General information of the City Tel Arad 

The Tel Arad National Park lies in the eastern Negev north of the Arad rift and covers an area of 52 hectares (513,968 sq metres or 128.492 acres). It consists of the ruins of a Canaanite city from the Early Bronze Age and fortresses built by the kings of Judea dating to the Israelite period.

At the end of the fourth millennium BCE, the site consisted of a small village, which, by the beginning of the thrid millennium (Early Bronze Age or Copper Age, 3000- 2000 BC), grew into a planned and fortified city covering an area of 10 hectares (98,840 sq metres or 24.71 acres). The city was divided into quarters which housed the palace, shrines, residential buildings and marketplaces. Water supply was provided by the accumulation of surface runoff which flowed down the streets and drained into a large reservoir situated in a natural topographical depression at the center of the city. A think-walled structure, which researchers call the "water citadel", was erected next to it. The city's inhabitants engaged in the agriculture of naturally irrigated land, breeding of sheep and cattle and trade. Arad fostered close ties with the southern Sinai region where copper mines operated. With the increasing use of copper, Arad became the center of trade for copper products. The Canaanite city remained in existence for some 350 years (until c. 2650 BCE). Excavations revealed a noticeable absence of any remnants of human settlement from the Late Bronze Age (2000- 1200 BC) until the period of Israelite settlement (or the time of the Exodus in 1350- 1250 BC). In effect, the site had laid abandoned for some 1500 years. ('The Fortress Mound Program' by the Israel Nature and Parks Authority Publishing) 

In 1220 BC the long-living nation of Israel first appears on the historical stage on the famous stele of Marneptah, the successor of Rameses II on the throne of Egypt, there occurs the first mention of the name Israel among the cities and peoples of Canaan: 'Israel is laid waste, his seed is not'. (Holy Land by Michael Avi-Yonah)

At this time the children of Israel had made their way into the land of Canaan from the land of the Midians and mount Sinai by the way of the Red Sea to Mount Hor and biblical Arad. 

Biblical Arad 

First of all let's get the most destructive misunderstanding people have about this site out of the way. The site Tel Arad is NOT the Arad menstioned in Numbers 21. In order to understand this one must first consider one thing above all, that after the sons of Israel had defeated the king of Arad and destoryed his city they then renamed the city Hormah (Num 21:3). Plus, Numbers 21 clearly states that they were by mount Hor by the Red Sea, and still compassing the land of Edom.  

The artifacts found were only found within the house and not in the lower city. So there is not nothing solid to conclude that the oldest version of the city was that of the king of biblical Arad. But if one wanted me to give them a clue as to the real location of biblical Arad I would tell them to look near Mount Hor and Kedesh where the children of Israel encounter them (Num 21:1-4). Which is somewhere not far from the Red Sea on the border of Edom (Nu:21:4: Nu:33:36; Nu:33:37). 

However, the confusion in the name of the site starts first with the Jewish settlers that came to the area in the late 50's and early 60's. From Arabs they knew the once buried site to be a watering whole and sought to find a source to tap into for the city they were building. And because the city was one of the most southern cities of the time was named Arad. Therefore after Yochanan Aharoni's discovery of the site in 1968, the city and fortress were thus named Tel Arad (or old Arad).

The second opening of misunderstanding was in the early 70's when two artifacts were found in the Citidal which stated in them the word Orad (Oyin-resh-daleth). In modern Hebrew (Aramaic) this might mean something different, however, in the Hebrew written in those times, this word meant two things: Town-my or Sequester. It is clear that the first simply means the writer's town. But sequester means (straight out the webster's dictionary) seclude; which is to guard from. Therefore, Inscription 99 of Aharoni's finds at Tel Arad is interpretated "Town, seclude my town.... guard from evil; guard from force."

The Southern Borders (Click Here) 

The south borders of the land of the children of Israel are as written :

Nu:34:3: Then your south quarter shall be from the wilderness of Zin along by the coast of Edom, and your south border shall be the outmost coast of the salt sea eastward: Nu:34:4: And your border shall turn from the south to the ascent of Akrabbim, and pass on to Zin: and the going forth thereof shall be from the south to Kadesh-barnea, and shall go on to Hazar-addar, and pass on to Azmon: Nu:34:5: And the border shall fetch a compass from Azmon unto the river of Egypt, and the goings out of it shall be at the sea.  

Therefore, all of the south territory is from outmost coast of the salt sea eastward to the land of Egypt all along the wilderness of Zin by the coast of Edom. If you look at every present day map this may become very confusing. Yet, what does appear clearly is that the location of Tel Arad is even today not on the utmost coast of the Salt Sea (Dead Sea) or in the wilderness of Zin.

Is this a Canaanite town? 

Though, the house of Yahweh was built during David and Solomon's time there was a pre-existing fortress structure before it upon the same spot as well in the lower town. Archaeologist have identified these old inhabitance as being Canaanites, yet they did not mention which kind of Canaanites were they. The fact of the matter is almost every biblically mentioned city or town was at one time inhabited by Canaanites. Therefore, to determine what kind of Canaanite use to live here we must consider where the town was and where each kind of Canaanites were at that time.

1.(Ge:15:18:) In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates: Ge:15:19: The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, Ge:15:20: And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, Ge:15:21: And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.

