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(Post by A.D. Riddle)

The answer to yesterday’s challenge is Nabi Yoûnis (or Nebi, Neby, Yunus, Younes, Yunas—there are a variety of English spellings. I will use the spelling “approved” by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names). It was answered correctly and quickly in the comments, so maybe next time, we should leave out the Google Earth view. The name Nabi Yoûnis is Arabic for Prophet Jonah, and the site commemorates the location where the great fish spit Jonah out onto dry land. It is located in Google Earth at 33.660894°, 35.418515°.

At 8:10 am on Tuesday, June 26, 1838, Edward Robinson passed by Khan Nabi Yoûnis on his way from Sidon to Beirut. He mentions that nearby was “Wely Neby Yunas, with a white dome, marking the place where, according to the Muhammedan legend, the prophet Jonas was thrown up by the fish” (Biblical Researches 3: 430-431). A nearly identically-worded description is found in Picturesque Palestine 3: 40. 

Drawing of Nabi Yoûnis from Picturesque Palestine, vol. 3.

Today, the Muslim shrine described by Robinson is surrounded by the Shiite village named Nabi Yoûnis and bears little resemblance to the drawing above. Also, the dome is now green.

Modern Nabi Yoûnis. 

The Muslim shrine occupies the site of an earlier Byzantine church which was apparently destroyed by earthquake. Some remains from this church can be seen in reuse inside the shrine. During the Mamluk period, the structure was rebuilt and converted into a Muslim shrine.

Nabi Yoûnis, Corinthian capital from Byzantine church reused in modern Muslim shrine.

I have no way for evaluating whether or not this tradition is historically accurate, that Nabi Yoûnis is the place where Jonah was spit out. It is interesting to note that according to 2 Kings 14:25, a prophet named Jonah son of Amittai lived during Jeroboam II’s reign. This verse explains that Jonah announced large territorial gains for the kingdom of Israel in the time of Jeroboam II. For a brief moment in history, the boundary of the kingdom extended north to Lebo-Hamath, identified with modern Labwe in Lebanon. The Aramean kingdoms of Damascus and Hamath were also subjected to Israel. Nothing is said concerning the Phoenician coastal cities, so I do not know if Nabi Yoûnis would have been under some kind of Israelite control or not at this time as well.

Further note: a small side room in the Nabi Yoûnis shrine supposedly houses the tomb of Jonah. As with Noah, there are apparently multiple sites that are believed to be Jonah’s burial place. Another such tomb of Jonah is located in el-Meshhad, Israel, the site identified with Jonah’s hometown, Gath-hepher (see Picturesque Palestine 2: 61, illustration on 56).

References

Harb, Antoine Khoury.
2008     The Roots of Christianity in Lebanon. Beirut: Lebanese Heritage Foundation.

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For last year’s Water in Antiquity Conference, Chris McKinny provided some brief notes. Now the papers and PowerPoints are available for many of the presentations.

Archaeologists in Turkey are claiming to have found a long-lost city where Abraham lived.

Carl Rasmussen considers why Paul skipped the ship and walked to Assos. The photo of the Roman road is available for download. Mark Wilson interacts with the discussion in the comments.

Leen Ritmeyer has the scoop on where and when the Jerusalem IMAX movie will be showing.

The Ancient Near East Today, produced by Friends of ASOR, is a good resource for staying up-to-date. You can sign up for free here.

HT: Jack Sasson

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(Post by A.D. Riddle)

“The LORD commanded the fish, and it spewed Jonah out upon dry land” (Jonah 2:11, JPS).

Can anyone name the place where, in church tradition, Jonah was vomited back onto land? Here is a Google Earth view to get the ball rolling.

Post your answers in the comments below, and tomorrow we will post a follow-up with photo. I think it is safe to allow research for this one. Please give some indication of your source(s).

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Archaeologists working in the City of David have discovered an inscription from the 7th century that may have had the name of Zechariah the son of Benaiah (2 Chr 20:14). The inscription was found in a layer of thousands of pottery sherds, oil lamps, and figurines near the Gihon Spring.

From the IAA press release:

While not complete, the inscription presents us with the name of a seventh century BCE figure, which resembles other names known to us from both the Biblical and archaeological record (see examples below) and providing us with a connection to the people living in Jerusalem at the end of the First Temple period. This fascinating find will be presented at Megalim’s Annual Archaeological Conference which will take place on Thursday, August 29th in the City of David.
The most similar name to our inscription is Zechariah the son of Benaiah, the father of the Prophet Jahaziel. The name Zechariah the son of Benaiah appears in 2 Chronicles 20:14 where it states that Jahaziel, son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, prophesized before the Biblical King Jehoshaphat before the nation went off to war against the ancient kingdoms of Ammon and Moab.
Israel Antiquity Authority archaeologists Dr. Joe Uziel and Nahshon Zanton, who discovered the bowl while excavating remains associated with the First Temple period destruction, explained that the letters inscribed on the shard likely date to the 8-7th centuries BCE, placing the production of the bowl sometime between the reign of Hezekiah and the destruction of Jerusalem under King Zedekiah. The archaeologists also explained that the inscription was engraved on the bowl prior to firing, indicating that the inscription originally adorned the rim of the bowl in its entirety, and was not written on a shard after the vessel was broken.

