Monthly Archives: August 2022

The Stadium in New Testament Times

Posted on August 31, 2022 | 5 comments

Aphrodisias, located in southwest Turkey, was an ancient city of Caria in Asia Minor. It is not mentioned in the Bible, but is close to the cities of Laodicea, Hierapolis and Colossae. Robert F. Tannenbaum, an ancient historian, describes the location of the city this way:

A quiet, fertile valley folded into the Mediterranean hills, clear streams, tall poplars, ancient ruins more than 1,400 years old—a picture of pastoral quiet. (Biblical Archaeology Review, Sept/Oct 1986)

BibleMapper_Aphrodisiash

The map above is cropped from the set of BibleMapper maps now available at
https://biblemapper.com/blog//. Aphrodisias is clearly marked.

The site has been excavated since 1966, beginning under the direction of Kenan Erim of New York University. Marble was readily available at a nearby quarry and the excavation has brought to light a multitude of marble inscriptions and statues from the Roman period including a statue of the Emperor Domitian. Buildings include a theater, an agora, a bath, temples, and a well-preserved stadium.

Louw-Nida describes a stadium as an “open, oval area (frequently including a racetrack) around which was built an enclosed series of tiers of seats for those who came to watch the spectacles – arena, stadium.” When Paul spoke of running the race in 1 Corinthians 9:24, he used the Greek term stadion. The term was also used as a measure of distance and is found in John 6:19. It was about one-eighth of a Roman mile. Most large Greek and Roman cities had a stadium. The figure of the stadium is in mind in Hebrews 12:1-2, where a host of witnesses watch as we run the race.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
(Hebrews 12:1-2 ESV)

The stadium at Aphrodisias is the best preserved I have seen and I wanted to share with you the photo I made in 2012. Picture yourself in the stadium.

Aphrodisias

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Posted in Bible Lands, Bible Places, Bible Study, Biblical Studies, Culture, New Testament, Travel, Turkey

Tagged Apostle Paul, Roman Empire

The Beauty of the Bible Land

Posted on August 30, 2022 | Leave a comment

Israel, and the other lands of the Bible, have a unique beauty at any time of the year. The transitional period we call Spring is especially beautiful in Israel. Our recent trip in March illustrates this. Most of the year the Judean wilderness is barren, but after the winter rains it is covered in light green vegetation. This photo shows the Wadi Og a few miles east of the Mount of Olives.

At En-Gedi (or Engedi) we saw one of the Ibex roaming for a bite of grass here and there. King Saul learned that David was in the wilderness of En-Gedi and tried to capture him there (1 Samuel 24:1).

Wild goats (Hebrew ya’el) are mentioned in a few Old Testament passages (1 Samuel 24:2; Job 39:1; Psalm 104:18; Prov. 5:19). This animal is often identified with the Ibex.

At Engedi we also saw this beautiful scene of a broom tree on the shore of the Dead Sea. The Broom tree is a shrub that grows large enough to provide shade for the traveler as it did for Elijah when he fled from Jezebel (1 Kings 19:4-5).

A small, lonely broom tree on the shores of the Dead Sea at the time of a stormy sunset. The mountains of Moab, in Jordan, are visible across the sea. After water, shade is the most important thing for the traveler in the desert.

In the Spring of the year, after the winter rains, beautiful flowers of the field are to be seen throughout the land. Jesus made reference to these flowers: “And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. (Matthew 6:28-29 ESV)

While we may never be certain about a particular flower the Anemone certainly provides a wonderful illustration. The photo below was made on Mount Gilboa, but I made numerous photos of the flowers of the field throughout the land.

Personal Study in Israel

Posted on August 25, 2022 | 1 comment

Once again, Leon Mauldin and I made one of our personal study trips to Israel in March this year. It was cooler than we typically expect for the time of year. We saw some beautiful scenery and spent a considerable amount of time studying the weather. We had rain, snow and hail. It was much cooler that typical for the time of year.

When we make these personal trips we do not visit the sites that need to be on the itinerary of every first-time visitor. We try to visit places we have never been, or it has been a long time since a visit, or we know that there have been some changes at the site. Many of these sites are not accessible by tour buses.

One of the places Leon had not visited, and it had been about half a century since I was there, was Taanach (or Tanach). There are only seven references to the city in the Bible (Joshua 12:21; 17:11; 21:25; Judges 1:27; 5:19; 1 Kings 4:12; 1 Chronicles 7:29).

