Horvat Maon

Horvat Maʿon (also Khirbet Maʿin, Tell Maʿin) is an archaeological site near Nirim in the Negev, the arid southern portion of Israel.

For the Maʿon (ruin) in Galilee, see Bethmaus.

It is usually considered the site of the Maon of Joshua (15:55),[1] as well as Beth-baal-meon (Joshua 13:17) and Beth-meon (Jeremiah 48:23).[2] The Bible identifies Maon as a place in the territory of the Tribe of Judah (Joshua 15:55), and describes Nabal as living in Maon (1 Samuel 25:2-3).

Horvat Maʿon, under the name Menois, was the capital of Saltus Constantinianus,[3], also known as Saltus Constantiniaces,[4] an administrative district formed by either Constantine the Great or Constantius II.[5]

Excavations there have uncovered the Maon Synagogue, known for its mosaics adorned with various animals and likely built around 600 CE.[6]

References
  1. David Noel Freedman; Allen C. Myers (31 December 2000). Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible. Amsterdam University Press. p. 854. ISBN 978-90-5356-503-2.
  2. Nadav Na'aman (1999). Karel van der Toorn; Bob Becking; Pieter Willem van der Horst (eds.). Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. p. 147. ISBN 978-0-8028-2491-2.
  3. Aharoni, Y. "The Land of Gerar." Israel Exploration Journal, vol. 6, no. 1, 1956, p. 30. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/27924640.
  4. Steven H. Werlin (7 August 2015). Ancient Synagogues of Southern Palestine, 300-800 C.E.: Living on the Edge. BRILL. p. 264. ISBN 978-90-04-29840-8.
  5. Hagith Sivan (2008). Palestine in Late Antiquity. OUP Oxford. p. 337. ISBN 978-0-19-928417-7.
  6. Yeivin, S. "A Year's Work in Israel." Archaeology, vol. 11, no. 4, 1958, pp. 244–245. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/41663614.
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