ELEALEH
ELEALEH (
Ἐλεάλη), a town of the Reubenites, situated, according to Eusebius, in Gilead, and one mile distant from Heshbon, the capital of Sihon, king of the Amorites.
It was in his time a very large village (
κώμη μεγίστη, Onomast. s. v.).
It is always mentioned in connection with Heshbon. (
Numb. 32.3, 37;
Is. 15.4, 16.9;
Jerem. 48.34.)
It was first identified in modern times by Seetzen, in a ruined site named
El-Âl, half an hour north-east of
Hesbân, the old Heshbon.
It was also visited by Burckhardt, who writes it
Et-Aal, and thus describes it (
Travels, p. 365): “It stands upon the summit of a hill, and takes its name from its situation,--Aal meaning ‘the high.’ It commands the whole plain, and the view from the top of the hill is very extensive. . . . .
El Aal was surrounded by a well-built wall, of which some parts yet remain. Among the ruins are a number of large cisterns, fragments of walls, and the foundations of houses; but nothing worth particular notice.”
[
G.W]
