© 2009 Jan Herca (license Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0)
The objective of this article is to locate a group of towns situated south of Samaria and north of Judea, in the border territory between the Jewish and Samaritan areas. Some of these towns are mentioned in The Urantia Book as having been visited by Jesus between July and August of 27 AD, during a journey with the twelve across Samaria (UB 143:0.1-2): Bethel, Gophna, Ephraim, Arimathea, Tamna, Antipatris, Phasaelis, and Archelais. Another town we will also locate is Alexandrion (on Mount Sartaba), also mentioned in UB 143:3.1. Finally, we will locate a number of other towns that are mentioned in another of Jesus’ journeys or that represent some interest in the area, such as: Gabath Saul, Beeroth, Lebonah, Sychar, Shechem, Samaria, and Geba (UB 134:7.5).
Bethel, strategically located on the ancient border between the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, is the second most frequently mentioned city in the Old Testament (the first being Jerusalem). It was there that Jeroboam built his southern temple for the Golden Calf (1 Kings 12:25-33), and there that Jacob had his dream of a ladder leading to heaven (Genesis 28:10-22). In that time long before Jesus, pilgrims often traveled to Jerusalem by that route, and Bethel became a mandatory stop. With the settlement of the Samaritans in the area, the Jews of Jesus’ time preferred to avoid that route and didn’t mind taking the long detour across the Jordan River each time they went to Jerusalem.
Traditionally, the biblical Bethel has been considered to correspond to a more recent settlement called Beitin. Edward Robinson identified it as such, and this was corroborated by excavations conducted from 1934 onward by W.F. Albright and James L. Kelso. However, this identification contains numerous gaps. There is no trace of the famous temple of Jeroboam, nor of a twin biblical city called Ai.
Therefore, it is not surprising that some scholars, such as David Livingston, have proposed another location. Bethel should be located, according to the Church Fathers Eusebius and Jerome, twelve Roman miles north of Jerusalem, to the right or east of the road that led to Shechem or Neapolis (modern Nablus). This distance does not agree with Robinson’s (who made a measurement on horseback in the 1830s) nor with Albright’s. We also know that Bethel is west of Ai (Genesis 12:8; Joshua 7:2; 8:9, 12). But where is Ai? The location of Bethel, however, based on the milestones, is beyond doubt. Some of these milestones, erected in the time of Marcus Aurelius as part of a Roman road, still stand and have been identified. According to the count of the twelve milestones, Bethel is located at el-Bireh, a site closer to Jerusalem than Beitin, and which was initially mistakenly identified with Beeroth (a town known to be only six or seven Roman miles from Jerusalem). el-Bireh fits the characteristics of Bethel much better. Geographically, it occupies a strategic topographical position, forming a funnel shape that would make the site a key settlement for defending the region and ideal for building a large temple. The Crusaders must have considered this when they built a church and fortress called the “Great Mahomerie” on the ruins of an ancient synagogue. Furthermore, the identification using milestones, which corroborates the accounts of Eusebius and Jerome, is crucial.
Therefore, much evidence suggests that Bethel should be considered one Roman mile further south than long thought. The location of this settlement would be el-Bireh, and Beitin could be a settlement known as Bethar, Bet Aun, or Bet-Aven (described in that exact location by a medieval pilgrim), or it could be some other settlement, such as those known as Ofra and Zemaraim. As we can see, nothing is definitively established regarding the precise identification of these settlements.
Gophna (also spelled Cofna) was located fifteen Roman miles from Jerusalem and only three miles north of Bethel. The present-day town is called Hifna (or Jufna). It was an important city in Roman times, the capital of one of the toparchies in the province of Judea.
Edward Robinson suggested that Hifna was the Hophni of Benjamin, mentioned in the Book of Joshua as one of the “twelve cities,” but later scholars have argued that Gophna was founded only during the Second Temple period.
According to the Peutinger Table, Gophna was situated on the road from Jerusalem to Neapolis (Shechem), sixteen Roman miles north of Jerusalem, or, according to Eusebius, fifteen Roman miles. In the time of Cassius, it was a place of some importance; Cassius sold its inhabitants into slavery for failing to pay the tribute he had imposed on them. Its Gofnitic toparchy is mentioned by Josephus (Jewish War II, 20:4; V, 2:1; VI, 2:2). In Ptolemy the form of the name is Gufna, as in Eusebius and Jerome, but on the Madaba Map it is Gophna. In rabbinic texts it is byt swpnyn, gwpn.
Apharaema (or Ephraim) is an ancient city located in the Judea/Samaria region, commonly identified with modern-day Taybeh, northeast of Jerusalem. Mentioned in the New Testament (John 11:54) as the place where Jesus withdrew before Passover, it is also known as a stronghold during the Maccabean period and the war against Rome.
