Category Archives: Old Testament

The Aladdin Lamp gave light to all in the house

Posted on May 22, 2009 | Leave a comment

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, provides this information about the Aladdin Lamp:

The subject of a story in the Arabian Nights. The young boy Aladdin acquires a magic lamp that, when rubbed, brings forth a genie, who grants Aladdin’s wishes to win the hand of the sultan’s daughter and to build a palace. The magician who first gave Aladdin the lamp steals it back, but Aladdin regains the lamp, and he and the sultan’s daughter live happily ever after.

The lamp that Americans of the 1930s and 1940s came to know as the Aladdin Lamp was already in use in Germany during the early part of the 20th century. The flat wick kerosene lamp was common in the rural south when I was a youngster, but the Aladdin Lamp provided much more light because the flame heated a frameless mantle that hung over the flame. We had one Aladdin Lamp which we kept in the “big room” where both my parents and I slept until during my earliest grammar school years. This was literally our “living room.”

All of my evening school work was done in the light of the bright Aladdin Lamp. I thought that was the brightest light I had ever seen at night, and it was.

A few years ago, during a speaking engagement, I stayed with a fine family in Cullman, Alabama. They had the largest collection of Aladdin Lamps I have seen. Many of them have been refitted with electric fittings to make them usable today, like the one in our photo. I asked if he knew how much “wattage” one of the original lamps provided. He told me that it was about 60 watts.

The Aladdin Lamp provided light for all in the house. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

The Aladdin Lamp provided light for all in the house. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Lamps like this provide us with a reminder of the wonderful illustration used by Jesus.

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12 ESV)

And, we recall the illumination and guidance provided by the LORD and His word.

Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path. (Psalm 119:105 NAS)

This photo has been prepared in a size large enough to be used in PowerPoint presentations by my preaching/teaching friends. Just click on the image for a larger one.

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Posted in Bible Study, Culture, Family, New Testament, Old Testament, Photography, Travel

Hebrew seal of “Saul” found in Jerusalem

Posted on May 20, 2009 | 4 comments

A Hebrew seal dating to the time of the First Temple was displayed yesterday in the City of David in Jerusalem.

Hebrew Seal bearing name of "Saul." Photo by Vladimir Naykhin, IAA.

Hebrew Seal bearing name of "Saul." Photo by Vladimir Naykhin, IAA.

The news release issued by the Israel Antiquities Authority follows:

The seal, which is made of bone, was found broken and is missing a piece from its upper right side. Two parallel lines divide the surface of the seal into two registers in which Hebrew letters are engraved:

לשאל
]ריהו

A period followed by a floral image or a tiny fruit appear at the end of the bottom name.

The name of the seal’s owner was completely preserved and it is written in the shortened form of the name שאול (Shaul). The name is known from both the Bible (Genesis 36:37; 1 Samuel 9:2; 1 Chronicles 4:24 and 6:9) and from other Hebrew seals.

This name appears many other times in the Bible. Our minds are immediately drawn to the name of Saul, the first king of Israel.

Now there was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah, the son of a Benjamite, a mighty man of valor.  He had a son whose name was Saul, a choice and handsome man, and there was not a more handsome person than he among the sons of Israel; from his shoulders and up he was taller than any of the people. (1 Samuel 9:1-2 NAU)

Saul, the son of Kish, lived several decades before the First Temple period. Saul was king of Israel from about 1050-1010 B.C. The temple was built by Solomon about 966 B.C. Do not make the mistake of saying that this is the seal of Saul the king. Seals and bullae (seal impressions) are fairly common. What they reveal is that the names found are the ones we might expect in given time periods, and similar, or sometimes identical, to those names found in the Bible.

