Hazor: The Middle Bronze City Named at Mari
Canaan's largest city, already famous in Avraham's world
Found 1955 — Yigael Yadin (Hebrew University, James A. de Rothschild Expedition, 1955–58, 1968); Amnon Ben-Tor (1990–2021); site first identified by John Garstang (1926–28)
Where Tel Hazor (Tell el-Qedah), Upper Galilee, Israel (Israel)
Dates from c. 1750–1550 BCE · Middle Bronze IIB–C · Patriarchal age; later 'head of all those kingdoms' (Joshua 11)
Now at In situ, Tel Hazor National Park (UNESCO); finds at the Israel Museum and the Hazor Museum, Kibbutz Ayelet HaShahar
How Hazor: The Middle Bronze City Named at Mari was found
Yadin's excavations revealed a huge lower city with earthen ramparts and a moat first built in the Middle Bronze Age, plus Canaanite temples and gates; Ben-Tor's later work uncovered a Middle–Late Bronze palace and cuneiform tablets.
What it is
An 80-hectare city, the largest in Canaan, with a fortified upper tell and a vast lower city enclosed by a rampart and moat. Middle Bronze remains include a triple-entry gate, temples, tombs, and the only cuneiform archive fragments found in Israel from this period.
Why it matters for the Bible
Letters from Mari (18th century BCE) mention Hazor's king Ibni-Addu, tin shipments to Hazor, and messengers traveling between Hazor, Mari, and Babylon—the only Canaanite city named in that archive. Excavation shows exactly the great city those letters describe. This anchors Canaan of the patriarchal age in the wider Near Eastern world and explains why Joshua later calls Hazor 'head of all those kingdoms'.
The Hebrew word: ROSH
רֹאשׁ
רֹאשׁ is pronounced ROSH and means head, chief (Hazor as 'head of all those kingdoms') (Strong's H7218).
People this discovery connects to
- Jabin — יָבִין (yah-VEEN) — he understands (Hazor's royal name)
Places
- Hazor — חָצוֹר (chah-TSOR) — enclosure
Events
Canaanite kingdoms of the patriarchal age · Yehoshua burns Hazor · Devorah and Barak defeat Yavin of Hazor
Hazor: The Middle Bronze City Named at Mari in Scripture
Joshua 11:1 First mention of Hazor in Scripture.
Joshua 11:10 Hazor was formerly 'head of all those kingdoms'; the Mari letters and the huge Middle Bronze city show why.
Judges 4:2 Yavin king of Hazor, a dynastic name matching the Ibni-Addu of the Mari letters.
Questions people ask
What is Hazor: The Middle Bronze City Named at Mari?
An 80-hectare city, the largest in Canaan, with a fortified upper tell and a vast lower city enclosed by a rampart and moat. Middle Bronze remains include a triple-entry gate, temples, tombs, and the only cuneiform archive fragments found in Israel from this period.
When was Hazor: The Middle Bronze City Named at Mari discovered?
It was found in 1955 by Yigael Yadin (Hebrew University, James A. de Rothschild Expedition, 1955–58, 1968); Amnon Ben-Tor (1990–2021); site first identified by John Garstang (1926–28), at Tel Hazor (Tell el-Qedah), Upper Galilee, Israel.
Where is Hazor: The Middle Bronze City Named at Mari today?
In situ, Tel Hazor National Park (UNESCO); finds at the Israel Museum and the Hazor Museum, Kibbutz Ayelet HaShahar.
Which Bible verses does Hazor: The Middle Bronze City Named at Mari relate to?
Joshua 11:1, Joshua 11:10, Judges 4:2.
Related discoveries
- שָׂרַף בָּאֵשׁHazor's Burned Palace and Defaced StatuesThe 'head of all those kingdoms' destroyed by fire in the 13th century BCE
- מַצֵּבָהHazor Shrine of the StelaeA small Canaanite chapel with a row of standing stones and hands lifted to the moon
- יָבִיןHazor Cuneiform TabletsLetters and law fragments from the largest Canaanite archive south of Syria
- רַעַשׁHazor: Israelite Citadel and Water ShaftYadin's Omride-period fortress and the 40-metre shaft to the water table
- הֵיכָלHazor Orthostat Temple (Area H)A three-room Canaanite temple whose plan foreshadows Solomon's
- שַׁעַרSix-Chambered Gates of Hazor, Megiddo and GezerThree matching city gates and the debate over who built them
Sources
- Yadin, 'Hazor: The Rediscovery of a Great Citadel of the Bible' (1975)
- Wikipedia: Tel Hazor
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