| Accusation, Sitnah | |
| Admah, Adma | |
| Ai | | A town to the east of Bethel (north of Jerusalem) mentioned at Genesis 12:8. It was later conquered by Joshua. | |
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| Akkad | | A city in Mesopotamia (now Iraq) mentioned in Genesis 10:10 as part of the kingdom of Nimrod. The term 'Akkadian' is often used for the language common to Babylonia and Assyria which was widely used as a diplomatic language in the ancient Near East. | |
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| Akrabim Steps | | A range of hills to the south-west of the Dead Sea, mentioned at Numbers 34:4 as part of the description of the borders of the Promised Land. | |
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| Almon Divlathaymah | |
| Alush | | Alush was one of the encampments of the Israelites in the Wilderness. It is only mentioned at Numbers 33:13-14, not in Exodus. Its location remains unknown. | |
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| Ammon, Ammonites | | 1. The territory occupied by the Ammonites, which lay east of the river Jordan between the areas occupied by the Gileadites and the Moabites. Their main settlement was at Rabbah or Rabat-Ammon, the present-day capital of Jordan.
2. Said to be the descendants of Ben-Ami, Lot's second son by his incestuous union with his younger daughter (Genesis 19:38).They were an ancient tribe living to the north-east of the Dead Sea, usually referred to in the Bible as b'nei Ammon (sons of Ammon) and were bitter enemies of the Israelites.God told Moses not to occupy the land of the Ammonites during the latter part of the Exodus, as it had been given as a heritage to the descendants of Lot (Deuteronomy 2:19). Israelites were forbidden to marry Ammonites or Moabites (Deuteronomy 23:4). | |
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| Aqaba, Gulf of | | Part of the Red Sea bordered by Midian on the west and Sinai to the east. The gulf was an important trade route into Arabia. | |
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| Ar | |
| Arad | |
| Aram Naharayim | |
| Ararat | | The Hebrew form of the Assyrian Urartu, a kingdom in the north of modern-day Armenia. The traditional landing-place of Noah's Ark was Mount Ararat, which is situated on the right bank of the Araxes river. The summit of Ararat (called by the Persians 'the mountain of Noah') is approximately 17,000 ft (518,160 km) above sea-level. | |
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| Aravah | |
| Argov | | An area of Transjordan having sixty fortified cities and several unwalled towns which was conquered by the Israelites under Moses, having previously been part of the territory of Og, the king of Bashan (Deuteronomy 3:3-5). Rabbinical scholars identified the Argov region with el-Leja, east of lake Kinnereth; others suggest the area of land between the Arnon and the Jabbok. | |
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| Arnon River | | A long wadi extending across the plateau of Moab as far as the Dead Sea. It was originally Amorite territory and became the southern border of the lands of Reuben when the Israelites entered the Promised Land (Deuteronomy 3:12, 16), thus extending Israelite territory from the Arnon to Mount Hermon (Deuteronomy 3:8). The Arnon Gorge is mentioned at Deuteronomy 4:48 in the description of the land conquered by the Israelites from king Og. | |
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| Aro'er | | Aro'er was among the fortress cities built up by the descendants of the tribe of Gad. The tribes of Gad and Reuben claimed the lands around Ya'ezer and Gilead for raising livestock, even though this area was on the eastern bank of the Jordan. After attempting to persuade them to settle in Canaan, Moses granted them permission to settle in Transjordan on condition that they armed themselves and led the other Israelites across the Jordan river as an advance guard (Numbers 32). It is mentioned at Deuteronomy 2:26, 3:12 and 4:48. | |
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| Ashteroth Karnaim | |
| Assyria | | An empire occupying the region of Mesopotamia (northern Iraq), mentioned in the prophecy of Balaam in Numbers 24:22, 24. The Hebrew name for Assyria is Asshur: this is also the name of the eponymous ancestor of the Assyrians. In later books of the Bible it is told how Assyria came to dominate the near East and carry the ten northern tribes of Israel into captivity. | |
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| Ataroth | | Ataroth was among the fortress cities built up by the descendants of the tribe of Gad. The tribes of Gad and Reuben claimed the lands around Ya'ezer and Gilead for raising livestock, even though this area was on the eastern bank of the Jordan. After attempting to persuade them to settle in Canaan, Moses granted them permission to settle in Transjordan on condition that they armed themselves and led the other Israelites across the Jordan river as an advance guard (Numbers 32). It is usually identified with the modern Khirbet Attaruth, 11km (7 miles) east of the Dead Sea, and 13 km (8 miles) north-north-west of Divon. | |
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| Atharim Highway | | The way on which the Israelites were said to be travelling in Numbers 21:1. The meaning of the name is uncertain: some authorities conjecture 'the way of the spies'. | |
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| Atroth Shofan | | Atroth Shofan was among the fortress cities built up by the descendants of the tribe of Gad. The tribes of Gad and Reuben claimed the lands around Ya'ezer and Gilead for raising livestock, even though this area was on the eastern bank of the Jordan. After attempting to persuade them to settle in Canaan, Moses granted them permission to settle in Transjordan on condition that they armed themselves and led the other Israelites across the Jordan river as an advance guard (Numbers 32). Its exact location is unknown. | |
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| Atzmon | | A place in the Negev mentioned at Numbers 34:4 as part of the borders of the Promised Land. | |
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| Avarim Mountains | |
| Avel Mitzraim | |
| Avronah | | One of the encampments of the Israelites in the Wilderness, listed at Numbers 33:34-5. Its exact location is unknown: Kaplan suggests that it marked the place where they crossed the Aravah wadi on the way to Elath. | |
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