2. (Jos:12:8:) In the mountains, and in the valleys, and in the plains, and in the springs, and in the wilderness, and in the south country; the Hittites, the Amorites, and the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites:

And in the 14th century B.C there came a king in Egypt named Akhenaton (Ikhnaton) of XVIIIth dynasty that made the city Tell el-'Amar-na his capital. And kept detailed records on the inhabitance of this area and other parts of his terriority.  

Tell el-'Amar-na- Site of ruins on the Nile River, Egypt, midway between Thebes and Memphis. Ancient city built 14th cent. B.C. by King Akhenaton (Ikhnaton) of XVIIIth dynasty; informative artifacts discovered 19th cent. incl. hundreds of cuneiform tablets. (The Complete Reference Collection 1998- Compton's Home Library)

Gaza History: Town was prosperous trade center for much of its history; earliest reference as Egyptian garrison 15th cent. B.C. ; mentioned in records from Tell el-'Amarna; important Philistine city; biblical site of Philistine temple of Dagon, destroyed by Samson (The Complete Reference Collection 1998- Compton's Home Library) 

The Jebusites were mentioned in Tell el-'Amarna letters 14th cent. B.C...... fortress of Jebusites captured by King David c. 1000 B.C. and made the capital of kingdom of Israel, (The Complete Reference Collection 1998- Compton's Home Library) 

Two of the sites and people that were mentioned in the Tell el- Amarna tablets were the people of Gaza (rightoff the borders of Egypt) and the people of Jubusi(or Jerusalem) that according to Zec:14:10 is north of Rimmon that is on the borders of Benijamin (J'g:21:13; 2Sa:4:2)and in the cities of the southern territory of the lands of Israel and included with it is Baalah or Kirjath-jearim (Jos. 15:20-32). 

According to Researcher Yadin Roman "The earliest historial mention of the tribe is in Egyptian inscription from the 12th dynasty, found in the Sinai, which mentions the Kenites together with names of other Semitic tribes."

Most archaeologist figure (based on scriptural references) that this is a Kenite city. However, we have re-asked the question "Is this a Kenite city?" According to Judges 1:16 "And the descendants of the Kenite, Moses' father-in-law, went up with the people of Judah from the city of palms into the wilderness of Judah, which lies in the Negeb near Arad; and they went and settled with the people." Reading this one would then be lead to believe that the old people at Tel Arad were Kenites. Yet, it has already been well built (based upon geographic locations) that the Arad of the Numbers 21 is not this place, then, the answer to the question is no.

Based upon both archaeologic finds and biblical references of the geography the site and area around it is more comparable to Jubusi the area of the Jubusites and place the city of David. And according to the Torah and Tanach (Bible), the children of Jethro the father-in-law of Moses had even lived north of Jerusalem.

1Chronicles 2:53 specks of the inhabitance of Kirjath-jearim (just north of Jerusalem in Jos 15:8-9) and the Ithrites. The Ithrites are an English transliterated equivalant of the children of Jethro which lived at Kirjath-jearim or Baalah. So when it was described the land boundries of the area of Jubusi in Jos 15 from Hinnom and north of the valley of the giants and up the mountains, the children of Jethro settled there with the priest and Levites around mount Ephron. All of which were in the southern territory of the land of Israel

In the mountain north of Tel Arad is the mountain peak Har Amasa and the town of Yattir (Jattir). In Hebrew the name of the town is also the same as the father-in-law of Moses (Ex. 4:18). The town Jattir was given to the Levites as a city of refuge (1chr 6:57). Jethro (or Jattir) is also just a few kilometers from Har Amasa. And biblically identical there was a man named Amasa the captain of the Host that was the son of Jethro (Yattir or Jattir) (1ki 2:5). Amasa was born from the children of Jethro which were with the children of Ishmael at one time (1chr 2:17).

Jattir (Yittir or Jethro) is of the first towns mentioned in Jos 15:48 of the mountain territories. With it is another town named Socoh (or Shoco) which is both in the first valley territory of the southwest and goes into the mountains. With Shoco in the first valley is Adullam [in the cave of Adullam that David escaped to from Saul (1Sa. 22:1)] and Azekah (Jos 15:35) which locations are very near to the valley of Hinnom and Jerusalem on the westside of the city of David (Ne. 11:30).  

The Former Water Course 

There is evidence that shows that the sea extended even further south. The two proves of this are: 

- A map of archaeological sites in Israel that show that the Dead Sea at one time stretched much further south than today.  

Archaeologist Yadin Roman that wrote a tourist book for the Negrev area. In his book he added to this by stating that the area did have a wet climate that lasted until the rise of Islam. And recent digs done by Professor Yehuda Govern, (head archaeologist at the site) have supported our research by showing that water did come from the house (or citidal) and down to the city (which most archaeologist did not think was the case until now). Even more of our investigations into the area through sources with the water company of Israel show that the entire area (from Beersheva to Ein-bok) contains fresh underground water that is being pumped by the government. So when these springs at one time were left untaped the area was very much filled with water and plant life (which some bedouins testify to). In the summer without rain water the area becomes dry. However, given a little water in the winter rain and the area becomes full of plant life and vegetation. So when water in ancient times flowed here, the land of the area was not desert or wilderness-like. Never-the-less, the fact that it has become a wilderness is fulfilment of a Bible prophecy that states that Judah shall become a desolation (Jer:44:2).