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1BL Israel Study Tour
May 25 - June 4, 2015
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Simple things with a major point
Today was our first day in Israel. It went by in a flash and felt like we were drinking from a fire hydrant all day! (Which actually would have been GREAT since it was 110 degrees!!) So that YOU can get an understanding of how quickly we went through all of our sites, here they are in rapidfire succession!
- Kiriath Jaharim (Ark of the Covenant)
- Bet Shemesh (where Samson was from)
- Azeka (so many bible stories)
- Valley of Elah (battle field of David & Goliath)
- Beth Guvrin (aka the Under Ground City)
- Bell caves
- Lachish (3000 year old ruins of a HUGE city)
Kiriath Jaharim really stood out to me because I am of Finnish decent. The site was paid for by Finnish donors to honor the eight fallen Jewish-Finnish victims of the Holocaust. Such a great way to honor their memory... It made me very proud!
Every one of the sites was incredibly moving...it was like the Bible was coming alive! I would say of all the sites, the Valley of Elah really stuck out in my mind. As you might know, that was the setting for the epic battle between David and Goliath.
When you walk up to it, it just seems so simple. A simple riverbed in a simple valley. It was a reminder to me that God uses "simple things" to make a major point! He uses small people (like David the KID) to do very big things!
Today was awesome! It's hard to believe there are so many more ahead of us! Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings…
—Leah Ohrberg
Kiriath-Jearim
The biblical city of Kiriath Jearim is best known for the house of Abinadab which held the Ark of the Covenant from the time of Samuel until the time of David (about 120 years). Kiriath Jearim was originally a Gibeonite city that fell within the tribal territory of Judah near the borders of Benjamin and Dan. The prophet Uriah, a contemporary of Jeremiah, was from Kiriath Jearim.
Beth Shemesh
A border city between Judah and Dan, Beth Shemesh was given to the Levites. Beth Shemesh was the most important Israelite city in the Sorek Valley as it watched both east-west traffic through the Sorek Valley and north-south traffic along the “Diagonal Route.” Recent excavations have shown a thriving city here from the Middle Bronze Age through the Iron II period.
Tel Azekah and Elah Valley
The Brook Elah is famous for the five stones it contributed to the young slinger, David. Some surmise that David chose five stones instead of the one needed in case he needed to face Goliath’s four brothers.
Beth Guvrin (Maresha)
Beit Guvrin-Maresha National Park is a national park in central Israel, 13 kilometers from Kiryat Gat, encompassing the ruins of Maresha, one of the important towns of Judah during the time of the First Temple,[1] and Beit Guvrin, an important town in the Roman era, when it was known as Eleutheropolis.
Archaeological artifacts unearthed at the site include a large Jewish cemetery, a Roman-Byzantine amphitheater, a Byzantine church, public baths, mosaics and burial caves.
Lachish
Identified first as Lachish by Albright in 1929, the tell was excavated by James Leslie Starkey 1932-38 and by Tel Aviv University 1973-87.
Lachish is generally regarded as the second most important city in the southern kingdom of Judah. It enters the biblical narrative in the battle accounts of Joshua, Sennacherib and Nebuchadnezzar.
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