page_title: Mosaic of Rehob
section_title: Translation of ancient text
hierarchical_section_title: Mosaic of Rehob / Translation of ancient text
caption_attribution_description: English: An illustration from the Encyclopaedia Biblica, a 1903 publication which is now in the public domain. Map for article "Trachonitis". It would be helpful if someone could add colour to the map (specifically, the oceans, rivers, and lakes), to clarify it/ improve the aesthetic. INDEX TO NAMES (this has not been formatted - if you wish to apply a better format, please do so) Article references refer to Encyclopaedia Biblica articles. Parentheses indicating articles that refer to the place-names are in certain cases added to non-biblical names having no biblical equivalent. The alphabetical arrangement usually ignores prefixes&#160;: ard ('land ' ), bahret ('lake'), beit ('house'), 'belad' ('towns'), derb ('road'), deir ('monastery'), ed-, ej-, er-, es-, esh-, et-, ez- ('the'), iklim ('district'), J. (jebel, 'mountain'), kal'at ('castle'), kanat ('canal'), kasr ('castle'), kefr ('village'), merj ('meadow'), N. (nahr, 'river'), sheri'at ('watering place'), suk ('market'), tell ('mound '), tulul ('mounds'), umm ('mother'), W. (wady, ' valley'). jeleb el-'Abayeh, D3 Abil, B5 Abila, C1 Abila, B5 Adra, C5 el-Afineh, E5 (TRACHONITIS, 4) 'Aiha, B5 wady el-'Ajam, CD2 (GOLAN) jebel 'Ajlun, B6 (JEZREEL) el-'Al, A4 (ELBALEH) Alema, D4 nahr el-'Allan, B4 (GOLAN) mons Alsadamus, EF5 damet el-'Alya, D4 (TRACHONITS, 3) Aqueduct, Ancient, B5 Aqueduct of Palma, DE5 w. el-'Arab, A5 (EPHRON) el-A'raj, A4 (BETHSAIDA) Arbel, B5 nahr el-'Arni, BC2 (PHARPAR) tell el-Asfar, E3 tell el-'Asha'ir, F5 tell el-Ash'ari, C4 (BASHAN, 3) tell 'Ashtera, C4 (BASHAN, 3) bahret el-'Atebeh, E1-2 'Atil, E4 (TRACHONITIS, 3) Auranitis, DE4-5 nahr el-A'waj, CD2 (PHARPAR) merj 'Ayun, A2 (IJON) Baniyas, A3 (BAAL-GAD) wady Barada, C1 (ABANA) suk wady Barada, C1 (ABANA) nahr Barbar, C2 (PHARPAR) nahr el-Baruk, A1 (LEBANON, 6) Bashan, BC3-4 ard el-Bathaniyeh, EF3-4 el-Bafiha, A4 (GALILEE, SEA OF, 3) iklim el-Bellan, B2 Bosor, D4 Bosra, E5 (TRACHONITIS, 3) Bostrenus, A1 Burak, D3 (TRACHONITIS, 3) Bureikeh, E3 (TRACHONITIS, 4) Butsr el-Hariri, D4 Butheneh, E4 Caesarea Paneas, A3 Casphor, C5 jebel ed-Dahr, AB1 (LEBANON, 3) Dama, D4 (TRACHONITIS, 3) Damascus, D1 Dan, A3 Dathema, C5 Decapolis, A3-D3 tell Delfa', E3 Der'at, C5 Dimashk, D5 jebel ed-Druz, E5-6 (TRACHONITIS, 2) Edrei, C5 'Edun, B6 w. el-Ehrer, BC4-5 Ephron 2, B5 Ezra', D4 (BASHAN, 3) Fahl Tabakat, A6 tell el-Fara, F4 el-Fijeh, C1 (ABANA) Fik, A4 (APHEK, 3) kanat Fir'aun, B5 (CONDUITS) Gadara, A5 Gerasa A4 (GERASENES, COUNTRY OF) kasr wady el-Ghafr, B5 Ghararet el-Kibliyeh, E4 (TRACHONITIS, 2) el-Ghor, A5-6 (JORDAN) Golan, B3-4 Golanitis, B3-4 el-Hadr, B2 (HAZAR-ENAN) derb el-Haj, CD2-6 Halbun, D1 (HELBON) Hamad, DE6 Hammath, A5 el-Hammeh, A5 Hara, B3 busr el-Hariri, D4 