ANATHOTH (Hebrew 'Anathoth). — A Levitical city of the tribe of Benjamin (Jos. 21:18; 1 Chr. 6:45 [Heb. 60]). It was the birthplace of two of David’s companions, Abiezer (2 Sam. 23:27; 1 Chr. 11:28; 27:12) and Jehu (1 Chr. 12:3), and of the prophet Jeremiah (Jer. 1:1), who suffered greatly at the hands of his fellow townsmen (Jer. 11:18–23). The high priest Abiathar was banished there by Solomon (1 Kgs. 2:26). Located about 4 km northeast of Jerusalem (Flavius Josephus, *Antiquitates Judaicae*, X, 73; Eusebius—St. Jerome, *Onomasticon*, 26, 27; St. Jerome, *Commentary on Jeremiah*, I, 1; *PL* 24, 682), it stood on the Ràs el-Harrubeh, about ½ km from the present-day 'Anathà (ca. 400 inhabitants, Muslim), from which a wide view opens onto the Judean desert, the Jordan valley, and the Dead Sea. 'Anathà has ruins of an ancient fortress and a Byzantine church, explored in recent excavations (1935–36).
Anathema — Christian sepulchral inscription with an anathema against violators of tombs — Rome, Christian Museum of the Lateran.