Sokho
Archaeological sites in Israel mentioned in the Bible / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Sokho (alternate spellings: Sokhoh, Sochoh, Soco, Sokoh; Hebrew: שׂוֹכֹה ,שׂוֹכוֹ ,שֹׂכֹה) is the name given to two ancient towns in the territorial domain of Judah as mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, west of the Judean hills. Both towns were given the name Shuweikah in Arabic, a diminutive of the Arabic shawk, meaning "thorn".[1] The remains of both have since been identified.
Location | |
---|---|
Coordinates | 31.682108°N 34.973866°E / 31.682108; 34.973866 |
Grid position | 147/121 PAL |
Site notes | |
Condition | Ruin |
One is located about 10 miles (16 km) southwest of Hebron and has been identified with the twin ruins known as Khirbet Shuwaikah Fauka and Tahta (Upper and Lower Shuwaikah), 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) southwest of As-Samu in the Hebron Hills district (grid position 150/091 PAL)(Joshua 15:48).[2] Eusebius makes mention of this twin site in his Onomasticon.[3]
The other ruin is situated on a hilltop overlooking the Elah Valley between Adullam and Azekah (Joshua 15:35), in the lower stratum of the Judaean foothills (grid position 147/121 PAL).[4] Today it is a popular tourist attraction better known as Givat HaTurmusim. The site, occupied as early as the Iron Age, was visited by Claude Conder in 1881, who writes that it was already a ruin in his days, with two wells in the valley towards the west.[5]
A third town by this name, Shuwaykah, was located in the Hefer region (1 Kings 4:10), north of Tulkarm (grid position 153/194 PAL).[6][2]