Category Archives: Bible Places

Places to look out over Jerusalem

Posted on March 15, 2014 | 2 comments

The Times of Israel has a nice illustrated article today entitled “Five Glorious places from which to look out over Jerusalem.” Aviva and Shmuel Bar-Am show photographs from the following five places. Click here for the complete article.

  1. Haas-Sherover Promenade
  2. Confederation House Overlook
  3. Mount Zion Promenade and Overlooks
  4. Mount Scopus Observation Decks
  5. Gandhi Overlook (many will recall this as the lookout from the Mount of Olives)

Our photo below slows the modern view of Jerusalem from the Mount Scopus overlook.

View of Jerusalem from the Mount Scopus Overlook. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

View of Jerusalem from the Mount Scopus Overlook. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

 

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Posted in Bible Lands, Bible Places, Israel, New Testament, Old Testament, Photography, Travel

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Visualizing Isaiah 23: Tyre is laid waste

Posted on March 7, 2014 | 4 comments

Isaiah 23 is an oracle concerning the famous Phoenician port city of Tyre. The Mediterranean world of Egypt, Tarshish, Cyprus, and the neighboring city of Sidon, would be affected by the fall of Tyre.

More details about the prophecy concerning Tyre are given in Ezekiel 26-28. Nebuchadnezzar is named as one of the kings who will bring about the fall of Tyre. He besieged Tyre for 13 years (585-572 B.C.), immediately after the destruction of Jerusalem. The people of Tyre fled from their mainland city to the island about ½ mile offshore. But Tyre was to be destroyed by many nations. Alexander the Great came to Tyre in 332 B.C. Most of the cities in his path surrendered, but the people of Tyre prepared to resist him. The more powerful Greeks used the debris of the desolate mainland city to build a causeway to the island. Alexander’s army captured the island city in seven months.

Ezekiel says the city “will be built no more” (Ezekiel 26:14). The mainland city has never been rebuilt. From my first visit to Tyre in 1967, I continued to visit the city until 1975, and then again in 2002. Political and military conditions have made it impossible to visit more times.

The diagram below hopefully will help to explain what we have briefly explained here. It was prepared by my friend Steven Sebree of Moonlight Graphic Works for one of my books which is currently out of print.

The mainland has not been rebuilt since the destruction by Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians (585-572 B.C.).

The mainland city has not been rebuilt since the destruction by Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians (585-572 B.C.). The causeway to the island was built by Alexander the Great in 332 B.C.

By 315 B.C. the island city was rebuilt, but was populated by Carians from SW Asia Minor. The present city of Tyre occupied the island and the causeway. The photo below shows a view to the west of a Roman arch built over the causeway built by the Greeks. The island city is visible beyond the arch.

A Roman arch built on the causeway built by Alexander the Great. View West. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

A Roman arch on the causeway built by Alexander the Great. The view is to the west and the modern island city. There is no city on the mainland. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

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Posted in Bible Places, Bible Study, Greece, New Testament, Old Testament, Photography, Travel

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Visualizing Isaiah 22: Shebna cut a tomb for himself

Posted on March 5, 2014 | 2 comments

Shebna, the steward over the household of David, is to be replaced by Eliakim the son of Hilkiah. He will have the key of the house of David with power to open and shut. Consider the use of this text by Jesus in Revelation 3:8.

Thus says the Lord GOD of hosts, “Come, go to this steward, to Shebna, who is over the household, and say to him: What have you to do here, and whom have you here, that you have cut out here a tomb for yourself, you who cut out a tomb on the height and carve a dwelling for yourself in the rock? Behold, the LORD will hurl you away violently, O you strong man. He will seize firm hold on you and whirl you around and around, and throw you like a ball into a wide land. There you shall die, and there shall be your glorious chariots, you shame of your master’s house. I will thrust you from your office, and you will be pulled down from your station. In that day I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, and I will clothe him with your robe, and will bind your sash on him, and will commit your authority to his hand. And he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. And I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David. He shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open. And I will fasten him like a peg in a secure place, and he will become a throne of honor to his father’s house. (Isaiah 22:15-23 ESV)

D. J. Wiseman comments on this text and a discovery possibly related to it.

The historical background of the prophecies of Isaiah is provided by a number of contemporary records. One inscription, on a rock lintel from a tomb, was read by Avigad in 1953: ‘This is the (the sepulcher of Shebna) yahu who is over the house. There is no silver or gold here, but only (his bones) and the bones of his slave-wife with him. Cursed be the man who breaks this open.’ (Illustrations from Biblical Archaeology, 60)

Shebna inscription from a tomb. British Museum. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Shebna inscription from a tomb in Silwan. British Museum. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

This tomb inscription was discovered in 1870 by Charles Clermont Ganneau in the village of Silwan. Following the 1967 war David Ussishkin and Gabriel Barkay examined numerous tombs in Silwan. For more information about the inscription, see Lost Treasures of the Bible by Fant and Reddish (154-157).

