Elealeh

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ELEALEH

ELEALEH (Heb. אֶלְעָלֵא, אֶלְעָלֵה), biblical town in Transjordan, northeast of Heshbon. Elealeh is always mentioned together with Heshbon. It was settled by the tribe of Reuben and later reverted to Moab (Num. 32:3, 37; Isa. 15:4; 16:9; Jer. 48:34). Eusebius refers to it in the fourth century c.e. as a large village (Onom. 84:10). The site is occupied at present by the Arab village al-ʿĀl, 2,986 ft. (910 m.) above sea level, halfway between Amman (Rabbath) and Madaba (Medba) in a region rich in vineyards. Remains of walls from the Early Bronze (pre-patriarchal) Age have been uncovered there as well as Moabite and Hellenistic potsherds. The ruins of a settlement from the Arab period are visible on the surface.

bibliography:

Horowitz, in: ei, 48f.; Press, Ereẓ, 1 (19512), 22; Glueck, in: aasor, 14 (1934), 6; P. Thomsen, Loca Sancta (1907), 59. add. bibliography: B. Levine, Numbers 2136 (AB; 2000), 484.

[Michael Avi-Yonah]

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Elealeh

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