Bible Encyclopedias
Halhul

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

hal´hul ( חלחוּל , ḥalḥūl ): A city in the hill country of Judah ( Joshua 15:58 ), "Halhul, Beth-zur and Gedor." It is without doubt the modern Ḥalḥūl , a village on a hill, surrounded by fine fields and vineyards, some 4 miles North of Hebron and less than a mile to the East of the modern carriage road. It is conspicuous from a considerable distance on account of its ancient mosque, Wely Nebi Yûnas , the "shrine of the Prophet Jonah" - a tradition going back at least to the 14th century. The mosque, which has a minaret or tower, is built upon a rock platform artificially leveled. In the 14th century it was stated by Isaac Chilo (a Jewish pilgrim) that the tomb of Gad the Seer (1 Samuel 22:5; 2 Samuel 24:11 f) was situated in this town. Beth-zur ( Beit Sûr ) and Gedor (Jedûr ) are both near. In Josephus (BJ , IV, ix, 6) we read of an Alurus (where the Idumeans assembled), and in Jerome (OS 119 7) of a village Alula near Hebron, which both probably refer to the same place (PEF , III, 305; Sh XXI ).