Adam Zertal, Israeli Archaeologist Who Identified Joshua's Altar at Mt. Ebal, Dies at 79
Adam Zertal, a prominent Israeli archaeologist and expert in ancient Near East studies who spent 30 years surveying a tremendous breadth of land in the West Bank, passed away on Sunday at the age of 79. In the 1980s, Zertal, a professor at the University of Haifa, believed the books of the Hebrew Bible could and should inform the work of contemporary archaeologists, identified an altar built by the Biblical prophet Joshua on Mount Ebal—near to where Palestinian rioters torched a holy site marking Joseph’s tomb last Thursday. His claim remains hotly contested.
Zertal was born on Kibbutz Ein Shemer in 1936. His father, Moshe, was a journalist from Warsaw and a leader in the Socialist-Zionist youth movement Hashomer Hatzair. As the kibbutz’s economy was reliant on agriculture, Zertal spent five years studying economics and agriculture before assuming the role of economic director at Ein Shemer. His influence, however, extended far beyond the fields of his kibbutz; in 1972, he led an Israeli delegation to Central Africa Republic and Rwanda on an agricultural aid project.