Category Archives: Bible Study

The Gate at Dan

Posted on July 22, 2010 | 2 comments

The late Avraham Biran worked for several decades at the city of Dan. In addition to locating the massive city walls, the high place, and the house of David inscription, he found a pedestal or rostrum within the gate where it is thought the king would sit when he visited Dan. Here is a view of the pedestal as we see it today. Note the standing stone to the left of the podium. Click on the photo for an image large enough for use in presentations.

Rostrum inside the gate at Dan. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Rostrum inside the gate at Dan. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Prof. Carl Rasmussen has a photo showing a canopy built over the podium several years ago at Holy Land Photos. Just search for Dan, and you will also see some photos showing details of certain parts of the podium.

Balage Balogh has provided us with an illustration showing the way this area of the gate might have looked in biblical times. The illustration is based on information gleaned from the excavation at Dan. Take a look at other illustrations at Archaeology Illustrated. [At the moment this page is slow in loading. It is worth the wait.]

© Dan City Gate. Illustrated by Balage Balogh.

In several places in the Old Testament we have examples of the king sitting in the gate of a city. David sat in the gate at Jerusalem after the death of Absalom.

Then the king arose and took his seat in the gate. And the people were all told, “Behold, the king is sitting in the gate.” And all the people came before the king. Now Israel had fled every man to his own home. (2 Samuel 19:8 ESV)

The officials of the king of Babylon sat in the middle gate at Jerusalem.

Then all the officials of the king of Babylon came and sat in the middle gate: Nergal-sar-ezer, Samgar-nebu, Sar-sekim the Rab-saris, Nergal-sar-ezer the Rab-mag, with all the rest of the officers of the king of Babylon. (Jeremiah 39:3 ESV)

Eli, the judge, had a seat at the gate of Shiloh.

As soon as he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell over backward from his seat by the side of the gate, and his neck was broken and he died, for the man was old and heavy. He had judged Israel forty years. (1 Samuel 4:18 ESV)

The king of Israel and the king of Judah sat at the entrance of the gate of Samaria.

Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah were sitting on their thrones, arrayed in their robes, at the threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets were prophesying before them. (1 King 22:10 ESV)

I trust the photo and illustration with make these biblical texts more vivid when you read them in the future.

The Explorations in Antiquity Center at LaGrange, Georgia, has a wonderful display of the various aspects of the city gate. We reported on the Center along with two reviews by David Padfield here, and here, and here. the Explorations in Antiquity web site may accessed here. The photo is provided by David Padfield.

The city gate at the Exploration in Antiquity Center. Photo by David Padfield.

The city gate at the Exploration in Antiquity Center. Photo by David Padfield.

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

Excitement in the Shephelah

Posted on July 16, 2010 | Leave a comment

Luke Chandler hands out a teaser about “Fantastic (somewhat secret) new finds at Khirbet Qeiyafa” here. Whether his “Best case scenario” or the “Alternate scenario” turns out to be correct, there are discoveries that date to the Early Iron Age (about 1200 to 900 B.C.).

BBC is filming a documentary including Khirbet Qeiyafa and Gath. Luke posts a larger photo showing the BBC team with Dr. Yossi Garfinkel, director of the excavation, at the western gate. I recall that National Geographic did some filming there last year.

BBC filming documentary at Khirbet Qeiyafa. Photo by Luke Chandler.

BBC filming documentary at Khirbet Qeiyafa. Photo by Luke Chandler.

Earlier, the BBC team had been at Tell es-Safi/Gath with Professor Aren Maeir. The interviewer (in green) is Dr. Francesca Stavrakopoulou, a biblical scholar from Exeter University in the U.K. With a doctorate from Oxford, she worked at Tell es-Safi three years ago.

BBC filming documentary at Tell es-Safi/Gath. Photo: dig website.

BBC filming documentary at Tell es-Safi/Gath. Photo: dig website.

Aren describes today at the dig as “Just another fantastic day…” I will leave it for you to check out the other photos and a sketch of some of the discoveries of the day here. One thing that relates to what we posted earlier is about evidence of metallurgy at the site. Maeier says,

Adi and Naama continue to uncover additional evidence of metallurgy, apparently both Iron and Copper production!

