Yearly Archives: 2012

Acco, Achziv, and Rosh Hanikra in the Plain of Acco

Posted on April 12, 2012 | Leave a comment

The Plain of Acco runs along the Mediterranean coast from Haifa to Rosh Hanikra and the Ladder of Tyre. The northern portion of the plain is visible in our photo today.

On the right side of the photo you will see the Crusader wall at Acco (Akko, Acre, Ptolemais). Continue along the coast to the north for about 6 miles and you will see a populated area known as Nahariya. Immediately north of Nahariya is the location of Tel Achziv (Achzib, Joshua 19:29; Judges 1:31).

On the left of the photo you see a mountain ridge with a white tip protruding into the sea. That is the Ladder of Tyre and the site of Rosh Hanikra. The Israel/Lebanon border runs along the mountain ridge (West-East).

Click on the photo for a larger image that will allow you to see the features of the plain more clearly.

Aerial View of Plain of Acco (north): from Acco to Achziv to Rosh Hanikra. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

The Plain of Acco (north): from Acco to Achziv to Rosh Hanikra. Photo by F. Jenkins.

In ancient times a major international road ran along this coast.

See our previous post about Achziv (here) and the links there to earlier posts about the Plain of Acco.

The 2012 Exploratory Excavation at Tel Achziv “aims to lay the foundation for the understanding of the maritime activity in the site, concentrating on three foci of excavation:”

  1. Excavation of a Roman monumental structure on the coast, connected with an elaborate fish pond (piscina), possibly the remains of a Villa Maritima
  2. An exploration of the possible harbor area, in the vicinity of an artificial rock-cut channel, looking for additional harbor installations
  3. Excavation of the Middle Bronze Age rampart.

Details about the excavation directed by Dr. Gwyn Davies of Florida International University and Assaf Yasur-Landau of the University of Haifa is available here.

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Posted in Archaeology, Bible Lands, Bible Places, Culture, Israel, Old Testament, Photography, Travel

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Achziv (Achzib) of Asher

Posted on April 11, 2012 | 2 comments

The town of Achziv (English Bibles use Achzib) is located on the Mediterranean coast of Western Galilee about 9 miles north of Acco (Akko, Acre = Ptolemais). This is in the northern portion of the Plain of Acco.

Achziv was assigned to the tribe of Asher (Joshua 19:29; Judges 1:31), but Asher was not able to drive out the Canaanite inhabitants of the land.

Asher did not drive out the inhabitants of Acco, or the inhabitants of Sidon or of Ahlab or of Achzib or of Helbah or of Aphik or of Rehob, (Judges 1:31 ESV)

Achziv remained primarily a Canaanite or Phoenician town throughout most of biblical history.

In exchange for cedar and cypress timber and gold, Solomon gave 20 cities in the land of Galilee to Hiram king of Tyre (1 Kings 9:11-13). That portion of western Galilee was called the land of Cabul. This is another indication that this region continued under the influence of the Phoenicians. King Hiram visited the cities but they did not please him.

Sennacherib, king of Assyria (704-681 B.C.), claims in the Taylor and Chicago Prisms to have conquered the cities of Sidon, the mainland city of Tyre, Achziv, and Acco.

In New Testament times Achziv was known as Ecdippa (Ekdippon) (Josephus, JW 1.257).

The map below shows the location of Acziv between Acco and the Ladder of Tyre. The Ladder of Tyre is a natural formation that has served as a border between Israel and Lebanon during many historical periods, including the present time.

Aczib on the Mediterranean coast of Western Galilee. BibleAtlas.org.

Achib (Achziv) on the Mediterranean coast of Western Galilee. BibleAtlas.org.

The Crusaders built a fortress at Achzib and named it Casal Imbert. The Mamluk’s captured the site in 1271, and an Arab village remained there until the War of Independence in 1948.

Achziv is built on a sandstone (kurkar) ridge overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. The remaining structures from the Arab period, now part of a National Park, are made from stones of the Crusader fortress.

Arab period structures made from stones of the Crusader fortress at Achziv. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Arab period structures made from stones of the Crusader fortress. The Mediterranean Sea is in view when you reach the top of the tel. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

This photo was made from Tel Achziv looking north to Rosh Hanikra and the Ladder of Tyre, a distance of about 4 miles.

The view north from Tel Achziv to Rosh Hanikra. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

The view north from Tel Achziv to Rosh Hanikra. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Some artifacts from Achziv are exhibited in the Hecht Museum in Haifa.

For an earlier posts about this region, see here and here.

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Posted in Bible Places, Bible Study, Israel, Old Testament, Photography, Travel

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Journalist accuses Turkey of Archaeology Blackmail

Posted on April 10, 2012 | 5 comments

Owen Matthews, writing in Newsweek Magazine and The Daily Beast, says, “Turkey’s government is playing hardball to repatriate archaeological treasures.” He begins with the story of the German road engineer who excavated the Altar of Zeus at Pergamum (Pergamom) and arranged for the structure to be moved to Berlin and reconstructed in the museum there.

