Joppa

Joppa is a very ancient seaport along the Mediterranean coast of Israel. Cedar trees were shipped here from Lebanon during the construction of Solomon's temple (2 Chronicles 2:16) and the temple built by Ezra (Ezra 3:7). The town is probably best known as the harbor from which Jonah sail on his way to Tarshish when he was running from God.

There is an area of the Joppa harbor called Nicanor Bay. If you are thinking that you have heard that name used in association with Herod's temple, you are correct. The story is a very interesting one. A wealthy man named Nicanor bought two gates and donated them to the temple in Jerusalem. They were being delivered by ship when a storm arose. To lighten the load, the crew threw one of the gates overboard into the sea. The ship and its crew survived, and when they finally arrived in the harbor, the gate had floated in just ahead of them. Therefore the name of the harbor is Nicanor Bay. The gate was then taken to Jerusalem and used as the entrance to the court of women on the temple mount complex. Like the bay, the gate became known as the Nicanor Gate.

In addition to the port, there are other interesting things to see in this city. At the highest point in the city is a park built around the ruins of a 13th century Bronze Age Egyptian fortress and reconstructed gate. The gate is adorned with the cartouche of the paraoh Ramses II. Our guide told us that in ancient times, slaves were brought to Joppa to be sold in Egypt. Joppa was under Egyptian rule until the Israelite conquest of Canaan. During the time of Jonah, the city was controlled by Phoenicia.

And, though we didn't visit this site, (not that I am bitter about it) there is also the traditional location of Simon the Tanner's house. This site is the supposed site of Peter's famous vision in Acts 10:9-23.

City of Moab

Leaving the pavement of the "King's Highway" in southern Jordan, we took to dirt roads in search of Balu, the biblical City of Moab. We rummaged down numerous dead ends, hiked winding rabbit trails, and stared off into rocky ravines for the better half of a day before we found a site with distinct remains of an ancient massive wall. For as far as one could see across the treeless plain, there was no other sign of human existence except for a small house sitting adjacent to the ruins separated by a gulch in the earth. An elderly Arab man standing in front of the house watching his sheep looked surprised to see someone pull into his "yard". To his wife's dismay, he forgot about his flock in the excitement of having company. She began yelling at him and throwing rocks at the sheep to keep them from wandering off. Once the commotion died down, they verified for us that the large pile of rubble in their back yard was indeed Balu, the largest Iron Age site south of the Arnon Valley.

The City of Moab is mentioned in Numbers 21:28 during the Israelite conquest of Trans-jordan. The Moabite king at that time was Balak who hired the prophet Balaam to curse Israel (Numbers 22-24). Each time Balaam opened his mouth to curse God's people, God caused him to speak a blessing instead. The city is mentioned again in Isaiah 15:1 when Isaiah prophecies it's destruction because of it's pagan worship of Chemosh and it's mistreatment of Israel.

Once our hosts realized we were interested in the tel, the couple began bringing artifacts out of their home that they had found around the ruins. The most interesting thing they showed us was an alabaster potsherd with a large Egyptian cartouche engraved on it's surface. We took several photos of it not knowing what the significance might be.

When we returned to the states, we had an egyptologist translate the piece for us. Boy, were we amazed when we heard his assessment. The cartouche was that of Thutmose III (reigned 1479-1425 B.C.), whom many believe to be the pharaoh of the exodus! There are several arguments for dating the exodus to this pharaoh, but the two most convincing to me are in I Kings 6:1 and Judges 11:26. According to our first passage, Solomon began the temple construction in the fourth year of his reign (965 B.C.). The same verse also tells us that it was 480 years after the exodus. This would place the exodus around 1445 B.C. The second passage tells us that Jephthah (1100 B.C.) announced to the Ammonite king that Israel had already dwelt in the land for 300 years. Again, that places the exodus around 1440 B.C. 

If you would like additional information on the cartouche, Biblical Illustrator magazine will have more on this alabaster fragment in upcoming issues. If you are unfamiliar with Biblical Illustrator, go to www.lifeway.com/biblicalillustrator for sample articles and information on how to order.

Gamla

Though Gamla is a well developed archaeological tel, you really have to be motivated to visit the site. This fortified city in the Golan Heights 6 miles east of the Sea of Galilee sets in a deep valley that can only be accessed by foot. Once there, the site itself also presents a challenge. Gamla rests on the spine of a mountain that "falls away sharply on both sides and in front in impassable ravines" (War 4.1.1). The city's name, according to this same passage from Josephus, was derived from the mountain's camel-like appearance.