The news release continues:

According to Professor Reich, “This seal joins another Hebrew seal that was previously found and three Hebrew bullae (pieces of clay stamped with seal impressions) that were discovered nearby. These five items have great chronological importance regarding the study of the development of the use of seals. While the numerous bullae that were discovered in the adjacent rock-hewn pool were found together with pottery sherds from the end of the ninth and beginning of the eighth centuries BCE, they do not bear any Semitic letters. On the other hand, the five Hebrew epigraphic artifacts were recovered from the soil that was excavated outside the pool, which contained pottery sherds that date to the last part of the eighth century.

It seems that the development in the design of the seals occurred in Judah during the course of the eighth century BCE. At the same time as they engraved figures on the seal, at some point they also started to engrave them with the names of the seals’ owners. This was apparently when they started to identify the owner of the seal by his name rather than by some sort of graphic representation.”

It appears that the “office” which administered the correspondence and received the goods that were all sealed with bullae continued to exist and operate within a regular format even after a residential dwelling was constructed inside the same “rock-hewn pool” and the soil and the refuse that contained the many aforementioned bullae were trapped beneath its floor. This “office” continued to generate refuse that included bullae, which were opened and broken, as well as seals that were no longer used and were discarded into the heap of rubbish that continued to accumulate in the vicinity.
Professor Ronnie Reich is well known for his work in uncovering the Pool of Siloam and the street leading from the Pool to the Temple Mount. The Pool of Siloam is mentioned in John 9. This photo was made at the Pool of Siloam in 2005.
Professor Reich and Ferrell Jenkins at the Pool of Siloam. Photo by Leon Mauldin.

Professor Reich and Ferrell Jenkins at the Pool of Siloam. Photo by Leon Mauldin.

HT: Joseph Lauer

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

The Lion of Babylon

Posted on May 15, 2009 | 2 comments

Babylon was excavated by Germans between 1899 and 1917. Local villagers discovered the image of a lion trampling a man during one of the periods when the archaeologists were not present. Upon return, the archaeologists completed the excavation of the image. This is the way the sculpture looked in 1970. I have noticed the image in several photo by American military personnel.

The Lion of Babylon trampling a man. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Andre Parrot says,

There is … no such certainty about the basalt statue of a lion trampling on a man. This extraordinary work, which represents a beast overcoming a man, does not seem to be Mesopotamian in origin; it has been thought to be Hittite. (Babylon and the Old Testament 29-30)

Parrot also points out that the lion was associated with the goddess Ishtar.

The Bible records that Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians captured the city of Jerusalem in the days of Jehoiachin the king of Judah (2 Kings 24).

He carried away all Jerusalem and all the officials and all the mighty men of valor, 10,000 captives, and all the craftsmen and the smiths. None remained, except the poorest people of the land. And he carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon. The king’s mother, the king’s wives, his officials, and the chief men of the land he took into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon. And the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon all the men of valor, 7,000, and the craftsmen and the metal workers, 1,000, all of them strong and fit for war. (2 Kings 24:14-16 ESV)

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

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Another view from Babylon

Posted on May 12, 2009 | Leave a comment

The early part of the week finds me traveling in Alabama, but I brought along another old slide scan of a photo I made at Babylon in 1970. When I compare the quality of the camera I used that year with the one I use today it is amazing that the old photo is this good. Slides fade even under the best home conditions.

This site is identified as Nebuchaznezzar’s Principal Palace. You will notice that even then, long before Saddam Hussein, some reconstruction had been carried out at the site. The lighter colored bricks at the top of the walls are part of the reconstruction to give the viewer some idea of what was original. It also helps one to visualize the size of the rooms, etc. This is the sort of thing we see at Masada, Megiddo, and other sites in Israel where the black line distinguishes the original from the reconstructed.

Nebuchadnezzar's Principal Palace in 1970. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Nebuchadnezzar's Principal Palace in 1970. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

I understand the white on the ground to be salt residue.

The prophet Isaiah predicted the overthrow of the Neo-Babylonian Empire.

And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the splendor and pomp of the Chaldeans, will be like Sodom and Gomorrah when God overthrew them. (Isaiah 13:19 ESV)

God spoke, and it happened.