The Turkish government is now asking various museums around the world to return artifacts that  were taken from Turkey. Matthews mentions the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the British Museum, and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, along with others.

The reconstructed Pergamum Altar of Zeus in Berlin. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

The reconstructed Pergamum Altar of Zeus in Berlin. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Today 30 young archeologists from all over the world work at Pergamon, uncovering new parts of the ancient city, meticulously recording, photographing, sketching, and cleaning the uncovered artifacts. The dig is considered the finest of its kind in the world. The state-of-the-art iDAI.field computer system for inputting real-time archeological data was pioneered here, along with many techniques for photographing, conserving, and mapping now considered standard across the world. In 2004 a complex of vulnerable newly discovered mosaics was enclosed in a beautiful wood, stone, and steel building designed by award-winning German architects and paid for entirely by the German government. The practice of hauling finds back to the home country was abandoned, of course, more than a century ago—today, all the finds remain in Turkey.

Despite a century of Germany’s investment in the fabric of Pergamon, the local authorities still view the Germans with suspicion. A recent mayor of Bergama ran on a ticket of returning the Altar of Zeus from Berlin, something the ministry itself hasn’t asked for (the paper trail clearly confirms that the altar was legally exported). And the DAI has come under pressure from tourism authorities to spend more resources rebuilding fallen temples to make them more photogenic to visitors rather than meticulously trowelling [sic] through ancient sewers and tombs.

Matthews says the Turkish authorities have decided “to play hardball” with various countries working in Turkey. Considering the remarkable work done by the Germans at Pergamum and Hattusha, the British at Carchemish, the Austrians at Ephesus, to mention just a few examples, this is an unfortunate situation. Read the article in its entirety here.

Turkish archaeologists have done significant work in numerous places throughout the country. But with more than a thousand archaeological sites, cooperation would be better.

Pergamum is the site of one of the churches addressed in the Book of Revelation (the Apocalypse) toward the end of the first century A.D. (Revelation 1:11; 2:12-17).

HT: Jack Sasson

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Posted in Archaeology, Bible Places, Photography, Turkey

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The Empty Tomb

Posted on April 8, 2012 | 5 comments

The Gospel of Mark provides a brief account of the events of the first day of the week after the crucifixion of Jesus. The women went to the tomb of Jesus to anoint his body. The approach of the Sabbath did not allow this on Friday.

1 When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him.
2 And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb.

These grieving women were concerned about the removal of the large stone that had been rolled over the tomb opening and sealed by the Roman authorities. They were surprised when they discovered that the stone had already been removed.

3 And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?”
4 And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back–it was very large.

Perhaps they thought that some others, unknown to them, had come to provide the same service. They were alarmed to see the young man in a white robe.

5 And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed.

The message was an unexpected one, but one that they were to share with his disciples and Peter and to tell them to update their appointment calendar to include a meeting with Jesus in Galilee.

6 And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him.
7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.”
8 And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid. (Mark 16:1-8 ESV)

The message that these women took with them was that the tomb was empty and that Jesus had risen from the grave. From this time forward He would be acknowledged by believers as Lord and Christ (Acts 2:36).

An empty Roman period tomb with a rolling stone. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

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Posted in Bible Study, Israel, New Testament, Photography, Travel

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The Via Dolorosa – the way of suffering

Posted on April 6, 2012 | 3 comments

The day of the crucifixion of Jesus was an incredible day in history. Early in the morning Jesus was transferred from Caiaphas, the Jewish High Priest, to Pontius Pilate, the Roman military governor. When Pilate learned that Jesus was from Galilee, he sent Him to Herod Antipas. Herod quickly sent Him back to Pilate. Under pressure from the religious leaders, Pilate delivered Jesus to be crucified. The numerous events from the last day prior to the crucifixion of Jesus are recorded in the New Testament (Matthew 26-27; Mark 14-15; Luke 22-23; John 18-19).

As early as Byzantine times Christians began to follow the final steps of Jesus on specified days. Over the centuries many changes were made in the route and the stops. The traditional Via Dolorosa, as known today, was fixed in the 18th century.

Jerome Murphy-O’Connor says,

The Via Dolorosa is defined by faith, not by history. (The Holy Land, 5th edition, 37)

He continues,

The present Way of the Cross has little chance of corresponding to historical reality… (38)

According to tradition, the fifth station of the cross is where Simon of Cyrene (modern Libya) was compelled to bear the cross of Jesus. Some of the stations of the cross are not mentioned in the New Testament, but this one is.

