Ancient Jewish village and modern archeological site in Israel
Huqoq or Hukkok (Hebrew: חוקוק) was an ancient Jewish village, located 12.5 km north of Tiberias. The area had been settled since ancient times and is mentioned in the Book of Joshua (Joshua 19:34). The Palestinian village of Yaquq later stood at Huqoq's location, and a fort named Hukok was built near the site on 11 July 1945, later followed by a kibbutz.[1]
The village site was inhabited in the Early and Middle Bronze Age.[9]
Roman and Byzantine periods
Part of the underground hiding complex
The Roman-period village was large and prosperous due to the presence of a constant spring.[7] It is apparent from both the synagogue and the absence of pig bones that the Roman period village was Jewish.[5]
"The most extensive hiding complex discovered to date in the Galilee" has been announced in March 2024.[11] There are some eight hiding cavities with more ramifications being discovered, connected by tunnels set at straight angles to slow down Roman soldiers hunting for Jewish rebels.[11] The hiding complex dates back to the First Jewish-Roman War (66-70 CE) and the Bar Kochba Revolt (132-136 CE), and could only serve for short-term concealment from Roman patrols due to the small size of the chambers.[11] Most of the numerous finds attest to the use of the underground system during the First Revolt, and while there is no proof yet for the Bar Kochba Revolt actually spreading out to Galilee, a small number of artifacts found in this complex show that it was "involved in the preparations" for the uprising.[11] The refuge system was revealed through community excavations with the participation of local residents, students enrolled in archaeology and Land of Israel studies, volunteers from a cavers club, and soldiers from the IDF's Samur Unit for underground operations.[11]
The village is attested in Late Roman and Byzantine period rabbinic sources.[7] Archaeological findings as well as the mention of Huqoq in both the Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmud prove that the Jewish village survived the Bar Kochba Revolt.[11]
The prosperity of the ancient village contrasts with the simplicity of the Ottoman-era settlement and can be seen by archaeologists in animal bones which were cut by professional butchers in the ancient Jewish village, and by farmers in the Muslim period.[5]
Archaeology
Mikveh stairs at Huqoq
A 2011 dig led by archaeologist Jodi Magness excavated several sections at the site of the former village.[7]
"The ancient village is surrounded by associated features, including cist graves, rock-cut tombs, a mausoleum, quarries, agricultural terraces and installations, a winepress and an olive press. Two large miqwa'ot (ritual baths) are hewn into bedrock on the eastern and southern periphery of the ancient village (see below)."[7]
Ancient synagogue
Among the structures uncovered during the 2012 dig were the remains of an elaborate synagogue,[12] dated to the 5th century.[13] Findings include limestone carvings and an elaborate floor mosaic.[14] The synagogue's walls and columns were painted in bright colors: plaster fragments show traces of pink, red, orange and white pigments.[15] The artistry of the mosaic, which is composed of tiny tiles, together with the large stones used for the walls, attests to the prosperity of the village.[16]
Mosaic iconography
The mosaic includes of the Biblical hero Samson.[14] The figure of Samson appears twice: carrying the gates of Gaza, and tying burning torches to the tails of foxes.[17] Samson and the foxes is an episode from the Book of Judges (Judges 15:1–8). During a battle with the Philistines, Samson catches 300 wild foxes, ties burning torches to their tails and sets them loose to set fire to Philistine grain fields.[18][19][20]
According to archaeologist Jodi Magness, the discovery is significant because "only a small number of ancient (Late Roman) synagogue buildings are decorated with mosaics showing biblical scenes, and only two others have scenes with Samson (one is at another site just a couple of miles from Huqoq)."[14]
The mosaic also shows two human faces, apparently female, flanking a Hebrew inscription promising a reward to those who perform good deeds.[19][21] In 2018, photographs of newly discovered mosaics were published in conjunction with a 70-page interim report of the excavations from 2014–2017.[13][15] The new publication shows that the floor mosaic also depicts Noah's Ark, the twelve Israelite spies (Numbers 13:1–33), and Moses' parting of the Red Sea, themes that are rarely, if ever, found in synagogues of the time.[13] Other images show Jonah being swallowed by the fish and the building of the Tower of Babel.[15] The mosaic also incorporates pagan Hellenistic images such as cupids and theatre masks, and an obscure cluster of important looking men, one of whom may be Alexander the Great, next to soldiers and war elephants.[13] If Magness' theory is correct, this would be the only case of a synagogue being decorated with non-Biblical imagery.[13] Another theory is that the two groups, one dressed in armour and the other in white robes, represent the alliance between the Seleucids and the high priestJohn Hyrcanus.[15]
Huqoq mosaic inscription and face
Mosaic
Tomb of Habakkuk
Tomb of Habakkuk
Jewish, Christian, Druze and Muslim tradition located the tomb of the prophet Habakkuk in Huqoq and it has been a site of pilgrimage since the twelfth[dubious – discuss] century.[9] The earliest mention of the tomb is a letter written by Rabbi Samuel ben Samson in 1210: "On our way back from Tiberias we went on to Kefar Hanan. In journeying there we came across the tomb of Habakkuk in Kefar Hukkok."[9] In 1215 Menahem ben Perez of Hebron visited the site and wrote: "And I went from there, and saw the tomb of the prophet Habakkuk near a spring."[9] The earliest detailed description appears in the book "These are the Travels" (1270–1291): "From there one goes to Ya‘aquq, where is the grave of the prophet Habakkuk, upon which there is a fine monument between four party walls."[9]
An Englishmen named John Sanderson visited the tomb in 1601 and wrote "Then we passed by a little village where dwelt and is buried the prophet Abicoke; so said the Jews, and that the town was called Yeacoke."[9]
A description from the 1930s states that "The tombstone. . . is built of basalt stones, about two metres wide and
1.5 metres long, covered in white plaster".[9]
In 1981 the old tombstone was replaced by a new one, over which a small building was erected, along with a pool filled by spring water and meant to be used as a ritual bath.[9] Jewish and Druze pilgrims continue to visit the tomb.[9]
Seffi Ben Yosef, a local tour guide, questioned the tradition in an editorial in Ynet News, arguing that the tradition was only based on the similar-sounding name between the village and the prophet.[22]
^Uzi Leibner, Settlement and History in Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine Galilee: An Archaeological Survey of the Eastern Galilee, Mohr Siebeck: Tübingen 2009, p. 151
^ abInternational Standard Bible Encyclopaedia "Hukkok: huk’-ok (chuqqoq): A town on the border of Naphtali named with Aznoth-tabor (Jos 19:34). It is usually identified with the village of Yaquq, which stands on the West of Wady el-‘Amud, to the Northwest of Gennesaret, about 4 miles from the sea. This would fall on the boundary of Zebulun and Naphtali, between Tabor and Hannathon (Joshua 19:14). The identification may be correct; but it seems too far from Tabor."
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