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Tuesday, July 31, 2012

BiblePlaces Blog: Alleged Samson Seal Discovered at Beth Shemesh

BiblePlaces Blog: Alleged Samson Seal Discovered at Beth Shemesh:

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Some scholars are suggesting that the depiction on a seal found in the Sorek Valley shows the biblical hero Samson subduing a lion. From Haaretz:
A small stone seal found recently in the excavations of Tel Beit Shemesh could be the first archaeological evidence of the story of the biblical Samson.
The seal, measuring 1.5 centimeters, depicts a large animal next to a human figure. The seal was found in a level of excavation that dates to the 11th century B.C.E. That was prior to the establishment of the Judean kingdom and is considered to be the period of the biblical judges - including Samson. Scholars say the scene shown on the artifact recalls the story in Judges of Samson fighting a lion.
But excavation directors Prof. Shlomo Bunimovitz and Dr. Zvi Lederman of Tel Aviv University say they do not suggest that the human figure on the seal is the biblical Samson. Rather, the geographical proximity to the area where Samson lived, and the time period of the seal, show that a story was being told at the time of a hero who fought a lion, and that the story eventually found its way into the biblical text and onto the seal.
The story continues and explains some of the geographical connections. This discovery reminds me that while Samson’s life largely centers in the Sorek Valley, the most prominent city of that valley is never mentioned in the narrative (Judges 13-16). If the interpretation of this seal is correct, the people of Beth Shemesh remembered their local hero with some pride.
A high-resolution photo of the seal by Raz Lederman is availablehere.

Acts 7 — Photo Illustrations | Ferrell's Travel Blog

Acts 7 — Photo Illustrations | Ferrell's Travel Blog:

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In the speech recorded in Acts 7, Stephen speaks of “the tabernacle of testimony in the wilderness” which God commanded Moses to make according to the pattern he had been given (7:44; cf. Exodus 25:9; Hebrews 8:5).
A full size model of the Israelite tabernacle has been constructed in Timna Park, 17 miles north of Eilat. The original tabernacle was built while the Israelites were at Mount Sinai (Exodus 25-40). The tabernacle was a movable tent of worship which was taken each place Israel wandered during the forty years in the wilderness.
The photo below shows the front of the Tabernacle with the altar of burnt offering in front of it.
Tabernacle in the Wilderness at Timna. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.
Tabernacle in the Wilderness at Timna. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.
When some men from the Synagogue of the Freedmen argued with Stephen, “they were unable to cope with the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking” (Acts 6:10). They secured false witnesses to say that Stephen has spoken “blasphemous words against Moses and against God” (6:11). They also charged that he constantly speaks against “the holy place and the Law” (6:13-14).
The following brief summary by the late Princeton scholar, Charles R. Erdman, explains Stephen’s argument in a nutshell.
Stephen had been accused of blasphemy for declaring that God could be worshiped without the Temple and its rites; but, in referring to sacred history, he reminded his hearers in his first sentence that “the God of glory appeared unto … Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia”—surely this was outside the Holy Land and the Temple. So he had revealed himself to Joseph in Egypt, and to Moses in the wilderness. Even when the Temple was finally built, Solomon, in his prayer of dedication, had reminded the people that the Most High could not be confined to the precincts of any building [1 Kings 8:27].
Step by step, the revelation of God had become more perfect, and it had reached its culmination in Christ, so Stephen seems to argue: first God revealed himself through a man, and then a family, and then a nation, and then a ceremonial, and finally in his Son. Toward the appearance of the Messiah all Jewish history had moved as to its goal; and now, through Christ, believers can worship God not only in the sacred mountain and the Temple, but wherever they turn to him “in spirit and truth.” God has a message for each of us even when surrounded by pagans and unbelievers, as Abraham in Mesopotamia; or when imprisoned and alone, as was Joseph in Egypt; or when driven into some wilderness by presumption and anger, as was Moses; or when worshiping by some ritual, as in the tabernacle; or when bowing beneath the beauties of some superb tabernacle, as did Solomon. However, all our experiences should be interpreted as designed to point us to Christ, and to lead us to find fellowship with God in him.

