350 angelika berlejung
the settlements of Bit maacah apparently crossed the Jordan river: Bit
maacah is localized to the north of Geshur, in the northern Golan and,
if the identification of abel Bit maacah with tell abil el-Qamh is correct,
even west of dan (tell el-Qadi), raising the question of whether (and how
long) dan was also a settlement of Bit maacah.
Contrary to the biblical account, which attributes the area around the
sea of Galilee to the tribe of Naphtali in the course of the “conquest” (Josh
19: 35) or as part of the empire of david (2 sam 20: 14–22), this area was
under aramaean (Geshurite in transjordan, Bit maacahite in Cis- and
transjordan, later aram-damascus) control in the 12th, 11th, 10th and 9th
centuries B.C., a situation which changed for only a brief interim in the
course of the 8th century B.C., during the reigns of Joash (800–785 B.C.)
and Jeroboam ii (785–745 B.C.) of israel.51 2 kgs 13: 25; 14: 25; am 6: 13f
refer to military successes against aram-damascus by both kings, who
were able to gain the southern and western shore of the sea of Galilee,
with an unknown expansion to the north (kinneret or dan). recently it
has been proposed, that it was hazael (after 842 B.C.) who united the
previous aramaean kingdoms of Geshur and Bit maacah, annexed them
into his kingdom of aram-damascus, and constructed (or even founded,
see the occupational gap or poor settlement in the iron age iia) dan (tel
Qadi, stratum iVa = iron iiB = 830–800 [foundation of the cultic area])52
as an aramaean city (erecting the tel dan stele in celebration of this con-
struction) and as the new center for his southern border. dan would have
been his stronghold and base camp for further expansions to the south.
Be that as it may, the northern part of palestine was for several centuries
in aramaean hands (Geshur, Bit maacah, and later aram-damascus) until
the first israelite king arrived and occupied (not re-occupied, as is often
claimed) this area for a first and brief “israelite intermezzo.” it was per-
haps king Joash who destroyed “aramaean” dan (stratum iVa), erected
the “israelite” stratum iii (iron age iiB; 800–?; cultic area continues),
followed by Jeroboam ii, who built dan stratum ii (insufficient data to
separate str. iii and ii; note: the cultic area continues). this short-lived
“israelite” city, dan iii/ii, was destroyed by tiglath-pileser iii (734/3/2)
and the whole area53 was lost for israel as well as for aram-damascus.
51 for a recent historical (re-)construction, see Berlejung ³2008: 105–111. Consider now
finkelstein 2011: 240–242.
52 arie 2008: 36–38.
53 destruction layers attributed to tiglath-pileser iii during his campaign of 733/2 are:
rehov iii, Beth-shean p7, megiddo iVa, hazor V, kinneret ii, yokneam Xii and et-tell Va.