We're in the middle of the "high holy days" here in Israel.
These begin with Rosh HaShanah (which was last Tuesday) and climax
with on Thursday with Yom Kippur, a day of fasting and repentance.
After that comes holiday of Sukkot (Tabernacles). Sukkot is the
most enjoyable as it is a week-long feast, which beats a fast of any
length! This time of year is perfect in Israel, as the heat of
summer fades but the coldness of winter is yet to arrive.
This would be the perfect time of year to spend a week at the Sea of
Galilee, and that is exactly what I'm doing right now. I'm sharing
the lake with my family and 33 students, and that only adds to the fun.
Every day we go out and explore ancient and biblical sites. Every
evening we come back and watch the sunset over the Sea of Galilee.
We've been coming here twice a year for a long time now, and over the
years I've taken many sea and sunset shots. This month I want to
share some of my favorites.
As usual, there is a recap of news related to the biblical world in
the last month, with photos where possible. A few follow-up notes
from previous stories are included as well.
Todd Bolen
Editor, BiblePlaces.com
Assoc. Professor, The Master's College
Israel
Bible Extension (IBEX), Judean
Hills, Israel
News from Israel
Excavations in the Muslim Quarter
Some controversy has arisen over a new excavation project in the Muslim
Quarter. The property is owned by a religious Jewish group who is
interested in finding any evidence of ancient Jewish life in the area.
Haaretz has a lengthy and
interesting story about it, but in short, the Israel Antiquities
Authority has excavated about 40 feet (12 m) down and 65 feet (20 m)
across, including underneath some (Muslim-owned) houses. The
property is located in the Central (Tyropoean) Valley just north of the
Western Wall prayer area. In passing, the article mentions the
discovery of a "monumental building" from Herod's time. My
curiosity is aroused!
Caesarea Mosaics
Just opened to the public is a Byzantine mansion on the hills
overlooking the Mediterranean Sea at Caesarea. The heart of the mosaic
is a series of 120 medallions of birds, and the border has numerous running
animals, including a lion, elephant, wild boar, and ibex. The site was
first discovered 50 years ago, but it was then buried until recent years.
Altogether the mansion was 15,000 sq. feet (1,500 sq. m), and it was destroyed
by fire possibly in the Muslim invasion of 640 A.D. The Jerusalem Post
carried an
initial article and a
follow-up article.
Follow-Ups to Previous
Stories
David's Palace Photos
The discovery of "David's palace" was a big story this summer, but
pictures were hard to find, in part because the excavators concealed the
dig with a high fence with tarps blocking the
view. Now an intrepid explorer has overcome that obstacle and
posted dozens of photos of the excavation area for all to see.
They are available in high-resolution as well, but what you won't find
are explanations that make it clear what exactly you're looking at.
Go to www.deinde.org and scroll
down for the photos.
Temple Mount Rubbish
Work continues in sifting the material removed from the Temple Mount and
now the most interesting discovery so far has been announced.
Archaeologist Gabriel Barkay has found
a
seal impression dating to the Old Testament period. The seal is
very tiny (less than 1/2 inch in diameter), and most of it cannot be
read, but three letters are visible. The
Jerusalem Post has more details of the discovery. They don't
answer this question: what else was lost in the massive uncontrolled
removal of earth from this ancient site? The answer: we'll never
know.
Quote of the Day
I am a teacher, and a few weeks ago I gave out a new
assignment. I asked the students to spend some time studying one of the
volumes of the Survey of Western Palestine, and then write a review about it.
My primary goal was to give them exposure to and understanding of one of the
best studies of the land ever done. One student found a remarkable quote in
looking through volume 3: "The study of archaeology in Palestine, by
excavation or otherwise, is not likely to bring to light very much of value
with respect to the illustration of
the
Bible" (p. 450). That was in the 1880s. If only they had known... :-)
By the way, the Maps of the
Survey of
Western Palestine are available on CD from BiblePlaces.com ($35) and the
complete
index (168 pages of small print!) is now available as well, in PDF format
- search-able, copy-able, print-able. And it's free.
Paleo-Hebrew Fonts
BiblePlaces.com is excited to announce the release of a newly-created set of fonts
imitating the ancient scribes' writing style. Anyone can type in a
modern Hebrew script, but Kris Udd has now made it possible to "write" just
the same way that the scribe did who penned the famous Siloam Inscription in
Hezekiah's Tunnel. Or in the handwriting of the one who inscribed the
Ketef Hinnom amulets. Altogether, there are eight new fonts, including
the Tel Dan Inscription, the Yavneh Yam Inscription and several of the Lachish
Letters. BiblePlaces has a full
comparison chart
of the fonts and a single zip file with
all of the fonts. It's all free of charge for personal or educational
use. Tell a friend or impress your teacher!
Don't Tell, Show Someone Else
At the encouragement of a big fan of the Pictorial Library of Bible
Lands, I just finished creating a PowerPoint
"demo" that explains more of the features and advantages of the
Pictorial Library collection. This is currently not publicly
available, but if you'd like to tell your class, friends or anyone else
why the Pictorial Library is so valuable, send me an email with a short
note as to how you would use it and I'll send it to you. The
presentation is largely self-explanatory, so you need only add comments
where you desire. Give me some time to respond, as I'm really
enjoying the water lapping at my feet :-).
Featured BiblePlaces Photos:
Sea of Galilee
Europeans flock to the beaches in droves in the
summer, and a favorite spot of many are the Mediterranean islands.
BiblePlaces.com is working on a new collection of photographs of islands
related to Paul's Missionary Journeys, but there are a lot of islands
and we don't expect to finish this year. In the meantime, we
thought we'd share some of our favorite shots from Crete. Paul
was probably on this island on two occasions: once on his way to prison in Rome and
later after he was released.
Each photo is linked to a higher-resolution
version which may be used freely for personal and educational purposes.
Commercial use requires separate permission. For more
high-quality, high-resolution photographs and illustrations of biblical
sites, purchase the
Pictorial Library of
Bible Lands or the
Historic Views of
the Holy Land series.
