BiblePlaces Newsletter
Vol. 4, #3 - June 15, 2005


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Tourism is back in Israel, with tour buses bringing loads of visitors to the sites.  That's good if you love for more people to see this great land; it's bad if you don't like having your group pushed out of a great view on Mt. Carmel.  (I like to hog the good spots :-)).  If you haven't been to Israel yet, start scheming a way to get here.  It's worth every shekel.

I'm excited about a number of things that BiblePlaces.com is doing.  Rather than share them all now, I'll pass them on as they become available over the next year.  The first is described in detail below - a fantastic CD with beautiful aerial photographs of Israel.  It's not for sale, but there's an easy way to get it.

As always, I'm interested in the latest news stories related to the Bible.  If you hear something good, pass it on, and if I can get to it and photograph it, I will.

Todd Bolen
Editor, BiblePlaces.com
Assoc. Professor, The Master's College
Israel Bible Extension (IBEX), Judean Hills, Israel

 

 

Free CD with Aerial Photos

There is a catch, but it's a small one and easily worth it.  You don't even have to pay shipping for the CD.  What I'm asking in "exchange" for the free CD is that you recommend the BiblePlaces Newsletter to five others.  You might forward them this newsletter, with a comment at the top about its value.  Do that to five people, and then send me an email with your name and address before June 22.  That's it.

What do you get?  The "Aerials of Israel 2005" CD is all-new, unpublished photographs of several dozen sites in Israel.  It includes more than 120 high-resolution jpg files, which are also presented in PowerPoint files with helpful identifying labels.  Some of the sites included are Arad, Ashkelon, Beersheba, Beth Shean, Caesarea, Jaffa, Jericho, Jezreel, Masada, and Megiddo.  Five of the photos are included below as part of this month's newsletter, but be assured that the collection is much more than these five (for instance, you'll love the shot of Herod's northern palace at Masada).  As with the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands, this CD is of the highest quality and has a money-back guarantee. :-)  You'll love it, I promise.

What won't you get?  Junk mail or spam of any kind.  Your address will be used only to mail you this CD.  There are no hidden strings in this offer in any way.

Why would we do this?  Because we believe what BiblePlaces.com produces is absolutely the best available and we want more people to know about it.  Some great new stuff is on the way, and we want more people to hear about it through this newsletter.  As you know if you've been a subscriber for any length of time, this newsletter offers great, free content in every edition.

Again, tell five people (friends, a pastor, former teachers, your mom) who have an interest in biblical studies, and email me your mailing address, and we'll send you the CD.  This offer is also available to those who subscribe in response to this newsletter, but expires on June 22.
 


News and Updates from Israel


Ancient Date Seed Sprouts

Scientists in Jerusalem have recently succeeded in germinating a date palm from a 2,000-year-old seed found in excavations of a storehouse at Masada.  The plant is now a foot (30 cm) tall and could reveal more about Judean palms, which had been extinct.  Modern palm trees in Israel were imported from California.  If the tree survives and is female, it will produce its first fruit in 30 years.  You can read more in the NY Times or Haaretz articles.

Pool of Siloam

 
My vote continues to be that this is the find of the decade for "biblical archaeology" (see my Top 5 Stories of 2004).  Thus frequent updates are included in this newsletter on the excavations at the Pool of Siloam.  These photos show the pool in its best state yet (after construction required that the pool be buried and re-excavated).  The photo at right shows the steps leading into the pool - about 20 so far.  The photo at left shows the relation of the revealed steps to the large garden where the pool extends.  Known to locals as Birket el-Hamra ("the earthen pool"), this garden has long concealed the pool where the blind man was healed by Jesus (John 9).  Click the photos for higher-resolution versions.
 

Ancient Home Uncovered in Jerusalem

Across from the Pool of Siloam excavations, another dig has recently revealed a residence from the Second Temple period.  It sits on the lower slope of the Western Hill, just above the Central (Tyropoean) Valley.  The Jerusalem Post has a short article about it.  In addition, although I have not seen anything published about it, excavations in the City of David above Area G are on-going under the direction of Eilat Mazar.  Many scholars believe this is the most likely location for the palace of David.
 


Click picture for higher-resolution version.

