Category Archives: Bible Study

Riblah in the land of Hamath

Posted on March 2, 2009 | Leave a comment

Riblah served as a base of operation for the Egyptian Pharaoh Necho and the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar. The city is located on a broad plain about 20 miles south of Hamath (modern Hama in Syria), on the main road between Egypt and Mesopotamia. The Orontes River flows past the site on the west side. On a modern map you will locate Riblah in Syria immediately north of the border with Lebanon.

There is little more than a “country store” at the site today, but the name Riblah is preserved as Ribleh, Syria.

Riblah in the land of Hamath. Courtesy BibleAtlas.org.

Riblah in the land of Hamath. Courtesy BibleAtlas.org.

  • Pharaoh Necho imprisoned Jehoahaz, king of Judah, at Riblah. He later took him to Egypt where he died. The date was about 609 B.C. (2 Kings 23:31-34).
  • Zedekiah, puppet king of Judah, tried to escape capture by the Babylonians. He fled Jerusalem but was captured on the plains of Jericho and brought to Riblah. There Nebuchadnezzar passed sentence on him. His sons were slaughtered in his sight and he was bound with brass fetters and taken to Babylon. The date was 586 B.C. (2 Kings 25:5-7; see also Jeremiah 39:5-6; 52:9-10).
  • The officials of Zedekiah were taken to Riblah where they were put to death (2 Kings 25:19-21; see also Jeremiah 52:26-27).

In 2002 a colleague and I spent several days visiting sites in Syria. Riblah was the most difficult to locate. Most folks, after seeing the site, would probably say, “What’s the big deal?”  Even though Riblah is mentioned only these few times in the Old Testament, it’s location makes it important in all movement between the south (Egypt and Israel) and Mesopotamia.

Riblah in the land of Hamath. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Riblah in the land of Hamath. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

The slopes of this tell are now used as a cemetery. We know that this would make it difficult to negotiate rights to excavate.

Leave a comment

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

Tagged ,

James B. Pritchard on film in 1967

Posted on February 27, 2009 | Leave a comment

Last evening I watched The Book and the Spade, a documentary film produced in 1967 by the University Museum of the University of Pennsylvania. The film is about the archaeological work in Jordan. At the time that included Jerusalem, Gibeon, Shechem, Samaria, Bethlehem, Qumran, Amman, Jerash, and Tell es Sadiyeh in the Jordan Valley. Pritchard is seen on the film at Tell es Saidiyeh, east of the Jordan River, giving an account of the discoveries there. He believed the site to be Zarethan. The Bible says that the bronze utensils which Hiram made for King Solomon were made,

In the plain of the Jordan the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zarethan. (1 Kings 7:46)

This film is of great historical significance because it features Pritchard and because it shows places that no longer look the way they did in 1967. I suggest you take the time to watch it. Here is the link to The Book and the Spade. The film is about 28 minutes long.

Excavations were resumed in 1985 by Jonathan N. Tubb of the British Museum.

Some scholars have suggested that Zarethan should be located on the west side of the Jordan Valley.

This photo shows the north side of Tell es Saidiyeh with the steps leading to the spring that Pritchard mentions in the film.

Tell es Sadiyeh, excavated by James B. Pritchard. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Tell es Saidiyeh, excavated by James B. Pritchard. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

HT: The Book and the Spade blog by Gordon Govier.

Leave a comment

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

Jesus visited the town of Nain

Posted on February 25, 2009 | 2 comments

The town of Nain is mentioned only once in the New Testament.

Soon afterward Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went with him. (Luke 7:11 NET)

In the full account, Luke (7:11-17) reports that as Jesus approached the town gate a funeral procession was in progress. When Jesus saw the widow He had compassion and told her to stop weeping. Luke, the physician (Colossians 4:14), reports that Jesus touched the bier and said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” Then, as a simple matter of fact, Luke says,

So the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him back to his mother. (verse 15)

Nain is identified with the Arab village of Nein on the north slope of the Hill of Moreh. Nein is said to mean pleasant.

The town of Nein on the north slope of the Hill of Moreh. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

The town of Nein on the north slope of the Hill of Moreh. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Ralph Earle describes the pleasant location of Nain.