Deborah and Barak led the Israelites in victory in the vicinity of Taanach (Judges 5:19).

“The kings came, they fought; then fought the kings of Canaan, at Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo; they got no spoils of silver.” (Judges 5:19 ESV).

Taanach is on the south side of the Jezreel Valley and is about five miles southeast of Megiddo.

View of Tel Tanaach looking north in March, 2022. If you were standing on top of the tel you would have a wonderful view of the Jezreel Valley.

A major archaeological excavation took place here between 1902 and 1904 under the direction of E. Sellin. He was assisted by G. Schumacher. A second excavation was conducted by Paul Lapp in 1963 and 1966.

My previous visit was in May, 1973. At that time my photo was made from the opposite side of the tel with my back to the Jezreel Valley. At that time it was very easy to reach Tanaach, but today the suburbs of Jenin reach almost all the way there. Tel Tanaach is within the Palestinian territory and this makes it more difficult for many to visit the site. We hired a driver for the day but he had never been to any of the places we wanted to visit. That’s the way it is for personal study trips.

This slide was made in June, 1973. I have many slides that have been in a slide file chest and stored in an air conditioned room since they were made. I am sometimes impressed by the quality. The wheat had been cut shortly before my photo was made.

Many of the artifacts, including an impressive incense altar, dug by the first expedition are now in the Archeological Museum in Istanbul, Turkey. They are stored in the Palestine Room, a room that is rarely open to the public.

Some of the artifacts from Tanaach now displayed in the Palestine Room of the Archaeological Museum, Istanbul, Turkey.

Source for some details: Stern, Ephraim, editor. The New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land. Vol. 4, Israel Exploration Society & Carta, Jerusalem, 1993, pp. 1428-33, 5 vols.

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Posted in Archaeology, Bible Lands, Bible Places, Bible Study, Israel

Thank you

Posted on August 23, 2022 | 2 comments

Paulette and I appreciate every comment and “like” that has been left on either https://ferrelljenkins.blog or Facebook. We had a lot of fun with our friends at church in the weeks leading up to the marriage. So many wanted to know when we were getting married, who would be present, where we would go for the honeymoon, etc. We kept everyone in suspense and pulled it off without anyone decorating our vehicle or crashing the wedding.

We stayed at home the first night, then spent a few days in the Sarasota, FL, area. No need to go far when one already lives in a tourist paradise. We enjoyed visiting the mall, eating at some famous restaurants like Yoder’s Amish Restaurant and the Columbia at Saint Armands Circle. At the latter we enjoyed the famous Cuban sandwich with Spanish Bean soup followed by an order of flan.

Topping off a great meal with the Columbia’s famous flan.

We had a little setback last week when we both tested positive for the Covid virus. We both have been fully vaccinated and I have survived trips to both Turkey and Israel without any problem. We have tried to trace our activities and determine where we might have picked up the Covid. We think it was either at church or at one of our favorite eating places but there is no way to be certain.

Even though I think of this as a lite case of the virus it is a jolt to the body. Along with isolation we have been taking Paxlovid medication. I have one more dose today and Paulette has one more day to go. We are seeing improvements each day.

Don’t throw away your masks too soon.

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Posted in Culture, Family and Marriage, Photography, Travel

Beginning a New Journey

Posted on August 5, 2022 | 17 comments

The closing days of June found me embarking on a new journey with Paulette Crider (nee Minton), a lady I first met in 1997 when she attended the church where I was preaching. At the time we both were married and there was no thought of a relationship developing. After the passing years these conditions changed for both of us and we found ourselves lonely for a Christian companion and seated not far from each other in the same church assembly.

After a short period of getting better acquainted we met with our children and told them what we had in mind. A few weeks later we met in their presence and in the presence of Don Truex, a longtime minister friend, his wife, and daughter, and took the vows to become husband and wife until death takes one of us.

Later the same day Don announced our wedding to the church with these words.

“It is not by the gray of the hair that one knows the age of the heart.” I quoted those words from an English poet earlier today in the marriage ceremony for Ferrell Jenkins & Paulette Crider. We’re so happy for these two who have blessed so many lives, for so many years, and now begin their new life-adventure together.”

Here are a few photos that were made by our friend Heather.