Category Archives: Travel

Neil MacGregor: 2600 years of history in one object

Posted on February 20, 2012 | 2 comments

A friend just forwarded a link to a fascinating talk by Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, about the Cyrus Cylinder. MacGregor took the Cyrus Cylinder from the British Museum to Iran when it was loan to the museum in Tehran.

What I learned was the use made of the Cyrus Cylinder by the Jews at the time of the Balfour Declaration, and the use made of it by the Shah of Iran.

MacGregor speaks of the Cyrus Cylinder as a “major player in the politics of the Middle East.”

Follow this link. The film is about 20 minutes old.

Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing:  “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, ‘The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all his people, may the LORD his God be with him. Let him go up.'” (2 Chronicles 36:22-23 ESV)

The Cyrus Cylinder in the British Museum. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

The Cyrus Cylinder in the British Museum. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Check some of our previous links to the Cyrus Cylinder here and here. Use the search box to locate others.

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

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Cooking at 4th century Qatzrin

Posted on February 20, 2012 | 1 comment

Golan in Bashan is first mentioned in the Bible in connection with the priestly cities of refuge that were appointed to Israel east of the Jordan (Deuteronomy 4:43; cf. Joshua 20:8; 1 Chronicles 6:71).

After modern Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in 1967, considerable efforts was made to identify Jewish villages that may have existed in the area. One such village was Qatzrin (pronounced kats-REEN). Archaeologist Anne Killebrew spent a decade or more working at the site and directing the reconstruction of the site which included a synagogue and several houses.

Qatzrin was originally built in the 4th century A.D. and remained in use till the mid-8th century. I wanted to show you the oven that we have from that village. The photo below shows a small clay oven placed within a mud-brick chimney. The chimney took the smoke out of the house and provided heat for the second floor bed room as well as for the kitchen. Not quite a microwave, but it wasn’t terribly different from the wood-burning stoves I knew as a child. (No, not in the 4th century!)

An oven inside a chimney at Qatzrin. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

An oven inside a mud-brick chimney at Qatzrin. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Killebrew and Steven Fine wrote about “Qatzrin—Reconstructing Village Life in Talmudic Times” in Biblical Archaeology Review 17:03 (May/June 1991). The reconstruction of the oven and chimney are explained in a sidebar to the article.

The kitchen of the House of Rabbi Abun, seen on our cover, can be understood as a microcosm of the painstaking effort that went into the reconstruction of the whole house. The small domed oven at center stands within a mudbrick chimney. Excavated remains of this indoor oven—employed both for heating the house and for cooking in bad weather, when outdoor cooking was difficult—indicated the size and shape of the oven, a type still used by the Druze (a Moslem sect residing in the area). A portion of the chimney exits the roof in the corner, behind the period pottery on the chimney’s mantle, and rises high enough above the roof to create a draw that effectively pulls smoke out of the house. No remains of the original chimney were found, but the reconstruction was built, as was the rest the house, by Druze workmen using traditional styles and methods. Experiments have shown that this chimney works well.

Both Matthew and Luke record the statement of Jesus,

But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? (Matthew 6:30; cf. Luke 12:28 ESV)

The Greek word for oven or furnace (in a few English versions) is klibanos. According to BDAG it is used of “an oven (made of pottery),” exactly what you see in the photo.

Louw-Nida explains further:

a dome-like structure made of clay, in which wood and dried grass were burned, and then after being heated, was used for baking bread – ‘oven.’… ‘the grass of the field which is alive today and tomorrow is cast into the oven’ Mt 6.30. The function of klibanos may be described as ‘a place heated for baking bread,’…

After one gets the fire going with grass or other kindling, it was often kept going with dung cakes. See Ezekiel 4:15 for a biblical example.

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Baking bread in Bible times

Posted on February 18, 2012 | 4 comments

The Druze are especially noted in Israel for baking bread on a convex griddle. There are Druze villages on Mount Carmel and in the Golan Heights where the border with Israel and Syria come together. The photo below slows a woman preparing the dough for baking at a restaurant in the north of the Golan Heights at Birket Ram.