N. el-Hatsbani, A2 (AIN, 2) Hatsbeya, A2 (BAAL-HAMON) Hauran, DE4-5 Hauran, DE4-5 jebel Hauran, E5 el-Zasm, E3 (BASHAN, 3) Hebran, E5 (TRACHONITIS, 3) Hermon, B2 Heyat, E4 (BASHAN, 3) Hieromax, A5 (GADARA) Hippos, A5 (GALILEE, SEA OF, 7) Hit E4 (BASHAN, 3) kal'at el-Hotsn, A4 derb el-Huleh, A3 bahret el-Huleh, A3 (MEROM, WATERS OF) 'Ilma, D4 Irbid, B5 'Ire, E5 Jabesh, A6 Jaulan, B3-4 el-Jedur, C3 (GEDOR) tell ej-Jena, E5 beit Jenn, B2 (PHARPAR) nahr ej-Jennai, B2 (PHARPAR) umm el-Jimal, D6 (BETH-GAMUL) Jordan, A3-6 Jurein, D4 (ASHTAROTH) tell el-Kadi, A3 jebel Kafkafa, B6 (GILEAD) jebel Kalamun, D1 Kanata, D5 (TRACHONITIS, 4) Kanawat, E4 deir Kanun, C1 w. el-Karn, BC1 sheruat el-Kebireh, A5-6 (Jordan, 1) kenath, E4 Kerak, D5 Kersa, A4 (GERASENES, COUNTRY OF) um Kes, A5 ard el-Khanafis, D3 Khisfin, B4 (CASPHOR) Khubab, C3 (BASHAN, 3) Kirateh, D4 (TRACHONITIS, 3) el-Kubbeh, D3 jebel el-Kuleib, E5 el-Kunetra, B4 el-Kunetra, B3 Kureim, D3 (TRACHONITIS, 3) Kureiyeh, E5 (TRACHONITIS, 3) Lebanon, A2 el-Leja, D3 (TRACHONITIS, 3) jebel Libnan, A1 nahr Litani, A1-2 (LEBANON, 6) tell el-Loz, F5 kefr el-Ma, B4 (ALEMA) shari'at-el Manadireh, AB4-5 (GOLAN) jebel el-Mani, D2 el-Mas'adiyeh, A4 (BETHSAIDA) el-Merj, DE1-2 el-Merkez, C4 (ASHTAROTH) Miryamin, A6 Mismiyeh, D3 (TRACHONITIS, 3) jisr el-Mujami, A5 (JORDAN, 6) Mujeidel, D4 (TRACHONITIS, 3) el-Mushennef, F4 (TRACHONITIS, 4) el-Muzeirib, C5 Nawa, C4 (PALESTINE, 12) Nejran, D4 (TRACHONITIS, 4) deir Nileh, E3 (TRACHONITIS, 3) en-Nukra, BC2-4 (DECAPOLIS) Palma, Aqueduct of, DE5 Pella, A6 Phaenae, D3 beit er Ras, B5 (EDREI) Rasheya, B1 er-Remtheh, C5 Roman Road, de2-6 nah er-Rukkad, B4 (GOLAN) sheik Sa'd, C4 (ASHTAROTH) Sahem el-Jaulan, B4 (GOLAN) Sahn, D3 (TRACHONITIs, 3) Salcah, F5 Salchad, F5 Tsamakh, A5 es-Tsanamen, C3 Sa'sa', C2 (PHARPAR) Tsauwarah, E3 (TRACHONITIS, 3) L. Semachonitis, A3 w. Semak, A4 (GERASENES, COUNTRY OF) tulul esh-Shahibat, E3 Shakka, E4 (TRACHONITIS) esh-Shari'a, A3-4 (JORDAN, 1) jebel esh-Sheikh, B2 tell esh-Sheikha, B3 tell Shihan, E4 (TRACHONITIS, 2) Shubbah, E4 (TRACHONITIS, 3) Susitha, A4-5 Susiyeh, A4 es-Suweda, E5 (TRACHONITIS, 3) jebel belad ets-Tsuwet, BC5 Tabakat Fahl, A6 bahr Tabariyeh, A4-5 lower wady et-Teim, A2 (SYRIA, 5) upper wady et-Teim, AB1-2 (SYRIA, 5) et-Tell, A4 jebel eth-Thelj, B2 Sea of Tiberias, A4-5 Tibneh, A6 Trachon, D4 Trachonitis, D4 Tsil, B4 et-Turra, B5 Yarmuk, B4 (GOLAN) Zeizun B5 jebel ez-Zumieh, C5-6 (BASHAN, 1)
context_page_description: The Mosaic of Reḥob, also known as the Tel Rehov inscription and Baraita of the Boundaries, is a late 3rd–6th century CE mosaic discovered in 1973, inlaid in the floor of the foyer or narthex of an ancient synagogue near Tel Rehov, 4.5 kilometers south of Beit She'an and about 6.5 kilometres west of the Jordan River, containing the longest written text hitherto discovered in any mosaic in the Land of Israel, and also the oldest known Talmudic text.