As they led him away, they seized Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country. They placed the cross on his back and made him carry it behind Jesus. (Luke 23:26 NET; cf. Matthew 27:32; Mark 15:21)

Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem. Station V. Simon of Cyrene is compelled to carry the cross of Jesus. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

The Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem. Station V. Simon of Cyrene is compelled to carry the cross of Jesus to Golgotha. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

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Posted in Bible Places, Bible Study, Israel, New Testament, Photography, Travel

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Reclining in the Upper Room

Posted on April 5, 2012 | 6 comments

Each of the Gospels tell us something about the last supper Jesus ate with His disciples prior to the crucifixion. Matthew says,

Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Where will you have us prepare for you to eat the Passover?” said, “Go into the city to a certain man and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, My time is at hand. I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples.'”  And the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the Passover.  When it was evening, he reclined at table with the twelve. (Matthew 26:17-20 ESV)

Both Mark and Luke inform us that the room was a “large upper room furnished” (Mark 14:15; Luke 22:12). Leon Morris comments on these arrangements.

The householder would show them a large upper room furnished. This last word is literally ‘spread’ and probably means that there would be couches ready with coverings spread over them (Moffatt translates ‘with couches spread’). They followed instructions and prepared the meal. (Morris, Luke: An Introduction and Commentary. Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, 323.)

There is in the portion of the Old City of Jerusalem called Mount Zion (which really isn’t) a room known as the Cenacle (Latin) or the Room of the Last Supper. The tradition goes back further, but the building as we see it today dates back to the time of the Franciscans in 1335 A.D. (Murphy-O’Connor, The Holy Land).

The traditional room of the Last Supper (the Cenacle) on Mount Zion, Jerusalem. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

The traditional room of the Last Supper on Mount Zion. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Jim Fleming has specialized in recreating the world of the Bible for modern students. He says,

Rather than picturing small round or rectangular standing tables, these words would have called to mind a room with a large U-shaped triclinium dining table with cushions.

Persons lying down to eat would recline around the outside of the table with the upper body supported on their left elbow. At large tricliniums the food was served from the center of the U-shaped table. (The World of the Bible Replicas)

Here is a drawing of a typical Roman triclinium.

Triclinium (1000 Bible Images).

Triclinium. Credit: 1000 Bible Images.

And here is a photo of a reconstructed triclinium at the Explorations in Antiquity Center in LaGrange, Georgia [Take the kids with you.]. The photo is courtesy of David Padfield.

Triclinium at Explorations in Antiquity Center. Photo by David Padfield.

Triclinium at Explorations in Antiquity Center. Photo by David Padfield.

Some of our English versions correctly use the term recline, reclined, or reclining, in the passages relating to eating meals in New Testament times. The KJV and the NKJV use “sat down” or similar terminology. Knowing that the concept of reclining is not understood by modern readers, some translations use a dynamic equivalent such as “took his place at the table” (CEB; NET, with a note of explanation).

Remember what you have learned here the next time you come across one of these references in your reading of the New Testament.

For a summary of the last week of the ministry of Jesus prior to the crucifixion, see here.

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Posted in Archaeology, Bible Lands, Bible Study, Culture, Israel, New Testament, Photography, Travel

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Satet — the female god of Elephantine

Posted on April 2, 2012 | Leave a comment

We noted earlier that there were three major gods worshiped on Elephantine Island and the nearby region — Khnum, Satet, and Anqet. Khnum was the river or water god and was considered the god of the Nile. Satet was his female counterpart.

Her most important role was as the goddess of the inundation (yearly flooding of the Nile). According to myth, on the “Night of the Teardrop” would shed a single tear, which was caught by Satet and poured into the Nile, causing the inundation. (Ancient Egypt Online)

Budge says that at one period,

she must have been regarded as the goddess of the inundation, who poured out and spread over the land the life-giving waters of the Nile, and as the goddess of fertility. (The Gods of Egypt, II:55)

The ruins shown below belong to the Temple of Satet from Egyptian Dynasty XVIII. This was the time of Thutmose III (roughly around 1500 B.C.), during what is designated the New Kingdom Period.

Satet Temple on Elephantine Island. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Satet Temple on Elephantine Island. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

A broken relief of the head of Hathor may be seen in the ruins. Hathor portrayed herself with the head of a cow, with two horns, and a solar disc between the horns. Sometimes she was portrayed in the form of a cow.

Hathor in the Ptolemaic Satet Temple on Elphantine Island. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Hathor in the Satet Temple on Elephantine Island. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Temples honoring Satet continued on the island into the Ptolemaic and Roman periods.

Israel had been warned at the time of the Exodus that they should not return to Egypt.