The town of Jesus’ day may have stood higher on the hill than the present village. It probably was named for the pleasant view that the site affords across the plain of Esdraelon. To the west one can see Mt. Carmel, and to the north the hills behind Nazareth stand out, about 91/2 km (6 mi) away. To the northeast one can look past nearby Tabor (3 km [2 mi] away) to snowcapped Mt. Hermon in the distance. Southward lies Mt. Gilboa. (The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Revised, 3:480)

2 Comments

Posted in Bible Study, Israel, New Testament

Tagged

Rainbow over the Dead Sea

Posted on February 24, 2009 | Leave a comment

My friend Leon Mauldin is in Israel. He sent me a nice photo in which he captured a rainbow over the Dead Sea. I publish it here with his permission. This view looks east toward the Transjordan tableland. You can’t see the mountains because of the heavy clouds. To the far right of the photo you will see a glimmer of light on the surface of the Dead Sea.

Rainbow over the Dead Sea. Photo by Leon Mauldin.

Rainbow over the Dead Sea. Photo by Leon Mauldin.

The land in the foreground of the photo was covered by the water of the Dead Sea just forty years ago. With less water flowing into the Dead Sea the level has been declining over the past few decades.

The name Dead Sea is not used in the Bible. Rather, this body of water is called the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, or the Eastern Sea. The Bible describes the territory of the Transjordan tribes, Reuben and Gad, this way:

The Arabah and the Jordan River were also a border, from the sea of Chinnereth to the sea of the Arabah (that is, the Salt Sea), beneath the watershed of Pisgah to the east. (Deuteronomy 3:17).

Josepus called this body of water Lake Asphaltitis.

Leave a comment

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

The museum at Hierapolis

Posted on February 23, 2009 | 1 comment

There is a small, but nice, museum at Pamukkale (ancient Hierapolis, Colosians 4:13). It is housed in a second century Roman bath house. The exhibits indicate a large Roman presence in the area during the second and third century A.D.

The museum has the nicest statue of the “god” Hades that I have seen.

The god Hades in the Pamukkale Museum. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

The god Hades in the Pamukkale Museum. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Hades was known in Greek mythology as the lord of death and the god of the underworld or nether world. The term hades is used in the New Testament of the abode of the souls of the wicked prior to the judgment. Note the comments by William Hendriksen.

As to the word “hell,” which here in the original is Gehenna (and so also in [Matthew] 5:22, 29, 30; 18:9; 23;15, 33; Mark 9:43-47; Luke 12:5; James 3:6), it generally refers to the abode of the wicked, body and soul, after the judgment day. When the same abode is called Hades the references is to the time before the judgment day, though Hades also has other meanings in Scripture. (New Testament Commentary: Exposition of the Gospel According to Matthew 472).

The Book of Revelation makes it clear that Jesus has control over both Death and Hades.

When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last,  and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades. (Revelation 1:17-18 NAU; see also 6:8; 20:13, 14)

1 Comment

Posted in Bible Study, Greece, New Testament, Turkey

The traveler of Hierapolis

Posted on February 20, 2009 | 1 comment

The tomb of a merchant named Flavius Zeuxis at Hierapolis is often called the “Traveler’s Tomb.” The marble inscription above the entrance states that he circumnavigated the southern cape of Peloponnesus 72 times on his way to Italy. It has been estimated that this would have amounted to about 150,000 miles.

The tomb of Flavius Zeuxis at Hierapolis. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

The tomb of Flavius Zeuxis at Hierapolis. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

This gentleman was roughly contemporary with the Apostle Paul, but he traveled more miles than Paul.

Paul spoke of the dangers associated with his many journeys.

I have been on journeys many times, in dangers from rivers, in dangers from robbers, in dangers from my own countrymen, in dangers from Gentiles, in dangers in the city, in dangers in the wilderness, in dangers at sea, in dangers from false brothers (2 Corinthians 11:26)

1 Comment

Posted in Bible Study, Travel, Turkey

Tagged

Hierapolis, Philip and Papias

Posted on February 19, 2009 | 1 comment

Early tradition associates Philip with the city, but scholars differ over whether it was Philip the apostle (Matthew 10:3) or Philip the evangelist (Acts 21:8).

This was the home of Papias (about A.D. 60 to 130) who was a disciple of the apostle John and a companion of Polycarp. Fragments of his writings about the apostles survive in Irenaeus and Eusebius of Caesarea. Eusebius (about A.D. 265 − about A.D. 339), tells us that Papias wrote as follows:

“Matthew also issued a written Gospel among the Hebrews in their own dialect, while Peter and Paul were preaching at Rome, and laying the foundations of the Church. After their departure, Mark, the disciple and interpreter of Peter, did also hand down to us in writing what had been preached by Peter. Luke also, the companion of Paul, recorded in a book the Gospel preached by him.” He adds that John, the disciple who leaned on Jesus’ breast, published a Gospel from Ephesus (Against Heresies III.1.1).

