Cozeba

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COZEBA

COZEBA (Heb. כֹּזֵבָא). (1) Locality in Judah mentioned in i Chronicles 4:22. Some scholars identify it with Khirbat al-Dilba, 15 mi. (c. 24 km.) north of Hebron near ʿArrūb. Its name has been preserved in the neighboring Kirbat Kuwayziba. (2) Name of a dry river bed, now called Wadi al-Qilt. It is mentioned in the Dead Sea *Copper Scroll as one of the places where treasures were hidden. Many monasteries and hermitages were established there in Byzantine times, from the fifth century onward (Cyrillus Scythopolitanus, Vita Sabae, 44; John Moschus, pg, vol. 87, pt. 3, p. 2869). The Theotokós ("Mother of God") Chouzibiótissa, a Greek monastery, dedicated to St. George, still stands at the Deir (Dayr) al-Qilt.

bibliography:

J.T. Milik, in: rb, 66 (1959), 321ff., pl. 34; Barthélemy-Milik, 3 (1962), 291, 14–15; Abel, Geog, 2 (1938), 300.

[Michael Avi-Yonah]

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