It is generally identified with At-Tayyibe (Taybeh), a predominantly Christian town near Ramallah, which was renamed by Saladin in the 12th century. Some scholars suggest its location at Khirbet el-Maqatir. Byzantine remains have been found at the site, including mosaics and a church dedicated to Saint George (El-Khadr).
It is the place where Jesus took refuge after the resurrection of Lazarus, known as “the city near the desert.” In antiquity, it was a toparchy (administrative center) in Samaria. It was captured by Vespasian in 69 AD.
It is sometimes confused with the biblical patriarch Ephraim, son of Joseph, or with the geographical region of the Ephraimite Hills.
Taybeh is identified with ancient Ophra. The city is mentioned in Josephus’s The Jewish War during the time of the First Jewish-Roman War under the Greek name Ephraim (Greek: Ἐφραὶμ), or Apharaema (Greek: Αιφραίμ).
The town was separated from Samaria and incorporated into Judea in 145 BCE. It served as the administrative center of a toparchy before Gophna took possession of it. Vespasian captured the town during his campaign in Judea during the First Jewish-Roman War in the early summer of 69 CE, subsequently establishing a garrison there.
According to Conder and Kitchener, Taybeh was an important site both during the Jewish period and during the Crusades. They noted a rock-cut tomb in the town with multiple kokhim, which they believed to have been originally Jewish but later reused by Christians, as evidenced by the double Latin cross relief carved above the entrance.
According to the Gospel of Luke, Arimathea was a town in Judea (Lk 23:50) from which Joseph of Arimathea came. Joseph appears in all four Gospels as the owner of the tomb where Jesus’ body was laid after his crucifixion.
The exact location of Arimathea and its corresponding modern-day city are unknown. It has been speculated that this is the same town as Ramah mentioned in the Book of Joshua (Joshua 18:25), belonging to the tribe of Benjamin, or Ramathaim in the First Book of Samuel (1 Samuel 1:1), belonging to the tribe of Ephraim and the birthplace of Samuel.
Eusebius of Caesarea, in his Onomasticon (144:28-29), identified it with Ramathaim-Zophi and wrote that it was near Diospolis (modern-day Lod). Ramathaim-Zophi was a city of Ephraim, the birthplace of Samuel, where David arrived. He briefly describes it thus: “Armthem Seipha (Zophi). City of Elkanah and Samuel. It is situated (in the region of Tamna) near Diospolis.” The home of Joseph, a native of Arimathea, according to the Gospels.
Scholars of onomasticon have identified the Greek name Arimathea as derived from the Hebrew toponym Ramathaim-Zophim (Biblical Hebrew: רמתיים-צופים, romanized: Ramaṯayim-ṣop̄im), which is attested in the Hebrew Bible and in 1 Maccabees 11:34. It appears in the Septuagint as Armathaim Sipha.
The city of Harmathemē appears on the 6th-century Madaba Map. Casanowicz defends his identification with Bani Zeid al-Gharbia in the West Bank.
Tamna is undoubtedly the ancient tmnt srh or tmnt thrs located in the mountainous region of Ephraim, where Joshua was buried (Jos 19:50; 24:30; Judges 2:9). Eusebius frequently mentions this location as a large village in the territory of Diospolis (= Lydda), and also notes that in his time the tomb of Joshua was displayed there. Thus, Jerome, in his description of Saint Paula’s pilgrimage, also mentions: “On Mount Ephraim were also venerated the tombs of Joshua, son of Nun, and of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, the other of whom was buried in Tamnath-serah, on the north side of Mount Gaas.” This is modern-day Kirbet Tibneh, about 12 km west-northwest of Jifna. The traditional tomb of Joshua is still displayed there.
In Cassius’s time, Tamna suffered the same fate as Fogna. Tamna was another of the capitals of a toparchy in the province of Judea. The toparchy of Tamna is mentioned by Josephus and Eusebius. There are also other localities with the name tmnh or tmnth that must be distinguished from this Tamna:
The city was located in the vicinity of a village called Kafarsaba or Xabarsaba, and also Kapersabine. The form Kafarsaba strongly suggests that this place is identified with the rabbinic kpr sb and the contemporary Kfar Saba, northeast of Haifa (Jafia). However, the location of the latter does not perfectly match the data concerning Antipatris, specifically its being 150 stades from Joppa, at the entrance to the mountainous country and on the main road leading from Caesarea to Lydda. According to Eusebius’s Onomasticon, Antipatris was located six Roman miles south of Galgulis, which appears to be identified with the town of Jaljûliye, situated a few kilometers southeast of Kfar Saba. This would mean that Antipatris must be located about 13 km south of Kfar Saba, in well-irrigated land, while Kfar Saba itself was in arid territory.