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Colonial archaeologists and the Ishtar Gate

Posted on May 9, 2009 | Leave a comment

Recently we called attention to an article in The New York Times about Babylon. Writer Steven Lee Myers says,

Colonial archaeologists packed off its treasures to Europe a century ago.

This statement seemed significant enough to be repeated under the photo of the miniaturized Ishtar Gate at the site. My immediate reaction to the statement is, “Well, aren’t we glad!” Anyone who has visited the Pergamum Museum in Berlin has seen the reconstructed Ishtar Gate. It looks like this.

Ishtar Gate in the Pergamum Museum of Berlin. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Ishtar Gate in the Pergamum Museum of Berlin. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Now, it’s not that the German archaeologists, under the direction of Robert Koldewey, “packed off” what you see here. All of these lions, bulls, and dragons were excavated from the mound of ancient Babylon between 1899 and 1912. Eventually they were taken to Berlin in 1926. Even under the Communist government of East Germany this gate was preserved. I saw it a few times before the Berlin Wall came down. Anyone able to travel to Berlin may see the Ishtar Gate as well as the reconstructed Procession Street. Can one say as much for the ruins of Babylon and the museum in Baghdad?

Babylon was once the greatest city of the world when the Neo-Babylonian Empire reigned supreme in the Ancient Near East (626-539 B.C.). The prophet Daniel was active in Babylon from 605 B.C. until after the fall of the city to the Persians (Daniel).  I can not imagine that he failed to see this gate.

Nebuchadnezzar was a megalomaniac. His pride is evident in the statement recorded by the prophet Daniel.

The king uttered these words: “Is this not the great Babylon that I have built for a royal residence by my own mighty strength and for my majestic honor?” (Daniel 4:30 NET Bible)

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Babylon ruins reopen to tourists

Posted on May 7, 2009 | Leave a comment

The New York Times recently carried an article about the reopening of Babylon to tourists. Most of the attention is given to locals getting a chance to see Saddam Husein’s former palace built to overlook the ruins of the ancient city. Some of the photos are nice. (HT: Todd Bolen, BiblePlaces Blog)

Here is an article I published in Biblical Insights several years back.

– – – – – –

The site of Babylon is located about 55 miles southwest of Baghdad near Hillah in Iraq. The city was located on the River Euphrates, but is now a few miles east of the river on one of the canals. The rivers of Mesopotamia have frequently changed their course.

The earliest ancient name for Babylon, given in the table of nations, was Babel (Gen. 10:10). Babylon was ruled by Hammurabi, best known for his law code, in the 18th century B.C.

The city reached its peak during the Neo-Babylonian empire (626-539 B.C.). The Bible refers to Babylon as “the beauty of kingdoms, the glory of the Chaldeans’ pride” (Isaiah 13:19).

The greatest king of the Neo-Babylonian empire was Nebuchadnezzar (605-562 B.C.). There is abundant evidence of the activities of his reign. The best collections of artifacts are to be found in the British Museum in London and the Museum of the Near East (part of the Pergamon Museum) in Berlin. In Berlin one may see the reconstructed Procession Street, the Ishtar Gate, and the decorated facade of the Throne Room of Nebuchadnezzar from Babylon.

The photo below shows my first view of the site of ancient Babylon in 1970. Jeremiah 51:37 provides a wonderful caption: “And Babylon will become a heap of ruins.”

My first view of Babylon in 1970. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

My first view of Babylon in 1970. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

The kingdom of Judea had much contact with the Babylonians. Daniel was in the first group of Judean royal youths taken into Babylonian exile in 605 B.C., and was educated in the literature and language of Babylon (Daniel 1:1-6). Jerusalem fell to Nebuchadnezzar’s army March 15/16, 597 B.C. At that time Jehoiachin and 10,000 captives were taken as prisoners to Babylon (2 Kings 24:8-16). The prophet Ezekiel was among that group of captives. His prophetic call came in the fifth year of his exile by the river Chebar, a tributary of the Euphrates (Ezekiel 1:1-3).

