Places in the Bible Today:

Mareal

Data

Translated NamesMaralah, Mareal
Typesettlement
Notesoften called Maralah
Geo Data KML (for Google Earth)
GeoJSON (for GIS applications)

2 Possible Identifications

  1. Tell Thorah (modern): 50% confidence
    1. panorama of Tell ThorahTell Thorah

  2. Tell el Ghaltah (modern): less than 10% confidence
    1. satellite view of the region around Tell el GhaltahTell el Ghaltah

Verses (1)

Josh 19:11

Linked Data Identifiers

SourceIdentifier
Logos FactbookMareal
OpenBible.info (2007)Mareal
OpenBible.infoad04336 (Mareal)
TIPNRMareal@Jos.19.11
UBS Names Databaseot ID_1866
WikipediaMaralah (redirect)

Sources

  1. Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary (1992): Mareal (place)
  2. Carta Bible Atlas, 5th Edition (2011)
  3. Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000): Mareal
  4. Expositor’s Bible Commentary (1984): Josh 19:11
  5. Grollenberg, Atlas of the Bible (1957): Mareal
  6. HarperCollins Concise Atlas of the Bible (1991): Maralah
  7. Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (2003)
  8. International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1979): Mareal
  9. Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary (2014): Maralah
  10. New Interpreter’s Bible Dictionary (2009)
  11. Reader’s Digest Atlas of the Bible (1981): Mareal
  12. Woudstra, Joshua (1981): 19:11; 19:11 note 5
  13. Zondervan Atlas of the Bible (2010)
  14. Zondervan Encyclopedia of the Bible (2010)

Confidence Trends over Time

This chart indicates how confidence in the identifications is changing over time. Each dot (connected by a dotted line) reflects the confidence of an identification over the preceding ten years (e.g., the 2009 dot reflects scholarship from 2000 to 2009), and the corresponding solid line reflects a best-fit line for the identification. Confidences that cluster near or below 0% indicate low confidence. Because of the small dataset, it's best to use this chart for general trends; if one identification is trending much higher than the others (in this case, Tell Thorah), then you can probably have higher confidence in the identification. This chart only reflects the sources I consulted (listed above), not an exhaustive review of the literature.

Thumbnail Image Credits

ברטוב, Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2019

About

This page attempts to identify all the possible locations where this biblical place could be. The confidence levels add up to less than 100%, indicating that the modern location is uncertain. It's best to think about the confidences in relative rather than absolute terms. Often they reflect different schools of thought, each confident in their identifications.