps. This is the tomb of Abner, captain of King Saul. It is held in much esteem by the Arabs, and the proprietor of it takes care that it is always kept in the best order. He requires from those who visit it a small gratuity." The British scholar Israel Abrahams wrote in his 1912 book The Book of Delight and Other Papers, "Hebron was the seat of David's rule over Judea. Abner was slain here by Joab, and was buried here – they still show Abner's tomb in the garden of a large house within the city. By the pool at Hebron were slain the murderers of Ishbosheth..."

Over the years the tomb fell into disrepair and neglect. It was closed to the public in 1994. In 1996, a group of 12 Israeli women filed a petition with the Supreme Court requesting the government to reopen the Tomb of Abner. More requests were made over the years and eventually the Zionists and Arabs reluctantly agreed to open the site to Jews only ten days throughout the year corresponding to the ten days that the Isaac Hall of the Cave of the Patriarchs is open. In early 2007 new mezuzot were affixed to the entrance of the site (illegally from the Zionist perspective).

TOMB OF ABEL, SON OF ADAM AND EVE

burial site of Abel, son of Adam and Eve, now occupied by a mosque,
courtesy, ArabAmerica.com

According to the Book of Genesis, Abel was the younger brother of Cain, and the younger son of Adam and Eve, the first couple in Biblical history. Abel was a shepherd who offered his firstborn flock up to God as an offering. God accepted his offering but not his brother's. Cain then killed Abel out of jealousy. This was the first recorded murder in the history of mankind. According to tradition, Abel was buried in the mountains west of Damascus overlooking the Zabadani Valley and the Wadi Barada. This site later became the lands of the Syrians and Phoenicians who, beginning in the 1^st century, became followers of the Syrian Orthodox and Maronite churches respectively. In the 7^th century, the site was conquered and occupied by Muslim Arabs, and in the 16^th century, by Muslim Ottoman Turks. A mosque was built on the site in 1599 by the Ottoman Wali Ahmad Pasha to serve the majority Sunni Muslim, mainly Arab settler, population. Although often frequented by Sunni Muslims, it is also believed to be a ritual site for the Druze. Christians, especially the indigenous Christians, are prohibited from entering the site. Today, the tomb is just outside the Arab settlement of Souk Wadi Barada. There are several churches of various denominations nearby which serve, not only the indigenous populations, but also the Armenians and Greeks as well including various Armenian churches in Anjar in Lebanon, several Maronite churches in Zahle, also in Lebanon, several Syrian Orthodox churches in Damascus, the National Evangelical Church and the St. George Orthodox Church, both in Bloudan in Syria, the mainly Greek Orthodox churches in al Zabadani, the dominant town in the valley, and those in the Christian village of Maaloula.

MESSAGE TO READERS OF THIS BLOG

Indigenous Middle East would like to thank all the readers and supporters of this blog. Beginning today, we are taking a short hiatus and we will be back, either at the end of September or the beginning of October, with new and hopefully more interesting information about Israel and the Middle East.

ZIKHRON YAAKOV

view of Zikhron Yaakov, courtesy, TimeOut.com

Zikhron Ya'akov is a town in Israel, approximately 22 miles south of Haifa, and part of the Haifa District. It is located at the southern end of the Carmel mountain range overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, near the coastal highway. In 2019 it had a population of 23,206.

