Eshtaol
אֶשְׁתָּאוֹל
Where was biblical Eshtaol? At Moshav Eshtaol, just east of Tel Tzora, about 20 km west of Jerusalem. I mark it probable.
The spirit of G-d first stirred Samson between Tzorah and Eshtaol. When he died in Gaza, his family carried him home and buried him in the same place.
By Aaron Shaffier, licensed Israel tour guide and mapmaker · About the mapmaker
- Site today
- Moshav Eshtaol, just east of Tel Tzora
- How sure
- Probable The best case we have, with real alternatives.
- Other names
- Eshtaul, Ishwa', Ishwa, Asthaol
- Location
- 31.7804° N, 35.0110° E (Google Maps)
How we know where it was
The Bible almost never names Eshtaol alone. It comes paired with Tzorah in Judah's town list, in Dan's allotment and again and again in the Samson story. So it must be close. Tzorah's name survives at Sar'a, so that is where the search starts.
Just east of Sar'a stood the Arab village of Ishwa'. Its name is usually taken as a later form of Eshtaol. A Roman-era village of that name was known in the district of Beit Guvrin. Surveys and digs at Ishwa' have turned up pottery from the Bronze and Iron Ages, so people lived here in biblical times.
From the top of Tzorah, Eshtaol is the next hilltop over. Together the two framed "the camp of Dan." That is where Samson's story begins, and it's where he was laid to rest. The story ends exactly where it began. It is also where the tribe of Dan gave up on the lowland. Hard pressed by the Philistines, they sent out spies and then six hundred armed men from Tzorah and Eshtaol to conquer Laish in the far north.
The sound match between Ishwa' and Eshtaol is not exact, which is why the identification is probable and not certain. Some place Eshtaol at Deir Abu al-Qabus, a ruin just north of Ishwa'. Others suggest Artuf, at Hartuv to the south, though it has no name link. All of them sit close to Tzorah, so the geography of the story holds either way.
Watch: Samson's Secret
Walking Tanach, Episode 1. Shows how Samson's life begins and ends between Tzorah and Eshtaol.
Visiting today
Little of the ancient village shows inside Moshav Eshtaol. The Eshtaol Forest is close by, and a traditional Tomb of Samson and Manoah sits near Tel Tzora. In Samson's Secret I show how his life opens and closes between these two hills.
Read it in the Bible
Verse numbers follow the Hebrew Bible. In a handful of chapters English Bibles count one verse off.
See Eshtaol on the interactive map →
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Get the print + free ebookNearby places
- Zorah (Tzorah) 2 km west
- Beth Shemesh 5 km southwest
- Aijalon (Ayalon) 7 km north
- Jarmuth 8 km south
- Kiriath Jearim 9 km east
- Timnah 9 km west