Monday, July 30, 2012

Israel Hayom | Have the skeletons of the Temple Mount massacre been found?

Israel Hayom | Have the skeletons of the Temple Mount massacre been found?:

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Have the skeletons of the Temple Mount massacre been found?

Veteran journalist Benny Liss releases movie he filmed of underground cave on Temple Mount where he found a mass grave • He believes the skeletons are the remains of Jews massacred by the Romans when they destroyed the Temple Mount, but urges the authorities to properly examine the area.
Nadav Shragai
Jews, Christians or Muslims? An image from the film of the skeletons. 
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Photo credit: Yoav Ari Dudkevitch

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Scorched Wheat May Provide Answers on the Destruction of Canaanite Tel Hazor – Bible History Daily

Scorched Wheat May Provide Answers on the Destruction of Canaanite Tel Hazor – Bible History Daily:

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Scorched Wheat May Provide Answers on the Destruction of Canaanite Tel Hazor

Bible and archaeology news

The palace entryway appears in this reconstruction drawing, which shows Canaanites walking from the courtyard in the foreground, across a raised porch, toward the throne room entrance. Maria Teresa Rubiato
The recent discovery of massive jars of scorched wheat at Canaanite Tel Hazor may shed new light on the destruction of one of Israel’s most prominent sites. The discovery of the 3,400 year-old wheat in a Late Bronze Age palace structure give a more complete image of the area’s agriculture before the destruction, and can help date the fire through carbon-14 analysis.
Joshua 11:10-13 describes the Israelite destruction of Hazor:
An excavator sits amidst the ashes and broken storage jars of the destruction layer. The oil stored in these jars brought the fire that destroyed the palace to a scorching 2350° F. Studio Sztulman-Kessel, Jerusalem

(10) And Joshua turned back at that time, and took Hazor, and smote its king with the sword; for Hazor formerly was the head of all those kingdoms.
(11) And they put to the sword all who were in it, utterly destroying them; there was none left that breathed, and he burned Hazor with fire.
(12) And all the cities of those kings, and all their kings, Joshua took, and smote them with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying them, as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded.
(13) But none of the cities that stood on mounds did Israel burn, except Hazor only; that Joshua burned.
This destruction is a highly debated subject in Biblical archaeology. The Book of Joshua suggests that after the conquest of Hazor, Joshua quickly took all of the land between the Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilee. The Book of Judges (4:1-2, 4:23-4) presents a different picture, in which the settlement of Canaan is a slow, generally peaceful infiltration of scattered tribes gradually coexisting with the Canaanites.
Whatever the case, the destruction is well attested. The jugs of wheat are far from the only evidence of a large fire in the palace: excavations have produced burnt cedar beams, a collapsed ceiling, bricks cemented from heat exposure, and soot on the walls. The palatial building containing the massive wheat jugs is attached to another palace. The two structures would have served differing purposes; one administrative, the other ceremonial.
The destroyers of Hazor deliberately beheaded this 15-inch tall Canaanite statue of a seated man. In this photo of the statue in situ, the head lies behind the figure’s high-backed chair. Yigael Yadin Expedition

