Eltekeh

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ELTEKEH

ELTEKEH (Heb. אֵלְתְּקֵה ,אֶלְתְּקֵא), levitical city in the territory of Dan (Josh. 19:44; 21:23; but according to tj, Sanh. 1:2, 18c "of Judah"). It was in the "plain of Eltekeh (written: Altaqû)" that *Sennacherib in 701 b.c.e. defeated the Egyptians who had come to the aid of the rebelling king of Judah Hezekiah and his allies. The battle is described in Sennacherib's annals (1:76–79). *Albright proposed identifying Eltekeh with Khirbet al-Muqannaʿ, 6 mi. (10 km.) S.E. of ʿĀqir, but recent surveys have shown that this was the largest fortified city in the area and probably the site of *Ekron. Mazar has consequently suggested Tell al Shallāf, about 2½ mi. (4 km.) N.E. of Jabneh, where potsherds from the Early and Late Iron Age have been found.

bibliography:

Albright, in: basor, 15 (1924), 8; 17 (1925), 5f.; Mazar, in: iej, 10 (1960), 73–77; Pritchard, Texts, 287f.; em, 1 (1950), 419f.; Press, Ereẓ, 1 (19512), 23. add. bibliography: S. Ahituv, Joshua (1995), 322.

[Michael Avi-Yonah]

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