Tag Archives: Snow in Jerusalem

A snow house in Jerusalem

Elie sent me a photo he made this morning of a snow house in Jerusalem. If you know Jerusalem you know that the houses are built of stone (some of Jerusalem stone). The person building this snow house made it in imitation of the stone houses. It’s always good to have police protection!

Snon house in Jerusalem appears to be made of snow stone. Photo by EMB. Dec. 16, 2013.

Snow house in Jerusalem appears to be made of snow stone. Photo by EMB. 12/16/13.

Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, one of David’s mighty men “went down and struck down a lion in a pit on a day when snow had fallen” (1 Chronicles 11:22 ESV)

Snow in Israel

Today I have been reading of snow in Lebanon and Israel. There are reports that a foot of snow has fallen in Jerusalem in the past day. Todd Bolen links to the Jerusalem Post (with photos) and other snow links here.

My friend Elie just sent a photo of his back yard. This is in Bar Giyora, a town on Hwy. 375 between Bethlehem and the Valley of Elah. The town is located in the hill country of Judea.

Snow in the mountains of Judea. Photo by EMB, 12/14/13.

Snow in the mountains of Judea. Photo by EMB, 12/14/13.

“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:10-11 ESV)

Here is a photo of the general area along Hwy. 375 with a view east toward the central mountain ridge (without snow).

Judean Hills. View east to central mountain range from Hwy. 375. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Judean Hills. View east to central mountain range from Hwy. 375. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

On the Facebook page of Jerusalem University College you will find several nice photos of the snow in Jerusalem. Check here.

Todd Bolen and the BiblePlaces Newsletter

Just when I had about given up,
what to my wondering eyes did appear,
but a BiblePlaces Newsletter with 8 tiny photos of Jerusalem and Judah in Snow. (with apologies to no one!)

When Todd Bolen left Israel to come to the USA to pursue doctoral work I surmised that he would soon become too busy to continue with his Newsletter. He has done a fine job of keeping the Bible Places Blog up to date with notices of important archaeological news from Israel.

I have encouraged many people to subscribe to Todd’s BiblePlaces Newsletter and to buy his wonderful Pictorial Library of Bible Lands. After nearly forty trips to Israel, I still find that I am sometimes lacking the exact photo I need. I often find just the right one in this collection.

In the December BiblePlaces Newsletter there are 8 beautiful photos of Jerusalem and Judah in the snow. Todd was in the country about 10 years and had the opportunity to get photos at the right time.

Here is a small photo of the Mount of Olives and Kidron Valley. From the Newsletter you may download high resolutions copies of all eight photos. For those who use PowerPoint the photos are also available in PowerPoint format.

Mount of Olives and Kidron Valley in Snow

Here is Todd’s comment on the photo:

Looking northeast from the City of David, one gets an impressive view of the Kidron Valley and the Mount of Olives. Several stories occurred within the view of this photo, including David’s fleeing from Absalom (2 Sam 15:30) and Jesus’ crossing the Kidron Valley on his way to Gethsemane (John 18:1). The church in the center left of the photo is built over the traditional Gethsemane and the impressive tomb monument in the lower right is incorrectly known as the “Pillar of Absalom.”

To see the BiblePlaces Newsletter, December, 2007, click here. Opportunity to subscribe to the Newsletter is available at the bottom of the page. You can also learn how to order the Pictorial Library there.

Thanks, Todd. Your work has been a blessing to many.