Jerusalem Archives - Page 149 of 198

Lecture Series at Givat Yeshiahu

The Israel Antiquities Authority and Jewish National Fund are sponsoring a series of lectures described in this flyer (HT: Joe Lauer). Givat Yeshiahu is in the Shephelah, not far from Khirbet Qeiyafa. From the flyer:

The Israel Antiquities Authority and JNF invites the community at large and local residents to a series of lectures in English on a variety of archeological themes focusing on our regional heritage – past and future.

Oct 13 New Discoveries from Excavations in the Jerusalem Region, by Jon Seligman, Jerusalem Regional Archaeologist, Israel Antiquities Authority

Oct 27 Tel Kaifa – the Ayelah [Elah] Fortress, by Professor Yossi Garfinkel, Hebrew University

Nov 3 Stories of plunder: treasures and forgeries, by Shai Bartura, chief investigator for illegal sale and theft of antiquities

The lectures will be held on Wednesday evenings at 20:00 at the Jewish National Fund (JNF) Center near Givat Yeshiahu in the Ayelah [Elah] Valley.

Cost of individual lectures:20 NIS

For further information and registration call: 02-9921136 or 1-800-350-550.

Tagged Jerusalem, Lectures, Shephelah

Western Wall Underground Plaza Approved

Approval of massive renovations at the Western Wall prayer plaza bodes ill for any who like a place for quiet reflection. On the other hand, the changes will better accommodate the increasing crowds visiting the site. From the Jerusalem Post:

A new plan to completely renovate the Western Wall Plaza was approved by the Jerusalem Local Planning and Building Committee on Monday, paving the way for the most drastic changes to the layout of the area since the plaza was created after the Six Day War.
“The goal of expanding the entrances and exits of the Western Wall plaza and will give us a solution for allowing large numbers of worshipers and visitors to enter at once, as well as emergency exits,” Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch, the chief rabbi of the Western Wall, told The Jerusalem Post.
[…]
The new plan, which is still in the very initial stages of approval, calls for a large underground plaza to replace the current main entrance, located at Dung Gate. A new visitor’s center will replace the current police building, with areas for educational programming, additional bathrooms, an auditorium, lecture halls, and an exhibition space for the archeological discoveries in the area.

The full article is here. Other stories about the decision can be found here.

Western Wall prayer plaza

Tagged Jerusalem, Temple Mount

Excavation and Restoration of the Tomb of the Kings

Tom Powers commented on yesterday’s post, but knowing that many do not read the comments, I’m making a portion of it a post of its own. He is replying to my statement that “Gaining access to the tomb today is more difficult than the average tourist site, but it is well worth it.”

Just a word about access to the “Tombs of the Kings” these days: There is none, as far as I know, for the forseeable future. The main reason is that the site is undergoing complete restoration. In fact, as part of this process folks from the Ecole were called on to excavate on top of the tomb and completely remove all of the accumulated earth. One object was to inspect and then seal the bedrock surfaces there, in order to prevent leakage of water into the tomb chambers. Also of interest, though, was to try to identify any traces of a superstructure — a nefesh — over the tomb, especially since Josephus mentions the “monuments of Helena” (War 5:147) as a landmark in tracing the line of Jerusalem’s Third Wall. Many have supposed that the tomb featured the sort of pyramids or cones that you have atop the “display tombs” in the Kidron Valley. Long story short: nothing conclusive was found. One byproduct, though: several tons of nice topsoil, which wound up in the garden of the Ecole Biblique!

You can see one artist’s reconstruction of the tomb with the original superstructure in James Finegan, The Archeology of the New Testament, page 315.

I hope that the current restoration work signifies an interest in making the tomb accessible to the public.

Tagged Excavations, Jerusalem

Sarcophagus of Queen Helene on Display

The most impressive tomb in all of Israel from any of the biblical periods is the “Tomb of the Kings.” Despite its modern name, the tomb actually belonged to Queen Helene of Adiabene, a royal convert to Judaism from a Mesopotamian kingdom. Her tomb was constructed about a decade after the crucifixion of Jesus a few hundred meters north of the Garden Tomb. Gaining access to the tomb today is more difficult than the average tourist site, but it is well worth it.