Excavation directors Ben-Tor and Zuckerman have different takes on the destruction. In the article “Excavating Hazor, Part Two: Did the Israelites Destroy the Canaanite City?”, Amnon Ben-Tor and Maria Theresa Rubiato write that “the ‘Israel’ of the Merneptah Stele seems to be the most likely candidate for the violent destruction of Canaanite Hazor.”
In the BAR article “Where Is the Hazor Archive Buried?”, Zuckerman states that “More recent dating of this destruction places it too early for the Israelites. Yet Ben-Tor is right in excluding the Sea Peoples (who included the Philistines), the Egyptians and rival Canaanite cities. Who is left? I believe it was an internal revolt within the city that was responsible for the destruction. The city was then abandoned until the arrival of the Israelites.”
The expedition to Hazor in the mid-1950s, led by the late Yigael Yadin, was the largest and most important archaeological excavation undertaken by the young state of Israel.
Tel Hazor, the largest archaeological site in northern Israel, features an upper tell of 30 acres as well as a lower city of more than 175 acres. Excavation directors discovered the large clay jugs of burned wheat in what they call a palace from the Bronze Age city, which occupied more than 200 acres of land.
 

Praying Hands - Do you know the story? via Christian Rep

Praying Hands : Christian Rep:

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Back in the fifteenth century, in a tiny village near Nuremberg, lived a family with eighteen children. Eighteen! In order merely to keep food on the table for this mob, the father and head of the household, a goldsmith by profession, worked almost eighteen hours a day at his trade and any other paying chore he could find in the neighborhood.
Despite their seemingly hopeless condition, two of Albrecht Durer the Elder’s children had a dream. They both wanted to pursue their talent for art, but they knew full well that their father would never be financially able to send either of them to Nuremberg to study at the Academy.
After many long discussions at night in their crowded bed, the two boys finally worked out a pact. They would toss a coin. The loser would go down into the nearby mines and, with his earnings, support his brother while he attended the academy. Then, when that brother who won the toss completed his studies, in four years, he would support the other brother at the academy, either with sales of his artwork or, if necessary, also by laboring in the mines.
They tossed a coin on a Sunday morning after church. Albrecht Durer won the toss and went off to Nuremberg.
Albert went down into the dangerous mines and, for the next four years, financed his brother, whose work at the academy was almost an immediate sensation. Albrecht’s etchings, his woodcuts, and his oils were far better than those of most of his professors, and by the time he graduated, he was beginning to earn considerable fees for his commissioned works.
When the young artist returned to his village, the Durer family held a festive dinner on their lawn to celebrate Albrecht’s triumphant homecoming. After a long and memorable meal, punctuated with music and laughter, Albrecht rose from his honored position at the head of the table to drink a toast to his beloved brother for the years of sacrifice that had enabled Albrecht to fulfill his ambition. His closing words were, “And now, Albert, blessed brother of mine, now it is your turn. Now you can go to Nuremberg to pursue your dream, and I will take care of you.”
All heads turned in eager expectation to the far end of the table where Albert sat, tears streaming down his pale face, shaking his lowered head from side to side while he sobbed and repeated, over and over, “No …no …no …no.”
Finally, Albert rose and wiped the tears from his cheeks. He glanced down the long table at the faces he loved, and then, holding his hands close to his right cheek, he said softly, “No, brother. I cannot go to Nuremberg. It is too late for me. Look … look what four years in the mines have done to my hands! The bones in every finger have been smashed at least once, and lately I have been suffering from arthritis so badly in my right hand that I cannot even hold a glass to return your toast, much less make delicate lines on parchment or canvas with a pen or a brush. No, brother … for me it is too late.”
More than 450 years have passed. By now, Albrecht Durer’s hundreds of masterful portraits, pen and silver-point sketches, watercolors, charcoals, woodcuts, and copper engravings hang in every great museum in the world, but the odds are great that you, like most people, are familiar with only one of Albrecht Durer’s works. More than merely being familiar with it, you very well may have a reproduction hanging in your home or office.
One day, to pay homage to Albert for all that he had sacrificed, Albrecht Durer painstakingly drew his brother’s abused hands with palms together and thin fingers stretched skyward. He called his powerful drawing simply “Hands,” but the entire world almost immediately opened their hearts to his great masterpiece and renamed his tribute of love “The Praying Hands.”
The next time you see a copy of that touching creation, take a second look. Let it be your reminder, if you still need one, that no one – no one – - ever makes it alone!
~Source Unknown~

Monday, July 23, 2012

TOXIC!!

