Hillel I. Newman, «A Hippodrome on the Road to Ephrath», Vol. 86 (2005) 213-228
LXX to Gen 48,7 refers to a hippodrome in the vicinity of
Rachel’s Tomb. This cannot be satisfactorily explained as an exegetical creation
of the translator’s imagination and probably refers to a genuine structure. This
is also true of the stadium or hippodrome mentioned in Tg. Onq. to Gen
14,17, as the meeting place of Abram, the king of Sodom, and Melchizedek. Since
1QapGen locates the same meeting in the Valley of Beth Hakerem, which should be
identified as the valley between Ramat Rahel and Bethlehem, it is reasonable to
assume that both versions refer to the same hippodrome. There is no textual
justification for assuming a late interpolation in LXX and no geographical or
archeological justification for explaining these passages as allusions to a
Herodian hippodrome. LXX may attest to a case of profound Hellenistic influence
in Judea already under Ptolemaic rule.
A Hippodrome on the Road to Ephrath 223
A survey of place-names in both the Bible and rabbinic literature
indicates, however, that in the period in question valleys are named
after the settlements that are situated at their narrow, elevated ends and
that the extent of the valley includes the associated delta opening out
to the plain below (40). This suggests that we should conceive of the
Valley of Beth Hakerem in more modest terms, beginning in the north
in the general vicinity of Ramat Rahel itself and approaching
Bethlehem to the south (41).
Why should this spot, of all places, have been chosen as the
backdrop for the meeting of Abram, the king of Sodom, and
Melchizedek? It might simply follow from a prior tradition about the
location of the Valley of the King, one that is not contingent on the
immediate context of Gen 14,17. Yet it is worth considering an
additional possibility. It is in this place that Melchizedek presents
Abram with bread and wine. According to our analysis of the sources,
the venue of the encounter lies between Bethlehem — i.e., the “House
of Bread†— and Beth Hakerem — the “House of the Vineyardâ€. This
may simply be an ironic case of random agreement, but on the other
hand it could be the product of a deliberate sort of geographical
midrash.
We find ourselves at a fascinating point, one of striking agreement
between two sources far removed from each other: LXX tells of a
hippodrome on the road to Bethlehem, near the Tomb of Rachel, while
Tg. Onq. tells of a hippodrome at the site of an encounter which
1QapGen seems to put at the same spot as the hippodrome of LXX.
(40) See Y. TEPPER – Y. SHAHAR, “Galilean Arbelâ€, Cathedra 61 (1992) 43-49
(Hebrew). Cf. B.-Z. ROSENFELD, “The Galilean Valleys (Beq’aoth) from the Bible
to the Talmudâ€, RB 109 (2002) 66-100.
(41) The problem of the northern limit cannot be separated from the complex
question of the unity of the geographical conceptions of 1QapGen on the one hand
and Josephus (and the Copper Scroll?) on the other (cf. above, nn. 30-31, 34).
How much confidence should we place in the precision of Josephus’ testimony
regarding the Monument of Absalom? Assuming its reliability, are we obliged to
stretch the northern limit of the Valley of Beth Hakerem much farther than we
would otherwise be inclined to do, to within two stadia (about 400 meters) of
Jerusalem? Would the plain reaching to the very outskirts of Jerusalem take its
name from the town situated almost four kilometers to the south? Or should we
rather assume two separate traditions and not try to harmonize Josephus’ Royal
Valley with the Valley of Beth Hakerem of 1QapGen? Perhaps the Valley of
Beth Hakerem is understood by all to be only one part of the Valley of the King,
and there is really no contradiction in the first place? These questions remain
unanswered.