Tomb of Queen Helene of Adiabene, aka Tomb of the Kings

One thing you will not see at the tomb, however, is Queen Helene’s sarcophagus. This 2,600-lb (1,200 kg) stone coffin was shipped to the Louvre following the tomb’s excavation in the 1860s. I’ve hunted around the French museum looking for this sarcophagus, but without success. The object has been safely stored in the basement for years and years. Nevertheless, the French were reluctant to loan the sarcophagus to Israel where people could actually view it. After a year of negotiation, the sarcophagus has arrived at the Israel Museum where it will be on display for four months as part of the exhibition, “Breaking Ground: Pioneers of Biblical Archaeology.”

Queen Helene is not mentioned in the New Testament, but there is a connection. Josephus (Ant. 20.2.5) writes that she supplied food for Jerusalem during the famine that is mentioned in Acts 11:27-30.

During this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 One of them, named Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. (This happened during the reign of Claudius.) 29 The disciples, each according to his ability, decided to provide help for the brothers living in Judea. 30 This they did, sending their gift to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.

Haaretz tells the story and provides a photo. For more about the tomb itself, including photos and links, see this page at BiblePlaces.com. Several years ago, archaeologists working in Jerusalem claimed that they located her palace in the City of David.

Tagged Jerusalem, Museums, New Exhibits

The Palace of David: A Flawed Proposal

Several years ago Eilat Mazar announced with great fanfare that she had discovered the palace of David. It was right where she had predicted it would be. Her analysis was based in part on the Bible, which she believed gave clues to where David’s palace was.

The main verse in Mazar’s proposal is 2 Samuel 5:17:

When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over Israel, all the Philistines went up to search for David. But David heard of it and went down to the stronghold.

The key word for locating the palace is “down.” Because David went from the palace “down” to the stronghold, the palace must be north of the stronghold because of the topography of Jerusalem.

But the Bible doesn’t say that David went from the palace, and it doesn’t say that he went to the stronghold of Jerusalem. In fact, I’m certain that he did not.

You might read the passage in 2 Samuel 5 yourself. I think you’ll be surprised that Mazar ever made this proposal, that it has been published twice in Biblical Archaeology Review, and that it (apparently) has never been critiqued.

Then you might check out my analysis published today at The Bible and Interpretation. Who do you think is right? Does it matter how one reads the biblical text as long as it agrees with the archaeological discoveries?

Area of excavations of possible palace of David

Tagged Analysis, Jerusalem

Muslims Building Wall above Garden Tomb

Most visitors to the Garden Tomb do not realize that a Muslim cemetery sits on the hilltop above.

But it is construction work in one cemetery that is recently alleged to threaten the safety of those in another. The original story in Ma’ariv is summarized in the Caspari Media Review:

According to this report, the Wakf – the Islamic trust most well-known for controlling and managing the Islamic edifices on the Temple Mount – is currently building a wall above the Garden Tomb, “an historic site important to Christianity,” which is “threatening to undermine relations between the three faiths in the city.” The work is part of the maintenance and expansion of the Muslim cemetery located above the Garden Tomb. “Thus far, high wooden foundations of a height of two meters have been laid at the site, and the work is due to be completed by the addition of concrete on top of the wooden beams.”
The managers of the Garden Tomb have protested, fearing that the wall might fall on tourists coming to visit the site. “‘They didn’t show us any plans or ask for our agreement regarding the building work,’ says Steve Bridge, the deputy manager. ‘More than a quarter of a million pilgrims visit the site, and a disaster may occur if something is not done properly. Three or four hundred worshippers stand right under the wall every day. Were it to fall while there are visitors here, there might well be a catastrophe the like of which we’ve never seen.'”
The managers of the Garden Tomb are also worried that the incident might lead to “irreversible damage” to the tomb itself – which in turn would spark a serious crisis in Jewish-Muslim relations in Jerusalem and internationally. “‘It’s a scandal,’ added Bridge. ‘We’ve turned to them with a list of questions, and I hope that we will receive satisfactory answers.'” According to the municipality, the building was begun without permission and in contravention of the customary procedures. The Wakf announced that they intend to sort out the problems with both the municipality and the Garden Tomb.

The Muslim cemetery sits atop the hill of the “skull” (center) and the tomb (off the edge to the left).

Tom Powers recently wrote about D. L. Moody’s troubles when preaching in this cemetery.

Tagged Jerusalem