TOXIC!!

".... the synagogue ruler said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.” Luke 13:14 


Toxic Faith!   Read these words and they sound contradictory. How can one have faith that is toxic? How can faith become toxic? And then, why would someone want to have a faith that is toxic?

Toxins are the rage, and have been for more than a century. From our water to our food, everyone is concerned about toxic this or that. Yet, you hear very little of people talking about faith as being toxic, or even concerned if it is.  The first question is how does faith become toxic?  It becomes toxic or poisoned when God is no longer its focus, motivator or center. Could you imagine, having a severed limb - going into an ER only to be told to come back tomorrow?  We would be outraged.  Could you imagine calling the poison control center because someone has just swallowed rat poison, only to be put immediately on hold for over 30 minutes? We would want heads to roll for that one. And yet, we need to take care in our judgments of these. 

In Jesus' day, He had healed a man on the Sabbath. What a glorious thing! A man with an infirmity healed after all this time, and rather than be happy for the man, or joyous that God would grant mercy to such a one, the synagogue leader was more concerned about the technicalities, rules and regulations than they did on the people he was meant to shepherd and love. The local leader chastises Jesus for, in a sense, rushing to the aid of a bleeding child instead of making sure the carpet stayed clean.  

Jesus said the greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. And that the second greatest commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself. He adds, “All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." (Matthew 22:37-40)  I understand this to mean that love should always be the foundation of our rules and regulations, and ALWAYS trumps the technicalities. 

In the same respect, we also need to understand that love and compassion do not grant us excuses as believers to always come up with ways NOT to do what God says or asks. God has given us His word for our growth, learning, and experience. To come up with excuses to always NOT do what God says, is just as TOXIC as putting everything under a microscope of perfection.

So, be careful of TOXIC faith, on either side. This is why "For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.(Mt.7:14)" Because on either side of that are toxic pits that lead to our ruin.

Jim


Acts 6 — Photo Illustrations | Ferrell's Travel Blog

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Acts 6 — Photo Illustrations

Acts 6 records the selection of seven devout men to tend a need that has arisen among the new disciples of Christ. The function of these men seems similar to that of those later referred to as deacons (Philippians 1:1; 1 Timothy 3:8ff.).
One of these men, Stephen, had a leading role in the spread of the word and the resultant obedience to the faith by many. Even priests were becoming obedient to the faith. But there was opposition which eventually led to the stoning of Stephen.
Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and disputed with Stephen.  (Acts 6:9 ESV)
These Freedmen were liberated slaves (“Former Slaves” in the CEB). The termLibertines used in the KJV and the ASV probably leaves the wrong impression to a modern reader.
An inscription was discovered by French Archaeologist Raymond Weill in 1914 (some say 1913) in the area of the hill of Ophel or the City of David, south of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
The inscription is known as the Theodotus Inscription. Theodotus was the name of the priest and synagogue ruler whose name is the first word of the inscription. It is 25″ wide and 17″ high. This synagogue was for the use of Jews of the Diaspora when they visited Jerusalem. Saul of Tarus in Cilicia was probably comfortable among those who assembled there.
Herschel Shanks says this synagogue,
“is one of the most dramatic archaeological finds of the century. Like the Masada synagogue, it serves to confirm rather than to challenge our expectations regarding the existence of pre-destruction synagogues. For the Talmud tells us that before the Roman destruction of the Temple there were 394 synagogues in Jerusalem and gives us much the same picture of the synagogue as the one offered by the Jerusalem synagogue inscription. (Judaism in Stone: The Archaeology of Ancient Synagogues, 20)
Theodotos Inscription from Synagogue of Freedmen. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.
Theodotos Inscription from Synagogue of Freedmen. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.
This inscription was formerly displayed in the Rockefeller Museum, but is now exhibited in the Israel Museum. Click on the image for a larger one.
The translation of the Greek inscription reads as follows:
“Theodotus son of Vettenus, priest and synagogue leader, son of a synagogue leader, grandson of a synagogue leader, rebuilt this synagogue for the reading of the Law and the teaching of the commandments, and the hostelry, rooms and baths, for the lodging of those who have need from abroad. It was established by his forefathers, the elders and Simonides.” (Shanks, BAR, July/Aug 2003.)
The phrase “synagogue leader” which is used three times in the inscription is the Greek term archisunagogos. Luke uses the same term three times in his history of the early church (Acts 13:15; 18:8; 18:17). In each case he is writing about a synagogue leader of the Diaspora Jews.