During the time of Joshua, the area that is now Zikhron Yaakov was allotted to the tribe of Menasheh. For centuries, since the Arab conquest and occupation, the site was a swampy area occupied by several Arab settlements – Zammarin, Tantura which was built on top of the ancient Jewish town of Dor, Umm al-Jimal, and Umm al-Tut. In the 19^th century, most of the lands of this area were owned by Frances Germain, a French citizen probably of Christian Arab origin. In December 1882, he had sold a portion of the lands of Zammarin and Tantura for 46,000 francs to a group of 100 Jews from Romania, members of the Hibbat Zion movement. The person probably most responsible for organizing the arrival of this group was Moses Gaster, scholar and early Zionist from Romania, and later, England.​ Deeming the name of “Zammarin” to derive from "Samaria", for a number of years the place was called Shomron in the Hebrew and Yiddish press. The difficulty of working the rocky soil and an outbreak of malaria led many of the group to leave before the year was over. In 1883, Baron Edmond James de Rothschild became the patron of the community becoming one of the first Jewish agricultural communities to come under his governance (along with Rishon LeZion and Rosh Pinna). The Baron renamed the place, “Zikhron Yaakov”, in memory of his father, James (Ya'akov). He immediately drew up plans for a residential layout and agricultural economy. Each farmer was given a salary and placed under the direction of Elijah Shaid, the Baron's clerk. Following a number of economic failures, in 1885 Rothschild helped to establish the Carmel Winery, together with a bottling factory. He also commissioned the construction of the Ohel Ya'akov Synagogue to serve the town. It opened in 1886. Now on a sound economic footing, the residents began to engage themselves in various occupations, such as growing wheat, breeding silkworms, keeping bees, and raising vegetables. As evidence of the community’s prosperity, reference must be made to the possession of a steam-plow, a steam-mill, an aqueduct, a large nursery-garden, paved streets, a library, a school, and a hospital to be succeeded by Hillel Yaffe’s hospital which operated between 1907 and 1919, the only Jewish hospital north of Jaffa. In the 1890’s, Zikhron Yaakov began to expand, alongside their Arab neighbors, into Tantura which the residents named “Ahot Zikhron Yaakov” and founded by Rothschild, Shefeya, Em el-Gammal (Umm al-Jimal), and Em el-Tut (Umm al-Tut). In 1900, the town passed from Rothschild authority to that of the Jewish Colonization Association. In August 1903, the First Eretz Yisraeli Congress was assembled by Menachem Ussishkin as a branch of the World Zionist Congress. It was originally intended as an annual gathering of the leaders of the Yishuv. However, it only met that one time and their only accomplishment was the establishment of the Teachers’ Union. In 1910 David Ben Gurion worked as a farm laborer in Zikhron Ya'akov for several months. The town came to fame during World War I for the establishment of the Nili spy ring by Sarah Aaronsohn, together with her brothers, Aaron (a noted botanist) and Alex, and their friend Avshalom Feinberg. The group volunteered to spy on Ottoman positions and report them to British agents offshore. In September 1917, the Ottomans caught one of Sarah's carrier pigeons and cracked the Nili code. In October, they surrounded Zikhron Ya'akov and arrested Sarah and several others. After four days of torture, they planned on transporting Sarah elsewhere during which time, she requested to be taken home to change her clothes. But instead, she shot herself in the throat with a pistol hidden in her bathroom, leaving her unable to speak, in order to avoid releasing classified information. She died several days later. The Aaronsohn House–Nili Museum recreates the history of this period. In 1954, the remains of Baron Edmond de Rothschild were reinterred in Zikhron Ya'akov. During this period, its population increased dramatically.

At present, many residents continue to engage in agriculture, although upscale private homes have been built by families attracted to the scenic landscape. There is also a high number of English speaking residents. In addition, the town draws many tourists attracted to its picturesque setting and historic city center whose restored main street of landmark buildings, called Derekh HaYayin ("Path of the Wine"), houses coffeehouses and boutique shops selling locally-made crafts, jewellery, and antiques, especially on the town's famous "Midrachov" (Rechov haMeyasdim — Founders Street). 

TRIBE OF ZVULUN

view of Gath Hepher, courtesy, BiblePlaces.com

According to the Torah, the tribe of Zvulun consisted of the descendants of Zvulun, sixth son of Jacob and Leah, from whom the tribe took its name. In the census of the tribes in the Desert of Sinai during the second year of the Exodus, Zvulun numbered 57,400 fighting men (Numbers 1:31). Under the command of Eliab, son of Helon, they encamped with Judah and Issachar east of the Tabernacle, and with them, made up the vanguard of the line of march (Numbers 2:3–9). Among the spies sent by Moses to view the Land of Canaan, Gaddiel son of Sodi represented Zvulun (Numbers 13:10). At Shittim, in the land of Moab, after 24,000 men were slain for their crime, a second census was taken. This time, Zvulun numbered 60,500 fighting men (Numbers 26:27). 

When the Israelites crossed over into the Land of Canaan, Elizaphan, son of Parnach, led Zvulun and represented the tribe when the land was divided. The tribal allotment to Zvulun was described in the Book of Joshua 19:10-15: “And the third lot came up for the children of Zvulun according to their families; and the border of their inheritance was unto Sarid; And their border went up toward the sea, and Maralah, and reached to Dabbeshet, and reached to the [Kishon?] river that is before Yokneam; And turned from Sarid eastward toward the sunrising unto the border of Chisloth-tabor, and then goeth out to Daverat, and goeth up to Japhia, And from thence passeth on along on the east to Gath Hepher, to Ittah Kazin, and goeth out to Remmon Methoar to Neah; And the border compasseth it on the north side to Hanaton: and the outgoings thereof are in the valley of Jiphthah El; And Kattath, and Nahalal, and Shimron, and Idalah, and Bethlehem: twelve cities with their villages.” Of the nineteen locations listed, only Bethlehem of Galilee (seven miles northwest of Nazareth) can be identified with certainty, although the archaeological site Tel Hanaton is associated with the city Hanaton listed as on the boundary with Asher.

In the ancient Song of Deborah, Zvulun is described as sending to battle those that handle the sopher shevet. Traditionally this has been interpreted as referring to the "rod of the scribe", an object that in Assyrian monuments was a wooden or metal stylus used to inscribe on clay tablets or papyrus; thus, those who wielded it would have been the associates of lawgivers. Therefore, in Jewish tradition, the tribe of Zvulun was considered to have a symbiotic relationship with the tribe of Issachar, its neighbor and a tribe that traditionally was seen as having many scholars who disseminated the teaching of Torah and learning. They tended to be financially supported by Zvulun who would, in turn, receive a share of the spiritual reward from such learning.

