Esdraelon, Plain of

Esdraelon, Plain of
Hebrew Emeq Yizreʽel

Plain, northern Israel.

About 25 mi (40 km) long, it divides the hilly areas of Galilee in the north and Samaria in the south. Part of the ancient passage between Egypt and the Fertile Crescent, it was an avenue of commerce and a scene of conflict from earliest antiquity. To the northwest is the site of ancient Megiddo. Owing to poor natural drainage, it was swampy and sparsely inhabited for many centuries, but since 1920 the land has been reclaimed, and dozens of settlements, combining intensive agriculture with light industry, have been set up. ʽAfula is the principal urban centre.

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also called  Valley of Jezreel , Hebrew  ʿEmeq Yizreʿel  or  Ha-ʿEmeq 

      lowland in northern Israel, dividing the hilly areas of galilee in the north and Samaria (in the Israeli-occupied West Bank) in the south. Esdraelon is the Greek derivation of the Hebrew Yizreʿel, meaning “God will sow” or “May God make fruitful,” an allusion to the fertility of the area.

      The plain, roughly triangular in shape, is oriented northwest-southeast with the apex at the northwest. The hills of Lower Galilee are to the northeast, the opening to the low Bet Sheʾan valley is at the southeast, and the Samarian hills and Carmel ridge are at the south and west. The length of the plain, from its apex to the Hare (mountains of) Gilboaʿ and the Bet Sheʾan valley, is about 25 miles (40 km). The plain is a result of massive dislocation and block faulting, with subsequent subsidence; remnants of former mountains are Mount Carmel and the isolated summit of Mount Tabor.

      The plain is an integral part of the ancient Via Maris, the lowland passage between Egypt and the Fertile Crescent (a semicircle of relatively fertile land extending northward around the Syrian Desert and down the Tigris and Euphrates rivers to the Persian Gulf); as such, it was an avenue of commerce and a scene of conflict from remotest antiquity. The Bible (Joshua 17:16) tells of the Canaanite hold on the area; later, Gideon's armies defeated the Midianites and Amalekites there (Judges 6 and 7). On the slopes of Mount Gilboaʿ overlooking the plain, Saul and Jonathan were slain (1 Samuel 31; 2 Samuel 1). At the northwest is the site of ancient Megiddo, founded in the 4th millennium BC and the scene of battles from 1500 BC to AD 1918. Megiddo is also believed to be the site where the forces of evil and the forces of God will battle at the end of history.

      Because of poor natural drainage and neglect, the plain was a sparsely inhabited swampland for many centuries. The sultans declared it Turkish crown land after their conquest of Palestine (1517), but by the beginning of the 20th century large areas had passed to Arab absentee landlords. The first Jewish settlement on the plain was Merḥavya (1911). In 1920 the British lifted the land restrictions, and large tracts were bought by Jews for reclamation and settlement. Palestine's first smallholder's cooperative (moshav), Nahalal, and first large kibbutz, ʿEn Ḥarod, were both founded there in 1921. Since then the swamps have been drained, and dozens of settlements, combining intensive agriculture with light industry, have been set up. The city of Afulaʿ is the principal urban centre.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Esdraelon,Plain of — Es·dra·e·lon (ĕs drā ēʹlŏn, drə , ĕz ), Plain of A fertile plain of northern Israel extending from the coastal lowlands near Mount Carmel to the Jordan River valley. * * * …   Universalium

  • Esdraelon, Plain of — geographical name plain N Israel NE of Mt. Carmel in valley of the upper Qishon …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • plain — plain1 plainly, adv. plainness, n. /playn/, adj., plainer, plainest, adv., n. adj. 1. clear or distinct to the eye or ear: a plain trail to the river; to stand in plain view. 2. clear to the mind; evident, manifest, or obvious: to make one s… …   Universalium

  • Esdraelon — [ez΄drə ē′lən, es΄drə ē′lən] plain in N Israel, extending from the Jordan River valley to a coastal plain near Mt. Carmel: also, & in the Bible always, called JEZREEL …   English World dictionary

  • Esdraelon —    The Greek form of the Hebrew Jezreel, the name of the great plain (called by the natives Merj Ibn Amer; i.e., the meadow of the son of Amer ) which stretches across Central Palestine from the Jordan to the Mediterraanean, separating the… …   Easton's Bible Dictionary

  • Esdraelon — The plain west of the Jordan which divided Galilee from Samaria. Esdraelon was the Greek name for Jezreel though strictly it was the marshy area adjacent to the more fertile Jezreel. Many conflicts were fought in the area; Deborah against Sisera… …   Dictionary of the Bible

  • Esdraelon — /es dray ee lon, dreuh , ez /, n. a plain in N Israel, extending from the Mediterranean near Mt. Carmel to the Jordan River: scene of ancient battles. Also called Plain of Jezreel. Cf. Megiddo. * * * …   Universalium

  • Esdraelon — Es•dra•e•lon [[t]ˌɛs dreɪˈi lɒn, drə , ˌɛz [/t]] n. anh geg a plain in N Israel, extending from the Mediterranean near Mt. Carmel to the Jordan River: scene of ancient battles Also called Plain of Jezreel …   From formal English to slang

  • Esdraelon — /ɛzdreɪˈilɒn/ (say ezdray eelon) noun a plain in northern Palestine (now in Israel); the site of many ancient battles. See Megiddo. Also, Plain of Jezreel …  

  • Esdraelon — /es dray ee lon, dreuh , ez /, n. a plain in N Israel, extending from the Mediterranean near Mt. Carmel to the Jordan River: scene of ancient battles. Also called Plain of Jezreel. Cf. Megiddo …   Useful english dictionary

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