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Acts 5 — Photo Illustrations | Ferrell's Travel Blog

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Acts 5 — Photo Illustrations

The temple held a central place in the early days of the church. The gospel was preached to the large number of Jews from “every nation under heaven” in the temple precinct. After their acceptance of Jesus as Lord and Christ, the disciples continued “in the temple” (Acts 2:5; 2:46).
Twice in Acts it is recorded that the followers of Jesus met in Solomon’s Portico.
Now many signs and wonders were regularly done among the people by the hands of the apostles. And they were all together in Solomon’s Portico. (Acts 5:12) ESV)
The Greek word for portico or porch is stoa. The term is used in Acts 3:11; 5:12; John 5:2; 10:23. BDAG says it is used of,
a roofed colonnade open normally on one side, portico.
During a winter visit to Jerusalem at the time of the Feast of Dedication, Jesus “was walking in the temple in the portico of Solomon” (John 10:23).
Second Temple Model showing porticoes around the perimeter of the Temple precinct. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.
Notice porticoes around the perimeter of the temple precinct. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.
This photo provides a better view of some of the Royal Portico on the south side of the temple platform (left). The other portico is on the west side. Solomon’s Portico is hidden by the wall on the east side.
Second Temple Model showing Porticoes. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.
Second Temple Model showing Porticoes. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.
Each portico was formed by two rows of columns and was 49 feet wide. These “lent great splendor and majesty to the lofty Mount and served also – the royal Portico in particular – as the gathering place for great assemblies” (Mazar, The Mountain of the Lord, 124). Fragments of these gigantic monolithic columns (27 ft. high; 4.6 ft. in diameter) have been uncovered during the Temple Mount excavations directed by Professor Mazar.
The Royal Portico was built by Herod along the southern end of the Temple courts and is described by Josephus as deserving to be mentioned above any under the sun (Antiquities 15.11.5).
Solomon’s Colonnade or Portico ran along the eastern portion of the outer court of the temple precincts.

Monday, July 16, 2012

It is NOT unattainable!


Following up on my lesson from two weeks ago about Eph.4:1-6, Paul mentions there are things that are only ONE!  If you continue reading Eph.4, you discover the reason that Paul goes to such lengths to emphasize these ONES is to point out our responsibilities in becoming like Christ. Eph 4:13  “until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ…”

The measure of Christ is the guide or the model we are to strive to achieve. This statement is qualified by the two prior to it:
  1. 1.    Attain to the Unity of Faith – The things that God has provided for in the functioning of His house, are given to this end. Unity of faith is not seeing everything identical. This misses the boat entirely. The context of the statement is that the functioning of ministry (service) is to continue for the purpose of building up of other saints (Christians) to continue the work of ministry and building up of Christ’s house (vs.12; 2 Tim.2:2)
  2. 2.  To the measure of the Stature of the fullness of Christ -  Measure is better understood “degree.” It is a means of measure and degree indicates the measure by which something is complete (i.e. 50% complete, 75% complete etc.)  Stature in the original Greek, means maturity of years or size. So, understanding this statement is that God gave the functions within His body as He did, so that you and I might be able to continue the work that He has given, to bring others to the degree of completeness that we have matured to the extent that we are in Christ and Christ is in us so fully that we cannot be distinguished from each other (see also Jn.17).