During the time of the Judge Gideon, the tribe answered the call to join in the battle against Midian (Judges 6:35). Among Gideon’s successors was the Zvulunite Elon, who sat as judge of the nation for ten years (Judges 12:11). Of those who followed David to Hebron to make him king were 50,000 fully armed men of Zvulun with no double heart (I Chronicles 12:33), who brought with them, as a sign of their hearty allegiance, bounteous supplies of meat and drink to celebrate the accession of their new ruler (I Chronicles 12:41). When Hezekiah made reparation for the abominations of his father Ahaz, he invited all Israel, whether in the southern Kingdom of Judah or the northern Kingdom of Israel, to keep the Passover in the House of the Lord. Mockery and ridicule met his emissaries. Yet some were true to the religion of their fathers, and, even from far away Zvulun, they made the pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and in the process, destroyed the idols there (II Chronicles 30:10–23). As part of the Kingdom of Israel, the territory of Zvulun was conquered by the Assyrians, and they, along with the 10 other tribes that made up the Kingdom of Israel,  were exiled, and soon became known as the Lost Tribes of Israel – until in very recent years.

Since then, Jews/Israelites, mostly of the tribe of Judah, have resettled the area. According to the Christian New Testament, Jesus was raised in Nazareth which is in Zvulun territory. The Gospels relate much about his Galilean ministry which mainly took place in this territory. After the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in 70, Jews still lived in the area, but on and off. The Tomb of Jonah in Gath Hepher became a place of pilgrimage. It was even mentioned in the 12^th century by the Jewish medieval geographer Benjamin of Tudela. The ancient Zvulunite town of Shimron was mentioned by the geographer Ishtori Haparchi in his "Kaftor va-Feraḥ" in 1322. In 1850, the ancient site of Nahalal was identified by the geographer and scientist Rabbi Joseph Schwarz. In 1921, most of the Jezreel Valley, which mostly lies within Zvulun territory, was acquired by the Palestine Land Development Company, a Jewish company under Yehoshua Hankin, as part of the Sursock Purchase. (The Sursock family was a Greek Christian family of Beirut.) That year, Nahalal was reestablished as the first moshav ovdim (workers' cooperative agricultural settlement). (see Jezreel Valley, Nahalal) In 1926, Sarid was established as a kibbutz by Jews from Czechoslovakia, Poland and the Soviet Union. On the other hand, by 1931, only 1 Jew lived in Bethlehem of Galilee, then, a settlement of German Templars. The first families arrived in Yokneam in 1935. In 1936, Kibbutz Hazorea was established by German Jews. That same year, the site of Shimron became an agricultural training station for the Moshavim Movement, becoming Kibbutz Timorim in 1948. Kibbutz Dovrat was established on October 30, 1946 on the ancient site of Daverat by members of the Zra'im group, mostly Jews from Austria and Germany who arrived before the start of World War II. Shortly after the War of Independence, Jewish farmers began to move into the region, joining existing communities and establishing new ones such as Bethlehem of Galilee.

Israeli Knesset member Ayoob Kara, a member of the Druze community, speculated that the Druze are descended from one of the Lost Tribes of Israel, probably Zvulun. Kara stated that the Druze share many of the same beliefs as Jews, and that he has genetic evidence to prove that the Druze were descended from Jews.

YENOAM

The Merneptah Stele, one of the earliest
mentions of Yenoam, courtesy, Wikipedia

Yenoam is a place in ancient Israel either located within the tribal territory of Naphtali on the west side of the Jordan, or within the territory of the half-tribe of Menasheh on the east side, today in Arab-occupied Syria. The site is known from Ancient Egyptian regnal sources such as the stela of Pharaoh Seti I discovered in 1923 in Beit She'an by Clarence Fisher, curator of the Egyptian section of the Museum of the University of Pennsylvania, or from the more famous, and studied, Merneptah Stele found in Arab-occupied Egypt and describing the military victories of the Pharaoh Merneptah over the peoples of Canaan in the late 13^th century BCE. That stele was discovered in 1896 by British archaeologist Flinders Petrie. A passage of the stele reads as follows:

“The princes are prostrate, saying “Peace!”; Not one raises his head among the Nine Bows. … Plundered is Canaan with every evil;…;Yenoam is made as that which does not exist; Israel is laid waste, his seed is not;…; All lands together are pacified.”

This stele is also where the name “Israel” is mentioned for the first time outside of Biblical sources.  

Some of the suggested sites of Yenoam put forth by archaeologists and historians include: 

Tell Na'am near the Jewish community of Yavne'el in southeastern Galilee. This site would be visited from time to time by the residents of Yavne’el which was established in 1901 on lands purchased by the Baron de Rothschild in coordination with the Jewish Colonization Association. Its first residents were evicted from their previous homes in the Hauran (in southern Syria) in 1898 by the Ottoman authorities;  
Tell Shihab in the Yarmouk River valley in southern Syria. During the Ottoman period, a group of Arab colonists settled there and formed a settlement in which state in remains to this day;
Tell Na'ama in the Hula Valley in the upper Galilee;
and Tell Ovadya archaeological site in the Jordan Valley. 

Yenoam has also been tentatively associated with the biblical city of Janoah situated on the northern border of Ephraim tribal territory.