Both Khirbet Qeiyafa, overlooking the Valley of Elah, and Gath, have a connection with the account of David and Goliath (1 Samuel 17).

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

Elisha’s Fountain at Jericho

Posted on July 15, 2010 | 2 comments

When we think of the Old Testament prophets, we likely think first of the literary prophets such as Isaiah, Daniel, Jeremiah, Amos, et al. We may also think of Elijah and Elisha, two of the oral prophets. These two men served the Lord in the last part of the ninth century B.C.

The first reference to Elisha is when Elijah is told to anoint Elisha as his successor (1 Kings 19:16-21). Elisha is plowing with oxen when Elijah comes by and throws his mantle over him, a symbolic way of showing that Elisha was being called to serve in the prophetic office. Elisha’s sacrifice of his oxen shows that he accepted the call.

The next reference to Elisha does not come until the time when Elijah is taken into heaven (2 Kings 2). Elijah’s mantle (cloak) is used this time to strike the Jordan River. The waters were divided and the two prophets crossed into Transjordan on dry ground, just as the Israelites had crossed in the opposite direction centuries earlier.

When it becomes clear that Elisha will see Elijah no more, he returned and stood on the bank of the Jordan. He took Elijah’s mantle and struck the waters. They were divided and Elisha crossed back to the west bank.

The men of Jericho came to Elisha and explained the situation of their city. They said, “the situation of this city is pleasant…but the water is bad and the land is unfruitful” (2 Kings 2:19). The prophet asked for a jar. He told the men to put salt in it. He threw salt in the waters and they were purified. The writer says they have been purified to this day.

View east from Tell es-Sultan/Jericho. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

View east from Tell es-Sultan/Jericho. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Jericho is still a city of palm trees (Deuteronomy 34:3). Below the ancient mound (Tell es-Sultan) to the east there is a spring called Elisha’s Fountain. The photo above was made from the tell with a view to the east. The mountains of Transjordan can be seen in the distance. Close to the tell there is a building with a red tile roof. This is the pumping station that provides water for modern Jericho. The next photo shows the spring as it exits the ground [at the present time]. Perhaps this is the same spring mentioned in the Bible.

Elisha's Fountain at Jericho. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Elisha's Fountain at Jericho. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

This article was published in Biblical Insights, August, 2009.

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

Following current excavations

Posted on July 14, 2010 | 1 comment

Prof. Aren Maeir reports the discovery of evidence of Philistine metallurgy at Tell es-Safi/Gath. He says the slag “is definitely copper-based material.” He mentions two experts in ancient metallurgy who came to supervise the excavation of the context of the metallurgical areas.

They found additional evidence of bronze production, including additional fragments of a crucibles, possible tuyeres, and many more small fragments of slag. This definitely is becoming very interesting!

If I correctly understand what I read, the tuyere is the tube through which air is pumped into the crucible to make the heat in the furnace more intense. Perhaps this illustration of the copper mining process at Timna will be helpful. I am talking in an area where I know very little. If this is not correct, I will be pleased to receive a comment with a better explanation.

Copper smelting at Timna. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Copper smelting at Timna. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

There are a few references to copper in the Bible. The land promised to the Israelites is described as,

“a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper.” (Deuteronomy 8:9 ESV)

The process of smelting is mentioned in the book of Job.

“Iron is taken out of the earth, and copper is smelted from the ore.” (Job 28:2 ESV)

More information is available at the Tell es-Safi/Gath Excavations website here.

Excavations in Jordan resulting in evidence of copper smelting in 10th century B.C. Edom is reported here.

Being able to keep up with some of the excavations by means of the blogs is exciting. Todd Bolen has compiled a list of 2010 Excavation Blogs at the Bible Places Blog here.

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

Kinneret Regional Project uncovers synagogue

Posted on July 9, 2010 | Leave a comment

Several weeks ago I added a link to the Kinneret Regional Project on the Bible Places page of the Biblical Studies Info Page. My intention was to write about the project and show a photo of Tel Kinneret (Kinrot; Arabic Tell el-‘Oreme) on the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee.