Only he must not acquire many horses for himself or cause the people to return to Egypt in order to acquire many horses, since the LORD has said to you, ‘You shall never return that way again.’ (Deuteronomy 17:16 ESV)

After the Exile of Judah to Babylon, some of the Judeans who remained in the land of Judah returned to Egypt taking the prophet Jeremiah with them. Jeremiah continued to warn of the dangers of serving the gods of Egypt. In fact, the women of Judah are accused of leading their husbands into worshiping the gods of Egypt (Jeremiah 44).

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Posted in Archaeology, Bible Lands, Bible Places, Bible Study, Culture, Egypt, Israel, Old Testament, Photography, Travel

No Joke: free and nearly free

Posted on April 1, 2012 | 1 comment

Todd Bolen, in his Weekend Roundup at the Bible Places Blog, calls attention to a couple of books that I wanted to mention while there is still time.

The first is a free Kindle ebook — Walk the Land: A Journey on Foot Through Israel. This couple in their early 50s followed the 600-mile Israel National Trail from the border of Egypt to the border of Lebanon. It was a 42 day trek. I don’t know how long the book will be available at this price. Act quickly.

The second is one of the Fabulous Friday Specials at Christianbook.com. Through Monday evening you can get the Zondervan Atlas of the Bible, by Carl Rasmussen, for $14.99 (with typical postage and handling, I suppose).

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Posted in Bible Lands, Bible Study, blog, Books, Israel, New Testament, Old Testament, Travel

The gods of Elephantine Island

Posted on March 30, 2012 | Leave a comment

Khnum (also Khnoum and Khnemu) was the chief Egyptian god in a region stretching from Thebes (modern Luxor) to Philae. Philae is a short distance south of Aswan and Elephantine Island.

According to Budge,

… the principal sanctuaries of the god were at the two ends of the First Cataract, i.e., on Elephantine on the north and on Philae and the adjoining islands on the south. He [Khnum] was the god par excellence of the First Cataract, throughout which, with his female counterpart Satet and the local Nubian goddess Anqet, he was worshipped from the earliest dynasties … (The Gods of the Egyptians, II:50).

Recently I learned of Ancient Egypt Online. This well-constructed site describes Khnum:

Khnum was originally a water god who was thought to rule over all water, including the rivers and lakes of the underworld. He was associated with the source of the Nile, and ensured that the inundation deposited enough precious black silt onto the river banks to make them fertile. The silt also formed the clay, the raw material required to make pottery. As a result he was closely associated with the art of pottery. According to one creation myth, Khnum moulded everything on his potters wheel, including both the people and the other gods.

Budge sums up the essence of the god when he says that Khnum “was originally a water or river-god, and that in very early times he was regarded as the god of the Nile and of the annual Nile-flood…”

A courtyard and an impressive granite doorway mark the location of the Late Khnum Temple on Elephantine Island. This gate, belonging to Dynasty XXX,  was constructed in the reign of Nectanebo II (c. 350 B.C.). The Wikipedia entry says he was the last native ruler of ancient Egypt.

Ruins of the Khnoum Temple on Elephantine Island. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Granite doorway of the Khnoum Temple on Elephantine Island. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

The Book of Exodus quotes the LORD saying that, in the plagues of Egypt, he would execute judgment on the gods of Egypt.

I will pass through the land of Egypt in the same night, and I will attack all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both of humans and of animals, and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment. I am the LORD. (Exodus 12:12 NET; cf. Numbers 33:4).

Khnum was the god of the Nile. Not much left today.

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Posted in Archaeology, Bible Study, Culture, Egypt, Old Testament, Photography, Travel

Elephantine Island

Posted on March 28, 2012 | Leave a comment

There are numerous ways to describe the location of Elephantine Island. It is an island in the Nile River at Aswan (= Syene in Ezekiel 29:10 and 30:6). Or we might say that the island is located at the first cataract of the Nile.

According to Budge, the earlier name for Elephantine was Abu. One way of writing the name of the island included the drawing of an elephant (E. A. Wallis Budge, The Gods of the Egyptians, II:51).

Various suggestions have been made regarding the origin of the name Elephantine. Some say the smooth rocks of the first cataract remind one of an elephant back. Others say, the island is shaped like an elephant tusk. Or, the island was the center of ivory trading in the past.

A small granite statue of an elephant has been uncovered on the extreme south end of the island. Aswan, you likely recall, was noted for its granite.

Granite Elephant on Elephantine Island, Aswan, Egypt. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Granite Elephant on Elephantine Island, Aswan, Egypt. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

In the Septuagint Old Testament and in the New Testament the word elephantinos is translated ivory. You can think of Samaria’s famous beds of ivory, made from the tusks of elephants (Amos 6:4), or the unsold cargoes of the merchants who could no longer trade with the fallen Babylon [Roman Empire] (Revelation 18:12).

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Posted in Archaeology, Bible Places, Bible Study, Culture, Egypt, New Testament, Old Testament, Photography, Travel