Adoraim

Adoraim ( ʾĂḏōrayīm), Adora () or Adurim was an ancient town in the Hebron Hills, southwest of Hebron. It is documented in several ancient sources, including the Bible, the Apocrypha, the Zenon Papyri, and the writings of Josephus. During the Iron Age, Adoraim was a part of the Kingdom of Judah. During the Second Temple period, it was inhabited by Edomites.Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews 13.9.1

Presently, Adoraim corresponds to the Palestinian city of Dura, which has preserved the ancient name.Armstrong, G. (1895). Names and places in the Old and New Testament and Apocrypha: with their modern identifications (Vol. 14). Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund. p. 5Kochavi, M. (1974). Khirbet Rabud= Debir. Tel Aviv, 1(1), 2-33. The nearby Israeli community settlement of Adora is named after the ancient city.

Etymology In the Hebrew Bible, the city is referred to as Adoraim (2 Chron. 11.9). The city was called by Macabees Adora (1 Macc. 13.20).Berrett, 1996, p. 196 The same name was also often used by Josephus. A weak letter is usually lost in Hebrew to Arabic sound conversion, such as in the case of Adoraim to Dura. A loss of a first feeble letter is not uncommon and the form of Dora could be found as early as in several instances of Josephus writings.

Historical sources and archaeology

Iron Age

Biblical reference According to 2 Chron. 11.9, Adoraim was fortified by Rehoboam (974 BC – 913 BC), King of the United Monarchy of Israel and later the first king of the Kingdom of Judah, who was a son of Solomon and a grandson of David.

According to Guy Le Strange, the city locality is in the Vale of Mamre mentioned in the story of The Twelve Spies who brought back to Moses large grapes of Eshkol as recorded in the Book of Numbers.Mukaddasi, 1895, p. 69

Babylonian period In the early 6th century BCE the Babylonians attacked the Kingdom of Judah, and the southern part of the country, from Adoraim near Hebron to Maresha and beyond, fell to Edom.Lindsay, John. "The Babylonian kings and Edom, 605–550 BCE." Palestine Exploration Quarterly 108, no. 1 (1976): 23-39.Albright, William F. "Ostracon No. 6043 from Ezion-Geber." Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 82 (1941): 11-15.

Hellenistic period Following Alexander the Great's conquest, the entire region came under Ptolemaic and later Seleucid rule. Adoraim is mentioned in the Zenon Papyri in 259 BCE as a "fortress city".KANAEL, B. “The Partition of Judea by Gabinius.” Israel Exploration Journal, vol. 7, no. 2, 1957, pp. 98–106. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/27924692. Accessed 20 July 2020. In Adora, Simon Maccabeus stopped the advancing army of Diodotus Tryphon in 142 BCE.Kraeling, Emil G. "Two Place Names of Hellenistic Palestine." Journal of Near Eastern Studies 7, no. 3 (1948): 199-201.

A fragmentary anti-Jewish libel preserved by the Greek writer Menasseas of Patara (probably 3rd–2nd century BCE) and later repeated by the Egyptian writer Apion (as quoted and refuted by Josephus in Against Apion), names Adora ("Dora") as the home city of Zebidos, an Edomite who allegedly disguised himself as Apollo, the god worshipped by the people of Dora (possibly a Hellenized stand-in for Qos), entered the Jerusalem Temple, stole a golden donkey-head idol, and carried it back to his own city. Historian Bezalel Bar-Kochva dates the story to the mid-3rd century BCE.

According to Josephus, Hasmonean ruler John Hyrcanus captured the city after the death of Antiochus VII, circa 129 BCE. The city inhabitants, who were alleged to have been of Esau's progeny (Idumeans), were forced to convert to Judaism during the reign of Hyrcanus, on the condition that they be allowed to remain in the country.Josephus, Antiquities (Book xiii, chapter ix, verse 1). Hyrcanus "hired foreign troops, dismantled Adora and Marissa, the strong places of Edom, and forced the Edomites to accept the Jewish religion and submit to circumcision. This is the first instance of forcible conversion in Jewish history."Richard Gottheil, Mayer Kayserling (1906)."Hyrcanus, John (Johanan) I." Jewish Encyclopedia.

Roman period In 63 BC, Pompey's conquest of Judea reshaped the regional dynamics. Adora emerged as a significant center within Idumaea, overshadowing the waning importance of Hebron. It found a place in the roster of cities rebuilt under the auspices of the Roman consul Aulus Gabinius. During this era, Adoraim, like several other Jewish urban centers, displayed some level of Hellenization. It's proposed that it might have served as the administrative center for the Eastern Idumaea district established by Gabinius, although other suggestions exist.Avi-Yonah, 1977, pp. 83–84 Subsequently, possibly during the time of Herod, the district's capital was relocated to Engeddi.

During the 1st century CE, an opulent mansion, continuously inhabited until the outbreak of the First Jewish–Roman War (66–74 CE), was built at Hirbet Moraq near Dura. This remarkable residence, serving as the focal point of an estate, boasted amenities such as a bathhouse and a layout featuring interior chambers surrounding an open courtyard, all adorned with colonnades. Inscriptions indicate that the house was owned by a Jewish family. This unique "introverted" architectural design had evolved in the region during the Hellenistic period.

Folklore According to a local tradition, it is believed that the patriarch Noah, the tenth of the pre-flood Patriarchs, as the story of Noah's Ark is told in the Hebrew Bible, was laid to rest in Dura.Edward Platt, City of Abraham: History, Myth and Memory: A Journey through Hebron, Pan Macmillan, 2012 p.54. To honor him, a shrine has been erected in the city.Edward Robinson, Biblical researches in Palestine and the adjacent regions: a journal of travels in the years 1838 and 1852, 2nd ed. J Murray 1856 p,214 The local Maslama tribe is said to have Jewish ancestry.

Adoraim

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