Some things of interest to see at Hierapolis include the hot springs and limestone formations, the monumental Arch of Domitian and Roman Street. This entire region suffered from the policies of the Emperor Domitian. The photo below shows the theater set against the surrounding hills.

Roman theater at Hierapolis. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Roman theater at Hierapolis. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

The theater was built in the 2nd century A.D., renovated in the 3rd century, and again in the 4th century.

During the 4th-century renovations, the orchestra area of the theater was altered to allow it to be filled with water for staging mock naval battles and other water presentations. (Fant and Reddish, A Guide to Biblical Sites in Greece and Turkey, 213)

1 Comment

Posted in Bible Places, Bible Study, Church History, New Testament, Turkey

Tagged

The hot springs at Hierapolis

Posted on February 18, 2009 | Leave a comment

The hot springs at Hierapolis caused the city to be known for its textile industry. There were guilds of wool workers, carpet weavers, and purple dyers. The hot medicinal springs (95°) attracted visitors. The city prospered under the Romans, but often suffered from earthquakes.

Ruins of the Roman city of Hierapolis in the hot springs. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Ruins of the Roman city of Hierapolis in the hot springs. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Recall that Hierapolis is one of three cities of the Lycus River valley named in the New Testament.

For I can testify that [Epaphras] has worked hard for you and for those in Laodicea and Hierapolis. (Colossians 4:13 NET)

Leave a comment

Posted in Bible Places, Bible Study, New Testament, Turkey

Hierapolis and the Lycus River Valley

Posted on February 17, 2009 | 5 comments

Hierapolis is mentioned only once in the New Testament. Paul commends Epaphras, who seems to be from Colossae, for his burdensome labor for the churches of the Lycus River Valley. He says,

For I bear him witness that he has worked hard for you and for those in Laodicea and in Hierapolis. (Col. 4:13 ESV)

The name Hierapolis means “holy city.” The modern Turkish name is Pamukkale, meaning “cotton castle” or “cotton fortress.” The city is famous for the hot springs and the limestone formations that cascade down the hillside below the city.

Limestone formations at Hierapolis. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Limestone formations at Hierapolis. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

The Lycus valley is in extreme southwestern Phrygia, Asia Minor. Hierapolis is situated on a plateau about 600 feet above the valley floor. Hierapolis, Colossae, and Laodicea form a triangle in the valley. From Hierapolis to Laodicea is about 6 miles south. The sites can be seen across the valley. From Laodicea to Colossae is about 10 miles to the southwest. From Colossae it is about 12 miles to Hierapolis.

The Lycus River Valley.

The Lycus River Valley.

Click on the map for a copy large enough to use in a PowerPoint presentation. Detailed maps of the area around Hierapolis, Laodicea, and Colossae are not usually found in maps found in Bibles, or even atlases. I used Bible Mapper to make this map showing the three cities of the valley. The Lycus river begins south east of Colossae, flows through the valley to join the Meander River. The Meander flows west to the Aegean Sea at Miletus. The dotted lines show the major roads traversing the valley.

5 Comments

Posted in Bible Places, Bible Study, New Testament, Turkey

Cinema fire reveals Roman wall in Izmir (Smyrna)

Posted on February 12, 2009 | 1 comment

A report from Izmir says that a cinema (movie theater) burned down in Izmir, Turkey, revealing portions of an 11 meter Roman wall and arch.

Archaeologist Akın Ersoy, the leader of a local excavation team, said this new discovery proved the importance of the agora, a meeting place in ancient times. Stating that Izmir had become synonymous with agoras, Ersoy said: “(The excavation) of the agora is the best heritage to leave behind for future generations. With the support of Izmir Metropolitan Municipality, the environment of the Izmir agora, one of the biggest and oldest agoras in the world, has been opened up and can now be seen by people from the Çankaya neighborhood. We have not started work on the wreckage of the cinema building yet but we believe this ancient site is two times bigger than the local agora site.”

The full account is carried in Hurriyet Daily News.

Always a good reason to return to a site. Here is a photo of the lower level of the agora in Izmir. Notice the older buildings along the edge of the agora. If the city of Izmir would clear and excavate this entire area the city would have a real reason for many tourists to visit the city.

Looking over the lower level of the Izmir Agora. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Looking over the lower level of the Izmir Agora. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

The Turkish city of Izmir is known as Smyrna in Revelation 1:11, 2:8.

HT: RogueClassicism.

1 Comment

Posted in Archaeology, Bible Study, New Testament, Turkey