Timnath cherec

Kifl Harith is a Palestinian village near the entrance to the City of Ariel in the Shomron. I drive by it frequently and wonder about the variously misspelled Hebrew, Arabic, English language road signs. What is the etimology of its name? The original Biblical name of the place was Timnath-heres and after the Hebrew conquest, it was given to Joshua. On his death, he was buried there. (Joshua 24:30). Like most original Hebrew site names, Timnath Cheres had evolved through the centuries to the Arabic sounding Khifl Hares.

One possible reading of the village's biblical name is tim-nath-he'res/timnath cherec "portion of the sun". Timnah תמנה from the root mana (portion) and cheres חרס = sun, a word that is uncommon in Hebrew. The current word for sun is Shemesh like in Beyt Shemesh, the House of the Sun God. Heres sounds close to the Egyptian Sun God Horus (pic above). The falcon-headed man was among the most important gods of Egypt, particularly because the Pharaoh was supposed to be his earthly embodiment. Old Egyptian and Hebrew were twin languages and the Hebrews used many Egyptian expressions, so I deduce that Timnath Heretz may have meant the King's Property. Hor being Egyptian for hawk, it may have also meant Land of the Hawk.

The Tomb of Joshua and Caleb is in the center of the village. Jews allowed to visit it once a year. The place is poor but not miserable. In the past, I had driven through place but took no pictures.