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Azazel is attested in earlier apocryphal and mysti- 1. The Lyrist cal/magical texts (1 Enoch, Apocalypse of Abraham, and Azaziah was a Levitical lyrist who accompanied the 3 Enoch) and in later kabbalistic sources. Especially procession when David brought the ark of the cove- important is the prominent role accorded Azazel in nant to (1 Chr 15 : 21; LXX ιας) from the medieval anthology, Sefer ha-Zohar, as the per- the house of Obed-. sonification of the force of the Other Side (sitra ahøra), the demonic realm that parallels the divine. 2. Father of Hoshea Following an older tradition (PRE, ch. 48), in the zoharic context Azazel is also associated with Sa- Azaziah was the father of Hoshea, who was chief mael, the archon of Esau, a metaphoric trope for officer over the Ephraimites during David’s rule ιας Christianity. (1 Chr 27 : 20; LXX ). Elliot R. Wolfson 3. The Overseer III. Islam Azaziah was one of 10 men appointed by King Hez- There is no reference to the name Azazel or an ekiah and Azariah, his chief officer of the temple, equivalent in the Qura¯n, but Muslim commenta- to assist the Levites Conaniah and his brother Shi- tors mention it in the form Aza¯zı¯l as the name of mei in overseeing the contributions, tithes, and the devil before his fall. dedicated things (2 Chr 31 : 13; LXX α ιας). The major commentators al-T abarı¯(d. 935) and J. P. Kang al-Qurtubı¯(d. 1272) both cite a tradition to this ef- fect from the early commentator Abdalla¯h Ibn Ab- ba¯s (d. 687–88) on S 2 : 34, the story of the creation Azbuk of Adam. When God commands the angels to pros- The meaning of the name Azbuk (MT Azbûq; LXX trate to the newly formed Adam they all obey ex- Α αυ ) is uncertain, although some scholars sug- cept Iblı¯s: “He refused and was haughty; he was of gest “(the god) Buq is strong.” However, Buq is oth- those who reject faith.” According to al-T abarı¯, Ibn erwise unattested as a divine name. Abba¯s says that Iblı¯s, whose original name was Az- In Neh 3 : 16, Azbuk is the father of Nehemiah a¯zı¯l, had been one of the most active and knowl- (not to be confused with the eponymous character edgeable of the angels. He lived on the earth, and of the book), who was ruler of one-half of the pelek it was this that attracted him to haughtiness. Al- (district or work group) of Beth-Zur, and respon-  Qurtubı¯adds that he had been one of the “four sible for rebuilding part of the wall of Jerusalem flanking angels,” and that his name had also been following the Babylonian exile.  al-Ha¯rith (Arab. “the collector of property”). No- David Janzen where do they offer an explanation of the meaning of the name. The intention behind these explanations is Azekah clearly to emphasize the devil’s fall from the  highest position in God’s favour to that of a rene- Azekah (MT zq = “dug ground”) is a biblical place gade. His names after his rebellion are Shaytøa¯ n ra- in the lowland hills of Judah (the Shephelah) identi- jı¯ m, “rejected (literally ‘stoned’) evil one” (S 3 : 36, fied with Zakariyeh (map reference 143.123). cf. 15 : 34), and Iblı¯s, “hopeless one,” (e.g., S7:11; The site commands the northwest approach to the 27 : 95), which is explained within the Islamic tradi- Vale of Elah and sits atop the peak of a ridge that tion as a derivation from the passive verb form extends southward, terminating at Tell el-Judeideh, ublisa, “he was rendered without hope” (but is al- near Beit Jibrin/. This ridge effec- most certainly a contraction of the Greek διλς). tively creates a north-south passage that intercon- He is no longer known by his own name Aza¯zı¯l, nects the Aijalon Valley in the north with the Vale and it is barely remembered. of Elah and the Wadi Jibrin in the south. The site holds a prominent view over the lowland hills, and Bibliography: ■ Awn, P. J., Satan’s Tragedy and Redemption: Iblı¯ s in Sufi Psychology (Leiden 1983). ■ al-Qurtubı¯, Al-ja¯ mi it is possible to see the central highlands of Judah li-ahøka¯ m al-Qura¯ n. ■ al-T abarı¯, Ja¯ mi al-baya¯ n an ta’wı¯ la¯ y along the eastern horizon as well as the plain of al-Qura¯ n. Philistia to the west. David Thomas 1. Archaeology. Tell Zakariyeh was excavated as See also /Atonement; /Expiation; /Goat; part of a regional study by F. J. Bliss and R. A. S. /Scapegoat Macalister at the end of the 19th century (Bliss/ Macalister; Stern: 124). The excavators distin- guished four main periods, which have since been Azaziah revised (Albright: 30–31; Stern: 124). Among the The name Azaziah (MT A˘zazya¯ hû) probably means small-finds from the Late Bronze Age (the excava- “YHWH is strong,” and there are three individuals tor’s “Late Pre-Israelite”) are two scarab seals, with who bear this name. the names Thutmose III and Amenhotep II respec-