Druze woman preparing bread for baking at Birket Ram. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Druze woman preparing bread for baking at Birket Ram. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

She will first place the dough on a rounded cushion which looks like a pillow (at the bottom of the photo).

After that she will turn it over on the griddle at the top of the photo. There you see bread cooking. To the left there is bread that has been taken from the griddle. Your chosen ingredients of meal and/or vegetables will be rolled in the thin bread.

Druze woman preparing bread for baking at Birket Ram. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Druze woman preparing bread for baking at Birket Ram. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

I certainly am not an expert on cooking, nor even an expert on how this type of cooking might compare with some bread baking in Bible times. Ovens were often used by people of the Bible world, but some bread was cooked on a plate or griddle made of clay or iron.

King and Stager say,

“When a griddle (mahabat) of clay or iron (Ezek. 4:3) was used, it was set on stones over a pit in which a fire was kindled; then the dough was baked directly on the griddle” (Life in Biblical Israel, 66).

There are a few biblical references in which this type of griddle seems to be in mind.

And if your offering is a grain offering baked on a griddle, it shall be of fine flour unleavened, mixed with oil. (Leviticus 2:5; see also 6:21; 7:9 ESV)

For a visual aid, Ezekiel was told to take an iron griddle (plate, frying pan) and use it as an iron wall between himself and the city.

And you, take an iron griddle, and place it as an iron wall between you and the city; and set your face toward it, and let it be in a state of siege, and press the siege against it. This is a sign for the house of Israel. (Ezekiel 4:3 ESV)

Holladay’s Hebrew lexicon defines the Hebrew word for griddle as “(metal) plate, griddle for roasting & frying.”

I would write more, but I think I will go eat.

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Those who ride white female donkeys

Posted on February 15, 2012 | 2 comments

Deborah was a prophetess who judged Israel (Judges 4:4). In the Song of Deborah, the prophetess describes the conditions in the country before she arrived on the scene.

Caravans had ceased. Travelers kept to the side roads. There were no warriors in Israel till Deborah arose. She describes herself “as a mother in Israel” (Judges 5:7). She cared for and nurtured the nation just as a mother cares for and nurtures her own child. Under her leadership warriors arose and conditions improved.

6 “In the days of Shamgar son of Anath,
in the days of Jael, the caravans had ceased,
the travelers, they kept to the byways.
7 The warriors ceased;
they failed to appear in Israel;
until I, Deborah, arose;
I arose as a mother in Israel.
8 God chose new leaders,
then war was at the gates;
a small shield for a spear was not seen
among forty thousand in Israel.
9 My heart goes out to the commanders of Israel,
those offering themselves willingly among the people;
bless Yahweh!
10 The riders of white female donkeys,
those sitting on saddle blankets,
and those going on the way, talk about it!
11 At the sound of those dividing the sheep
among the watering places,
there they will recount the righteous deeds of Yahweh,
the righteous deeds for his warriors in Israel.
Then the people of Yahweh went down to the gates.
12 “Wake up, wake up, Deborah!
Wake up, wake up, sing a song!
Get up, Barak!
Take captive your captives, O son of Abinoam.  (Judges 5:6-12, The Lexham English Bible)

Verse 10 caught my attention. Deborah mentioned the riders of “white female donkeys” who sat on saddle blankets. I take it that these were the more well to do individuals.

Donkey and colt at Nazareth Village. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Donkey and colt at Nazareth Village. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

The Hebrew word used for white is defined in several lexicons as “tawny.” The donkey being described by Deborah might look more like the one below.

