Recent from talks
Yodfat
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Yodfat
Yodfat (Hebrew: יוֹדְפַת), is a moshav shitufi in northern Israel. Located in the Lower Galilee, south of Carmiel and in the vicinity of the Atzmon mountain ridge, north of the Beit Netofa Valley, it falls under the jurisdiction of Misgav Regional Council. In 2023 it had a population of 1,000.
Modern Yodfat is named after the Second Temple period town of the same name and is situated to the north of the archaeological tell. Yodfat was established in 1960 by graduates of the Hebrew Reali School of Haifa.
Ancient Yodfat, Koine Greek: Ἰωτάπατα, which was situated to the southeast of the modern moshav, is mentioned in the Mishnah as a walled Israelite village dating from the time of Joshua corresponding with the Iron Age. "Jotapata may be the same as Jotbah which was the birthplace of Meshullemeth ... the mother of Amon, king of Judah (2 Kgs. 21:19)."
Archaeological explorations of the site, however, have thus far revealed a modest village established sometime during the Hellenistic period between the fourth and third centuries BCE. As the Hasmonean kings extended their influence into the Galilee during the last decades of the second century BCE, a change of population occurred at Yodfat and the village was populated by Jews.
By the first century CE Yodfat had expanded to encompass an area of 50 dunams (13 acres). Its siege and subsequent destruction in 67 CE are described in Josephus' The Jewish War, his chronicle of the First Jewish–Roman War. Led by future emperor Vespasian, three Roman legions—Legio V Macedonica, X Fretensis, and XV Apollinaris—besieged Yodfat, meeting strong Jewish resistance. After 47 days the city fell by treachery, and Josephus describes the death of 40,000 Jews and the enslavement of 1200 women and children. Yodfat was razed and burnt on the first of the Hebrew month of Tammuz (July 20, 67). While a few dozen remaining fighters committed suicide, Josephus managed to survive this pact and was captured by the Romans.
After its capture by the Romans, Yodfat was re-established at a nearby site by refugees from Jerusalem, among them the priestly family of Miyamin (Hebrew: מִיָמִין, romanized: Miyāmin). Inscriptions describe it as the sixth miśmār or priestly division of the era. "[A]n inscription bearing the names of the miśmarōṯ (priestly wards), which was initially discovered in September 1970 by W. Müller and then, independently, by P. Grjaznevitch within a mosque in Bayt al-Ḥāḍir, a village situated near Tan‘im, east of Ṣanʻā’." This town is mentioned in the Talmud as the home of Rabbi Menachem (Hebrew: רבי מנחם יודפאה, romanized: ribbi Mənaḥēm Yoḏp̄āʾā, lit. 'Rabbi Mənaḥem the Yoḏp̄āite', Zevahim 110b:4). It flourished for another 300 years before being destroyed.
Modern Yodfat was established in 1960 by graduates of the Hebrew Reali School of Haifa. It is currently an agricultural Jewish community, located about 1 km north-west of the ancient ruins.
The modern village was built by traditional Jews, seeking to preserve traditional values in parallel to agricultural work. At first, the village was an observation site of the JNF, while its inhabitants were mostly the JNF employees. Later, the village became an agricultural society, with most of its residents working the nearby lands. By the 1990s, the village turned into a larger communal center, with a larger variety of professions for its residents. Today it includes 200 families. During the 2025 Iran Israeli war, an agricultural building in Yodfat was hit by shrapnel from a ballistic missile fired by Iran after the ceasefire began.
Hub AI
Yodfat AI simulator
(@Yodfat_simulator)
Yodfat
Yodfat (Hebrew: יוֹדְפַת), is a moshav shitufi in northern Israel. Located in the Lower Galilee, south of Carmiel and in the vicinity of the Atzmon mountain ridge, north of the Beit Netofa Valley, it falls under the jurisdiction of Misgav Regional Council. In 2023 it had a population of 1,000.
Modern Yodfat is named after the Second Temple period town of the same name and is situated to the north of the archaeological tell. Yodfat was established in 1960 by graduates of the Hebrew Reali School of Haifa.
Ancient Yodfat, Koine Greek: Ἰωτάπατα, which was situated to the southeast of the modern moshav, is mentioned in the Mishnah as a walled Israelite village dating from the time of Joshua corresponding with the Iron Age. "Jotapata may be the same as Jotbah which was the birthplace of Meshullemeth ... the mother of Amon, king of Judah (2 Kgs. 21:19)."
Archaeological explorations of the site, however, have thus far revealed a modest village established sometime during the Hellenistic period between the fourth and third centuries BCE. As the Hasmonean kings extended their influence into the Galilee during the last decades of the second century BCE, a change of population occurred at Yodfat and the village was populated by Jews.
By the first century CE Yodfat had expanded to encompass an area of 50 dunams (13 acres). Its siege and subsequent destruction in 67 CE are described in Josephus' The Jewish War, his chronicle of the First Jewish–Roman War. Led by future emperor Vespasian, three Roman legions—Legio V Macedonica, X Fretensis, and XV Apollinaris—besieged Yodfat, meeting strong Jewish resistance. After 47 days the city fell by treachery, and Josephus describes the death of 40,000 Jews and the enslavement of 1200 women and children. Yodfat was razed and burnt on the first of the Hebrew month of Tammuz (July 20, 67). While a few dozen remaining fighters committed suicide, Josephus managed to survive this pact and was captured by the Romans.
After its capture by the Romans, Yodfat was re-established at a nearby site by refugees from Jerusalem, among them the priestly family of Miyamin (Hebrew: מִיָמִין, romanized: Miyāmin). Inscriptions describe it as the sixth miśmār or priestly division of the era. "[A]n inscription bearing the names of the miśmarōṯ (priestly wards), which was initially discovered in September 1970 by W. Müller and then, independently, by P. Grjaznevitch within a mosque in Bayt al-Ḥāḍir, a village situated near Tan‘im, east of Ṣanʻā’." This town is mentioned in the Talmud as the home of Rabbi Menachem (Hebrew: רבי מנחם יודפאה, romanized: ribbi Mənaḥēm Yoḏp̄āʾā, lit. 'Rabbi Mənaḥem the Yoḏp̄āite', Zevahim 110b:4). It flourished for another 300 years before being destroyed.
Modern Yodfat was established in 1960 by graduates of the Hebrew Reali School of Haifa. It is currently an agricultural Jewish community, located about 1 km north-west of the ancient ruins.
The modern village was built by traditional Jews, seeking to preserve traditional values in parallel to agricultural work. At first, the village was an observation site of the JNF, while its inhabitants were mostly the JNF employees. Later, the village became an agricultural society, with most of its residents working the nearby lands. By the 1990s, the village turned into a larger communal center, with a larger variety of professions for its residents. Today it includes 200 families. During the 2025 Iran Israeli war, an agricultural building in Yodfat was hit by shrapnel from a ballistic missile fired by Iran after the ceasefire began.
Recent media