Mizpah in Benjamin

Mitzpah (Hebrew: מִצְפָּה, romanized: miṣpā, lit.'watchtower, lookout') was a city of the tribe of Benjamin; it is referred to multiple times in the Hebrew Bible.

Tell en-Nasbeh is one of three sites often identified with the Mitzpah of Benjamin, and is located about 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) north of Jerusalem. The other suggested locations are Nabi Samwil,^[1] which is some 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) northwest of the Old City of Jerusalem (situated on the highest hill in the vicinity, above the plain of Gibeon),^[2] and Shuafat, a village situated on a flat spur to the northwest of Jerusalem and from where Jerusalem is visible.^[3]

The first mention of a Mizpah (although this Mizpah is in Gilead, southeast of the Sea of Galilee) was in the Book of Genesis where Laban and his son-in-law Jacob made an agreement that God will watch over them while they were apart from each other. The piling of rocks marked it.^[4] It was a reminder of peace where each would not go beyond these rocks to attack the other.^[5]

In the incident of the Levite's concubine, the men of Gibeah raped a woman. The other Israelite tribes met at the Mizpah of Benjamin, where they decided to attack the Benjaminites for this grievous sin according to Judges 20:1–11. At the same time, the decision was made to ban the marriage of Benjaminite men to Israelite women.^[6]

アフェクの戦いでイスラエル人が敗北した後、ペリシテ人に奪われた契約の箱が返還された後、サムエルはイスラエル人全員をミツパに集め、神に犠牲を捧げ、罪の赦しを求めた。イスラエル人はこの集まりに乗じてペリシテ人の襲撃を撃退し、ベト・カルの下まで追い返した。この出来事を記念して、サムエルはミツパとシェンの間に石を立て、主が彼らを助けたので、それをエベン・エゼル（「助けの石」）と名付けた。 ^{[ 7 ]}

サムエルはまた、イスラエルの民をミツパに集め、主が彼らの最初の王を定めてくださるようにした。そこで、イスラエルのすべての部族と家族の中から、くじによってサウルが選ばれた。^{[ 8 ]}

ユダの王アサとイスラエルの王バアシャの治世中、ミツパはアサがバアシャがラマを要塞化するために使用した石材で築いた2つの都市のうちの1つでした（列王記上15章、列王記上15:22、歴代誌下16章、歴代誌下16:6）。

バビロニア人がエルサレムを破壊した後、彼らはゲダリヤをミツパの総督に任命し、残った住民を統治させた。多くの人々は、逃げてきた場所からミツパに戻った。預言者エレミヤは、バビロニア人が釈放したベニヤミンのラマからミツパにやって来た。後に、王族の一員であるイシュマエルがゲダリヤを暗殺した。エレミヤは、エジプトに行けば罪を問われて死ぬだろうと警告したが、人々はエジプトに行くことを続けた。^{[ 9 ]}

ミツパはネヘミヤ記に、バビロン捕囚から帰還したユダヤ人が再定住した町の一つとして記されており、アルタクセルクセス1世（クセルクセス）の治世中にエルサレムの城壁建設に協力した。^{[ 10 ] [ 11 ]}ネヘミヤはさらに、帰還者たちは国から追放される前にその町に住んでいた人々のまさに子孫であり、皆がかつての居住地に戻って暮らしたと記録している。^{[ 12 ]}

ミツパの遺跡として有力視されているのは、テル・エン・ナスベ、近隣のナビ・サムウィル、そしてシュアファトである。

• The suggested site of Shuafat is based on its etymology, meaning "prospect," which is thought to be a corruption of the old name Mitzpah or Sapha. In addition, the place fits the description of being "over against Jerusalem" (I Macc. III 46)^[3]
• Yohanan Aharon suggested identifying Tell en-Nasbeh with Mitzpah in Benjamin.^[13]
• Mitzpah was located right next to Gibeon.^[2] If Mitzpah was Tell en-Nasbeh on the Nablus Road, Ishmael would not have fled to Ammon via Gibeon,^[14] which is located to the west near Nabi Samwil, which overlooks Jerusalem.
• Mizpah is where Judas Maccabeus and his rebel army camped before the Battle of Emmaus during the Maccabean Revolt according to the book of 1 Maccabees 3:46. "Then they gathered together and went to Mizpah, opposite Jerusalem, because Israel formerly had a place of prayer in Mizpah." Mizpah was in the hills, while the nearby Greek Syrian camp in Emmaus was on the plain. Judas proceeded to hold a religious ceremony at Mitzpah, where he picked a smaller force to ambush the Seleucid camp the next day.^[15]
• Nabi Samwil has produced no remains from Iron Age I, nor any remains of the 6th century BCE, both periods in which Mitzpah was occupied. By contrast, Tell en-Nasbeh has produced abundant remains from both periods, and has a massive fortification system which matches well with the building campaign of King Asa of Judah in the early 9th century BC. Its location on the main road leading out of Jerusalem fits well with the reference to Mizpah in 1 Kings 15:22.

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