Donkey near Nebi Samwil and Gibeon. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Donkey between Nebi Samwil and Gibeon. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

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Abel Beth Maacah excavation announced

Posted on February 14, 2012 | 2 comments

Azusa Pacific University announced the first archaeological excavation of Abel Beth Maacah (Tel Abil; Abil al-Qamh) in northern Israel. The site is located just a few miles south of the border with Lebanon. The mound overlooks the Beka Valley to the east, with Mount Hermon in the distance.

Abel Beth Maacah. View to the east. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Abel Beth Maacah. View to the east. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

The dates suggested in the following announcement seems very short (May 27-31).

This spring, Azusa Pacific University (APU) embarks on an exciting joint expedition with the Hebrew University of Israel to oversee an archeological dig at Abel Beth Maacah, a site of historical interest long envied by the world’s archeologists.

To date, the mound has not been excavated. Robert Mullins, Ph.D., associate professor of biblical studies at APU, leads the team along with Nava Panitz-Cohen and Ruhama Bonfil, faculty at the Hebrew University. On Jan. 25—26, 2012, team members plan to conduct an initial survey of the site in preparation for the May 27—31 excavation.

“I can’t overstate the huge potential of this project,” said Mullins. “First, it is an honor to partner with Israel’s oldest and most prestigious university. Given the site’s connection with the period of David and later Kings of Israel, the dig will draw worldwide interest. We can potentially solve questions regarding the nature of Israel’s ties with neighboring Phoenicia and Syria, as well as documenting through the destruction levels the various Aramean [Syrian] and Assyrian military campaigns mentioned in the Bible and other ancient records.”

The complete announcement is available here. You may observe that (a poor quality image of) one of my photos has been used in the announcement, but the copyright notice and name have been cut off. Hopefully this will be corrected in future releases.

The wise woman of Abel Beth Maacah describes the city as being “a mother in Israel” (2 Samuel 20:19).

We have written about the importance of Abel Beth Maacah here and here.

HT: Bible Places Blog; HolyLandPhotos’ Blog.

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Nabonidus, the last king of Babylon — 556–539 B.C.

Posted on February 12, 2012 | 4 comments

Evil-Merodach (562-560 B.C.) was assassinated by Nergal-Sharezer, who ruled as king of Babylon for four years. Nothing about his reign is recorded in the Bible, but he is mentioned in Jeremiah 39:3 and 13 from the time of the destruction of Jerusalem (587 B.C.). At that time he served as one of the officials of Nebuchadnezzar.

After four years on the throne, Nergal-Sharezer was followed by his son, Labaši-Marduk, who ruled only 9 months.

Nabonidus, who is not named in the Bible, came to the throne in 556 B.C. According to Wiseman the king,

… campaigned in Syria and N Arabia, where he lived at Tema for 10 years while his son BELSHAZZAR acted as co-regent in Babylon. About 544 his people and the kings of Arabia, Egypt and the Medes being favourably disposed, Nabonidus returned to his capital…, but by this time the country was weak and divided. (New Bible Dictionary (3rd ed.), 115).

The mother of Nabonidus was made a high priestess in the temple of Sin at Harran. Our first photo shows the top of a stela from Harran. Nabonidus is portrayed standing before symbols of the principle gods he served. Incidentally, the museum at Sanliurfa, Turkey, has a nice collection of archaeological artifacts tastefully displayed.

Nabonidus Stela in Sanliurfa Museum, Turkey. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Nabonidus Stela in Sanliurfa Museum, Turkey, near Harran. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

The next photo shows a terracotta foundation cylinder of Nabonidus. The sign accompanying the cylinder in the British Museum tells us that “this document records the reconstruction of temples to the Moon-god at Harran and to the Sun-god and the goddess Amunitum at Sippar.”

Nabonidus Cylinder in British Museum. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Nabonidus Cylinder in British Museum. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

In a future post we plan to comment on the relationship of Nabonidus and Belshazzar.

