Libnah
Libnah or Lobna (Hebrew: לִבְנָה, whiteness; Latin: Lobna) was a town in the Kingdom of Judah. The town of Libnah revolted during the reign of King Jehoram of Judah, according to II Chronicles (21:10), because he "had abandoned [the] God of his fathers."
Josiah, King of Judah, married Hamutal, daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah (1 Chronicles 3:15; 2 Kings 23:31-32;2 Kings 24:17-18; Jeremiah 22:11). Two of their sons, Jehoahaz and Zedekiah also became Kings of Judah. Libnah was one of the places the Israelites stopped on the Exodus (Joshua 10:29) and was appointed as a Levitical city donated to the family of Aaron (Joshua 21:13).
As recorded in the Bible at 2 Kings 19 and Isaiah 37, in 732 BCE , 185,000 Assyrian soldiers under King Sennacherib were killed by an angel of God while encamped near Libnah, thwarting their advance from Lachish to Jerusalem.
Possible Sites and Excavations
- The excavators of Tell Zeitah have suggested it as a possible location of Libnah. [1]
- An excavation has been initiated at Tel Burna, which has also been identified as the possible site of Libnah. [2][3][4] Tel Burna, was fortified, lies between the Philistine city of Gath and the Judahite city of Lachish, and was inhabited continuously from the Bronze Age onwards. Until the Judahite period, it appears to have been a pagan cultic centre. [5]
Notes
- ↑ Cf. the excavation's website (The Zeitah Excavations - Introduction)
- ↑ Tel Burna Excavation website (The Tel Burna Excavation Project)
- ↑ http://www.foxnews.com/science/2013/07/11/archaeologists-uncover-biblical-city/
- ↑ http://telburna.wordpress.com/about/
- ↑ Ruth Schuster,'Biblical city of Libnah found, archaeologists surmise,' Haaretz 8 February 2015.
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