On that site, a wooded and well-irrigated plain, Herod founded a new city which he named Antipatris in honor of his father Antipater. It appears in rabbinic literature with this same name, 'ntyptrs, and also in the writings of Ptolemy, Eusebius, and Stephen of Byzantium. By the 4th century AD, it had declined considerably; the Itinerarium Burdigalense refers to it simply as a mutatio (stop), not as a civitas; Jerome describes it as a semirutum oppidum (half-fortified settlement). However, a bishop of Antipatris still appears in the acts of the Council of Chalcedon (451 AD). Other documents attest to its existence in later times. In fact, it is mentioned in the 8th century AD as a city inhabited by Christians.
The Itinerarium Burdigalense gives the distance from Caesarea to Antipatris as 16 Roman miles, and from Antipatris to Lydda as 10 Roman miles. Other texts assert that Antipatris was located on the road from Caesarea to Lydda and Jerusalem. A 4th-century papyrus gives 11 miles from Lydda to Antipatris, 17 from Antipatris to “the Allage” (presumably a stop or mutatio), and 16 miles from there to Caesarea.
Antipatris is usually located today at or near Tell Afeq or Rosh ha’Ayin, in the Sharon Plain; in that case, it could be the locality called Pegai (“springs”) mentioned in a 3rd-century BC papyrus. But there is still no clear data about the Herodian city. If the approximate location is correct, only one of Josephus’s statements would be accurate: that “Antipatris was founded on the plain of Kapharsaba.” The other, that “Chabarsaba is currently called Antipatris” would be incorrect.
Phasaelis was founded by Herod in honor of his brother Fasael in the Jordan Valley north of Jericho, in an area that had previously been uncultivated, but which was thus made more valuable for cultivation (Jewish Antiquities, XVI 5:2, Jewish War I, 21:9). Upon his death, the city, along with its rich palm plantations, passed to his sister Salome, and after her death, to Empress Livia. Pliny also refers to the excellent dates obtained from its palm trees. The city is further mentioned by Ptolemy, Stephanus of Byzantium, and the geographer of Ravenna. Its name is preserved in the modern Kirbet Fasayil, situated in a fertile district on the edge of the Jordan Plain. The stream that flows from there into the Jordan is known as Wadi Fasayil.
Archelais was founded by Archelaus, son of Herod the Great and ethnarch of Judea, Samaria, and Idumea, to house the workers of his date plantation in the Jericho area. It appears on the Madaba mosaic map with an entrance tower flanked by two others. Salome bequeathed it to Empress Livia in her will. Agrippa I, King of Judea, established a road station in Archelais in the early 40s CE.
In the Christian era, the city became a bishopric. The names of two of its bishops were Timothy, who participated in two synods held in Constantinople in 448 and 449, and Antiochus, who was present at the Council of Chalcedon in 451.
Archelais was located about 7.5 miles north of Jericho, on the road leading to Scythopolis. It is identified with Khirbet el-Beiyudat (also spelled Khirbat al-Bayudat), an archaeological site located on the northern outskirts of the Palestinian city of al-Auja, in the West Bank. The site is gradually being covered by modern construction and ravaged by treasure hunters.
Archelaus built the city as a center for his vast date palm plantations, for which he diverted water from the springs of Naaran (Neara). Pliny the Elder (Natural History V, 44) also mentions the high-quality date palm crops that once grew in this specific region.
Excavations carried out there between 1986 and 1991 and between 1994 and 1999 by H. Hizmi revealed a large ashlar building, preserved to a height of 9 m (30 ft), and a 5th-century CE basilica church with richly decorated mosaic floors and a dedicatory inscription. Significant remains from the Second Temple period (1st century CE) were discovered, including ritual pools, residences, and pottery and stone vessels, all of which support the identification of this site as Archelais. Apparently, a large inn was built on the site during the reign of Herod Agrippa I (41–44 CE), and much of its plan was revealed during recent excavations. It was destroyed during Vespasian’s march on Jericho between 67 and 68 CE.
The ancient town of Alexandrion refers to Alexandrium (also known as Alexandrion in Greek, Sartaba in the Mishnah, and Qarn Sartaba in Arabic). This was a famous Hasmonean and Herodian fortress located on a mountaintop in the Jordan Valley.
The fortress was built by the Hasmonean king Alexander Jannaeus (104–77 BCE) and is named after him. It was a key stronghold in Judea during the Second Temple period, serving as a royal palace, treasury, and prison.
Herod the Great renovated the site. He famously used it as a prison for his wife Mariamne and his mother, Alexandra, and ordered their execution should they fail to return from a meeting with Emperor Augustus. It stood on a high hilltop overlooking the Jordan Valley, about five kilometers north of the present-day Israeli settlement of Yafit in the West Bank.