Now word comes of the discovery of a fourth century synagogue at Horvat Kur, about a mile northwest of Tel Kinneret. The press release here says that the discovery “adds new evidence [along with the synagogues at Capernaum, Chorazin, Kh. Hammam, and Magdala] for a very tight net of synagogues in a relatively small area on the Northwestern shores of the Lake of Galilee.”

Todd Bolen created a map using Google Earth to identify Horvat Kur, Tel Chinnereth (Kinneret), Tabgha, Mount of Beatitudes, Cove of the Sower, and Capernaum. This great resource for studying the ministry of Christ may be accessed at the Bible Places Blog.

Earlier I mentioned that the day in early May when my group took a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee was a great one for making photos. I caught this wonderful view of Tel Kinneret from the boat. The buildings on the shore below the tel belong to Pilgerhaus Tabgha, a guesthouse operated by the German Association of the Holy Land.

Tel Kinerot from the Sea of Galilee. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Tel Kinneret from the Sea of Galilee. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

From the Kinneret Regional Project site you may download several good resources. The 2004 report by Pakkala, et al., begins with this description of Tel Kinneret.

The site boasts remains from the Chalcolithic to the Ottoman period. In its heyday in the Early Iron Age, i.e. the 11th/early 10th century BCE, Kinneret developed into a regional center, controlling the surrounding region and becoming one of the most important urban sites of the country.

The body of water that we commonly call the Sea of Galilee is known as the Sea of Chinnereth in the Old Testament (Numbers 34:11; Joshua 13:27). Chinnereth is listed as one of the fortified cities of the tribe of Naphtali in Joshua 19:35.

I think most tourists to Galilee overlook Tel Kinneret. They are excited about having seen the Roman boat at Nof Ginosaur, and the guide is beginning to tell them about Taghba, Capernaum, or the Mount of Beatitudes. Or it may be because the site is obscured from the highway by the electric power station below it.

HT: Joseph I. Lauer

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

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Reaching 400,000

Posted on July 7, 2010 | 1 comment

Moments ago someone recorded hit number 400,000 for this blog. Your words of appreciation are greatly appreciated. In the past few weeks, while traveling on the West Coast, numerous people told me they found the posts helpful. The comments left on the blog, and the Emails received are also appreciated.

400,000 hits at ferrelljenkins.wordpress.com.

Ferrell's Travel Blog recorded his number 400,000 this evening.

As a marker of this milestone I am posting a photo I think many of you will be able to use in the Bible classes you teach. Click on the photo for a larger image suitable for use in PowerPoint.

Shepherd and sheepfold at Nazareth Village. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Shepherd and sheepfold at Nazareth Village. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

This photo might be used in teaching any of the texts mentioning the sheepfold (Genesis 49:14; Numbers 32:16; Judges 5:16; 1 Samuel 24:3; 2 Chronicles 32:28; Psalm 28:13; Psalm 78:70).

It provides a good illustration of the teaching of Jesus in John 10.

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber.  “But he who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep. “To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. (John 10:1-3 NAU)

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Posted in Bible Places, Bible Study, blog, Culture, Israel, New Testament, Old Testament, Photography

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Second century A.D. gold coin found at Bethsaida

Posted on July 7, 2010 | Leave a comment

“Rare coin bears good tidings for UNO’s Israeli excavations” is the headline for an article by John Keenan in the Omaha World-Herald.

Dr. Rami Arav, of the University of Nebraska Omaha, is the director of the excavation at et-Tell in Galilee. I’m sure it wasn’t necessary for the reporter to say that Arav was excited when Alexis Whitley, one of the volunteers at the dig, found a gold coin dating to the mid-second century A.D.

Alexis Whitley - a volunteer from West Virginia University.

Alexis Whitley - a volunteer from West Virginia University.

The coin, which weighs 7 grams, is 97.6 percent gold, Arav said.

The find was unexpected because Bethsaida primarily was home to humble fishermen, he said. Arav said somebody must have been doing good business a little more than 100 years after the birth of Christ.

