Beth-Nimrah or Beth-nimrah (), also called Nimrin and Bethennabris, was an ancient city in Transjordan, which features prominently the history of ancient Israel and Judah. Tell Nimrin has been identified by Nelson Glueck as the last of three sites successively occupied by the ancient city.

Etymology

Beth Nimrah means 'house of a leopard' in Hebrew, beit meaning 'house' and namer 'leopard' (cf. nimr in Arabic).

Later in antiquity, the city took on the name Nimrin, until its demise in the first century CE.

Hebrew Bible

It was assigned to the Tribe of Gad (). In the Book of Joshua it was said to have belonged formerly to the kingdom of Sihon ().

History

Iron Age

Excavations at Tell Bleibil, the ancient site identified by Glueck as the site of Nimrah during the Iron Age, show that during this period the settlement was enclosed by a massive casemate fortifications over 12 meter high; they were constructed around the late 9th to the early 8th century BCE. Inside the settlement, archaeologists discovered evidence for long-term occupation spanning roughly 250 years, with domestic spaces, storage and grinding installations, loom weights, lamps and cultic objects such as a pillar figurine. Multiple areas feature destruction layer caused by intense fire, indicating the site was destroyed likely in the early 6th century BCE.

Roman and Byzantine periods

In c. 65 CE, the village was the site of a fierce battle during the First Jewish–Roman War under Vespasian, which saw the defeat of the town's defenders. The non-combatants were exterminated, the able-bodied fled, the houses were ransacked by the soldiery, and the village set on fire.

The town is also mentioned in the Mosaic of Rehob, which was laid sometimes between the late 3rd and the 6th/7th centuries CE.

References

Bibliography

  • Photos of Tall Nimrin at the American Center of Research