Encyclopedia of the and Its Reception vol. 3 Authenticated | [email protected] © Walter de Gruyter, Berlin/Boston, 2011 Download Date | 12/12/18 3:05 AM 183 Azel 184 tively. The principle architectural remains consist chish as among the last remaining cities of Judah of a rectangular fortress, which dates to the Iron during the Babylonian conquest (Jer 34 : 7). A He- Age (“Jewish period”), as well as rock-cut tombs and brew ostraca found at Lachish and dated to the end several towers that the excavators dated to the late of the monarchy (ca. 586) offers a parallel to the Roman and Byzantine periods. The fortress, which passage in Jeremiah, as it records military recon- is built with six towers (with one at each corner), naissance regarding the two cities (“Lachish Letter was dated by the excavators to the time of Reho- 4”; see Hallo: 3.42C). This letter reports that signal boam on the basis of 2 Chr 11 : 9. The architectural fires were observed at Lachish, but not at Azekah. plan, however, more closely follows Iron IIC fortifi- In the Persian period, Azekah is mentioned as a cation plans, such as those of Arad and Kadesh-Bar- settlement where the people of Yehud dwelt (Neh nea (Stern: 124). The presence of lmlk (“belonging 11 : 30). Archaeological remains attest to the contin- to the king”) seal impressions in periods B and C of ued existence of the settlement in the Hellenistic the fortress suggest a terminus ad quem of 701 BCE. and early Roman periods. During the Byzantine pe- The series of three towers that flanked the south- riod, places Azekah between Eleutheropo- western periphery of the tell might also date to the lis and Jerusalem (Onom. 18 : 10). The Madeba Map, Iron Age. Bliss and Macalister excavated the foun- however, does not depict Azekah, but shows the dations of the towers (averaging 6–6.5 m in length) town of Beth Zakariyeh in the general vicinity of and assigned them to the Byzantine period due to Azekah, representing the shift of the settlement surface remains. The vestige of a retaining wall that from the tell to nearby Khirbet al-‘Almi in later an- connected the towers, however, may indicate that tiquity (Stern: 124). the “Byzantine towers” were in fact a revetment Bibliography: ■ Aharoni, Y. et al., The Carta Bible Atlas (Jeru- wall similar to the architectural feature found on salem 2002). ■ Albright, W. F., The Archaeology of Palestine the northwest corner of Tell ed-Duweir (Lachish) (Baltimore, Md. 1961). ■ Bliss, F. J./R. A. S. Macalister, Ex- that dates to Lachish Level III (Monson: 141–42). cavations in Palestine 1898–1900 (London 1902). ■ Hallo, The theories regarding the date of the ruins will W. W. (ed.), The Context of Scripture, 3 vols. (Leiden 1997– ■ remain speculative until further archaeological 2002). Monson, J. M., 2 Chron. 11 : 5b–10a:A Case Study in Application of the Disciplines of Historical Geography (MA thesis; work is conducted on the site. Jerusalem 1988). ■ Naaman, N., “Hezekiah’s Fortified Cit- 2. Biblical and Extra-Biblical Sources. Azekah ies and the ‘Lmlk’ Stamps,” BASOR 261 (1986) 5–21. first appears in the Bible in Josh 10, where it is ■ Rainey, A. F./R. S. Notley, The Sacred Bridge (Jerusalem mentioned in the description of the retreating Am- 2006). ■ Stern, E., “Azekah,” NEAEHL 2 (Jerusalem 1993) orite kings. The five defeated kings were routed on 123–24. ■ Vaughn, A. G., Theology, History, and Archaeology in the Chronicler’s Account of Hezekiah (Atlanta, Ga. 1999). the ascent of Beth-horon and fled (via the Aijalon ■ Zukerman, A./I. Shai, “ ‘The Royal City of the ’ Valley) “as far as Azekah and Makkedah” (Josh in the ‘Azekah Inscription’ and the History of Gath in the 10 : 10). Azekah also appears in the tribal city-list of Eighth Century BCE,” UF 38 (2006 [2007]) 729–817. Judah, where it is found in the second district along Matthew Suriano with Jarmuth, and Socoh (Josh 15 : 35; see Aharoni et al.: 105). All of these settlements are lo- cated in or near the Vale of Elah. In 1 Sam 17: 1, Azel both Azekah and Socoh are mentioned in the de- The name Azel (MT A¯ søe¯ l; LXX Εσηλ) occurs six scription of the Philistine and Israelite war camps times in the Bible, all in 1 Chr 8–9, and refers to a in the Vale of Elah (Rainey/Notley: 147). According descendant of through his son Jonathan. The to the Chronicler, fortified Azekah along name may mean “noble,” as in the noun a¯ søîl.In with several other cities in Judah (2 Chr 11 : 9). Be- the (bPes 62b), the name Azel appears twice cause archaeological remains of defensive works (“Between Azel and Azel”), in reference to the text from the time of Rehoboam are lacking at Tell Zak- of 1 Chr 8 : 38–9 : 44, which he describes as “laden ariyeh, some scholars date this list to Hezekiah with four camel loads of exegetical interpretation,” (Naaman 1986). This historical interpretation is perhaps a reference to the popularity of allegorical uncertain (cf. Rainey/Notley: 169–70), however epi- interpretations of biblical genealogies in late an- graphic remains from the site lend support to an tiquity. 8th-century BCE date (Stern). These remains, 18 In 1 Chr 8 : 29–38 and 9 : 35–44, a genealogy seal impressions that read lmlk (“belonging to the linking Saul and Jonathan to Azel appears twice, king”), are related to the reign of Hezekiah in the first instance connecting Saul’s genealogy to (Vaughn: 191). Additionally, an Assyrian text that and to the tribe of Benjamin and in the sec- describes the siege and capture of Azekah (A-za-qa-a ond providing a transition into chapter 10 and its in Akkadian) should be attributed to account of Saul’s death. In both genealogies, the and his 701 BCE invasion (Zukerman and Shai), of- sons of Azel belong to the last named generation, fering further insight into the settlement during suggesting the genealogy was composed during the reign of Hezekiah (Hallo: 2.119D). A little over their lifetimes, likely during the 6th century BCE a century later, Jeremiah describes Azekah and La- near the beginning of the Babylonian exile.

Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception vol. 3 Authenticated | [email protected] © Walter de Gruyter, Berlin/Boston, 2011 Download Date | 12/12/18 3:05 AM