322 Jeremy M. Hutton 7,24) provides a location of Beth Barah near the outlet of the Jabbok. Rather, it indicates the furthermost limit of Ephraim’s capabilities for action in the Jordan Valley, potentially much further south. IV. Bethabara, Beth Abarah, and Beth ha-Arabah in Historical Geography If either model suggested above is correct, in which case hbr[h tyb, and Bhqabara/' all were derived somehow from the same hrb tyb, toponymic antecedent, the locale may be identified more precisely at or ˇ very near the Ma˙˝d≥at H˘agla. In Josh 15,6-7; 18,17-19, the Judahite- Benjaminite border proceeds from Beth Hoglah (hlgjAtyb; 15,6; 18,19)(63) northward to Beth ha-Arabah (hbr[h tyb; 15,6; 18,18 LXXB; cf. MT hbr[h), whence it continues by the otherwise unknown Rock of Bohan (ˆhb ˆba; 15,6; 18,17) (64) towards Gilgal (lglg; 15,7; cf. 18,17 [twlylg, Galilwq]), which is “opposite the Ascent of Adummim” (jkn μymda hl[ml; 15,7; 18,17), the southern flank of the W˝di el-Qilt, up which runs the more direct variation of the modern Jerusalem-Jericho ˇ road. Although Gilgal has traditionally been identified with H. Mufgir ≠ (193.143) (65) north of modern Jericho, the information provided by Josh 15,6-7; 18,17-19 may indicate a location to the southeast of Jericho where “several reliable…attestations” place a toponym Galgala (196.139), which preserves the ancient name (66). This location ˜μ ¯ (63) Indeed, it is Beth Hoglah, identified in the area of modern ‘En/Qas≥r/Dˇr H˘agla, ca. 4.5 km west of the Ma˙˝d≥at H˘agla, that has leant that ford its present ˇ ˇ name. See, e.g., Y. ELITZUR, Ancient Place Names in the Holy Land. Preserva- tion and History (Jerusalem – Winona Lake, IN 2004) 37-38; F.M. ABEL, Géo- graphie de la Palestine (Paris 31967) II, 48, 274; J. SIMONS, The Geographical and Topographical Texts of the Old Testament (Leiden 1959) 138, §314. (64) ABEL (Géographie, II, 48) identifies the “Rock of Bohan” with Hagar ˇ el-As≥bah≥, a stone feature on the southern wall of the W˝di Daber (i.e., the lower course of the W. Mukallik), but this identification is predicated on the assump- tion that Gilgal may be identified with H˝n es-Sahl, and in my opinion therefore ≠ seems too far south; I prefer to leave the feature unidentifed, but in the G˜˛r somewhere around the W. el-Qilt. (65) Y. AHARONI, The Land of the Bible. A Historical Geography (trans. A. RAINEY) (Philadelphia, PA 21979) 435; D. BALY, The Geography of the Bible. A Study in Historical Geography (New York 1957) 202, following J. MUILENBURG, “The Site of Ancient Gilgal”, BASOR 140 (1955) 11-27; cf. ABEL, Géographie, II, 336-337. (66) E.g., A. ALT, “Das Institut im Jahre 1924”, Palästina Jahrbuch 21 (1925) 5-58, here 27 and bibliography in 27 n. 1; ELITZUR, Ancient Place Names,