Photo Essay: Tel en Nasbeh
Jeffrey R. Zorn
Cornell University
Fig. 1. Aerial view of Tell en-Naṣbeh from the east (hand tinted from original black and white image).
Location and Importance
Tell en Naṣbeh lies on a Cenomanian limestone ridge 8 miles (12 km) north of the Old City of Jerusalem and is on the southern outskirts of the modern Palestinian city of Ramallah. It dominates the hill country road running north from Jerusalem and came to serve as the northern bulwark of the Judean capital. This important defensive role may serve as the background to Isaiah 10:27c–32 where a northern invader decides to approach Jerusalem through the more difficult Michmash pass, rather than the direct route past Tell en Naṣbeh.