Some would say that this is a tall order – and it is. Yet, it is NOT unattainable!
  1. ·         First, we must choose to let go of old ways of acting and behaving. Everything connected with that old way of life has to go because it’s rotten. Get rid of it!” (Eph.4:22)
  2. ·         Second, we must change the way we think. We can no longer let ourselves be guided by the way that the world thinks. We have to let God’s Spirit change our way of thinking to be more and more like Christ (Eph. 4:23). The Bible says we are “transformed” by renewing of our minds (Rom.12:2).
  3. ·        Third, we have to put on the character of Christ in all of our ways by developing new, godly habits. Our character is essentially the sum of how we habitually act. The Bible says, “Put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (Eph.4:24 NIV).

Throughout the Bible, we see an important truth illustrated over and over: The Holy Spirit releases his power the moment you take a step of faith in the right direction towards God. Read Hebrews 11 and you will see generations of people who through trust, did what God said and were rewarded for it. Heeding God’s voice unlocks God’s power.  Don’t wait to feel powerful or confident. Move ahead in your weakness, doing the right thing in spite of your fears and feelings. Co-operating with God’s Holy Spirit, when God calls you to walk in faith is how your character develops. So, some pertinent questions to ask ourselves would be

  • What God-directed action have you put off because you felt inadequate or weak? – Perhaps you need to trust in faith God’s best interests for you and make that step today!
  • What old habits do you need to do away with? – Perhaps you need to trust in faith that if you do this, that God will give you better ones.


Jim

Acts 4 — Photo Illustrations | Ferrell's Travel Blog

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Acts 4 — Photo Illustrations

In Acts 4 we have several public characters mentioned who had a part in the trial of Jesus or in the opposition to the new movement of believers in Jesus as Lord and Christ (Acts 2:36). I will call attention to two of them. The first is a religious leader, and the second is one of the Roman procurators or prefects.
Caiaphas. Caiaphas was the son-in-law of Annas. He was appointed high priest by Valerius Gratus, procurator of Judea, in A.D. 18 and deposed by Vitellius, legate of Syria, in A.D. 36 at the same time Pilate was removed as procurator of Judea. Caiaphas was the Jewish high priest before whom Jesus was tried (John 18:13-14, 24).
In November, 1990, a burial cave was found accidentally during construction of a water park at a promenade overlooking the Peace Forest just south of the old city of Jerusalem. The cave contained 12 ossuaries, two of which contained the name of the well-known family of the high priest Caiaphas. One ossuary bore the inscription Qafa, and the other bore the name Yehosef bar Qayafa (Joseph, son of Caiaphas) and Yehosef bar Qafa (Joseph, son of Caiaphas). Inside this beautiful ossuary was found the bones of six different people: 2 infants, a child between 2 and 5, a young boy between 13 and 18, an adult woman and “a male of about 60 years!”
According to Josephus, Caiaphas was named Joseph Caiaphas (Ant. 18.2.2).
The Caiaphas ossuary is on display in the Israel Museum. (See articles: Zvi Greenhut, “Burial Cave of the Caiaphas Family,” BAR 18.5 (1992): 29-36. Ronny Reich, “Caiaphas Name Inscribed on Bone Boxes,” BAR 18.5 (1992): 38-44.)
Decorated ossuary bearing the name of Caiaphas. Israel Museum. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.
Ossuary bearing the name of Caiaphas. Israel Museum. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.
Pontius Pilate. Pilate was the Roman procurator of Judea when Jesus was crucified (A.D. 26-36). An inscription bearing the name of Pilate was discovered at Caesarea, the residence of the procurator, in 1961. The stone is thought to have been used in the dedication of a statue or some public building. The original is in the Israel Museum but a replica is displayed at Caesarea.
Murphy-O’Connor suggests the following translation of the Latin inscription: “Pontius Pilate, Prefect of Judaea, made and dedicated the Tiberieum to the Divine Augustus” (The Holy Land, 3rd ed., 215).
Pilate Inscription (Replica) at Caesarea Maritima. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.
Pilate Inscription (Replica) at Caesarea Maritima. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.
The Roman historian Tacitus (A.D. 55-117) writes about the persecution of a group commonly called Christians. He says the originator or author of the group,
Christ, was put to death by the procurator, Pontius Pilate, while Tiberius was emperor…
See John 18:28ff.

