Lesson plan
Jamnith
Jamnith ( ), also Jabnith, Yavnit ( ), Iamnia, or in medieval parlance, Ibnit / Abnit / Ovnit, is a ruin in the Upper Galilee that came to renown during the First Jewish Revolt in the 1st-century CE. The ruin, known locally by the name Khurbet esh-Sheikh Banit, or simply Kh. Banît, lies about to the northeast of Safed, in the Biriya Forest, and was once a fortified town towards the northeast of Mount Canaan (Hebrew: Har Kena'an), upon a hill called Har Yavnit. The hill on which the village ruins lie rises above sea level and overlooks the Hula Valley. Access to the ruin is now restricted because of an enclosed military installation built over the site. The village is mentioned twice in the writings of Josephus as being in the Upper Galilee; once in The Jewish War (2.20.6) under the appellation Ἰαμνειθ, and again in Vita §37 under the name Ίαμνια, and is distinguished from the Jamnia of Judaea. Josephus testifies of himself that he assisted in building the wall of the village, the reference perhaps being to funding its building project. The hilltop fortress has no natural spring, suggesting that its inhabitants relied upon rock-cut cisterns for water, of which several can be found on the site. The fate of the town's defenders is not known, but they are presumed to have surrendered after the fall of Tarichaea.…
Article summary
Jamnith ( ), also Jabnith, Yavnit ( ), Iamnia, or in medieval parlance, Ibnit / Abnit / Ovnit, is a ruin in the Upper Galilee that came to renown during the First Jewish Revolt in the 1st-century CE. The ruin, known locally by the name Khurbet esh-Sheikh Banit, or simply Kh. Banît, lies about to the northeast of Safed, in the Biriya Forest, and was once a fortified town towards the northeast of Mount Canaan (Hebrew: Har Kena'an), upon a hill called Har Yavnit. The hill on which the village ruins lie rises above sea level and overlooks the Hula Valley. Access to the ruin is now restricted because of an enclosed military installation built over the site. The village is mentioned twice in the writings of Josephus as being in the Upper Galilee; once in The Jewish War (2.20.6) under the appellation Ἰαμνειθ, and again in Vita §37 under the name Ίαμνια, and is distinguished from the Jamnia of Judaea. Josephus testifies of himself that he assisted in building the wall of the village, the reference perhaps being to funding its building project. The hilltop fortress has no natural spring, suggesting that its inhabitants relied upon rock-cut cisterns for water, of which several can be found on the site. The fate of the town's defenders is not known, but they are presumed to have surrendered after the fall of Tarichaea.…
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Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
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Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.