Eglon (Canaan)

Eglon (Hebrew: עֶגְלוֹן) was a Canaanite city-state mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. According to the Book of Joshua, Debir, king of Eglon, joined a confederation against Gibeon when that city made peace with Israel. The five kings involved were slain and Eglon was later conquered and its inhabitants condemned to destruction. It was thereafter included in the territory of the Tribe of Judah, although it is not mentioned outside of the Book of Joshua.^[1]

According to K. van Bekkum, the location of Eglon is unknown, but the most plausible candidate is Tel 'Eton.^[1]

Tel 'Eton[]

Tel 'Eton (Hebrew: תל עיטון) is an archaeological site excavated by an the Bar Ilan University, managed by Avraham Faust.^[2] It is the probable site of ancient Eglon. The site of Tel Eton was transformed in the 10th century BCE, and some of the structures built in this site involved ashlar in construction. Prior to these findings, the lack of ashlar construction in this period in the region of Judah was an "oftquoted evidence against the historical plausibility of a kingdom centered in Judah".^[3]

References[]

^ ^a ^b van Bekkum, Koert (2011). From Conquest to Coexistence: Ideology and Antiquarian Intent in the Historiography of Israel's Settlement in Canaan. Leiden, The Netherlands: Koninklijke Brill NV. p. 158. ISBN 978-90-04-19480-9.. Note: this citation supports the claim that Eglon is only mentioned in Joshua. It does not make any comment as to whether Eglon stayed in the possession of the tribe of Judah.
^ "Proof of King David? Not yet. But riveting site shores up roots of Israelite era". Times of Israel. 14 May 2018. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
^ Faust, Avraham, and Yair Sapir. "The “Governor’s Residency” at Tel ‘Eton, the united monarchy, and the impact of the old-house effect on large-scale archaeological reconstructions." Radiocarbon 60.3 (2018): 801-820.

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[Bekkum-1] van Bekkum, Koert (2011). From Conquest to Coexistence: Ideology and Antiquarian Intent in the Historiography of Israel's Settlement in Canaan. Leiden, The Netherlands: Koninklijke Brill NV. p. 158. ISBN 978-90-04-19480-9.. Note: this citation supports the claim that Eglon is only mentioned in Joshua. It does not make any comment as to whether Eglon stayed in the possession of the tribe of Judah.

[2] "Proof of King David? Not yet. But riveting site shores up roots of Israelite era". Times of Israel. 14 May 2018. Retrieved 24 October 2019.

[3] Faust, Avraham, and Yair Sapir. "The “Governor’s Residency” at Tel ‘Eton, the united monarchy, and the impact of the old-house effect on large-scale archaeological reconstructions." Radiocarbon 60.3 (2018): 801-820.

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v t Sites of the Israelite settlement
Sites involved in the 13th-11th century BCE archaeological phenomenon of the Israelite Settlement
New settlements at previously unoccupied sites in late 13th/early 12th centuries	Bull Site Tel Dor Izbet Sartah Tell el-Ful (Gibeah) Giloh Heshbon Khirbet el-Mastarah Tel Arad Tel Be'er Sheva (Beersheba) Tell es-Sa'idiyeh (Zaretan)
New settlements at long deserted sites in 12th/11th centuries	Bethzur Tel Dan Et-Tell (Ai) Gibeon Shiloh Tel Kinrot (Kinneret) Tell en-Nasbeh (Mizpah) Tel Rumeida (Hebron)
Destroyed in late 13th/early 12th centuries	Azekah Ashdod Beit Shemesh Bethel Deir Alla (Succoth) Lachish Rabud Tell Beit Mirsim Tel 'Eton Tel Hazor Tel Megiddo
Not destroyed in late 13th/early 12th centuries	Beth-shan Gezer Jerusalem Shechem Taanach