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{{Short description|Seasonal stream mentioned in the Hebrew Bible}} [[File:Schnorr von Carolsfeld Bibel in Bildern 1860 114.png|thumb|right|Ravens feed Elijah by the brook Cherith, from ''[[commons:Die Bibel in Bildern|Die Bibel in Bildern]]'']] '''Chorath''', '''Kerith''' ({{langx|he|נַחַל כְּרִית|naḥal Kəriṯ}}), or sometimes '''Cherith''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|ɔr|ɑː|θ}}; from the [[Septuagint]]'s {{langx|el|Χειμάῤῥους Χοῤῥάθ}} {{transliteration|grc|''cheimárrhous Chorrháth''}}), is the name of a [[wadi]] or [[Intermittent river|seasonal stream]]<ref name="Fyvie">Frederick Fyvie Bruce, [https://books.google.com/books?id=0MzO2GD62JUC&pg=PA339 The Gospel of John: Introduction, Exposition, Notes], p. 339. Eerdmans, 3rd edition (1994)</ref> mentioned in the [[Hebrew Bible]].<ref>{{cite web |title= A dictionary of the Bible; comprising its antiquities, biography, geography, and natural history | url= http://www.ebooksread.com/authors-eng/drayton-griffin-and-smith/a-dictionary-of-the-bible-comprising-its-antiquities-biography-geography-and-678/page-78-a-dictionary-of-the-bible-comprising-its-antiquities-biography-geography-and-678.shtml |publisher= Che'rith, the brook |access-date= 26 August 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Keller |first=David |year=2011 |title=Desert Banquet: A Year of Wisdom from the Desert Mothers and Fathers }}</ref><ref name=waheeb>{{cite journal|first=M.|last=Waheeb|title=The Discovery of Elijah's Hill and John's Site of the Baptism, East of the Jordan River from the Description of Pilgrims and Travellers|journal=Asian Social Science |volume=8 |issue=8|year=2012 |doi=10.5539/ass.v8n8p200|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name=fitzgerald>{{cite journal |first=S. |last=Fitzgerald |title=Apostolic Geography: The Origins and Continuity of a Hagiographic Habit |journal=Dumbarton Oaks Papers |number=64 |date=2010 |pages=5–25 |url=https://www.academia.edu/1498053 |via=Academia}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Life Of John The Elder And The Cave Of Sapsas |url=http://saintlukecolumbia.org/orthodoxy-articles/2011/3/28/the-life-of-john-the-elder-and-the-cave-of-sapsas.html |publisher=St. Luke the Evangelist Greek Orthodox Church |accessdate=18 September 2014 |archive-date=26 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210226193405/http://saintlukecolumbia.org/orthodoxy-articles/2011/3/28/the-life-of-john-the-elder-and-the-cave-of-sapsas.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title= The Peraea and the Dead Sea|url= http://www.christusrex.org/www1/ofm/mad/sources/sources017.html|publisher= The Madaba Mosaic Map|accessdate= 26 August 2011|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110727182851/http://www.christusrex.org/www1/ofm/mad/sources/sources017.html|archive-date= 27 July 2011|url-status= dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Johnson |first=Scott Fitzgerald |year=2016 |title=Literary Territories: Cartographical Thinking in Late Antiquity }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Pustet |first=Anton |year=1901 |title=Studien und Mitteilungen zur Geschichte des Benediktinerordens und seiner Zweige }}</ref> The prophet [[Elijah]] hid himself on the banks of the Chorath and was fed by ravens during the early part of the three years' drought which he announced to King [[Ahab]] ({{bibleverse|1 Kings|17:3}}). ==Etymology and toponymy== Cherith is a common English spelling of the Hebrew name, which comes from the Hebrew root {{lang|he|כרת}} {{smallcaps|k-r-t}} meaning "to cut off" or "cut down".<ref>[http://biblehub.com/hebrew/3747.htm ''Kerith'' on Bible Hub], "Word Origin: from ''karath''"</ref><ref>[http://biblehub.com/hebrew/3747.htm Definition of ''karath'', New American Standard: Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible] via Bible Hub</ref> The name also signifies ''to engrave'' or ''carve'', ''a cutting'', ''separation'', ''gorge'', ''torrent-bed'', or ''winter-stream''.{{citation needed|date=December 2016}} Chorath is the name used in the 3rd-century BCE Greek translation of the [[Torah]] known as the [[Septuagint]]. The Kerith is a ''naḥal'' in Hebrew, a wadi or seasonal stream. ==Identification== ===Wadi al-Yabis=== It is usually identified with Wadi al-Yabis, a stream in western [[Jordan]], which flows into the [[Jordan River]] at a spot opposite of [[Beit She'an]] and slightly south of it.<ref>{{cite book |last=Armstrong |first=George |year=1895 |title=Names and places in the Old and New Testament and apocrypha: With their modern identifications }}</ref> Travellers have described it as one of the wildest ravines of the [[Fertile Crescent]], and peculiarly fitted to afford a secure asylum to the persecuted. During the summer, the stream is very dry.