Category Archives: Bible Places

The Watchtower

Posted on August 24, 2010 | Leave a comment

Recently we wrote about the Valley of Beracah here. The biblical account says Judah came out to the watchtower or observation post to see the overnight progress of the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Edom.

When Judah came to the watchtower [lookout, NAU; observation post, NET] of the wilderness, they looked toward the horde, and behold, there were dead bodies lying on the ground; none had escaped. (2 Chronicles 20:24 ESV)

Watchtower at Nazareth Village. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Watchtower at Nazareth Village. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

The prophet Isaiah speaks of a watchtower built in the midst of a vineyard.

Let me sing for my beloved my love song concerning his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill. He dug it and cleared it of stones, and planted it with choice vines; he built a watchtower in the midst of it, and hewed out a wine vat in it; and he looked for it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes. And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. (Isaiah 5:1-3 ESV)

Our photo was made at Nazareth Village, a must stop on your next visit to Israel. (I note that the web site is temporarily offline.) Click on the photo for an image large enough to use in presentations.

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Posted in Bible Places, Bible Study, Culture, Israel, Old Testament

Recent photos from Magdala

Posted on August 22, 2010 | Leave a comment

Several times in the past three years we have called attention to the site of Magdala (Migdal). Last September we noted announcement by the Israel Antiquities Authority of the discovery of a synagogue from the Second Temple period (50 BCE—100 CE).

A synagogue from the Second Temple period (50 BCE—100 CE) was exposed in archaeological excavations the Israel Antiquities Authority is conducting at a site slated for the construction of a hotel on Migdal [Magdala] beach, in an area owned by the Ark New Gate Company. In the middle of the synagogue is a stone that is engraved with a seven-branched menorah (candelabrum), the likes of which have never been seen. The excavations were directed by archaeologists Dina Avshalom-Gorni and Arfan Najar of the Israel Antiquities Authority.

The town of Magdala is not mentioned in the Bible, but Mary Magdalene is mentioned a total of 12 times in the four gospels. This place may have been her birthplace or her home. A few late manuscripts mention Magdala (Matthew 15:39 KJV), but earlier manuscripts read Magadan. Magdala is located about 4 miles north of Tiberias on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee.

The Hebrew word Magdala means tower. In New Testament times the city had become Hellenized and bore the Greek name Tarichea because of the importance of the salted-fish industry there. Mendel Nun located a harbor at the site. He says,

“In ancient times, pickled sardines were an important element of diet throughout the country–especially for those who lived near the lake” (BAR, Nov/Dec 1993).

Josephus had his headquarters at Magdala during the first Jewish Revolt against Rome (A.D. 66-70). He was able to get a group of at least 230 boats to go from Magdala to Tiberias (Jewish Wars 2.635-637). Vespasian attacked the town from the sea and destroyed it.

Magdala with Mount Arbel to the West. Photo by Jim Joyner.

Magdala with Mount Arbel to the West. Photo by Jim Joyner.

Recently Jim Joyner, one of our readers, offered to share a few of his photos made at Magdala earlier this year. The photo above shows part of the residential area of Magdala with Mount Arbel in the distance to the west. The synagogue excavation is under the tent in the distance. The Sea of Galilee would be to our back.

Jim explains,

The residences were first excavated. Eventually the remains of a synagogue were discovered. It was a magnificent discovery! The walls of the synagogue are clear, and the places where seats were located in the synagogue are obvious.  The walls were beautifully frescoed, and the remains of the colors are still obvious on the uncovered portions of the walls.

The Magdala/Migdal Synagogue. Photo by Jim Joyner.

The Magdala/Migdal Synagogue. Photo by Jim Joyner.

Thanks, Jim. We look forward to seeing more of these great photos.

We wrote about the Magdala Excavation Project here.

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Posted in Archaeology, Bible Places, Bible Study, blog, Israel, New Testament

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Glo – the Bible for a Digital World

Posted on August 21, 2010 | Leave a comment

Rejoice Christian Software announces that the Glo Digital Bible is available for $45.00 for one week. They already sell it for the discounted price of $52, but when you click on “Buy Now” the price shows as $45.

Glo - The Digital Bible

Take a look at the RCS page advertising Glo here. You will see a link to a video explaining some features of the product. This is a great product at a good price.

