Anathoth

In the Bible

Anathoth was one of the cities in the territory of the tribe of Benjamin that were given to the priests (Joshua 21:18; 1 Chronicles 6:60).

• Abiathar's return home: When Solomon removed Abiathar, a priest from the time of David, from the priesthood, he commanded him, "Get thee to Anathoth, unto thine own fields" (1 Kings 2:26).
• David's mighty men: Among David's mighty men were Abiezer the Anethothite (2 Samuel 23:27) and Jehu the Antothite (1 Chronicles 12:3).
• Isaiah's warning: In a passage depicting the Assyrian army's advance on Jerusalem, the prophet laments, "O poor Anathoth" (Isaiah 10:30).
• Jeremiah's hometown: Jeremiah is introduced as "the son of Hilkiah, of the priests that were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin" (Jeremiah 1:1). The people of his hometown threatened him, demanding that he stop prophesying, and sought to kill him; God in turn pronounced judgment on them (Jeremiah 11:21–23).
• The purchase of the field: While the Babylonian army was besieging Jerusalem, Jeremiah bought a field in Anathoth from his cousin Hanameel for seventeen shekels of silver. He entrusted the deeds of purchase to Baruch to be stored in an earthen vessel and proclaimed the word of the LORD that houses, fields, and vineyards would again be bought in the land (Jeremiah 32:6–15).
• After the return from exile: Among those who returned from the Babylonian exile, the men of Anathoth numbered 128 (Ezra 2:23; Nehemiah 7:27). Descendants of Benjamin later lived there as well (Nehemiah 11:32).

Background

Anathoth is understood to have been located a few kilometers northeast of Jerusalem. A widely held view places it near the modern village of Anata, but scholars differ on the exact site. Some connect the origin of the name with the Canaanite goddess Anat, though this remains uncertain.

As a priestly city, Anathoth was home to priestly families from among the Levites. Jeremiah's purchase of the field followed the legal custom of buying back a relative's land to preserve the family inheritance, a custom connected with the institution of the kinsman-redeemer.

Significance in the Wider Bible

The purchase of the field at Anathoth is a prophetic act promising restoration at a time when destruction was imminent. The account appears in the section of the Book of Jeremiah devoted to restoration and comfort (chapters 30–33), which also contains the promise of the new covenant (Jeremiah 31:31–34). This new covenant promise is quoted in the New Testament in Hebrews 8:6–13. The place name Anathoth itself does not appear in the New Testament.

Interpretation and Debate

• First Kings presents Abiathar's banishment to Anathoth as the fulfillment of the word spoken concerning the house of Eli (1 Kings 2:27). Some hold that Jeremiah was a descendant of Abiathar, but this is a conjecture based on their association with the same city; the text does not state it directly.
• Some preachers read Jeremiah's rejection by the people of his hometown alongside Jesus' rejection in Nazareth. This is an interpretive connection; the biblical text does not directly link the two events.

In the Korean Church

The account of the field purchase in Jeremiah 32 is used as a sermon text on faith that trusts God's promises and invests in the future even in difficult times.