ABRAHAM GATE
This 4,000-year-old gate was found in 1979 at Tel Dan, once called Laish, in northern Israel.
This 4,000-year-old gate was discovered in 1979 at Tel Dan, formerly known as Laish, in northern Israel. Its entrance has three arches made from mud bricks on top of basalt stones. Since the gate was standing when Abraham may have visited the area, it is called “Abraham’s Gate.”
According to the Bible, four kings captured Lot and took him prisoner. When Abraham learned this, he gathered 318 trained men from his household and pursued Lot’s captors as far as Dan. Abraham attacked them at night, defeated them, and chased the fleeing kings to Hobah, north of Damascus. There, Abraham recovered all the stolen goods and freed all the captives, including Lot. The Bible says Abraham went as far as Dan, but it does not specify whether he entered the city or passed through the ancient gate found at Tel Dan.
