Pilgrimage in Northern Israel, Tel Shimron

Pilgrimage to sites mentioned in the Bible that can be visited today, enjoy walking trails, recreation areas and parks in KKL-JNF forests.

  • How to get there

    From Ramat Yishai, drive eastwards towards Nahalal Junction (Route 75). Continue on past the junction for 700 meters, then turn left on to the road toTimrat, drive along it for around 100 meters then turn left towards the Nahalal cemetery. You can park your vehicle in the cemetery’s large parking lot at the foot of Tel Shimron.
  • Geographic location-

    Sea of Galilee - the valleys and lower Galilee,Northern Israel – Jezreel Valley
  • Area-

    north
  • Target audience-

    All
  • Track type-

    Walking path
  • Season-

    All

Projects and Partners Worldwide

The site was developed with contributions from friends of KKL JNF worldwide.

Tel Shimron. Photo: Yaakov Skolnik, KKL-JNF Photo Archive
Tel Shimron. Photo: Yaakov Skolnik, KKL-JNF Photo Archive

Tel Shimron – Northern Israel

“And Kattath, and Nahallal, and Shimron, and Idalah, and Bethlehem,” (Joshua19:15).

A short steep path leads up to the lookout tower and the recreation area provided by KKL-JNF at the top of Tel Shimron, which was the site of a major city in the Canaanite period. A letter from the king of Shimron, written in the 14th century BCE, was discovered in Egypt, at Tel el-Amarna, once the capital of the Pharaoh Akhenaten (1364-1347 BCE; also known as Akhnaton or Akhenaton). The letter reads: “To the King my Lord, my sun, I say.

The lookout tower at the top of Tel Shimron. Photo: Yaakov Skolnik, KKL-JNF Photo Archive.
The lookout tower at the top of Tel Shimron. Photo: Yaakov Skolnik, KKL-JNF Photo Archive.

Thus says Shamu Eda, Ruler of Shimron. At the feet of my king I prostrate myself seven times seven. I have heard all the words of my king; would the king kindly send a messenger [to say] if our forefathers have paid [tax] since the days of our father Kosona.” . In short, the King of Shimron is attempting not to pay tribute to Egypt on the basis of a claim that his forefathers were not obliged to do so.

The name Shimron is mentioned three times in the Bible. The Canaanite King of Shimron made common cause with Yavin, King of Hatzor, and, together with the other Canaanite kings, they went to war against Yehoshua Bin Nun (Joshua the son of Nun; see Joshua 21:1). Joshua won the battle and Shimron passed into the hands of the tribe of Zevulun. The site at the top of Tel Shimron is merely the acropolis or citadel of these ancient settlements, most of whose territory extended out to the west of the summit.

Researchers believe that the settlement here was actually called Shim‘on, not Shimron, and, indeed, the township that flourished here in the Mishnaic and Talmudic period was called Simonia, a name that derives from Shim‘on. The writer of the Biblical text, for his own reasons, preferred to call the town Shimron, and this name has stuck ever since.

To enjoy the view properly, you need to move around the mound a bit so as to observe the landscape from different angles, each of which reveals a new aspect of the landscape. In this way, you can look down at the expanses of the Jezreel Valley around Nahalal, get a glimpse of the Nazareth Hills and the township of Migdal HaEmek, see the hills around Kiryat Tivon and, of course, look across towards Mount Carmel.