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

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Evil-merodach (562-560) graciously freed Jehoiachin

Posted on February 8, 2012 | 12 comments

Evil-merodach came to power in Babylon upon the death of his father Nebuchadnezzar in 562 B.C. There are only two references to him in the Bible, and these are parallel accounts. Evidence suggests that Jehoiachin (Jeconiah, Coniah), the king of Judah who was taken to Babylon in 597 B.C., was treated like a king in exile during most, or all, of his time in Babylon. The kindness of Evil-merodach receives special attention.

27 And in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, graciously freed Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison. 28 And he spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat above the seats of the kings who were with him in Babylon. 29 So Jehoiachin put off his prison garments. And every day of his life he dined regularly at the king’s table, 30 and for his allowance, a regular allowance was given him by the king, according to his daily needs, as long as he lived.  (2 Kings 25:27-30 ESV; cf. Jeremiah 52:31-34)

It is interesting that we have a biblical record mentioning Evil-merodach’s treatment of Jehoiachin (about 560 B.C.), and we have archaeological evidence of similar treatment at an earlier period. Four tablets mentioning Jehoiachin and his sons date to the period 595–570 B.C.

These tablets record rations that were given to the exiled king, his sons, and eight men of Judah. The one shown here is usually displayed in the Museum of the Ancient Near East (Vorderasiatische Museum), also called the Pergamon Museum, in Berlin (VAT 16378).

Babylonian ration tablet naming Jeconiah. Berlin. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Babylonian ration tablet naming Jeconiah. Pergamum Museum. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

A trip to Berlin is worthwhile for many reasons, but one of the best is to visit the Museum of the Ancient East. Even though it could stand some revisions, you should find my Biblically Related Artifacts in the Museums of Berlin helpful. It is available in PDF here.

Here  is what I wrote about this tablet:

“Jehoiachin (Jeconiah, Coniah) was the young king of Judah who was taken captive to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar in 597 BC. (2 Kings 24:15). The date of the capture of Jerusalem (March 16, 597 BC) was learned in 1955 when Donald J. Wiseman, then of the British Museum,  read a cuneiform tablet from Babylon. About 300 cuneiform tablets, dating between 595 and 570 BC, were found near the Ishtar Gate in Babylon. They contain lists of rations such as barley and oil paid to the captives and craftsmen. Persons from various countries are mentioned: Egypt, Philistia, Phoenicia, Asia Minor, Judah, etc. Some Biblical names are included: Gaddiel, Semachiah, and Shelemiah (a name mentioned prominently in Jeremiah 36-37). The most interesting name is Yaukin, king of the land of Yahud (Judah), along with five royal princes. The name, pronounced Yow-keen, is known to be an abbreviation for Jehoiachin. One document in which his name occurs is dated to 592 BC. These tablets show that the Babylonians continued to regard Jehoiachin as the legitimate king of Judah and gave him special treatment while he was in captivity (2 Kings 25:27-30; Jeremiah 52:31-34). The tablets were read by E. F. Weidner in the basement of the Kaiser Friedrich Museum, Berlin, after 1933.

[For those with access to this type of material:] Some Sources: Albright, BA 5 (1942), 49-55; ANET, 308 for translation; DOTT, 84-86; JFLAP, 225-227; IDB, II:811-13; Werner Keller, The Bible as History, 285-287;  Wiseman, Illustrations from Biblical Archaeology, 73 for photo [showing both the reverse and the obverse of the photo above].”

More Recent Source: Fant, Clyde E. and Mitchell G. Reddish, Lost Treasures of the Bible, 217-220.

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Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon — 605-562 B.C.

Posted on February 6, 2012 | 3 comments

Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Neo-Babylon empire for more than 40 years, is one of the best known royal personages of the Bible. His name occurs more than 90 times. He was responsible for huge building projects throughout his empire.

The arrogance of Nebuchadnezzar is seen in the comment attributed to him in the Book of 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)

The Babylonians left many inscriptions bearing testimony to the building programs of the various kings.

