The Upper Galilee Fortified Cluster of Yiron Migdal-el and Beth-anath in Naphtalis Northern Reach

Joshua 19:38 closes the catalog of Naphtali's nineteen fortified cities with the upper Galilee cluster: "And Iron, and Migdal-el, Horem, and Beth-anath, and Beth-shemesh; nineteen cities with their villages. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Naphtali according to their families, the cities and their villages." The upper Galilee highlands marked the northernmost reach of Israelite settlement before the Phoenician hill country took over, and these fortified watch-posts commanded the routes between the Jordan headwaters, the Lebanon range, and the Bashan plateau. The cluster bore the brunt of every northern invasion from Hazor's ancient Canaanite war to Tiglath-pileser's Assyrian deportation.

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