The Judean captives remained in Babylon until the time of the Medes and Persians (Jeremiah 25:11-12). Cyrus, according to a clay cylinder now in the British Museum, allowed captives to return to their home land, build their temples and serve their own gods. This is in harmony with the biblical account in 2 Chronicles 36 and Ezra 1.

Excavations were conducted at Babylon by German archaeologists between 1899 and 1917. Discoveries included the main palace of Nebuchadnezzar, the procession street, some temples, and the Ishtar gate. The most fabulous of the items to be found have been reconstructed in the Museum of the Near East in Berlin. I have been able to visit Babylon only once in 1970.

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Posted in Archaeology, Bible Places, Old Testament, Travel

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Jacob’s Well — from Jacob to Jesus

Posted on May 5, 2009 | 3 comments

Jesus came to Sychar, a city of Samaria, near the piece of land Jacob had owned (John 4:5; Genesis 33:19). The territory was apportioned to the descendants of Joseph, and Joseph was buried there at Shechem (Joshua 24:32). It was a place of great historic importance.

We are not able to speak with certainty regarding the location of Sychar. Some scholars associate the site with Shechem; others think it should be identified with the village of Askar which is located a short distance north. The traditional Jacob’s Well is located at Shechem in the valley between Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal. The modern town of Nablus now fills this valley.

André Parrot says,

“Of all the ‘holy places’ of Palestine, none has more reason to be considered authentic than Jacob’s well. Indeed, there is no reason why its authenticity should be questioned” (Land of Christ 65).

Parrot describes the water as “cool and pleasant-tasting…drawn from a depth of 128 feet.” I have drunk the water several times, but in the past couple of decades my guides have advised against it due to pollution in the area.

The Samaritan woman said, “the well is deep” (John 4:11). Parrot reports the well is 128 feet deep. Murphy-O’Connor says it is 22.5 meters deep (about 74 feet). McGarvey cites several measurements mentioned in 19th century writers and reminds us that the well became filled with stones cast in by travelers trying to hear how long it would take a stone to hit the bottom (Lands of the Bible 283). He reports that the well was often dry.

There are numerous springs in the area of Shechem. Jacob, as a late-comer to the region, might have found it necessary to dig a well to assure water for his family and cattle.

A church was erected over the well about A.D. 380. The Crusaders built another church on the site in the 12th century. The property came under the control of the Greek Orthodox church in 1860. By the end of the 19th century the Greeks began a new church, but construction was halted during World War I. The last time I was at Jacob’s well (2000) construction had resumed and Murphy-O’Connor reports completion in 2007.

It has been difficult for groups to visit Jacob’s Well in recent years due to the situation in Nablus.

Jacob's Well. Most likely the well where Jesus met the woman of Samaria (John 4). Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Jacob's Well. Most likely the well where Jesus met the woman of Samaria (John 4). Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

With this information, I leave it to you to study the great lessons of John 4. They are deep, too.

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Posted in Bible Places, Culture, New Testament, Old Testament

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He had to pass through Samaria

Posted on May 4, 2009 | 2 comments

The Gospel of John informs us that Jesus had to pass through Samaria (4:4). The most direct travel route between Judea and Galilee was through Samaria. Josephus says, “it was the custom of the Galileans, when they came to the holy city at the festivals, to take their journeys through the country of the Samaritans….” (Ant. XX.118). He also informs us that the trip took three days (Life of Flavius Josephus 1.269). This route ran along the central mountain range, sometimes called the water-parting route.

Carson says geography determined that Jesus had to go through Samaria, but some scholars believe the term had indicates necessity. The following conversation with the woman of Samaria and the visit with the people of Sychar may explain why He had to go through Samaria.

