These two idols from the Oriental Institute in Chicago are thought to represent the gods El (left) and Ba’al (right), are often mentioned in the Biblical narrative. The mythology behind this father-son pair comes mostly from the Bronze Age city of Ugarit (1450-1200 BC). While El and his consort Asherah were the chief gods, Ba’al was the powerful storm god who achieved great victories over the sea and death with the aid of his sister, Anath.
The ancient tell of Hazor is one of the largest sites in Israel at around 200 acres. However, the Iron Age Israelite occupation is mostly isolated to the upper city (the hill just above the modern bridge in the lower right corner), which features a beautiful Solomonic gate. As with so many important cities in the Levant, Hazor’s greatest value was its strategic position in the narrow pass into the Huleh Basin, a road that connected the Southern Levant to Damascus.
As with many places mentioned in the Bible, we may not know where the exact location is, but we can know it is “here.” The exact point of Mt. Nebo may not be known, but from Deuteronomy 32:49, we know that if we are in Jericho and look across to Moab, we should be looking in the direction of Mt. Nebo. This a view similar to what you would see from Jericho, just down the Dead Sea coast slightly (from Qumran, of Dead Sea Scrolls’ fame).
[soundcloud url="https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/186283773" params="auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true" width="100%" height="300" iframe="true" /] In 1 Samuel 12, as Samuel is growing old, he takes the time to address the nation of Israel one last time. At the end of his speech, he asks God for a sign. God then sends a thunderstorm. The text then tells us that the people "greatly feared the Lord and Samuel". Why? Well, to fully understand the answer to the question, you need to know a little bit about the geography of Israel. That is what we will discuss in today's program.
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Podcast Links 1 Samuel 12 - BibleGateway.com 2015 Israel Tour Exploring Bible Lands' Facebook Page
Sheep and goat herding is still an important facet in the lives of many in the Middle East. The Bedouin herds can be found grazing anywhere from large cities like Ashkelon to firing ranges in the desert. Anywhere there is forage, you can be sure there is a herd of sheep or goats nearby.
The Arbel cliff is beautiful, but also strategic in its position overlooking the pass into Galilee. This natural caves system was enlarged and used for inhabitation, first by Jews during the Hellenistic period, and later by Galilean Zealots fleeing Herod the Great. The basalt fortification seen today is the handiwork of a 17th-century Druze emir, built to protect the surrounding area. The Druze are a culturally Arab religious sect who reinterprets the teachings of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
It is often easy to forget that the characters we read about in the Bible and in the history books were real people, and lived much like we do today. Even the children of the ancient world loved to play and had toys, like this wheeled bear and otter from the early Iron Age (11th-10th century) Beit Shemesh, as well as dolls made of bone and clay, and board games with dice.
In a land where everything is old, and one can hardly go on a walk without tripping over an antiquity, ancient sites can sometimes be forgotten and fall into decay after excavations are over. Tell Miqne, better known as Biblical Ekron, lies unnoticed in the middle of a kibbutz‘s agricultural field, surrounded by cotton and watermelons.
About three years ago, I heard about the upcoming release of Jerusalem, the IMAX movie from National Geographic. It looked wonderful and I could not wait to see it. I wrote a blog post about the official trailer and then another blog post discussing the scenes in the trailer. I also wrote a couple of additional blog posts involving pictures of Golgotha and the Temple Mount which were provided by the movie.
According to the website, the release of the movie was to take place at science theatres across the world. I live near Huntsville, Alabama, the home of the United States Space & Rocket Center (USSRC), the largest space museum in the country. I was hopeful that it would be on the list of theatres, but it was not. We were finally able to see the movie a little over a year ago in Tallahassee, Florida, on our way to see family for the Thanksgiving holiday.
Yesterday, we learned that USSRC began showing Jerusalem two days ago. This morning, we went to the theatre and enjoyed this wonderful movie again. If you want, you can read my review of the movie from our first viewing. The nice thing that was an added bonus was the grab bag that they gave to every person. It contained a huge poster of Jerusalem, with facts about the city. There was also a handout as well as a DVD with many features about the film. It was a nice surprise that I look forward to investigating further.
If you are a student of the Bible and you live in the North Alabama area, I encourage you to go to the United States Space & Rocket Center and see this movie. You can check their website for showtimes and prices. I am not sure how long the grab bag extra will last, so you might check with that when you get there.
Do you want to go to Jerusalem? Then join me this October for my 2015 Bible Study Tour of Israel!
