4361—DAN, now known as Tell el-Qadi (the mound of the judge), was long considered the northern frontier of the land of Israel—“from Dan to Beersheba” (1 Samuel 3:20). It is now a mound of about fifty acres that rises about 65 feet above the plain. A powerful spring, one of the main sources of the Jordan, is adjacent to the city. The name of Dan is first mentioned in the Bible in Genesis 14:14; its earlier name was Laish (Judges 18:29). Laish is also mentioned in texts and inscriptions from Egypt and Mari. Twenty seasons of almost uninterrupted excavations have occurred on the site since 1966 under the direction of Avraham Biran. An inscription in Greek and Arabic found in 1976 that mentioned the “god of Dan” (1 Kings 12:30; Amos 8:14) confirmed the identity of the mound. A series of occupation levels have been identified, ranging from about 5000 b.c. to the Babylonian Conquest of the Northern Kingdom (about 605 b.c.). Only fragmentary evidence after that period exists until the extensive building activity of the Hellenistic (331–63 b.c.) and Roman periods (63 b.c.–a.d. 70). Two finds of special interest to readers of the Bible are the destruction level at the Late Bronze Age (1550–1200 b.c.) and a large stone platform from the time of Jeroboam I and Ahab. The destruction layer was linked by the excavators to the invading Israelites (Judges 18:27), although the “fire” was apparently minimal. Along with the ash layer in the twelfth century b.c. level, there were stone-lined pits in which cooking pots and other pottery of the new inhabitants were found. Jeroboam, shortly after establishing the northern kingdom, built a pagan sanctuary in Dan in which was placed a golden calf (1 Kings 12:28–30). Remains of this sanctuary were found at the northern end of the site. A large raised platform or high place, 59.5 feet by 61 feet, was discovered with evidence of later additions, possibly by King Ahab. This high place was apparently used for water libation ceremonies by pagan priests and the backslidden Israelites. Massive fortification walls and a large four-chambered city gate from this period were also uncovered, as well as a four-horned altar.
Frank Charles Thompson and John Stephen Jauchen, eds., Thompson Chain Archaeological Supplement, The Thompson Chain-Reference Bible (Indianapolis, IN: B.B. Kirkbride Bible Co., Inc., 1997), 2203–2204.
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