History of Dor. 53 



appear that tbe account in Judges belongs to the J. strand of 

 narrative, and that Josh. 17: 11 is borrowed from this account. 



The cities mentioned in these passages form a line stretching 

 from Bethshean on the east to Dor on the west. Bethshean (mod. 

 Beisfin) is situated at the eastern end of the Great Plain. Jibleam 

 has been identified with the modern Bel'araeh, south of Genin', 

 others j^lace it northwest of Bethshean, the modern Yebla^ 

 Taanach (mod. Ta'annuk) lies west of Bethshean and northwest of 

 Bel'ameh. Megiddo is northwest of Taanach, at the modern Leggiin. 

 This chain of fortified cities separated the tribes of Joseph from 

 their brethren struggling for a foothold in Galilee to the north. 



'7'iSt'i*'! in Josh. 17:12, Judg. 1:27 contains the idea of determin- 

 ation, and the clause may be translated " persisted in dwelling (or 

 remaining)'". The Hebrew text of Judg. 1 : 27 is quite irregular in 

 its use or omission of *5^* ^""^ n^ri1^3 • The reference in Josh, 

 17 : 13; Judg. 1 : 28, to the time when Israel become strong ([llptH) 

 is probably to the times of David. We have no satisfactory proof 

 that the city of Dor ever came into his power, although in 1 Kings 

 4: 11 the whole region of Naphatli Dor is assigned to Ben-Abinadab, 

 Solomon's son-in-law\ DD refers to the working gangs. 



Thus, according to the accounts of Josh. 17: 11-13; Judg. 1:27, 

 28 and 1 Chron. 7: 29, Dor is one of the border cities of Manasseh, 

 whose Canaanite inhabitants maintained possession of their cities 

 at the time of the Hebrew invasion. Later, it is claimed, these 

 inhabitants were put to task-work by their Hebrew conquerors. It 

 may be doubted whether the Hebrews ever secured more than a 

 brief suzerainty (if even that) over the people of remote Dor. The 

 frank statement that "they by no means expelled them" indicates 

 that the town remained Canaanite. As for Dor, it was far away 

 in Philistine or Phoenician rather than in Hebrew territory, and 

 therefore in a position to maintain its freedom. 



.JUDGES 1 : 31. 

 The Greek of Judges 1 : 31 includes Dor among the cities 

 assigned to Asher which remained unconquered. The verse reads 

 (A-text) : 



' Moore, Budde. 



- G.A.S., Hist. Geog., Maps I, VI. 



' B.D.B. s.v. '^J^» ; Moore on the passage. 



•* See below. 