<ref>{{cite book |last=Easton |first=Matthew George |year=1897 |title=The Bible Dictionary: Your Biblical Reference Book |publisher=Thomas Nelson |isbn=9780933186590 |url=https://archive.org/details/eastonsbibledict00east |edition=1st }}</ref> [[Olive tree]]s grow on its banks, and it is home to an array of wildlife including [[gazelle]], [[hyrax]], and [[egret]].<ref>{{cite web |title=The Peraea and the Dead Sea |url= http://www.jordanbeauty.com/WadiAl-Yabis.html |publisher=Jordan Beauty |accessdate=19 August 2012}}</ref> According to the 1994 [[Israel–Jordan Treaty of Peace|Peace treaty between Israel and Jordan]], [[Israel]] can maintain its use of the Jordan River waters between the [[Yarmouk River|Yarmouk]] and Wadi al-Yabis.<ref>[[Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs]], [http://mfa.gov.il/MFA/ForeignPolicy/Peace/Guide/Pages/Israel-Jordan%20Peace%20Treaty%20Annex%20II.aspx Israel-Jordan Peace Treaty Annex II], Article 2.3, accessed 30 October 2017</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Shapland |first=Greg |title=Rivers of Discord: International Water Disputes in the Middle East |edition=1st |year=1997 }}</ref> ===Wadi Kelt=== Some identify the stream Chorath with [[Wadi Qelt]] at the [[Monastery of Saint George of Choziba]].<ref>{{cite web |title=The Life Of John The Elder And The Cave Of Sapsas |url=http://saintlukecolumbia.org/orthodoxy-articles/2011/3/28/the-life-of-john-the-elder-and-the-cave-of-sapsas.html |publisher=St. Luke the Evangelist Greek Orthodox Church |accessdate=9 July 2016 |archive-date=26 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210226193405/http://saintlukecolumbia.org/orthodoxy-articles/2011/3/28/the-life-of-john-the-elder-and-the-cave-of-sapsas.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> If 1 Kings 17:3 is to be translated "Wadi Chorath, which is '''east''' of the Jordan", this identification would be in contradiction to the Bible, since Wadi Qelt is west of it. The [[King James version]] states [[Elijah]] should "turn eastward" (from [[Samaria (ancient city)|Samaria]]); therefore, the brook could be anywhere east of Samaria (now [[Sebastia, Nablus|Sebastia]], [[West Bank]]), on either side of the River Jordan.<ref>King James Bible; 1 Kings 17:3</ref> Some translations (i.e. the Orthodox Jewish Bible: [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Kings+17%3A3&version=OJB]) allow such an interpretation, by stating that Chorath is merely "near the Yarden" (Yarden being the Hebrew name of the River Jordan). ===Wadi Fusail=== Conder and Kitchener noted, while writing of [[Qaryut]], that "[t]his place, being at the head of ''Wady Fusail'', seems to have given rise to the mediaeval identification of that valley as the ''Brook Cherith'' (mentioned by [[Marino Sanuto the Elder|Marino Sanuto]] in 1321)."<ref name=SWP288>{{cite book|last1=Conder|first1=C.R.|author-link1=Claude Reignier Conder|last2=Kitchener|first2=H.H.|author-link2=Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener|title=The Survey of Western Palestine: Memoirs of the Topography, Orography, Hydrography, and Archaeology|page=288|publisher=[[Palestine Exploration Fund|Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund]]|volume=2|year=1882|location=London|url=https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp02conduoft#page/288/mode/1up|access-date=7 July 2021}}</ref> Sanuto commented that the stream extended into [[Phasaelis]], which was named after Prince [[Phasael]], the brother of King [[Herod the Great|Herod]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Armstrong |first=George |year=1895 |title=Names and places in the old and new testament and apocrypha: With their modern identifications }}</ref> This identification would again contradict the more common translation of 1 Kings 17:3 (see comment above at "Wadi Kelt"), since Wadi Fusail with both modern Qaryut and ancient Phasaelis lie west, not east of the Jordan. ==Other uses of the name== The name is also a [[Mizrahi Jews|Mizrahi]] [[Jewish surname]], specifically among [[Yemenite Jews]]. They descend from the [[Banu al-Harith]], which is of [[Qahtanite]] origin and was once one of the most important tribes of the city of [[Najran]].<ref name="Stillman">[[Norman A. Stillman]], ''The Jews of Arab lands: A history and source book'', p. 117</ref> Irish novelist, short-story writer, poet, art critic, memoirist, and dramatist [[George Moore (novelist)|George Moore]] (1852–1933) wrote ''The Brook Kerith: A Syrian Story'', which was published in 1916. It is a retelling of the [[New Testament]] account of Jesus's life. ==References== {{Reflist}} {{coord missing|Israel}} [[Category:Surnames of Mizrahi Jewish origin]] [[Category:Qahtanites]] [[Category:Torah places]] [[Category:Wadis of Israel]] [[Category:Wadis of Jordan]] [[Category:Hebrew Bible rivers]] [[Category:Canyons and gorges]] [[Category:Fluvial landforms]] [[Category:Valleys of Asia]]
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