The Soreq Valley is the scene of many Biblical events, and is bounded to the west by the Philistine cities of Timnah and Ekron. This valley is famous for its produce, especially the vineyards for which it is named (soreq means “choice vine”).
As we try to continuously bring alive the people, places, and culture of the Biblical text, the small things are not to be ignored. While people of those days are millennia away from us, and we may not fully understand their culture and ancient history, they were people, just like you and me. When a Biblical writer speaks of flowers, the message they intend to convey can be seen by us. Flowers may bring to mind James 1:9-11, and the message of fading riches. These daisies, particularly the center one with yellow and white, adorn the ancient rocks of the Athens acropolis, with the same colors now as they would have displayed in ancient times.
An odeon, another name for a theater type structure, was a building or open air theater built by the Greeks and Romans for music, poetry readings, and other similar events. Paul is again brought to mind and his encounter with certain Ephesians in their “theater” with troubles over one of their gods (Acts 19). This Odeon of Herodes Atticus (a Greek who served as a Roman senator), is well preserved and partially restored, resting at the base of the Athens acropolis. Images like these show a concept such as the ancient theater was spread throughout the Greek and Roman world. Caesarea Maritima, on the Mediterranean shores of Israel, holds another well preserved and restored theater such as this.
This view is not from Athens or the Greek mainland, but from one of the Greek Islands, looking northwest. While this particular island has no known Biblical significance, it provides a vista in helping to understand the region of the Greek Peloponnese Islands (think of the apostle’s voyages across the Mediterranean). While Athens was on the Greek mainland, Greeks were scattered across these islands. The most concentrated gathering of Greeks, particularly those of nationalistic Greek influence and action, would have been in Athens. However, since even before the first century AD, inhabitants of these islands would band together to fight common foes.
This shot is from the Greek island of Hydra (pronounced E-dra). If you are ever in Athens and have a day or two to spare, this beautiful island (which has no cars!...only donkeys and foot traffic) is a great relaxing spot with many quaint guest houses and plentiful walking trails with picturesque views of the Aegean Sea.
Yesterday’s view was from the Acropolis of Athens, today’s view is the Acropolis itself. This view is from what is thought to be the Areopagus, where Paul addressed the citizens of Athens following his observation mentioned yesterday, of the cities religious inclinations. Paul had a different message from what the inhabitants were accustomed to.
This week we move away from Israel to Athens, Greece and New Testament times. This photo is from the Acropolis looking down into the Athens Agora or “meeting place.” When on the Acropolis, one is reminded of Paul’s words in Acts 17:16 – “Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols.” From the temples of gods to altars and statues left behind even today, this city certainly had its share of deities to earn it this description.
This photo is also a good perspective on Athens’s setting in the hills of the Grecian mainland, with the hills in the background and the modern city surrounding the ancient sites. The temple of Hephaestus is prominent in the Agora greenery.
In lands with such ancient roots like Israel, one can see ancient traditions maintained even today, including the use of donkeys as pack animals. Just as in the days of the patriarchs, donkeys are still loaded with goods and household necessities, such as groceries and wood. The only difference is that the drivers seldom wear the heat-repelling robes of antiquity in favor of soccer jerseys and skinny jeans.
During the Middle Bronze Age (2000-1550 BC), Egypt maintained a presence in the land of Israel, with governors posted along important trade routes, such as Bethshean and Aphek, which guarded the bottleneck from the Via Maris to the Jezreel Valley. This palace excavated among the Crusader ruins at Aphek (later Antipatris) reveal a luxurious multi-level structure where the Egyptian governor would have lived and overseen the taxation and trade in the region.
In the northern regions of Galilee, the land becomes mountainous until one emerges abruptly on the Syrian border, where Mt. Hermon rises majestically over the plains of Bashan at 9,200 feet above sea level—earning it the modern name of Jebel esh-Sheikh (the Chief Mountain). Some traditions say that it was to this “high mountain” that Christ took his disciples to pray and be transfigured before their eyes (Matthew 17:1).
On the northwestern coast of the Sea of Galilee lays the village of Capernaum. This port city would have seen much trade during the first century, and many ancient stone anchors can still be found along the shoreline. Archaeological finds here (behind the trees here) include a monumental limestone synagogue built atop its first century predecessor and the remains of a 5th-century octagonal church built over the traditional site of Peter’s house.
The Carmel Mountain Range extends from the Jezreel Valley to the coast at Haifa, where it forms what the ancients knew as the Antelope’s Nose or Ba’al’s Mountain—a protrusion into the Mediterranean that creates a natural port to the north. From this point one can see the elegant sweep of the Bay of Acre as it curves in and turns to the north.
