From The Storehouses of Masada

We started off the morning with breakfast at the Isrotel hotel, where we are currently staying. After breakfast, we all gathered along the shore of the Dead Sea for devotions, which was led by Dr. Peter Osborn. He spoke about the basic need of water in a dry land, and such Scriptural words take on considerably new meaning when surrounded by the vast and arid nature of the Judean desert. From the hotel, we drove north along the Dead Sea to Masada. Half of the group took the cable car up to the top of the steep plateau, while the rest of us walked the zigzagging two-mile trail to the top. Once on top, our tour guide, Jehuda, walked us through the history of Herod the Great’s fortress at Masada, including its creation and demise at the hands of the Roman army. One interesting fact that we learned here is that the Israelis have found a few date seeds in the remains of the store houses there and have planted them. One date tree from these seeds has begun to grow, and they are working to foster the growth of more such date trees. The reason for this is that these dates are original to Israel, and their taste is finer than other dates that are presently being grown in the country.

From Masada, we traveled east to Be’er Sheva. This biblical city served as the southern boundary for ancient Israel, and is commonly known by the phrase in 1-2 Samuel “from Dan to Be’er Sheva.” At this site, as well as many other ancient biblical sites, water was a major reason for its existence, ability to thrive, and its reason for being so often captured by opposing forces.

From Be’er Sheva, we traveled west to Tel Arad. This city was originally built around 2900 B.C. and was highly developed for its time. The king of Arad refused passage to the children of Israel when they sought to travel past it under Moses’ leadership. Later, under Joshua’s leadership, the city was destroyed.

From Tel Arad, we traveled to Kfar Hannokim, a Bedouin settlement. Here, while seated and sipping tea and coffee under a goat-skinned tent, we listened to a local Bedouin speak about the life of his people. The Bedouins then served us dinner and desert. After dinner, we returned to the Isrotel hotel, where Dr. Jonathan Greer led a follow-up session to discuss things and places visited so far on the trip. Though we had to move at a quick pace throughout the day, the group enjoyed themselves and learned much by being surrounded by the immediate context of the biblical world.

Seth S. (GRTS Student)