Anathoth

Anathoth

Anathoth was one of the priestly cities given to the tribe of Levi in the book of Joshua. It was situated in the tribal allotment of Benjamin (and was therefore quite close to Jerusalem). When Abiathar supported David’s son Adonijah over Solomon to succeed David as king, he was exiled to Anathoth—and so was forbidden to officiate at the tabernacle and temple—as a punishment. The prophet Jeremiah was a priest from the city of Anathoth (Jeremiah 1:1). This suggests that Jeremiah began his prophetic mission on the margins of Israelite society, a position he never really left. Jeremiah bought land in Anathoth as a symbolic prophecy of the return of the people of Judah from exile.

Related verses

Joshua 21:18
1 Kings 2:26
1 Chronicles 6:60
Jeremiah 1:1
Jeremiah 11:21–22
Jeremiah 29:27
Jeremiah 32:7–12