Jezreel Rock-Cut Winery ('Naboth's Vineyard')
An Iron Age wine press at the foot of Ahab's Jezreel
Found 2013 — Jezreel Expedition, Norma Franklin (University of Haifa) and Jennie Ebeling (University of Evansville)
Where Tel Jezreel, lower slope near Ein Jezreel, Israel (Israel)
Dates from 9th–8th century BCE (dating uncertain) · Iron Age II (probable) · Divided Kingdom (Ahab)
Now at In situ
How Jezreel Rock-Cut Winery ('Naboth's Vineyard') was found
Found during a landscape survey with LiDAR in 2012–13 below the tell near the spring of Jezreel: a large installation cut into bedrock with treading floors, vats over 1 m deep, channels and collecting basins, alongside dozens of smaller presses.
What it is
A bedrock winery about 12 by 8 m with two treading floors, a settling vat and a deep collection vat, plus cup marks and channels. Because it is cut into living rock it holds no datable pottery, but its form matches Iron Age presses, and it sits in the zone where a vineyard beside the royal compound would have grown.
Why it matters for the Bible
1 Kings 21 says Naboth's vineyard was next to Ahab's palace, and Ahab wanted it for a vegetable garden. This winery proves that grapes were grown and pressed at the foot of the royal enclosure — the physical setting of the story — even if it cannot be tied to Naboth himself. It is a good example of how archaeology illuminates a story's landscape without confirming its characters.
The Hebrew word: KEH-rem
כֶּרֶם
כֶּרֶם is pronounced KEH-rem and means vineyard (Strong's H3754).
People this discovery connects to
- Naboth — נָבוֹת (Nah-VOTE) — fruits (uncertain)
- Ahab — אַחְאָב (Ach-AHV) — father's brother
Places
- Jezreel — יִזְרְעֶאל (Yiz-re-EL) — El sows
Events
Naboth's vineyard and murder
Jezreel Rock-Cut Winery ('Naboth's Vineyard') in Scripture
1 Kings 21:1-3 Naboth's vineyard 'beside the palace of Ahab' at Jezreel; the winery lies just below the royal enclosure. (First mention of Naboth.)
1 Kings 21:19 Elijah confronts Ahab in the vineyard he seized.
Questions people ask
What is Jezreel Rock-Cut Winery ('Naboth's Vineyard')?
A bedrock winery about 12 by 8 m with two treading floors, a settling vat and a deep collection vat, plus cup marks and channels. Because it is cut into living rock it holds no datable pottery, but its form matches Iron Age presses, and it sits in the zone where a vineyard beside the royal compound would have grown.
When was Jezreel Rock-Cut Winery ('Naboth's Vineyard') discovered?
It was found in 2013 by Jezreel Expedition, Norma Franklin (University of Haifa) and Jennie Ebeling (University of Evansville), at Tel Jezreel, lower slope near Ein Jezreel, Israel.
Where is Jezreel Rock-Cut Winery ('Naboth's Vineyard') today?
In situ.
Which Bible verses does Jezreel Rock-Cut Winery ('Naboth's Vineyard') relate to?
1 Kings 21:1-3, 1 Kings 21:19.
Is Jezreel Rock-Cut Winery ('Naboth's Vineyard') authentic?
The winery is real, but rock-cut installations are hard to date and cannot be linked to Naboth; the excavators themselves present the connection cautiously.
Related discoveries
- יִזְרְעֶאלJezreel: The Omride Royal EnclosureAhab and Jezebel's fortified compound overlooking the valley
- חוֹתָם'Jezebel' SealAn opulent Phoenician-style seal that may — or may not — have belonged to Ahab's queen
- שֵׁןSamaria IvoriesCarved furniture inlays from the 'ivory house' of Ahab and his successors
- שֶׁמֶרSamaria: The Omride Royal AcropolisOmri's new capital and Ahab's palace on the hill he bought from Shemer
- רֶכֶבKurkh Monolith of Shalmaneser III'Ahab the Israelite' and 2,000 chariots at the Battle of Qarqar
- אֻרְוֹתMegiddo Pillared StablesRows of stone-pillared buildings for hundreds of horses in Israel's chariot city
Sources
- Franklin, Ebeling et al., 'Have We Found Naboth's Vineyard at Jezreel?', BAR 43:6 (2017)
- TheTorah.com: Naboth's Vineyard and the Ancient Winery in Jezreel
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