At Gamla, the zealot movement began and remained the headquarters until it's destruction. It is possible that this was the home of Simon the Zealot, the Lord's disciple. Known as the "Masada of the North", Gamla was one of the last cities in the Galilee to fall to the Romans in A.D.67. In the initial resistance, the zealots forced the Romans to retreat with heavy losses. However, when Vespasian resumed the fight, 4,000 died by the sword and another 5,000 Jewish men, women, and children committed suicide by throwing themselves into the ravine below the citadel (War 4.1.10). Only two women escaped with their lives. One of the interesting things the Yehudiya Nature Reserve has done is to reconstruct a full size replica of a Roman bastilla on site. This, along with well written and well placed signage, helps the visitor gain a good understanding of how the battle took place and how the citizens of the city lived.

The basalt ruins are extensive and well maintained. They include a fortified tower, houses, a olive oil production facility, and a synagogue with a mikveh close by. The synagogue is one of the oldest in Israel. Most synagogues that have been excavated in Israel date to the 3rd century A.D. or later. This one dates to the time of Christ. From the top of the fortified tower, you can see a distant view of the largest waterfall in Israel. It's height spans 50 meters. If you are physically able and don't mind a strenuous hike, don't miss this archaeological jewel when you visit Israel.

Kerioth Hezron

First mentioned in Joshua 15:25 as one of the cities allotted to Judah, Kerioth Hezron is also one of the possible sites for the home of Judas Iscariot (or Judas "man of Kerioth"). Known as Tel Qeriyot today, the southern Judean town sets on the northern edge of the Negev desert located four and a half miles northeast of Tel Arad.

Tel Qeriyot does not look like the typical flat-topped archaeological mesa for which I'm accustomed to scanning the horizon. As a matter of fact, when we pulled off on the side of the road next to a small rise, smaller than even the hills that surrounded it, I thought to myself, "This is going to be another one of those sites where we have to hunt through knee high thistles to find two stones stacked together". Was I ever surprised when I reached the top of the slope. There must have been more than two acres of ruins. We found remains of buildings, cisterns, and a Byzantine church. I found the church amusing. Like Voltaire's house becoming a place where Bibles were printed after his death, a church built where the "son of perdition" once lived was quite ironic. God really does have a sense of humor.

The place was also riddled with caves. This may sound strange, but I guess the thing that interested me the most were the stone mangers we found in several of those caves. When you go to Bethlehem today to see the stable/cave where Christ was born, it is buried under a church originally built in the third century by Helena, Constantine's mother. The cave is encrusted with catholic altars, iconography, candles, and incense burners. Even the manger they claim the baby Jesus slept in is caged off to the public. To picture what the place must have been like for Mary and Joseph, you would really have to swallow hard and use your imagination.

Here at Kerioth Hezron, at the home of the one who sought to end the life of the Son of God, I was experiencing a glimpse of what the surroundings must have been like as Christ stepped into this world to begin His earthly journey to bring peace to mankind. Unlike the warm, glowing wooden barns of Christmas greeting cards, the stable was a damp, dark, cold, uninviting hole in the ground. Neither Judas, Bethlehem, nor the world had any place for it's King. What about you?

Bethany Beyond the Jordan

John answered them saying, "I baptize in water, but among you stands One whom you do not know. It is He who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie." These things took place in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing. John 1:26-28

Ok, we did go to a few tourist spots this past spring. And "Bethany beyond the Jordan" is the tourist coup de gras of all Christendom. I would have fit right in if only I had thought to wear my Bermuda shorts, white socks with penny loafers, and tee-shirt that read "I saw Elvis at the Western Wall". I wasn't going to mention this site at all, but there are a couple of things here that I thought were note worthy.

I have traveled through the Sinai, the Negev, and the Judean Wilderness. They are rugged, rocky, tree barren places of solitude. Even as you travel north, both in Jordan and Israel, much of what was forested in Biblical times no longer exists. That is why I was surprised at the wilderness area where John was baptising. It was covered in scrub brush and scraggly evergreen trees, very much the way it was in the first century. This dense thicket went out from the river several hundred yards before returning to dry, desolate terrain.

There was also a tree there known as the locust tree. It grew green bean pods that our guide in Israel called carob. Let me pause here to say that this particular guide was a young Christian Arab studying at one of the Christian Universities in Israel. He was extremely knowledgeable about Biblical sites and had studied under some of the most well known archaeologist in the Middle East. He told us current academian thought believed that this was the "locust" that John ate. A bean pod, not a bug! You have to admit, it is an intriguing theory.