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

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Visualizing Isaiah 20: Sargon the king of Assyria

Posted on March 3, 2014 | 3 comments

For many years there was no reference to Sargon II (722-705 B.C.) in the available Assyrian records. Yet, the prophet Isaiah, writing at the time of the Assyrian captivity of the northern kingdom of Israel, mentions Sargon’s campaign against Ashdod.

In the year that the commander in chief, who was sent by Sargon the king of Assyria, came to Ashdod and fought against it and captured it– (Isaiah 20:1 ESV)

The palace of Sargon was discovered by Emile Botta at Khorsabad in 1843. This was the period of “monumental” discoveries in archaeology. Both the British Museum and the Louvre have impressive artifacts from the palace of Sargon. The photo below shows Sargon (on the left) receiving one of  his ministers.

Sargon II received a minister. British Museum. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Sargon II receives a minister. British Museum. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

D. J. Wiseman explains the historical context of what happened at Ashdod.

In 716 bc Sargon sent his army commander (turtan; the *‘tartan’) to war against the Arabs in Sinai. This led to the reception of tribute from the pharaoh Shilkanni (Osorkon IV) of Egypt and from Samsi, queen of the Arabs. Despite these Assyrian successes, the people of Ashdod displaced their Assyrian-nominated ruler, Ahimetu, by a usurper Iadna (or Iamani) who initiated yet another Syro-Palestinian league against Assyria, doubtless relying on Egyptian help. In 712 bc the same turtan was sent to conquer Ashdod (Is. 20:1), which was reduced to the status of an Assyrian province. Since Azaqa (’Azeqah or Tell es-Zakariye) on the Judaean border near Lachish surrendered in this campaign, it will be seen how narrowly independent Judah escaped a further invasion. Iamani fled to Nubia for refuge, only to be extradited to Nineveh by the ruler Shabaka. (The New Bible Dictionary, 3rd edition)

One hundred twenty years after the discovery of Sargon’s palace, archaeologists working at Ashdod discovered fragments of a cuneiform stele of Sargon II at Ashdod. For more information about the discovery and a photograph of it see “Sargon II, Ashdod, and Isaiah 20:1” here.

This inscription tells of the building of Sargon's palace. Louvre. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

This inscription tells of the building of Sargon’s palace. Louvre. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

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

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Visualizing Isaiah 19: “the idols of Egypt will tremble”

Posted on February 27, 2014 | 1 comment

Isaiah 19 is a continuation of the announcement of the LORD’S judgment upon Egypt.

An oracle concerning Egypt. Behold, the LORD is riding on a swift cloud and comes to Egypt; and the idols of Egypt will tremble at his presence, and the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them. (Isaiah 19:1 ESV)

All over Egypt we see evidence of the ancient fallen power. This fallen statue of Ramses II at Memphis illustrates what happened.

Fallen colossal statue of Ramses II at Memphis. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Fallen colossal statue of Ramses II at Memphis. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

The princes (leaders) of Zoan, and other places in Egypt, are likened to pillars that were to be crushed. Columns, pillars, and statues are scattered over the ruins of ancient Zoan (Tanis) in the land of Goshen. In the photo below we see columns stacked up.

Fallen stonework piled together at Zoan (Tanis) in the Land of Goshen. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Fallen stonework piled together at Zoan (Tanis) in Goshen. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Those who are the pillars of the land will be crushed, and all who work for pay will be grieved. The princes of Zoan are utterly foolish; the wisest counselors of Pharaoh give stupid counsel. How can you say to Pharaoh, “I am a son of the wise, a son of ancient kings”? Where then are your wise men? Let them tell you that they might know what the LORD of hosts has purposed against Egypt. The princes of Zoan have become fools, and the princes of Memphis are deluded; those who are the cornerstones of her tribes have made Egypt stagger. (Isaiah 19:10-13 ESV)

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

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Visualizing Isaiah 18: “the rivers of Cush”

Posted on February 26, 2014 | 2 comments

Israel and Judah found themselves positioned between the great political and military powers of the time: Assyria and Babylon to the north (or east) and Egypt to the south. In Isaiah 18 and 19, the prophet deals with the power to the south. Cush is likely more or less synonymous with Egypt for this purpose. The region is described as one of unrest.

