Editing Admah

{{Short description|One of a cluster of five biblical cities}}
According to the Bible, '''Admah''' (Heb. אַדְמָה) was one of the [[pentapolis|five cities]] of the [[Battle of Siddim|Vale of Siddim]].<ref>Bible: Genesis 14:2</ref> It was destroyed along with [[Sodom and Gomorrah]].<ref>Bible: Deuteronomy 29:23</ref> It is supposed by [[William F. Albright]] to be the same as the "[[City of Adam|Adam]]" of {{bibleverse|Joshua|3:16}}.<ref>Albright, W. F. "The Expedition of Xenia Theological Seminary and the American Schools". ''BASOR'' 14 (1924): 1–12</ref> The location of Admah is unknown,<ref name="Tenney2011">{{cite book|author=Merrill Chapin Tenney|title=Zondervan Illustrated Bible Dictionary|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5gg4BifSJH8C&pg=PA25|year=2011|publisher=Zondervan|isbn=978-0-310-22983-4|page=25}}</ref> although [[Bryant G. Wood]] a proponent of the southern theory for the Cities of the Plain identified the site with [[Numeira]],<ref>Bryant G. Wood, “Have Sodom And Gomorrah Been Found?,” ''Bible and Spade'' 3, no. 3 (1974): 67</ref> but later changed it to Khirbat al-Khanazir Jordan,<ref>Bryant G. Wood, “The Discovery of the Sin Cities of Sodom and Gomorrah,” ''Bible and Spade'' 12, no. 3 (1999): 67–80</ref> although it was only a cemetery during the Bronze Age <ref>Meredith S. Chesson and R. Thomas Schaub, “Death and Dying on the Dead Sea Plain: Fifa, Al- Khanazir and Bab Adh-Dhra` Cemeteries,” in ''Crossing Jordan: North American Contributions to the Archaeology of Jordan,'' ed. Thomas Evan Levy et al. (London, U.K.: Equinox, 2007), 253</ref> and proponents of the northern theory for the Cities of the Plain identify the site with [[Tel Nimrin]], Jordan.<ref>https://www.ritmeyer.com/product/image-library/illustrating-the-bible/books-of-moses/admah-tall-nimrin/; Steven Collins, “Sodom and the Cities of the Plain,” in ''Lexham Bible Dictionary (Logos)'', ed. John D. Barry (Bellingham, WA: Lexham, 2016), op cit.; David E. Graves, ''The Location of Sodom: Color Edition. Key Facts for Navigating the Maze of Arguments for the Location of the Cities of the Plain'' (Toronto: Electronic Christian Media, 2018), 70.</ref>

The town is mentioned figuratively in the [[Bible]], in Deuteronomy<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://biblehub.com/deuteronomy/29-23.htm|title=Deuteronomy 29:23 All its soil will be a burning waste of brimstone and salt, unsown and unproductive, with no plant growing on it, just like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the LORD overthrew in His fierce anger.|website=biblehub.com|access-date=2018-08-31}}</ref> and [[Book of Hosea]].<ref>Hosea 11:8</ref>
 
There has also been some conjecture that Admah is mentioned in the [[Ebla tablets]] as the Eblaite word "ad-ma" or "ad-mu-utki" = (Town of) Admah.<ref>Giovanni Pettinato, “Gli archivi reali di Tell Mardikh-Ebla: riflessioni e prospettive,” ''Rivista Biblica Italiana'' 25, no. 1 (1977): 225–43, Tablet 6522; Alfonso Archi, “The Epigraphic Evidence from Ebla and the Old Testament,” ''Biblica'' 60, no. 4 (1979): 556–66; Alfonso Archi, “The Epigraphic Evidence from Ebla: A Summary,” ''The Biblical Archaeologist'' 43, no. 4 (1980): 200–203; Alfonso Archi, “Are ‘The Cities of the Plain’ Mentioned in the Ebla Tablets?: Cities Identified by Pettinato Are Nowhere near the Dead Sea,” ''Biblical Archaeology Review'' 7, no. 6 (1981): 54–55; Alfonso Archi, “Further Concerning Ebla and the Bible,” ''The Biblical Archaeologist'' 44, no. 3 (1981): 145–54; William H. Shea, “Two Palestinian Segments from the Eblaite Geographical Atlas,” in ''Word of the Lord Shall Go Forth: Essays in Honor of David Noel Freedman in Celebration of His Sixtieth Birthday'', ed. Carol L. Meyers and M. O’Connor, American Schools of Oriental Research (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1983), 589–612.</ref><ref>contra. Thomas O'Toole, [https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1979/12/09/ebla-tablets-no-biblical-claims/89f81380-1350-415a-b836-570cfec84b68/  Ebla Tablets: No Biblical Claims]  ''[[The Washington Post]]''December 9, 1979</ref>

==See also==
* [[Sodom and Gomorrah]] - two of the five "cities of the plain"
* [[Zeboim (biblical)|Zeboim]] - one of the five "cities of the plain"
* [[Zoara|Zoar, former Bela]] - one of the five "cities of the plain"

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{EBD|title=Admah}}

[[Category:Torah cities]]
[[Category:Destroyed populated places]]