Section K

Section K
Ruins of the village of Arbel: synagogue and cemetery
(Leibner's Site 39, Horvat Arbel)
click text to see the picture

901 The ancient village of Arbel lay on the middle ridge, ahead, on the right

902 View from the ruins of Arbel village (Horvat Arbel)

903 A quote from Nitai the Arbelite, who lived here c. 120 BCE: "Keep your distance from an evil neighbour, do not mix with the wicked and do not lose faith in divine retribution" (M. Pirke Avot 1:7)

904 A quote from the piyyut of Rabbi Eleazar HaQallir from Tiberias (7th cent. CE) expressing the tradition that the War of the End of Days will take place in the Arbel Valley, later developed in the 'Book of Zerubabbel'.

905 This must have been the centre of the ancient village

906 Very little has been left standing

907 A few steps to the south are the ruins of the ancient synagogue

908 Which has been reconstructed, as far as possible, from the stones that were excavated

909 The monumental entrance was carved from a single piece of rock and, unusually, faces East

910 The synagogue was extended and rebuilt in the 4^th century CE, but was felled by earthquake in 747 CE

911 The restoration work continues

912 On the south side, the niche for the Holy Ark can be seen in the centre of this frame

913 View from the northwest corner

914 View showing the vault supporting the northwest corner

915 Passing the synagogue, there is a path to Arbel stream

916 On the edge of the village, there is an old water reservoir beside the road

917 Reminder that this is a National Park: the road leads up to the Park entrance near the summit of Mt. Arbel

918 Carved agricultural installations have been found on these slopes, indicating ancient cultivation

919 The snow-covered summit of Mt. Hermon is visible just above the horizon, to the right of the midline

920 The ground gets rockier going down the hill

921 On the right, a small area of rock has been quarried out

922 To construct a tomb of the kochim type for traditional Jewish burials. Adam's third son, Seth, is said to have been buried here

923 To the west, there are more tombs, but of a different type. These are individual, rock-cut cyst tombs with a North-South orientation.

924 The tombs painted blue are of a similar type: these are said to be the tombs of Reuben, Shimon, Levi and Dina, in that order, from front to back

925 In 38 BCE, at the height of the civil war, the future-king Herod and his army set up camp for several months at Arbel. The most likely area for their camp is on the high ground, on the horizon in this picture

Section K Ruins of the village of Arbel: synagogue and cemetery (Leibner's Site 39, Horvat Arbel) click text to see the picture
901	The ancient village of Arbel lay on the middle ridge, ahead, on the right
902	View from the ruins of Arbel village (Horvat Arbel)
903	*A quote from Nitai the Arbelite, who lived here c. 120 BCE: "Keep your distance from an evil neighbour, do not mix with the wicked and do not lose faith in divine retribution" (M. Pirke Avot* 1:7)**
904	A quote from the piyyut of Rabbi Eleazar HaQallir from Tiberias (7th cent. CE) expressing the tradition that the War of the End of Days will take place in the Arbel Valley, later developed in the 'Book of Zerubabbel'.
905	This must have been the centre of the ancient village
906	Very little has been left standing
907	A few steps to the south are the ruins of the ancient synagogue
908	Which has been reconstructed, as far as possible, from the stones that were excavated
909	The monumental entrance was carved from a single piece of rock and, unusually, faces East
910	The synagogue was extended and rebuilt in the 4^th century CE, but was felled by earthquake in 747 CE
911	The restoration work continues
912	On the south side, the niche for the Holy Ark can be seen in the centre of this frame
913	View from the northwest corner
914	View showing the vault supporting the northwest corner
915	Passing the synagogue, there is a path to Arbel stream
916	On the edge of the village, there is an old water reservoir beside the road
917	Reminder that this is a National Park: the road leads up to the Park entrance near the summit of Mt. Arbel
918	Carved agricultural installations have been found on these slopes, indicating ancient cultivation
919	The snow-covered summit of Mt. Hermon is visible just above the horizon, to the right of the midline
920	The ground gets rockier going down the hill
921	On the right, a small area of rock has been quarried out
922	*To construct a tomb of the kochim* type for traditional Jewish burials. Adam's third son, Seth, is said to have been buried here**
923	To the west, there are more tombs, but of a different type. These are individual, rock-cut cyst tombs with a North-South orientation.
924	The tombs painted blue are of a similar type: these are said to be the tombs of Reuben, Shimon, Levi and Dina, in that order, from front to back
925	In 38 BCE, at the height of the civil war, the future-king Herod and his army set up camp for several months at Arbel. The most likely area for their camp is on the high ground, on the horizon in this picture