The Biblical Studies and Technological Tools blog has two extended reviews of Glo. Part 1 is here. Part 2 is here.

I have no financial interest in RCS, but I have found their prices and service to be as advertised.

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Posted in Bible Places, Bible Study, Books

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Araunah’s threshing floor

Posted on August 18, 2010 | 4 comments

After David’s sin in the the matter of taking a census of the people of Israel, and his acknowledgment of the sin, he was told by Gad to build an altar (2 Samuel 24:1-10). The instructions are specific.

And Gad came that day to David and said to him, “Go up, raise an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” So David went up at Gad’s word, as the LORD commanded. (2 Samuel 24:18-19 ESV)

Araunah was gracious in his offer to allow David to take any of his property needed — the oxen, the threshing sledge, and the yokes of the oxen for the wood. He said, “All this, O king, Araunah gives to the king.”

David’s reply is one of those memorable statements of Scripture.

But the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will buy it from you for a price. I will not offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God that cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. (2 Samuel 24:24 ESV)

Artist Balage Balogh has provided us a beautiful illustration of the threshing floor of Araunah on what we later know to be Mount Moriah. See more of his work at Archaeology Illustrated.

Araunah's Threshing Floor. Art by Balage, Archaeology Illustrated.

Araunah's Threshing Floor. Illustrated by Balage.

It is generally understood that this is the place where Abraham came to offer Isaac, in the mount of the LORD three days from Beersheba  (Genesis 22:4, 14). It is where Solomon began to build the temple in 966 B.C.

Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the LORD had appeared to David his father, at the place that David had appointed, on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. (2 Chronicles 3:1 ESV)

The temple was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 B.C., but rebuilt under the leadership of Joshua and Zerubbabel after the return from Babylonian exile (520-516 B.C.). Herod the Great basically built a new temple during his reign.

The Romans destroyed Jerusalem, including the temple, in A.D. 70. Centuries later, between 687 and 691, the Qubbet es Sakhra, (Dome of the Rock) was built on the orders of the Ommayad caliph, Abd el Malik. The building has been restored numerous times, but “the monument has preserved its original majestic proportions and harmonious design” (The Middle East, Hachette, 1966).

Dome of the Rock. Original site of Solomon's Temple. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Dome of the Rock. Original site of Solomon's Temple. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

The association of this site with both Abraham and David ties together two of the great texts of the Old Testament (Genesis 12; 2 Samuel 7) and makes it especially significant for those who believe the Bible.

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

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The chariot city of Megiddo

Posted on August 17, 2010 | Leave a comment

For years it has been pointed out that there is at least some evidence for stables at Megiddo. The biggest dispute has been over who built and used the stables.

On my last visit to Megiddo I noticed some new sculptures had been placed at the site. The view is to the north across the Jezreel Valley toward Lower Galilee. This sort of decoration has become common at parks in Israel.

Horse and chariot sculpture at Megiddo. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Chariot and horses sculpture at Megiddo. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

There are several reference in the Bible connecting Megiddo with chariots. Because Megiddo was located on the main trunk road between Egypt and the empires of the north (Hittites and Syria) and those of the east (Assyria, Babylon, and Persia), we should not find this surprising.

Solomon is said to have built the house of the LORD, his own house, the Millo and the Wall of Jerusalem, and the cities of Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer (1 Kings 9:15). The same context makes reference to chariot cities built by Solomon:

and all the store cities that Solomon had, and the cities for his chariots, and the cities for his horsemen, and whatever Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion. (1 Kings 9:19 ESV)

The drawing below comes from 1,000 Bible Images (Logos) with this note:

The picture shows two chariots and some foot soldiers, each carrying a curved ax, made of ivory (from Megiddo).
Read a little about this publication here. I do not recall having seen this piece in any museum. Does any reader know where it may be? There is a similar piece in the Oriental Institute.
Chariots and foot soldiers made of ivory. From Megiddo.

Chariots and foot soldiers made of ivory. 1,000 Bible Images.

Shalmaneser III (858-859 B.C.) informs us that Ahab, the Israelite, provided 2,000 chariots and 10,000 foot soldiers to the coalition that fought against the Assyrian king at Qarqar (Stone Monolith from Kurkh, now in the British Museum). Sounds as if Ahab had an impressive army.