Ah, land of whirring wings that is beyond the rivers of Cush, (Isaiah 18:1 ESV)

The IVP Bible Background Commentary comments on Cush, and explains the difference between Cush and modern Ethiopia.

Cush can refer to several different places in the Old Testament, though it most frequently is the designation for the area translations usually render “Ethiopia.” This is misleading, for the area Cush refers to is not modern Ethiopia (Abyssinia), but the area along the Nile just south of Egypt, ancient Nubia (in modern Sudan). The boundary between Egypt and Nubia in ancient times was usually either at the first or second cataract of the Nile. It is unlikely that Nubia ever extended much beyond the sixth cataract at Khartoum.

The Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament comments on the term Cush (Ethiopia) as it is used in several Old Testament prophecies.

In several cases, especially in the prophets, Ethiopia is used in parallel construction as a synonym of Egypt (Isa 20:3-5; Ezek 30:4; Nah 3:9). This probably represents the dominance of Ethiopia (or, more precisely, Nubia) over Egypt between 750 and 663 B.C. Terhakah was a notable Nubian pharaoh who tried, unsuccessfully, to block Sennacherib’s westward expansion (2Kings 19:9 ; Isa 37:9). After 663 B. C. Egypt was independent of Nubia (Jer 46:9; Ezek 25:4, 5, 9).

Nubians now live in Sudan and southern Egypt near Aswan. Some of these people were displaced as a result of the building of the New High dam at Aswan and the formation of Lake Nasser. Some of the Nubians still live in Sudan. They are energetic people and good at selling their wares to the visiting tourists. At the first cataract of the Nile some Nubians have set up a small village with shops and camel rides for those brave enough to try. Notice the example below called Kush (Cush) House.

A Nubian village at Aswan, Egypt, highlights the connection with Cush. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Nubian village at Aswan, Egypt, highlights connection with Cush. Photo: F. Jenkins.

One sign reads “Welcome to Taharka Kingdom.” Taharka ((English Bible: Tirhakah). A photo showing Tirhakah under the protection of the god Amun is available here.

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

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Visualizing Isaiah 17: olives and altars

Posted on February 25, 2014 | 2 comments

In the oracle concerning Damascus (Syria), Isaiah uses illustrations of the gleaning of grain and olives –plants common in that time.

Gleanings will be left in it, as when an olive tree is beaten– two or three berries in the top of the highest bough, four or five on the branches of a fruit tree, declares the LORD God of Israel. (Isaiah 17:6 ESV)

We could probably shake off several more of the olives from the limbs below and have a better illustration of what Isaiah says, but hopefully this will serve to illustrate the point.

Olives on a branch at Neot Kedumim. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Olives on a branch at Neot Kedumim. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Another thing Isaiah says is that Damascus would no longer look to the altars they had made with their own hands. These images, and the gods they represented, would fail.

He will not look to the altars, the work of his hands, and he will not look on what his own fingers have made, either the Asherim or the altars of incense. (Isaiah 17:8 ESV)

Altars of incense came in all sizes in those days, and many have been uncovered by archaeologists working at various sites. The altar below, now displayed in the Israel Museum, is from Megiddo.

Altar of Incense from Megiddo. Israel Museum. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Horned altar of Incense from Megiddo. Israel Museum. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

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

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Visualizing Isaiah 15-16: the fords of the Arnon in Moab

Posted on February 24, 2014 | 2 comments

When the prophets of ancient Israel pointed out the coming judgment of God upon the Israelites they typically pointed out that their enemies had already, or were going to, face the same judgment. This applied not only to the major powers such as Assyrian, Babylon, or Egypt, but also smaller powers that lived closer. It included Syria (Damascus), the Philistines, Moab, Edom, and the Ammonites. When Judah is being addressed there will be also a reference to Israel (Ephraim, Samaria).

Chapter 15 begins “an oracle concerning Moab.” We have, in previous posts, mentioned many of the Moabite towns. I think you can use the search box and locate photos of Dibon, Nebo, Medeba (Madaba), Elealeh, and Kir-hareseth. Isaiah mentions the daughters of Moab fleeing across the Arnon.

Like fleeing birds, like a scattered nest, so are the daughters of Moab at the fords of the Arnon. (Isaiah 16:2 ESV)

We commonly think of the Arnon River (or gorge) serving as the dividing line between Moab (to the south) and Ammon (to the north). However, you will notice that most of the towns mentioned above are north of the Arnon. The boundary changed throughout Biblical history. At the time of Isaiah the boundary certainly includes cities north of the Arnon.