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Tomb of the Maccabees

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TUESDAY, JULY 10, 2012

The tombs of the Maccabees again

THE TOMBS OF THE MACCABEES are in the news again. Matti Friedman has one of his characteristically thorough articles on the subject, giving background, previous dead-ends in research, and the possibility, now being explored by archaeologist Amit Reem, that they were at the site of Sheikh el-Gherbawy:
Is the Maccabees’ ancient mystery close to solution?

New impetus in the 150-year search for the spectacular tomb of the famed Judean rebels


By Matti Friedman July 9, 2012, 11:34 am The Times of Israel

Few ancient sites in the Holy Land have ignited the imagination like the lost tombs of the Maccabees, the family that led a Jewish rebel army to victory against Seleucid religious repression in the second century BCE.

Beginning more than 140 years ago, travelers, clergymen and enthusiastic scholars of varying levels of religious fervor and competence have been looking for the tomb site – described in contemporary sources as a magnificent Hellenistic monument that included pyramids and ships of carved stone and could be seen by sailors on the Mediterranean Sea, 18 miles away. The complex was one of the greatest man-made landmarks in ancient Judea.

No trace of it has ever been found.

For the early archaeologists who arrived in Ottoman Palestine with shovels, Bibles, and a thirst for the physical traces of the events described in Scripture, the tombs were a tantalizing mystery. More than a century later, so they remain.

Today, archaeologists have their eyes on a site that might — just might — provide an answer.
I'll skip down to the end of the article, which summarizes the main issues.
All of which has led Reem and other modern scholars back to the same site that drew the interest of the French diggers all those years ago.

Though Clermont-Ganneau conclusively established that the structure at Sheikh el-Gherbawy was Christian – the mosaic cross left no doubt about it – his finding might actually strengthen the possibility that the tombs are there, Reem said.

Early Christians saw the Maccabees as martyrs and would certainly have venerated their graves, he believes: In this version, the structure could have been constructed atop the lost tombs to mark their place.

In 2009, Reem made an effort to clean and investigate the site. Many of the remains the Frenchmen had seen all those years before had been long since looted, but the team used radar to peer under the ground and detected massive walls and subterranean chambers of considerable size.

The site, he noted, has remains of monumental construction; proximity to al-Midiya, which has the best claim to be ancient Modi’in; and a clear sightline to the sea. In other words, it would seem to match the criteria from the ancient writings.

Since then, Reem has been trying, without success, to drum up funding that would allow the site to be properly excavated for the first time.

“Neither I nor my colleagues are saying that this is the site of the tombs, but it’s the leading candidate,” he said. “Only a large, methodical excavation would prove or disprove the idea and solve the riddle of this place.”
Clermont-Ganneau was pretty much the Indiana Jones of the nineteenth century and seems to have been involved with practically every interesting Bible-related find of the period.