The press release also includes an analysis of the inscription. Three high-resolution images are available here. The story is reported by the Jerusalem Post, The Times of Israel, and others.

Details about the City of David 14th Annual Archaeological Conference are here.

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Pottery sherd with inscription “ryhu bn bnh”

2

Figurine heads, oil lamps, and seal impressions from the debris in which the inscription was found. Photos by Clara Amit, Israel Antiquities Authority.
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Fortifications from the 8th century BC were discovered in the first season of excavations at Ashdod-Yam, the harbor city of Philistine Ashdod. The official website is here.

Gordon Govier and I talk this week on The Book and the Spade about the latest archaeological discoveries in Israel, including the Samson mosaic at Huqoq and the Sphinx fragment at Hazor (direct link here).

The Israel Exploration Society recently observed its centennial, an event celebrated by an op-ed in the Jerusalem Post.

Amnon Ben-Tor reviews the finds from the controversial tenth century BC at Hazor.

Ferrell Jenkins describes Assyrian ruins that will soon be flooded by the Tigris River.

Exploring Bible Lands has a break-down of places shown in the Jerusalem IMAX 3D trailer. The
movie opens in theaters next month.

Ziyaret Tepe, citadel Neo-Assyrian Bronze Palace with later pits, adr1005212203
Neo-Assyrian Bronze Palace at Ziyaret Tepe
Photo from Eastern and Central Turkey
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(Post by Seth M. Rodriquez)

Our Picture of the Week comes from the Sinai Peninsula: a rugged, mountainous area in eastern Egypt. This region was in the news this week due to violence and unrest in the area related to the political turmoil of the last couple of months. On Tuesday, one reporter stated,

“Sinai is always a bit of a sort of lawless area, but it’s especially that way now. There’s been daily attacks there ever since the takeover by the military from President Morsi six weeks ago. And some of these checkpoints – military checkpoints, police checkpoints – have been shot at 50, 60 times. You can see the bullet holes, you can see the burn marks where grenades have been fired at them.” —Robert Worth, in “Sinai Peninsula Sees Increasing Violence Since Morsi Takeover,” NPR ©2013, http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=211735488

The statement that the Sinai Peninsula is a “lawless area” has been an apt description of the region throughout history. It has always been an area that was difficult to control, and often times has been a haven for those who sought refuge from civilization. For example, Elijah sought refuge in this area when he was fleeing from Jezebel (1 Kgs. 19:1-8). Not much has changed from then until now. It is still a relatively desolate place where those who want to avoid authorities can thrive.

A nineteenth century traveler once described the region in the following way:

Through the whole journey in the peninsula, or in the “Desert of the Wanderings,” is noticeable in the clear luminous air the deep silence. The Arabs conducting the distinguished Niebuhr declared that their voices could be heard from shore to shore of the Gulf of ’Akabah. Exaggeration doubtless, but exaggeration of a fact—that in these silent regions the human voice travels a long way. Noticeable also is the fragrance of the Desert. Most of the low shrubs, which seem more dead than alive on one’s stony path, are aromatic. But notice-worthy beyond everything is the desolation and mountain confusion. Most desolate, most barren—for the little oases of verdure we have mentioned are lost out of sight in any general view of the mountains—these hills of Sinai are the “Alps unclothed.” A naked Switzerland, even though its glaciers and snows should remain, seems inconceivable; but Sinai is naked as to any verdure of forest tree, or fir, or pine, or moss, or flowery pasture. Strange lichens grow on the boulders and rocks in some parts, as weird in form as vivid in colouring. Such a path as that which leads up Jebel Katharína is all the world over much the same as a Swiss mountain-path, but the illusion vanishes when one looks for the shade of the trees which beguile the way up a ravine in Switzerland. Then the confusion—the intricate complication of peak and ridge! One traveller (Sir Frederic Henniker) says of the view from Jebel Músa, that it is as if “Arabia Petræa were an ocean of lava, which, whilst its waves were running mountains high, had suddenly stood still.”

The Sinai Peninsula is perhaps best described as a rugged, “in between” place. It’s the perfect setting for those who want to remove themselves from the rest of the world, which makes it a dangerous place for those who are just passing through.

The picture and excerpt are taken from “Sinai” by C. Pickering Clarke in Picturesque Palestine, Sinai, and Egypt, Vol. 4, edited by Charles Wilson (London: J. S. Virtue and Co., 1881; electronic ed. by Todd Bolen, 2004 ). The excerpt can be found on p. 17. This image and an electronic copy of the book is included in Picturesque Palestine, Volume IV: Sinai and Egypt which is available here for $20 (or you can purchase all 4 volumes for $55). More images of the Sinai Peninsula are available on the BiblePlaces website here and here, and on LifeintheHolyLand.com here and here.

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