Merkaz Hever ( he, מֶרְכַּז חֶבֶר) is a

community settlement A community settlement ( he, יישוב קהילתי, ''Yishuv Kehilati'') is a type of village in Israel and the West Bank. While in an ordinary town anyone may buy property, in a community settlement the village's residents are organized in ...

in northern

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. Located in the

Ta'anakh The Ta'anakh region ( he, חבל תענך, ''Hevel Ta'anakh''), also known as Ta'anachim ( he, תענכים), is an area to the south of Israel's Jezreel Valley and east of the Wadi Ara region. The area is named after the biblical city (Joshua 1 ...

region, it falls under the jurisdiction of

Gilboa Regional Council Gilboa Regional Council ( he, מועצה אזורית הגלבוע, ''Mo'atza Azorit (ha)Gilbo'a'') is a regional council in northern Israel, located on the slopes of the Gilboa mountain range. There are more than 22,000 residents in 38 settlement ...

. In it had a population of .

History

The community was founded in 1958 as a regional center for the three neighboring communities:

Barak Barak ( or ; he, בָּרָק; Tiberian Hebrew: '' Bārāq''; ar, البُراق ''al-Burāq'' "lightning") was a ruler of Ancient Israel. As military commander in the biblical Book of Judges, Barak, with Deborah, from the Tribe of Ephrai ...

, Adirim, and Devorah. In 1982 it was expanded and converted to a communal settlement. The name Merkaz Hever is connectedCarta's Official Guide to Israel and Complete Gazetteer to all Sites in the Holy Land. (3rd edition 1993) Jerusalem, Carta, p.197, (English) to

Yael Jael or Yael ( he, יָעֵל ''Yāʿēl'') is the name of the heroine who delivered Ancient Israel, Israel from the army of King Jabin of Canaan in the Book of Judges of the Hebrew Bible. After Barak demurred at the behest of the prophetess Deb ...

, the wife of Hever the Kenite (

Judges A judge is an official who presides over a court. Judge or Judges may also refer to: Roles *Judge, an alternative name for an adjudicator in a competition in theatre, music, sport, etc. *Judge, an alternative name/aviator call sign for a membe ...

4:17), after whom another communal settlement nearby is named ( Merkaz Yael). All these five communities, mentioned above, including neighbouring Prazon got names from the same biblical story of Devorah's battle (Judges, chap 4-5), which took place in this area.

References

{{Gilboa Regional Council Community settlements Populated places in Northern District (Israel) 1958 establishments in Israel Populated places established in 1958