Michmas

Michmas (/ˈmɪkmæʃ/; Hebrew: מִכְמָשׂ or מִכְמָס, romanizedMīḵmās, lit.'laid up (concealed) place') was an Israelite and Jewish town located in the highlands north of Jerusalem. According to the Hebrew Bible, it belonged to the Tribe of Benjamin.[1] It was the setting of the biblical Battle of Michmash, recounted in 1 Samuel 14. Michmas was inhabited during the Second Temple period, when, according to the Mishnah, its fine wheat was brought to the Temple.[2]

Michmas is identified with the Palestinian village of Mukhmas in the West Bank, which preserves its ancient name.[3][4] The nearby Israeli settlement Ma'ale Mikhmas, founded in 1981, is also named after the biblical town.

  1. ^ Ezra 2:27
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Finkelstein, Israel (2008). "Archaeology and the List of Returnees in the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah". Palestine Exploration Quarterly. 140 (1): 7–16. doi:10.1179/003103208x269105. ISSN 0031-0328.
  4. ^ Miller, J. Maxwell (1975). "Geba/Gibeah of Benjamin". Vetus Testamentum. 25 (2): 145–166. doi:10.2307/1517263. ISSN 0042-4935. JSTOR 1517263.