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Posted in Archaeology, Bible Places, Bible Study, Israel, Old Testament

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Friday variety

Posted on August 13, 2010 | 1 comment

Israel Photos. J P vd Giessen has been posting photos from a trip to Israel over the past few weeks at his Aantekeningen bij de Bijbel [Notes on the Bible] blog. You will find photos of Megiddo, Caesarea Maritima, Capernaum, Gamla and other places. Start here. I know, the blog is in Dutch. I follow the blog regularly. When I see something that is of special interest I go to Google Translate and paste in the article for a translation. It is not ideal, but it helps.

Turkey Photos. Ben Witherington III is posting photos of a recent trip to Greece and Turkey at his Bible and Culture blog. You will find photos of Corinth (Acts 18), Sagalassos, Assos (Acts 20:13-14), Alexandria Troas (Acts 16:8), Patara (Acts 21:1), Myra in Lycia (Acts 27:5), Cappadocia (Acts 2:9; 1 Pet. 1:1), and others. The site is not very user friendly, but you may find something of interest. Start here and then use the search box.

Tell es-Safi/Gath. Prof. Aren Maeir has posted several aerial photos of Tell es-Safi/Gath made at the end of the 2010 archaeological excavation season. If you look soon you may just scroll back through the photos here.

Our photo was made just below Tell es-Safi/Gath just after crossing the Elah brook. This shows the beginning of the coastal plain.

Sheep and goats at Tell es-Safi/Gath. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Sheep and goats at Tell es-Safi/Gath. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Greek, anyone? Rod Decker, a professor of Greek and New Testament, calls attention to some classic essays on using Greek in ministry. Perhaps some readers might find this helpful. Click here.

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Posted in Bible Places, blog, Greece, Israel, New Testament, Photography, Turkey

Ptolemaic gold coin found at Tel Kedesh

Posted on August 12, 2010 | 1 comment

Announcement was made today that the excavation at Tel Kedesh has uncovered a gold coin dating to 191 B.C. The coin was minted in Alexandria by Ptolemy V and bears the name of the wife of Ptolemy II, Arsinoë Philadelphus (II).

According to Dr. Donald T. Ariel, head of the Coin Department of the Israel Antiquities Authority, “This is an amazing numismatic find. The coin is beautiful and in excellent preservation. It is the heaviest gold coin with the highest contemporary value of any coin ever found in an excavation in Israel. The coin weighs almost one ounce (27.71 grams), while most ancient gold coins weighed 4.5 grams. In Ariel’s words, “This extraordinary coin was apparently not in popular or commercial use, but had a symbolic function. The coin may have had a ceremonial function related to a festival in honor of Queen Arsinoë, who was deified in her lifetime. The denomination is called a mnaieion, meaning a one-mina coin, and is equivalent to 100 silver drachms, or a mina of silver.

The obverse (‘head’) of the coin depicts Arsinoë II Philadelphus. The reverse (‘tail’) depicts two overlapping cornucopias (horns-of-plenty) decorated with fillets. The meaning of the word Philadelphus is brotherly love. Arsinoë II, daughter of Ptolemy I Soter, was married at age 15 to one of Alexander the Great’s generals, Lysimachus, king of Thrace. After Lysimachus’ death she married her brother, Ptolemy II, who established a cult in her honor. This mnaieion from Tel Kedesh attests to the staying power of the cult, since the coin was minted a full 80 years after the queen’s death.

The Israel Antiquities Authority press release is currently available here.

Gold coin of Arsinoë Philadephus (II). Discovered at Tel Kedesh.

Gold coin of Arsinoë Philadelphus (II) discovered at Tel Kedesh. Photo by Sue Webb, courtesy IAA.

The Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago displays a statue base with the same name as that on the coin. The top of the statue has the name incised in hieroglyphs and the front shows the name in Greek.

Statue base showing name of Arsinoë Philadelphus. OIUC.

Statue base showing the name of Arsinoë Philadelphus. OIUC. Photo: Ferrell Jenkins.

Tel Kedesh, in Upper Galilee, is near the Lebanon border. This Kedesh was located in the territory of the Israelite tribe of Naphtali (Joshua 19:37). It is probably best known as one of the six cities of refuge assigned to the tribe of Levi (Joshua 20:7; 21:32).