The gold coin, about three-quarters of an inch in diameter, carries the image of Antoninus Pius, the 15th Roman emperor, who reigned between A.D. 138 and 161.

“Before newspapers, coins fulfilled the job of disseminating information. In our case, Antoninus wanted to announce that the Senate designated him to the position of a consul for the second time. This position was among the highest at Rome.”

Arav thinks this is the first Antoninus Pius gold coin excavated in Israel. I like the fact that he gave credit to the young volunteer who discovered the coin.

Prof. Rami Arav. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Rami Arav. Photo: F. Jenkins.

“This type of a coin was never sold in the market because it is so rare,” he said. “It may go for as much as people will be able to pay for it.”

For now, the coin — along with the rest of the Bethsaida finds, considered to be the heritage of the State of Israel — will go to the Israel Antiquities Authority. Its ultimate destination probably will be the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, Arav said.

“Bethsaida has already enriched the Israel Museum with a few other outstanding and rare finds.”

The article in its entirety may be read here.

Bethsaida is mentioned in the New Testament as the place where Jesus healed a blind man (Mark 8:22-25). Not everyone agrees with Dr. Arav’s identification of et-Tell as Bethsaida, where he has been working for nearly a quarter of a century. See a previous post about Bethsaida here.

A report of the Bethsaida 2010 excavation is posted here. Photos of coins, including the gold coin, and items associated with fishing are posted under Special Pics. Shai Schwartz has posted 234 photos from the recent excavation in his Picasa album here.

HT: Joseph Lauer, Paleojudaica, Bible Places Blog.

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

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“I believe we have found Ai…”

Posted on June 30, 2010 | 2 comments

“I believe we have found Ai…” These are the words of Dr. Bryant Wood regarding the excavation at Khirbet el-Maqatir, a few miles east of the West Bank town of Ramallah.

You will be able to see this video clip and another one describing the activities of a day at a dig on the ABR blog here.

Many scholars have long said that the Bible is wrong in saying that Ai was destroyed by Joshua and the Israelites. Other scholars, associated with the Associates for Biblical Research have been suggesting for several decades that the current location of Ai is incorrect. Now Dr. Wood and his team are able to conduct excavations at an alternative site. Good reading. Take it seriously.

Read Joshua 8 for the biblical account of the capture of Ai.

Posted from AA 1086 over Wyoming.

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

Go Southeast, Old Man!

Posted on June 30, 2010 | 1 comment

The mountains and lakes of the Northwest are a pleasure to behold. A friend took me for a cruise on Lake Washington where he pointed out the houses of the rich and famous of the business, sports, and entertainment world.

Seattle. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Seattle. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

I enjoyed speaking to appreciative audiences at the Kirkland Church of Christ Sunday and Monday evenings. The illustrated lessons included discussions of Bible history, archaeology, and the Bible world. Quite a few friends from the past were present.

Thanks to those of you who check the blog regularly. Hopefully by the first of the week I can get back to posting some photos of the Bible world.

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Posted in Archaeology, Bible Places, Bible Study, Culture, Travel

Excitement in Silcon Valley

Posted on June 24, 2010 | Leave a comment

This evening (Wednesday, June 23) at the Miller Avenue lectures in San Jose I saw three new iPhone 4’s. There may have been more. Living in the Silicon Valley has its advantages, you know. Some people get this new toys early.

iPhone 4 in San Jose - June 22, 2010

iPhone 4 in San Jose - June 23, 2010

You can see from the smudges that the phones have been handled by a group of admiring friends.

There is a lot of excitement at the Miller Avenue Church of Christ lectures this year, too. Don Truex is speaking twice each day on some practical bible themes. I am presenting illustrated lectures each morning on Exploring the Bible World. In the evening the presentation are on Bible History and Archaeology. There is an additional speaker each morning.

This is why the posts have been sparse this week. Add to the lectures, some social appointments, reviewing the lessons, a little nap in the afternoon, and there is not much time left to blog.

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Posted in Archaeology, Bible Places, Bible Study, blog, Culture

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