The Arnon River is shown on this map. BibleAtlas.org.

The Arnon River is shown on this map. BibleAtlas.org.

The Arnon is now known as the Wadi el-Mujib in Jordan. It was not an easy one to cross in ancient times.  The river served as a major barrier for north-south travel. A modern road runs through it today. The river flows from East to West where it empities into the Dead Sea. The locals now refer to this as the “Grand Canyon of Jordan.”

The Arnon gorge in Transjordan. View south. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

The Arnon gorge in Transjordan. View south. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

From this point the river flows west about 13 miles till it reaches the Dead Sea. A modern road now runs along the Dead Sea, and a small dam has been constructed to help control the water when it fills the gorge.

The Arnon River immediately before flowing into the Dead Sea. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

The Arnon River immediately before flowing into the Dead Sea. View east. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

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

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Visualizing Isaiah 14: cedars of Lebanon rejoice over the fall of Babylon

Posted on February 20, 2014 | 3 comments

Isaiah 14 continues to deal with the downfall of Babylon. In great poetic language we learn that the cedars of Lebanon will rejoice that there is no longer a woodcutter to come up against them.

The whole earth is at rest and quiet; they break forth into singing. The cypresses rejoice at you, the cedars of Lebanon, saying, ‘Since you were laid low, no woodcutter comes up against us.’ (Isaiah 14:7-8 ESV)

The Assyrians came before the Babylonians to take advantage of the wonderful cedars of Lebanon. Sargon II left a frieze on the wall of his palace at Khorsabad showing timber being transported for use in the construction of Assyrian palaces.

Assyrians transporting Cedars from Lebanon. Louvre. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Assyrians transporting Cedars from Lebanon. Louvre. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

The above frieze was produced at Khorsabad during the Neo-Assyrian period, about 713-706 B.C. The Louvre website has this explanation about procuring timber.

Timber was needed to build monumental palaces, but Assyria lacked quality building timber. Lebanon was famous for its cedar forests and from the end of the 2nd millennium, the Assyrian kings imported wood
from this region as the cuneiform inscriptions explain. The trees felled in the Lebanese mountains were carted from Sidon to a port south of  Tyre. The timber was loaded on ships that sailed north along the Phoenician coast, skirting Tyre then Ruad; it was no doubt unloaded at the mouth of the Orontes River. From there the timber could be transported to Assyria by river or road.

More information about the frieze is available at the Louvre website here.

Esarhaddon, the king of Assyria and Babylon between 681-669 B.C., says he made numerous kings,

transport under terrible difficulties, to Nineveh, the town (where I exercise) my rulership, as building material for my palace: big logs, long beams (and) thin boards from cedar and pine trees, products of the Sirara and Lebanon (Lab-na-na) mountains, which had grown for a long time into tall and strong timber… (ANET)

The Cedars of Lebanon grow at an altitude of more than 5000 feet above sea level in the northern Lebanon mountains. Only about 300 of the great trees remain near Besharre. In the photo below I show a cedar that has fallen during a storm and is now being cut for use in souvenirs. The trees are protected against indiscriminate cutting.

Cedars of Lebanon are now protected from cutting. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Cedars of Lebanon are now protected from cutting. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

The little village at the Cedars is built around one of the larger remaining trees. You can see the cedar wood plaques displayed at the shops along the main road.

Cedar of Lebanon in a little village at the location of the largest remaining grove. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

A large Cedar of Lebanon in a little village at the location of the largest remaining grove of trees. Only small bands of snow could still be seen on the mountains in early May. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

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

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No camels during the Patriarchal Age?

Posted on February 19, 2014 | 4 comments

That’s what they are saying. It is a popular theme of those who want to put Bible believers in their place. Camels are mentioned repeatedly in Genesis 12-37, a section of Scripture set during the Middle Bronze Age (about 2100–1550 B.C.). Many of the well-known Bible characters of the Patriarchal Age are mentioned as riding camels.

A few days ago I was beginning to locate my sources to respond to the recent article in the New York Times, and in Time. While I was working on Visualizing Isaiah, Todd Bolen came out with two great articles on the subject. I include these links for the two people who read my blog but do not read the Bible Places Blog.

First, you should read the post about the Domestication of the Camel.

Then read.

Both are these posts are well documented with scholarly links you can track down to your own satisfaction. Don’t be unprepared the next time this subject comes up.

Camels at Abel-meholah, possibly the home of the prophet Elisha. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Camels at Abel-meholah, possible home of the prophet Elisha. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

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

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