Our first photo shows one of the cylinder annals of Nebuchadnezzar that mentions building projects of temples in Babylon, Borsippa, Larsa and Sippar for the gods Marduk, Nabu, Shamash and Ishtar. It also recounts rebuilding city walls. This annal is displayed in the Istanbul Archaeology Museum.

Nebuchadnezzar Cylinder Annal. Istanbul Archaeology Museum. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Nebuchadnezzar Cylinder Annal. Istanbul Archaeology Museum. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Building bricks bearing the name of the king, along with his titles, have been discovered in the various cities of Babylon. The one below comes from Sippar. It is displayed in the British Museum (BM90081).

Brick of Nebuchadnezzar (605-562 B.C.). British Museum. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Brick of Nebuchadnezzar (605-562 B.C.). British Museum. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

The museum sign associated with this artifact describes the nature of these building bricks.

 “Nebuchadnezzar made extensive use of baked bricks in his many buildings. They are usually square, and often bear inscriptions, generally stamped but occasionally written by hand, which give the king’s name, titles, and patronym.”

A list of the major biblical events during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar should prove helpful for Bible students.

  • 605 BC — Nebuchadnezzar defeats Egypt, and Pharaoh Neco, at Carchemish.
  • 605 BC — Daniel and his friends taken from Judah to Babylon (Daniel 1).
    • Daniel was in Babylon during the entire reign of Nebuchadezzar (Daniel 1-4).
  • 597 BC — Jerusalem captured by Nebuchadnezzar.
    • March 16, 597 BC, according to a Babylonian Chronicle.
    • The young Judean king, Jechoichin (Jeconiah, Coniah), taken captive to Babylon (2 Kings 24:6-15; 2 Chronicles 36:8-10).
    • Mattaniah-Zedekiah becomes puppet king in Judah (2 Kings 24:17).
    • Many Judeans, including the prophet Ezekiel, taken captive to Babylon.
  • 587 BC — The fall of Jerusalem (2 Kings 25; Jeremiah 52).
    • Zedekiah rebelled; city destroyed; Zedekiah taken to Riblah (Ribleh in modern Syria) where his sons were slaughtered. Zedekiah’s eyes put out, and he was taken captive to Babylon.
The Correct MLA Way to Cite This Article

“Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon – 605-562 B.C.” Ferrell’s Travel Blog, 6 Feb. 2012, ferrelljenkins.blog/2012/02/06/nebuchadnezzar-king-of-babylon-605-562-b-c/.

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

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The pollen is blowin’ in the wind

Posted on February 2, 2012 | Leave a comment

The unseasonably warm weather here in Florida has already begun to affect allergy sufferers, including yours truly. The pollen is not as high as it will be, but high enough to cause sniffling, sneezing and stuffiness. That’s nothing new. Keep reading.

The excavations at Ramat Rachel, between Jerusalem and Bethlehem, reveal evidence of etrogs and myrtle from the ancient royal garden. A word of explanation might be appropriate for some readers. English readers know Sukkot as the Feast of Booths, Tabernacles, or Temporary Shelters – Leviticus 23:34).

Ha’aretz reports here today:

The earliest evidence of local cultivation of three of the Sukkot [commonly know to English readers as the Feast of Booths or Tabernacles,  holiday’s traditional “four species” has been found at the most ancient royal garden ever discovered in Israel.

The garden, at Kibbutz Ramat Rachel in Jerusalem, gave up its secrets through remnants of pollen found in the plaster of its walls.

The garden was part of an Israelite palace at Ramat Rachel that has been excavated for many years, most recently in a joint dig by Prof. Oded Lipschits and Dr. Yuval Gadot of Tel Aviv University and Prof. Manfred Oeming of Heidelberg University. The palace existed from the time of King Hezekiah until the Hasmonean period in the second century B.C.E.

The excavations revealed that the garden must have had a beautiful – and strategic – view, but it lacked its own water source. Thus the ancient landscape architects had to build channels and pools to collect rainwater for irrigation.

