ANATHOTH

(Anʹa·thoth) [answers, that is, to prayers].

1. A Benjamite, son of Becher.—1 Chron. 7:8.

2. One of the heads of the people whose descendant, if not himself, attested to and sealed a trustworthy arrangement in the days of Nehemiah, to walk in the path of true worship of Jehovah.—Neh. 9:38; 10:1, 19.

3. A Levite city in the territory of Benjamin. (Josh. 21:17, 18; 1 Chron. 6:60) The name continues in that of the small village of Anata about three miles (4.8 kilometers) N-NE of Jerusalem, while the original site has been identified with Ras el-Kharrubeh about half a mile (.8 kilometer) to the SW of the village. From its position on the hills a view can be had of the Jordan valley and the northern part of the Salt Sea. Anathoth was the home of two of David’s mighty men. (2 Sam. 23:27; 1 Chron. 12:3) It was to Anathoth that Solomon banished Abiathar, thus bringing to an end the line of high priests from the house of Eli. (1 Ki. 2:26) Anathoth was one of the afflicted cities in the line of attack of invading Assyrian armies.—Isa. 10:30.

Jeremiah was from Anathoth, but became a ‘prophet without honor’ among his own people, as they threatened his life for speaking Jehovah’s message of truth. (Jer. 1:1; 11:21-23; 29:27) As a result, Jehovah foretold calamity for the city, and this came in due course of time when Babylon overran the land. (Jer. 11:21-23) Prior to Jerusalem’s fall, Jeremiah exercised his legal rights to purchase his cousin’s tract of land at Anathoth as a sign that there would be a restoration from exile. (Jer. 32:7-9) A hundred and twenty-eight men of Anathoth were among the first band of those returning from exile with Zerubbabel; and Anathoth is included among the towns that were resettled, thus fulfilling Jeremiah’s prophecy.—Ezra 2:23; Neh. 7:27; 11:32.