JEZREEL (Heb. "

See also:

• GOD

God sows ")  , the capital of the Israelite monarchy under Ahab, and the scene of stirring Biblical events (1 Sam. xxix . 1; 1 Kings xxi.; 2 Kings ix . 21—37) . The name was also applied to the great plain (Esdraelon) dominated by the city (" valley of Jezreel," Josh. xvii . 16, &c.) . The site has never been lost, and the present village Zercin retains the name radically unchanged . In Greek (e.g . Judith) the name appears under the form'Eabpa17X&; it is Stradela in the Bordeaux Pilgrim, and to the Crusaders the place was known as Parvum Gerinum . The modern stone village stands on a bare rocky knoll, 5ooft. above the broad northern valley, at the north extremity of a long ledge, terminating in steep cliffs, forming part of the chain of Mt Gilboa . The buildings are modern, but some scanty remains of rock-hewn wine presses and a few scattered sarcophagi mark the antiquity of the site . The view over the plains is fine and extensive . It is vain now to look for Ahab's palace or Naboth's vineyard .

The

fountain mentioned in I Sam. xxix . I is perhaps the fine spring `Ain el Meiyyita, north of the village, a shallow pool of good water full of small fish, rising between black basalt boulders: or more probably the copious `Ain Jalud . A second city named Jezreel lay in the hill country of Judah, somewhere near Hebron (Josh. xv . 56) . This was the native place of David's wife Abinoam (I Sam . )0xv..43) . See, for an excellent description of the scenery and history of the Israelite Jezreel, G . A . Smith, Hist . Geog. xix .