Temple Mount Bulge Repairs Complete

The story began when work to create a new mosque in "Solomon's Stables" caused the southern wall of the Temple Mount to bulge.  Now it looks like the work on the southern bulge is complete and scaffolding is being removed.  The new stones can easily be identified and form another chapter in the destruction and repair of the Temple Mount walls.

 

Changes at Western Wall

A snowfall in the winter of 2004 caused part of the ramp leading from the Western Wall plaza to the Temple Mount to collapse.  That led to a plan to excavate and remove the earthen ramp.  In order to facilitate non-Muslim entry to the Temple Mount, this temporary ramp is being constructed.


Click picture for higher-resolution version.

 


Click picture for higher-resolution version.

Holyland Hotel Model to Move

You may have heard that the famous and wonderful model of Jerusalem was going to be relocated to the Israel Museum, and here you can see why.  A series of high-rise apartment buildings are being built adjacent to the model, and this new neighborhood doesn't want the high volume of traffic that visits the model.  Bulldozers are currently at work preparing the ground at the museum.


Antiquities Smuggling 101

Postal authorities intercepted the attempting smuggling of a weight dated to the Bar Kochba revolt (135 A.D.).  This Arutz-7 article has photos of the professional effort.  Rather sophisticated!
 

The Dead Sea is Dying

The gradual decrease of the Dead Sea's water level is not obvious to this observer, but according to scientists, the water level is going down about 3 feet (1 m) each year.  The Washington Post has a good story on the decline and the reasons for it (registration may be req'd).  The photo at left shows how far a pier is out of the water because of the decline.


Click picture for higher-resolution version.

 


Featured BiblePlaces Photos: Aerials of Israel

These are a few of the photos on the new "Aerials of Israel 2005" CD.  You get these free whether you participate in the above offer or not.  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 new Historic Views of the Holy Land series.  There are no better collections than these, at any price!
 

Joppa and Tel Aviv

The town and harbor of Joppa (modern Jaffa) are located on the point which juts out into the water.  Jonah attempted to sail to Tarshish from this port. About 100 years ago, a Jewish community was formed to the north of Jaffa. It became today’s city of Tel Aviv, which engulfs its ancient predecessor.  Click the photo for a high-resolution version.

 

Beth Shean

The most impressive Greco-Roman site in Israel, archaeologists estimate that only about 10% of the city has been uncovered thus far.  In the Old Testament period, the settlement was located on the tell at the top of the photo, and here King Saul's body was hung by the Philistines (1 Sam 31).  In the later periods, the city became known as Scythopolis and was one of the cities of the Decapolis.  Though there is no record of Jesus visiting the city, geography dictates that he passed by it on his way from Galilee to Jericho or Jerusalem. Click the above photo for a high-resolution version or see more photos of Beth Shean at BiblePlaces.com.

 

Masada

The setting sun lights up the western side of this desert holdout.  The casemate wall of Herod the Great is easily visible, as is the western palace (about one-third of the way in from the left).  The Roman siege ramp is in the shadow at the far left.  Masada is most famous for the Jewish rebels who sought refuge here after Jerusalem fell in 70 A.D.  Click the above photo for a high-resolution version or see more photos of Masada at BiblePlaces.com.

 

Megiddo

I've taken a lot of photographs of Megiddo, but this is my favorite.  The more you know about the site, the more you will see why this is so.  In short, you can see it all in this picture.  And if you don't know what "all" is, here's a snapshot from the PowerPoint file on the "Aerials of Israel 2005" CD.  The photos are labeled in the PowerPoint files, which makes it easy to add, change, or delete labels.  Click the above photo for the regular high-resolution version or see more photos of Megiddo at BiblePlaces.com.

 

Caesarea

I wish someone else would go rent an airplane, take high-resolution photos, put labels on them, and then give them to me.  I've wanted some good shots of Herod's harbor at Caesarea for a long time.  The ancient harbor is submerged, but is visible as the dark blue patterns in the water.  Josephus recorded that 300 boats could be docked in the harbor at one time.  Click the above photo for a high-resolution version or see more photos of Caesarea at BiblePlaces.com.

 


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All contents (c) 2005 Todd Bolen.  Text and photographs may be used for personal and educational use.  Commercial use requires written permission.  The free CD offer may be altered or rescinded at the sole discretion of BiblePlaces.com.