So they set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, and Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the hill country of Judah. (Joshua 20:7 ESV)

Deborah went with Barak to Kedesh, where he called out the men of Zebulun and Naphtali to go with him to fight Jabin’s army (Judges 4). The Assyrians captured Kedesh about 732 B.C. (2 Kings 15:29).

The excavations at Tel Kedesh are being conducted by the University of Michigan and the University of Minnesota. Some miscellaneous information about the excavation is available at the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology Dig Diaries here.

Tel Kedesh in northern Galilee. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

View to the NE of Tel Kedesh in northern Galilee. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

HT: Joseph I. Lauer

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Posted in Archaeology, Bible Places, Bible Study, Egypt, Israel, Old Testament

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The Valley of Beracah

Posted on August 10, 2010 | 8 comments

The Bible may be understood on many levels. Folks with little technical knowledge often understand the fundamental lesson of a biblical account. Others, with an understanding of the historical setting of an event will have a better understanding. Some knowledge of the original biblical languages will add more insight. We have emphasized repeatedly that an understanding of the land of the event will provide an even richer understanding. We are hopeful that the photos we use, and the comments we include, will assist in this way.

During the reign of Jehoshaphat, King of Judah (870/69–848 B.C.), a coalition of Moabites, Ammonites, and Edomites came up against Judah. The enemies came from the east, across the [Salt] sea and camped at Hazazon-tamar (that is, Engedi or En Gedi). Engedi would be an ideal place for such an encampment. See photo and info here.

Jehoshaphat understood the potential danger that camped a day’s march away. I am not suggesting that he failed to prepare for the battle, but the most important thing is that he sought the LORD, who he recognized as the ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations. I suggest you read the entire account in 2 Chronicles 20.

The Spirit of the LORD came upon Jahaziel and he instructed Jehoshaphat:

And he said, “Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the LORD to you, ‘Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God’s. Tomorrow go down against them. Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz. You will find them at the end of the valley, east of the wilderness of Jeruel. (2 Chronicles 20:15-16 ESV)

From Engedi the ascent of Ziz goes up to the wilderness of Jeruel (v. 16), which may be the same as the wilderness of Tekoa (v. 20).

Meanwhile, Ammon and Moab turned against Mt. Seir (Edom) and this led to a civil war ending in disaster for the coalition. When Judah came to the watchtower of the wilderness (v. 24) they saw the terrible slaughter. They spent three days gathering the spoil. On the fourth day Judah assembled at the Valley of Beracah.

On the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Beracah, for there they blessed the LORD. Therefore the name of that place has been called the Valley of Beracah to this day. (2 Chronicles 20:26 ESV)

Our photo shows the valley we think is described in the text.  The view is to the east toward the Salt Sea and Moab/Edom.

The Valley of Beracah near Tekoah. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

The Valley of Beracah near Tekoah. View to the East. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

The men of Judah, with Jehoshaphat at their head, returned to Jerusalem with joy and there praised the LORD at the temple.

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

David … saw from the roof a beautiful woman bathing

Posted on August 6, 2010 | 2 comments

Well, I suppose everyone who reads this blog knows the story. It is the story of David and Bathsheba. Perhaps some wonder how this could be possible. The terrain of Jerusalem tells the story. This photo shows the location of the City of David where the railing is at the top. One can easily envision King David looking down from his roof to houses below.

City of David from below. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

The City of David from below. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel. And they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem. It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful. (2 Samuel 11:1-2 ESV)

Read the full account in 2 Samuel 11. A hi-res image is available by clicking on the photo.

Artist Balage Balogh has illustrated this biblical story for us in the image below. Take a look at his work at Archaeology Illustrated.

King David on his balcony. Illustration by Balage Balogh.

King David on his balcony. Illustration by Balage Balogh.

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

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Video about Gath earthquake

Posted on August 4, 2010 | Leave a comment

Prof. Aren Maeir has posted a short video clip describing the evidence for the earthquake in Area F at Gath. View it here. We wrote about it earlier here.

Our photo shows Area F near the summit of the tell with the area he describes in the video. A larger image is available here.

Where the earthquake evidence was found in Area F. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Where the earthquake evidence was found in Area F. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Thanks to Prof. Maeir for identifying the location on my photo.

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Posted in Archaeology, Bible Places, Bible Study, Israel, Old Testament