The archaeologists discovered that the garden’s designers had removed the original hard soil and replaced it with suitable garden soil. But until recently, they had no idea what was grown there.

Then, Lipschits said, he and his colleagues had a “wild thought”: If plasterers had worked on the garden walls in springtime, when flowers were blooming, breezes would have carried the pollen to the walls, where it would have become embedded in the plaster.

Enlisting the aid of Tel Aviv University archaeobotanist Dr. Daphne Langot, they carefully peeled away layers of the plaster, revealing pollen from a number of plant species.

Etrog late in the season at Qatzrin. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Etrog late in the season at Qatzrin. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

The article continues,

Most of the plants were wild, but in one layer of plaster, apparently from the Persian period (the era of the Jewish return from the Babylonian exile in 538 B.C.E. ) they found pollen from ornamental species and fruit trees, some of which came from distant lands.

The find that most excited the scholars was pollen from etrogs, or citrons, a fruit that originated in India. This is the earliest botanical evidence of citrons in the country.

Scholars believe the citron came here via Persia, and that its Hebrew name, etrog, preserves the Persian name for the fruit – turung. They also say royal cultivation of the exotic newcomer was a means of advertising the king’s power and capabilities.

The garden at Ramat Rachel is also the first place in the country to yield evidence of the cultivation of myrtle and willow – two more of the four species used in Sukkot rituals.

Myrtle growing at Neot Kedumim in Judean Hills. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Myrtle growing at Neot Kedumim in Judean Hills. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

For an earlier post on the royal garden at Ramat Rachel, read here.

HT: Joseph Lauer

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Nabopolassar, father of Nebuchadnezzar, destroyed Nineveh

Posted on February 1, 2012 | 2 comments

Babylonian king Nabopolassar ruled over the rising empire from about 626 to 605 B.C. The Babylonian Chronicle for the years 615-609 B.C. tells of the fall of Nineveh in 612 B.C. The wounded Assyrian Empire would collapse seven years later at the battle of Carchemish. The British Museum item number is BM 21901.

Babylonian Chronicles for years 615-609 B.C. British Museum. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Babylonian Chronicles for years 615-609 B.C. British Museum. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins

The name of Nabopolassar is not recorded in the Bible, but the events of this period of time are highly significant.

The Chronicle of Nabopolassar describes the activity of the king for the years 608-605 B.C. The struggle of the Babylonians with the Egyptians (Pharaoh Necho) for control of the western portion of the Assyrian Empire is also described. This included the kingdom of Judah and Jerusalem. The crown-prince Nebuchadnezzar, the most celebrated Babylonian king mentioned in the Bible, became the leader of the Neo-Babylonian Empire at the battle of Carchemish (605 B.C.). The British Museum item number is BM 22047.

Chronicles of Nabopolassar. British Museum. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Chronicle of Nabopolassar. British Museum. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

The prophet Nahum describes the fall of Nineveh in vivid language.

Woe to the city guilty of bloodshed! She is full of lies; she is filled with plunder; she has hoarded her spoil!
2 The chariot drivers will crack their whips; the chariot wheels will shake the ground; the chariot horses will gallop; the war chariots will bolt forward!
3 The charioteers will charge ahead; their swords will flash and their spears will glimmer! There will be many people slain; there will be piles of the dead, and countless casualties– so many that people will stumble over the corpses.
4 “Because you have acted like a wanton prostitute– a seductive mistress who practices sorcery, who enslaves nations by her harlotry, and entices peoples by her sorcery–
5 I am against you,” declares the LORD who commands armies. “I will strip off your clothes! I will show your nakedness to the nations and your shame to the kingdoms;
6 I will pelt you with filth; I will treat you with contempt; I will make you a public spectacle.
7 Everyone who sees you will turn away from you in disgust; they will say, ‘Nineveh has been devastated! Who will lament for her?’ There will be no one to comfort you!”  (Nahum 3:1-7 NET)

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