Home > Sites > West Galilee > Tell Par (Tell el Far) and Kh. Ibtin

 

Contents: Background Location History Aerial Map Photos Biblical References Etymology Links

Background:

 

Tell Par (El Far) is a small (900 square meters)  round mound, located in the plains west of Ibtin. It was inhabited in the middle Bronze period (2200-1550BC), Israelite (Iron) and Babylonian/Persian periods (586-332BC).  It was suggested as the Biblical 'Beten', part of the region of Asher.

 

Khirbet Ibtin is located east of Tell Par, and was probably the continuation of the older site.

 

Location:

 

The Tell is located near Ibtin, on the north-west side of the junction of the modern roads (Yagur-Somech and the road to Kiryat Atta).

 

The ancient Via-Maris road passed at this site for thousands of years. Tell Par was located on the main north-south road from Syria, through Acre, down to the center of Israel and Egypt. A Roman milestone was found nearby. Note that Via-Maris  split to 2 forks in Khirbet Gedura (near Kefar Bialik), and this section was the eastern route that passed through Kiryat Atta to Tell Regev.

 

Tell Par site got its waters from the Zippori creek which passes at this point, on its way south towards the Kishon river. The crossing over the creek was another advantage of the site.

 

History of the place:

 

(a) Tell Par

 

This city was established in the middle Bronze (Canaanite) period (2200-1550BC), and according to the Archaeological survey the site continued until the Babylonian/Persian period (586-332BC). 

 

The site was identified as biblical "Beten" by Y. Aharoni and other scholars.

 

It might have been in one of the cities given to Hiram, King of Tyre, as part of the pact with King Solomon (Kings I). However, according to Y. Aharoni it remained under King Solomon's area and was a border city with the Phoenicians.

 

In the Byzantine period the site was reused as a farming house. Today it is ruins and damaged from the farming around the site, and hardly noticed while driving at the nearby highway.

 

(b) Khirbet Ibtin

 

500M East to Tell Par, on the footsteps of the hills, there is a site from later periods (Roman, Byzantine, Mameluk and Ottomon period). The site is west of the modern Arabic village of Ibtin which is located at a higher side of the hill. This site may have been the second phase of Tell Par, which was too small for that period. The newer site may have also preserved the name of the ancient site - Beten, which is listed in Joshua as one of the cities in the region of the tribe of Asher.

 

 

Map / Aerial view:

 

The following aerial view shows the points of interest. You can point on the purple points to navigate to the selected point. As you can see, Tell Par is located north-west of the new road, and west of Kh. Ibtin.

 

 

Photos:

 

 

(a) Tell Par:

 

The following photo shows the small Tell Par from the south.

 

Click on the photo to view it in higher resolution...

 

(b) Khirbet Ibtin:

 

The newer site (Khirbet Ibtin) is spread over a larger area.  The following photo shows the south side, inside a olive tree orchid. To the north of the ancient village there are quarries, rock cut tombs, and stone covered tombs. On the north side there are agriculture terraces.  On the west  and south slopes of the site there are cisterns and oil/wine presses. According to the survey, the site existed from the Roman to the Ottoman period.

 

 

A view from the west. The ancient site is in the center. The new Arab village of Ibtin is on the higher slopes. The bushes in the foreground mark the lowest section where the Zippori creek used to flow towards south, and today there is a modern highway that crosses this place.

 

 

 

Biblical References:

 

(a) Joshua 19:24,25

 

This text, describing the land of the tribe of Asher, lists the cities in their area. One of the sites, Beten,  may relate to Par and Ibtin, since the latter (Ibtin) has a similar name and is listed near Khali which is 3 KM away.

 

24 "And the fifth lot came out for the tribe of the children of Asher according to their families.

 25 And their border was Helkath, and Khali, and Beten, and Achshaph

26  And Alammelech, and Amad, and Misheal; and reacheth to Carmel westward, and to Shihorlibnath;

27 And turneth toward the sunrising to Bethdagon, and reacheth to Zebulun, and to the valley of Jiphthahel toward the north side of Bethemek, and Neiel, and goeth out to Cabul on the left hand,

 28 And Hebron, and Rehob, and Hammon, and Kanah, even unto great Zidon;

 29 And then the coast turneth to Ramah, and to the strong city Tyre; and the coast turneth to Hosah; and the outgoings thereof are at the sea from the coast to Achzib:

 30 Ummah also, and Aphek, and Rehob: twenty and two cities with their villages.

 

Archaeological  References:

 

• Arch. Survey of Israel - Shefr'am Map (24) - Y. Olami & Z. Gal [1982] , site #111

• Site Survey by Zvi Gal [1993]

• Carta's Atlas of the Bible - Y. Aharoni [Carta Jerusalem 1974] - Shop for this must-have book.

  Maps: 72 (Asher tribe region), 113 (Solomon's Kingdom)

 

Etymology (behind the name):

Par - was renamed in Hebrew (means bull) after the Arabic name (Far) Ibtin - unknown name, but may have preserved the ancient site name of Beten (Hebrew: stomach) Tell - Mound in Hebrew and Arabic Khirbet - ruins in Arabic. In Hebrew - the root name (Kharav) means ruin. Name in the survey of Western Palestine (1881): Tell el Far

Links:

 

You can visit the following sites, which are around this site:

• Nahal Zippori (Sepphoris creek)
• Khali - a number of ancient sites 3 KM north, located in N. Zippori valley
• Tell Regev which is located 2KM south of this site, and was the major city in the area

 

You can also learn about the story of a Tell in our info page.

 

BibleWalks.com - walk with us through the sites of the Holy Land

 

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