Recent archaeological excavations (up to 2025) have revealed that the site was likely used by Jewish rebels during the Great Revolt against Rome (66–73 CE), as evidenced by rare coins and ostraca (inscribed pottery fragments) bearing Hebrew names.
The site is known for its impressive ruins and advanced water systems (including a remarkable aqueduct), which allowed the fortress to withstand long sieges.
Heading north from Jerusalem, the first settlement encountered is Gabat Saulis. According to historical records, Gabat Saulis (also known as Gabathsaoulei) was mentioned by the historian Flavius Josephus (Wars 5, 2, 1) in connection with the movements of the Roman army toward Jerusalem.
It was located 30 stades (approximately 5-6 kilometers or 3-4 miles) north of Jerusalem.
Titus, the Roman general, camped near this village in the Valley of Thorns while marching from Samaria, via Gophna, toward Jerusalem. Josephus calls the village Gabathsaoulei or Gabaothsath and says its name means “Saul’s Hill.”
It is believed to be in the vicinity of Tell el-Ful (often identified as the biblical Gibeah), located north of Jerusalem, although the exact identification of the Valley of Thorns and Gabath Saulis in relation to the main road has been the subject of archaeological and geographical debate.
The name “Gabath Saulis” probably derives from the Hebrew “Givat Shaul” (Saul’s Hill), referring to the town associated with King Saul. Gibeah or giváh in Hebrew means “hill.”
Beeroth (Hebrew: בְּאֵרוֹת, “the wells”) was an ancient Hivite city mentioned in the Bible, located about 7 miles (approximately 11 km) northwest of Jerusalem. It was one of the Gibeonite cities that deceived Joshua (Joshua 9:17) and was later assigned to the tribe of Benjamin (Joshua 18:25). It is also mentioned in the context of the murder of Ish-bosheth (2 Samuel 4:2-3) and other passages (Ezra 2:25; Nehemiah 7:29). Another Beeroth (Beeroth Bene-Jaacam) is mentioned in Deuteronomy 10:6 in connection with the Exodus.
Due to the lack of known ruins of Beeroth, the city’s location is a matter of debate. The most prominent sources are the biblical texts, Eusebius’s Onomastikon, Jerome’s annotations on this text, and the Madaba Map. The distance given by Eusebius places Beerot somewhere between modern-day Biddu and Nebi Samwil. Edward Robinson, in the early 19th century, believed that Al-Bireh was the site of Beerot, but modern scholars believe that Beerot should be identified with Khirbet el-Burj near Beit Iksa. Other scholars have suggested that it could be modern-day Biddu, or slightly east of Biddu.
Given that Beeroth is mentioned by The Urantia Book as part of a journey of Jesus through the interior of Palestine (UB 134:7.5), and that the itinerary mentioned is Jerusalem - Beeroth - Lebonah - Sychar - Shechem, which is a route similar or identical to the one Jesus takes with the twelve in the passage UB 143:0.1-2, where they depart from Jerusalem and their first stop is at Bethel, it is not very convincing that Beeroth should be identified with Khirbet el-Burj, Biddu, or Nebi Samwil, since all of them are notably west of the road that connects Jerusalem with Bethel. The most accurate location, coinciding with the distances, is present-day Al-Ram, or somewhere slightly west of Al-Ram. This town is identified with the ancient Ramah of Benjamin (Wikipedia).
As already mentioned in the discussion of Bethel, the locations of these two towns, Bethel and Beeroth, have very likely been confused since the beginning of archaeological exploration in Palestine. Eusebius gives the locations of Beeroth and Bethel as 7 and 12 Roman miles, respectively, north of Jerusalem. On many maps of Palestine, these locations, now well-known due to the discovery of numerous milestones, do not correspond to these towns. For example, Beeroth is often placed where Bethel should be, and Bethel is placed only one mile beyond that location, when it is known that there should be a 5-mile distance between them.
Lebonah is easy to locate. It was situated on the main road of Samaria, halfway between Jerusalem and Shechem, west of Shiloh, in what is known today as Al-Lubban ash-Sharquiya.
The location of Sychar is not very certain. It is only mentioned in the Gospel of John in connection with Jesus’ encounter there with Nalda, a Samaritan woman. From the indications, it seems that Sychar must have been a village predating Shechem, located a short distance from Jacob’s Well. Since Shechem itself was already situated beside the road a few meters from the well, Sychar must have been in turn very close to Shechem, perhaps as a southern neighborhood of this town. However, some scholars believe that the village was located to the north, on the slopes of Mount Ebal. If that were the case, the itinerary listed in The Urantia Book (UB 134:7.5) would not make sense, since it mentions Sychar first and then Shechem. In fact, it would be even more nonsensical because after Shechem, Jesus travels to Samaria (Sebaste), a prominent Samaritan city located to the northwest along another road that branched off from Shechem.