An earlier article on this site is noted here and a related one on the possible site of Modi'in is notedhere.Tomb 

Acts 3 — Photo Illustrations | Ferrell's Travel Blog

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We begin today with a photo of the Second Temple Model of Jerusalem. This is the time of Jesus and the early days of the church. The wonderful model is now displayed on the grounds of the Israel Museum. Our view of the model shows pre-70 A.D. Jerusalem from the southwest (assuming we were photographing the city; not the modern setting of the model).
To the right of the photo is the dome of the Shrine of the Book. In the distance between the trees you will see Israel’s Knesset building.
Model of the city of Jerusalem in the time of Jesus. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.
Model of the city of Jerusalem in the time of Jesus. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.
Acts 3 begins with the account of Peter and John going up to the temple.
Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the ninth hour, the hour of prayer. (Acts 3:1 NAU)
Following 1967 an excavation of area around the southern wall of the temple enclosure was conducted by Prof. Benjamin Mazar. Mazar describes themonumental stairway that was uncovered.
In the course of our excavations in the area facing the Western Hulda Gate, we uncovered a gigantic stairway which led from the Lower City (Ophel) to the gates. It is two hundred and fifteen feet wide; the foundation steps were cut into the natural bedrock on the slopes of the Temple Mount. The stairs were constructed of wide, trimmed and smoothed stone paving blocks, fitted together snugly. The stairway comprised thirty steps set alternately in wide and narrow rows. (The Mountain of the Lord, 143).
The Monumental Stairway led to the Double Gate which led into the temple precinct. We can safely say that Jesus and His disciples used these steps to enter the temple precinct.
Monumental Stairway leading to the temple. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.
Monumental Stairway leading to the temple. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.
Dr. Leen Ritmeyer, author of The Quest, calls attention to the virtual model of the Temple Mount in the time of Jesus. The brief video is helpful in understanding the area. Click here.

Monday, July 9, 2012

Mount Gerizim archaeological excavation site now open | Ferrell's Travel Blog

Mount Gerizim archaeological excavation site now open | Ferrell's Travel Blog:

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Mount Gerizim archaeological excavation site now open

Last year I visited Mount Gerizim and the Samaritan Museum. Husney W. Cohen, a priest and director of the Museum, explained the Samaritan viewpoint about several biblical events. Samaritans believe the temple was to be built on Mount Gerizim rather than Jerusalem. They think Abraham offered Isaac on the mountain. They accept only the first five books (the Pentateuch) of the Old Testament.
Cohen used a large mural to explain the Biblical account of the blessing and the curse.
“It shall come about, when the LORD your God brings you into the land where you are entering to possess it, that you shall place the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal.” (Deuteronomy 11:29 NAU) cf. Joshua 8:33-35.
Notice Jacob’s well in the lower right hand corner of the mural (John 4:5-6).
Samaritan priest explains the Samaritan view of the reading of the blessings and curses of the Law. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.
Samaritan priest, Husney W. Cohen, explains the Samaritan view of the reading of the blessing and curse of the Law. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.
At one point during the visit the priest, who said he was third in line to become high priest, took us to an open window where we could see Mount Ebal across the valley to the north.
View of Mount Ebal from a window of the Samaritan Museum on Mount Gerizim. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.
View of Mount Ebal from a window of the Samaritan Museum on Mount Gerizim. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.
Robert J. Bull of Drew University excavated a site called Tell er Ras on Mount Gerizim between 1964 and 1968 when it was under the control of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. His work uncovered evidence of Hadrian’s temple in the early second century A.D. In more recent excavations Y. Magen claims to have discovered the Samaritan temple destroyed by John Hyrcanus.
In 1982 I visited the archaeological site on Mount Gerizim. In 2011 the road to the site was closed. In 2009 it was possible to drive to the site, but it was closed to visitors. Here is a photo I made of some of the excavation and a Samaritan village on Mount Gerizim.
Archaeological site and Samaritan village on Mount Gerizim. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.
Archaeological site and Samaritan village on Mount Gerizim. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.
Two years ago we reported that the Samaritans wanted the archaeological site opened. See here. Now comes word that the site has been opened. No hours are given. See the Arutz Sheva article here.
This whole area is of great significance to students of the New Testament. The conversation between Jesus and the woman of Samaria dealt with this issue.
“Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.” (John 4:20).
Information about the Samaritan Passover may be found here, and here.