Inside the carob pod are reddish brown pea size kernels called karats. Not only were these karats eaten, they were used as a weight to counter balance gold and other precious metals and stones. Today the term "karat" is still used as a unit of measuring gold and diamonds.

So I guess the lesson here is that if one can look beyond all the encrusted trappings of some of the more popular Biblical sites, there are valuable lessons to be learned.

Machaerus

Late one afternoon in the spring of 1994, our team decided to squeeze in one more site before calling it a day. Rambling due south on the desert highway that runs parallel to the Dead Sea, the sky began to turn fuchsia and pink. The sun transformed from a white glare into a bright orange ball resting on the horizon. With each mile the display became more dramatic. Suddenly, silhouetted against that dazzling orb were tiny columns atop a distant tel. There before us, far removed from any village or tourist trap, sat the ancient fortress palace of Machaerus. According to the first century historian Josephus, it was here that Herod Antipas had John the Baptist beheaded.

We parked our van at the base of the tel and began climbing the trail to the fortress. Along the eastern slope were remnants of walls and towers that made up the lower city. Traces of an aqueduct coming into the palace emerged from the ground. When we reached the palace ruins, it felt as though we had arrived at the top of the world. At 3,600 feet above sea level, by far the highest point in the region, the view was endless. Directly behind the mount, the Dead Sea seemed to glow casting a rose colored hue on the surrounding hills. A stone paved area about 330 feet by 200 feet covered a portion of the top of the tel. Evidence of turrets remained at the three corners of the castle. Several white columns stood as sentinels guarding the last earthly place John saw before his spirit ascended to his eternal reward. There was almost a spectral feel as we stood absolutely alone watching in silence the last rays of fading light.

With this being one of my most memorable moments in all my trips to Jordan, you can imagine my excitement this past spring when I was told that we were going back to Machaerus. Since that 1994 trip, archaeologists have discovered a dungeon under the floor of the palace! Many believe this was where John was held in his final days. Not only did we need photos of the cell, there were other areas we were not able to photograph the first trip because of the diminishing light.

The dungeon was a particular challenge to shoot. Wooden planks had been placed over the hole to protect anyone from falling in. We slid a couple of the planks off the gaping darkness and laid across the others with our faces and cameras hanging off the edge. It took awhile for my eyes to adjust. My guess would be that the smooth walls of the pit decended about 3 stories and the floor space was about 7 feet square. Talk about your solitary confinement! A rickety homemade ladder was tied to the wall of the prison. It started at the top of the hole and ended about 2 stories short of the bottom. For the sake of a few photos, the archaeologist that was with our team got gutsy enough to climb part way down, hanging on to the ladder with one hand and a camera with the other. If he does things like that very often, I hope his wife has his life insurance paid up.

I promise to post photos with this entry soon. If you want to know more about John the Baptist's imprisonment and death, check out the gospel of Mark, chapter 6, verses 14-29.

Introductions

Hi. My name is Brent. I am new to this blogging thing. As a matter of fact, this is my first attempt at it, so please be patient until I can get up to speed. Let me also say that I am not a writer, but I hope that what I share will be engaging. I am an art director for a Biblical backgrounds and archaeology magazine called Biblical Illustrator published by LifeWay Christain Resources. Over the past 17 years I have made several trips to Mediterranean and Middle Eastern countries with a photography team to get photos of ancient sights and artifacts for the magazine.

This past spring, the editor-in-chief, a photographer, an archaeologist, and I spent a month in Jordan and Israel getting new images for our quarterly publication- and I don't mean the tourist stuff. We waded through waist high thistles to see ruins of Jezreel. We climbed over rubble at Kfar Yehudiya, a second century Jewish village in the Golan Heights. We crawled in ancient burial caves at Bethany. And we bajaed over dirt roads in the dark through miles of wheat fields to photograph the Philistine ruins of Ekron. In all, we tracked down over 100 sites and visited 8 or 10 museums. I have created this blog to share some of that trip and other future trips for those interested in reading travel journals and Biblical history. I will do my best to make sure the information is accurate and engaging. And as soon as I figure out how to post pictures, I will show you some of the highlights of our work.

The name of this blog was derived from two thoughts. First, volumes of history and culture that are constantly being dug out of the ground increasing the depth of our understanding of the Biblical narrative. Secondly, in Luke 19 Jesus declared that the very rocks would cry out if the people were silenced in their praise of Him. That sums up my desire- that I would have a greater understanding of the scripture and that my life would bring praise to Christ.

Well, good bye for now, but keep checking back. I hope to have some photos and journal entries up soon.