Nahal Hever

View of Nahal Hever

Nahal Hever (Hebrew: נחל חבר‎‎, Arabic: wadi al-Khabat‎‎) is an Intermittent stream (wadi) in the Judean Desert that flows from Yatta area to the Dead Sea. The named is derived from the city of Hebron. The stream has a few waterfalls, the tallest one amounts to over 140 metres (460 ft).[1]

The caves

At the head of the stream are two caves, the "cave of letters" (מערת האיגרות), and, further up, the "cave of horrors" (מערת האימה) in which twenty four human skeletons were found. They have been regarded as archeological evidence of the Bar Kokhba revolt (132–136). Those of Babatha and her son are, presumably, among them.[2] The sites were discovered 1953 and investigated 1960 and 1961 by Yigael Yadin. In 1999 and 2000 it was excavated by Richard Freund of the University of Hartford.

Biblical manuscripts

Several fragments of ancient biblical manuscripts were found at Nahal Hever. They include portions of the Book of Numbers and Psalms. They are currently housed at the Rockefeller Museum.[3][4]

Some other biblical manuscript fragments have also been discovered, such as from Deuteronomy.[5]

See also

References

  1. ↑ (in Hebrew)
  2. ↑ Goodman, Martin (1991-01-01). "Babatha's Story". The Journal of Roman Studies. 81. p. 169. doi:10.2307/300497. ISSN 0075-4358. JSTOR 300497.
  3. ↑ PETER W. FLINT AND ANDREA E. ALVAREZ, The Preliminary Edition of the First Numbers Scroll from Nahial Hiever. Bulletin for Biblical Research 9 (1999) 137-143
  4. ↑ Nahal Hever 'Numbers'
  5. ↑ Nahal Hever 'Deuteronomy'

External links

Coordinates: 31°24′47.42″N 35°21′57.21″E / 31.4131722°N 35.3658917°E / 31.4131722; 35.3658917


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