Neballat
Neballat is an ancient city mentioned in the Old Testament, located in the region of Samaria in modern-day Israel. Known today as Beit Nabala. It appears across 1 verse in Scripture.
Biblical History
Neballat appears once in Scripture, in Nehemiah 11:34, listed among the towns resettled by the descendants of Benjamin after the return from Babylonian exile. When Nehemiah organized the repopulation of Judah's towns in the mid-fifth century BC, he sought to ensure that the restored community would not be confined to Jerusalem alone but would inhabit the broader ancestral territories. Neballat's inclusion in this list reflects the geographic range of the post-exilic resettlement, extending into the coastal lowlands (Shephelah) northwest of Jerusalem. The resettlement of these towns was theologically significant: it represented the fulfillment of prophetic promises that the exiles would return and reinhabit their land (Jeremiah 30:3; 32:44). Though Neballat is a minor entry in the post-exilic record, it participates in the larger narrative of restoration and renewal that characterizes the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. The careful enumeration of every resettled village demonstrates that God's restoration extended to the smallest corners of the Promised Land.
Archaeological & Historical Notes
Neballat is identified with Beit Nabala, a Palestinian village located approximately 15 kilometers east of modern Tel Aviv in the central coastal plain of Israel. The identification rests on the preservation of the ancient name in the Arabic toponym. Archaeological surveys in the area have documented pottery sherds and other remains from the Iron Age and Persian periods, consistent with the biblical timeline of Nehemiah's resettlement. The site sits in a fertile agricultural region along the route from Jerusalem to the coast. The modern village of Beit Nabala was depopulated during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, and the area is now within the bounds of the Ben Gurion International Airport zone.
Verse Appearances (1)
Neh
Sources: ISBE Encyclopedia · OpenBible Geocoding (CC BY) · Pleiades Gazetteer View all →