the Fourth Week of Advent
Click here to learn more!
Bible Encyclopedias
Phasaelis, Phasaelus
The 1901 Jewish Encyclopedia
or City in Palestine founded by Herod the Great in honor of his brother Phasael (Phasaelus). It was situated in the Jordan valley north of Jericho, in a barren region, which was, however, made fit for cultivation (Josephus, "Ant." 16:5, § 2; "B. J." 1:21, § 9). In his will Herod left the city to his sister Salome ("Ant." 17:8, § 1; "B. J." 2:6, § 3), and she made it over to the empress Livia ("Ant." 18:2, § 2; "B. J." 2:9, § 1). Like the whole region about Jericho, this city was celebrated for its excellent palms and dates (Pliny, "Hist. Nat." 13:4, § 44). The city was still mentioned by Ptolemy, by Stephanus Byzantinus, and by the geographer of Ravenna; in the Middle Ages it was the village Phasellum. Its name has been preserved in the present Khirbat Fasa'il ('Ain al-Fasa'il); and the brook which flows thence to the Jordan is called Wadi Fasa'
- Ritter, Erdkunde, 15:458;
- Robinson, Palästina, 2:555;
- Boettger, Lexicon zu Flavius Josephus, s. (p. 206);
- Schürer, Gesch. 2:3,158;
- Buhl, Geographie des Alten Palästina, pp. 115, 181.
These files are public domain.
Singer, Isidore, Ph.D, Projector and Managing Editor. Entry for 'Phasaelis, Phasaelus'. 1901 The Jewish Encyclopedia. https://www.studylight.org/encyclopedias/eng/tje/p/phasaelis-phasaelus.html. 1901.
