ITURAEA

(It·u·raeʹa) [pertaining to Jetur].

A small territory of varying and undefined boundaries located NE of the Sea of Galilee. The name “Ituraea” is thought to derive from Ishmael’s son Jetur, whose descendants residing E of the Jordan were defeated by the Israelites. (Gen. 25:15, 16; 1 Chron. 1:31; 5:18-23) Toward the close of the second century B.C.E. the Maccabean king Aristobulus I successfully warred against Ituraea and added much of its territory to Judea. To remain in the country, the inhabitants of Ituraea had to submit to circumcision and obey Jewish law. (Antiquities of the Jews, Book XIII, chap. XI, par. 3) Later, Ituraea was one of the territories comprising the tetrarchy of Philip, inherited from his father Herod the Great.—Luke 3:1.