  Unlike other mosaics found in the region, the Reḥob mosaic has very little in the form of ornate design and symmetric patterns, but is unique due to its inscription, acclaimed by scholars to be one of the most important epigraphical findings discovered in Israel in the last century. Its text sheds invaluable light on the historical geography of Palestine during the Late Roman and Byzantine periods, as well as on Jewish and non-Jewish ethnographic divisions in Palestine for the same periods and their relation to one another, specifically, on agricultural produce cultivated by farmers, and the extent of Jewish law regulating the use of such farm products grown in different regions.
context_section_description: Shalom. These fruits are forbidden in Beit She'an during the Seventh Year, but during other years of the seven-year cycle they are tithed as demai-produce: cucumbers, watermelons, muskmelons, parsnip (carrots), mint that is bound by itself, black-eyed peas that are bound with rush, wild leeks between Shavuot and Hanukkah, the seed kernels, black cumin, sesame, mustard, rice, cumin, dried lupines, large-sized peas that are sold by measure, garlic, scallions of the city that are sold by measure, grape hyacinths, late-ripening dates, wine, [olive] oil, on the Seventh Year the seventh-year laws apply [to them]; on the [other] years of the seven-year cycle, they are tithed as demai-produce, and [if there was] a loaf of bread, the Dough portion (Heb. ḥallah) is always [separated from it].
  [Excursus: The agricultural products named above were not cultivated in Beit She'an, but were brought into the city by donkey drivers, whether they were Jewish rustics or in some cases non-Jews, who had bought them from Jewish planters in other regions of the country to be sold in the marketplace of Beit She'an. To this list can be added the special fruits peculiar to the Hebrew nation and mentioned in Mishnah Demai 2:1, if perchance they were acquired by a Jew from his fellow co-religionist who was unskillful in the laws of his countymen, such as a cultivar of dates grown only in Israel,  cakes of dried figs that were prepared strictly in Israel, and carob-fruit of a quality found only in Israel. In this case, they too would require the removal of the tithe known as demai. All other fruits and vegetables cultivated in Beit She'an would have been exempt from tithing altogether, seeing that when Rabbi Judah HaNasi permitted the eating of vegetables in the Seventh Year in Beit She'an, it was one and the same enactment, namely, the release from the Seventh Year obligations and the release from tithing all produce throughout the remaining six years of the seven-year cycle.]
  These are the places that are permitted in the vicinity of Beit She'an: southward, that is to say, [from] the Gate of Ḳumpōn extending as far as the White Field; from the west, that is to say, [from] the Gate of Zayara extending as far as the end of the pavement; from the north, that is to say, the Gate of Sakkūtha extending as far as Kefar Ḳarnos, while Kefar Ḳarnos [itself] is deemed as Beit She'an; and from the east, that is to say, the Gate of the Dung-spreaders extending as far as the monument of Fannuqatiah, while the Gate of Kefar Zimrin and the Gate of the marshland, in those places that are within the gate, [what is grown] is permitted, but beyond [the gate without, what is grown] is prohibited. The towns that are prohibited in the region of Sussitha (Hippos) [are as follows]: 'Ayyanosh, 'Ain-Ḥura, Dambar, 'Ayūn, Ya'arūṭ, Kefar Yaḥrīb, Nob, Ḥisfiyyah, Kefar Ṣemaḥ; now the Rabbi (Judah HaNasi) permitted Kefar Ṣemaḥ. The towns that are of a dubious nature in the region of Naveh [are as follows]: Ṣeir, Ṣayyer, Gashmai, Zayzūn, Renab and its ruin, Igorei Ḥoṭem, and the fortified city (kerakh) of the son of Harag.
  [Excursus: The import of detailing the above frontier towns and villages was to show the boundaries of the Land of Israel as retained by the Jews who returned from the Babylonian captivity. Where agricultural produce was prohibited unto Jews living in these areas, this implies that these places were originally part of those places settled by the Returnees from Babylon, and that since the land was consecrated by their arrival in those parts, all fruits and vegetables were prohibited until the time that they could be tithed, and the land was required to lie fallow during the Seventh Year. However, where the places were designated as "dubious," this is explained in the Tosefta (Shevi'it 4:8) as meaning that initially these places were permitted (as there was no requirement to tithe produce grown in these places), but later the Sages of Israel made all fruits and vegetables in these places prohibited until they were first tithed. This may have been the result of prod
caption: Places east of the Sea of Galilee (in the Golan Heights region and beyond)
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