We know that Jesus and His disciples encountered problems when traveling through Samaria (Luke 9:51-56). When Jesus sent out the twelve He told them not to enter any city of the Samaritans (Matthew 10:5).

The Jews, on their way from Galilee to Judea, could travel through Transjordan (Perea). It seems that Jesus took this route when He traveled through Jericho up to Jerusalem (Luke 19).

This photo was made in 1981 from the hill of Samaria with a view of the surrounding “mountains of Samaria” (Amos 3:9). One can easily imagine Jesus and His disciples traveling paths such as this.

samaria_path_mountains_1981-t

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

Shebna – Presumptuous Steward

Posted on April 29, 2009 | 1 comment

The May/June issue of Biblical Archaeology Review carries an article by Robert Deutsch about how an artifact bought on the antiquities market helped to solve a 42-year-old excavation puzzle.

Back in 1870 Charles Clermont-Ganneau excavated a tomb on a cliff overlooking the Kidron Valley in Silwan, but he was unable to read the inscription over the tomb. He cut the inscription from the rock and sent it to the British Museum.

In 1953 Nahman Avigad translated the inscription:

This is [the sepulcher of…] -yahu who is over the house. There is no silver and gold here but [his bones] and the bones of his slave-wife with him. Cursed be the man who will open this.

Numerous scholars have identified this Shebna with the person by the same name who was the secretary and head steward of King Hezekiah. This was the view taken by Avigad in 1953.

Inscription from the tomb of Shebna. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins in the British Museum.

Inscription from the tomb of Shebna. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins in the British Museum.

The LORD spoke out against the arrogance of Shebna through the prophet Isaiah.

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? (Isaiah 22:15-16 ESV)

Avigad says that Shebna’s sepulcher “stands in the midst of the necropolis where persons of rank and high distinction were laid to rest” (Israel Exploration Journal 3 (1953): 152)

Deutsch picks up on this discovery and continues with the saga of a bulla [impression of a seal] found at Lachish in the 1960s. One of the small pieces of clay had the name of Shebnayahu on it. The bulla was broken and the archaeologists were uncertain whether one of the words read son of the king or servant of the king.

Deutsch says,

The puzzle remained unsolved for 42 years. Aharoni has long since passed away. Then in 2007, another bulla stamped with the same seal surfaced on the Jerusalem antiquities market. A simple examination leaves no doubt that it is an impression of the same seal as the Lachish bulla. It, too, is broken off at the right edge. But on this bulla, part of an additional letter to the right of ha-melekh, “the king,” has survived: a dalet! The word before ha-melekh ended in a dalet. The word was eved, “servant.” The seal that made this impression belonged to “the servant of the king”!

You may read Deutsch’s full article with photos and drawings online here.

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Posted in Archaeology, Bible Study, Israel, Old Testament

Churning produces butter

Posted on April 27, 2009 | Leave a comment

One of the new things I noticed in a visit to Petra last year was the Bedouin actors demonstrating various aspects of daily life. Many of these customs are similar to those we read about in the Bible. This photo shows a man using an animal skin as a churn.

Using an animal skin for producing butter. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Using an animal skin for producing butter. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

The writer of Proverbs speaks of churning in giving advice about those who stir up strife.

If you have been foolish in exalting yourself Or if you have plotted evil, put your hand on your mouth. For the churning of milk produces butter, And pressing the nose brings forth blood; So the churning of anger produces strife. (Proverbs 30:32-33 NAS)

When the three men came to the Patriarch Abraham to announce the birth of Isaac, Abraham showed hospitality to them. He provided water so they could wash their feet. He told Sarah to prepare bread. He took a young calf from the herd and had the servants prepare it. Then the text says,

He took curds and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and placed it before them; and he was standing by them under the tree as they ate. (Genesis 18:8 NAS)

Read Genesis 18 for the complete account.

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Posted in Bible Lands, Bible Study, Family, Jordan, Old Testament

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