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Similarly, later NA references employing an approximate collocation via māt H˘ atti
frequently refer to the Neo-Hittite states rather than the general populace of the west. Though this
last point has been debated, Cogan has cogently demonstrated that “Māt H˘ atti originally signified
the Hittite Empire and the geographical sphere under Hittite rule; later, it came to serve as the
name for the states of Anatolia and Upper Syria that were the political and cultural heirs of the
imperial Hittites. It never seems to have lost this meaning” (2002, 89; see Singer 2006, 726).
Fifth, in 2 Sam 24:6 the Lucianic recension reads “and to the land of the Hittites at
‏ְוֶאל־ֶאֶרץ ( Taḥtîm-ḥod¯šî” Kadesh” (καὶ εις γηñν Χεττιεὶµ Κα' δης) for the obscure “and to the land of
in the MT. That the recension is essentially stylistic in character and that the reading ‏(ַּתְחִּתים·ָחְד ‏ִׁשי
ואל under discussion is a place name favors a Vorlage unique from the traditional text (perhaps
Contextually it falls in David’s census of Israel which begins from Aroer in ‏.(ארץ החתים קדשה
southern Gad and moves northward ultimately to Gilead, then “into the land of the Hittites, that
is, Kades,” 17 and from there loops southward to Dan, around to Sidon, to Tyre, etc. The context
indicates a northerly location. Perhaps the best candidate is Kadesh-on-the-Orontes (so Fisher,
Smith and Rummel 1975, 279, 8§34f). It is both well known and possesses continued historical
importance for its political and military roles during the LBA. It functioned as a royal city during
the Amarna period and the location for the conflict over Amurru territory between Ramesses and
Muwatalli. 18 Wherever the place might have been, it was apparently located in the north. 19 Direct
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17 See the modern versions which adopt this reading, such as the NRSV and the ESV (“and to Kadesh in
the land of the Hittites”; also HCSB, NJB), as well as the Lutherbibel („und zum Land der Hetiter nach Kadesch“)
and a few French translations (e.g., «dans le pays des Hittites, à Cadès», BFC).
18 Egyptian Qidšu, Akkadian Kinsa. For bibliography and historical-geographic discussion see BDB (s.v.
2.), and Rainey (2006, 62, 68–69, 78–80, 96–98). The strongest manuscript support קד ‏ׁש (s.v. HALOT ‏,(חד ‏ׁשי
(Vaticanus and Sinaiticus) provides εις γηñν Θαβασων η« ε στιν Αδασαι, which Rainey interprets as a reference to
Bashan via the -βασων element and its location along the route toward Dan (2006, 163–164).
19 Rainey’s argument is based on the order of locations cited in the census, the key being his interpretation
of the phrase ‏ָּדָנה ‏ַּיַען in the sense of “to Dan ‏(ָּדָנה)‏ at the foot of Mount Hermon, and on to Jaan ‏,(ַּיַען)‏ an obvious
metathesis for Ijon (2006, ‏”(ִעֹּין)‏ 163). He therefore concludes that in order for the Lucianic reading to be correct it
‏ָּדָנה·ַּיַען would necessarily have to come after Ijon in order of presentation. However, it is also possible to interpret
as the territory of Dan, specifically Ijon, which would then provide a reasonable route from Gilead northward to
Kadesh-on-the-Orontes and then southward to Ijon in the territory of Dan, around to Sidon, to Tyre and so forth.