Excitement and passion

Today our first stop was Herodium, a magnificent palace/fortress built by Herod the Great between 23 and 15 BC.   This magnificent site was named after its author and is situated on the highest peak of the Judean desert just south of Bethlehem.  The main purpose of this complex was for governmental and administrative purposes.  However, like other palace/fortresses built by Herod the Great, this one too had an area for entertaining inhabitants and guests.  Just before his death in 4 BC, King Herod had an artificial mountain built to commemorate himself to safeguard his name and his legacy.  It is at this site that archeologists found three sarcophagi and in one of them were the bones of a man who had died at about 68 to 70 years old.  Although one cannot say with absolute certainty, it is highly probable that these are indeed the remains of this once great king.

When King Herod died, his son Archelaus ruled as king in Judea for about ten years.  Archelaus was seen as an unfit king and one unworthy of the crown and was thus exiled to France.  As a result, Roman governors occupied Herodium until the Jewish revolt in 66 AD.  Jewish rebels then occupied Herodium and embedded themselves there for the next five years.  Then in 71 AD. the Jewish rebels were defeated by the mighty Roman army after the Romans had swept through Jerusalem and destroyed the temple.

After we made our way through the fortress and visited the site where Herod the Great was unearthed, we went down a bit further and discovered a shepherd herding a small flock of sheep and goats on the side of the hill below us.  It was at this point that Jennifer Greer entered into a discourse that will be difficult to forget.  She recounted the marvelous wonders that Herod the Great had built in his lifetime.  This man was a megalomaniac who loved to set architectural trends and built complexes where others thought impossible.  Herod the Great did what he wanted and would do whatever it took to get there.  And he got what he wanted.  His legacy lives on. 

But then Jennifer beautifully reminded us of a different King who was born where animals were housed and placed in an animals feeding trough.  This King did not build magnificent buildings nor was he wealthy beyond measure.  He did not even receive the favor of men.  But then again, that was not his intention and that was not why he came.  This King, King Jesus came to bring sight to the blind, healing to the broken, rest for the weary, and forgiveness of sins.  King Herod gained all that he could and gave nothing away.  King Jesus gave all that he had and died a despicable death on the cross.  King Herod is still dead.  King Jesus, after three days rose from the dead, walked out of the tomb, and now reigns at the right hand of God in heaven above.

After a short time of reflection we returned to the bus and went on to our next destination, the Church of the Nativity.  The Church of the Nativity is located in the town of Bethlehem which is in Palestinian controlled territory.  According to tradition, the Church of the Nativity was built on the site of Jesus’ birth.  Now, this location is religious site and is revered by the Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox Church, and by the Arminian Apostolic Church.  Much of the church is currently under renovation but parts that we were able to see are covered with iconography commemorating apostles and saints.

The Church of the Nativity was constructed between 327 to 333 AD at the request of Saint Helena who was mother of the Emperor Constantine I.  The church was later destroyed during the Samaritan revolts in the 6^th century AD and then rebuilt by Emperor Justinian I in 565 AD.  Since then, the site has been a place of honor and veneration for both Catholics and Christians.

Written by Nathan K.

Today was an incredible day as have been every day on this study tour thus far. My main focus is on the Israel Museum, which is now one of my favorite museums. The Shrine of the Book was an incredible and awe-inspiring experience. Seeing the Isaiah scroll, which is the most complete scroll found, as well as other biblical and non -biblical scrolls provided so much joy for me! I have been a Christian since I was a young boy and I do not need confirmation, but still the site of these scrolls was overwhelming (in a good way)!

When we first walked in the museum there was a chronological explanation of the finding of the Dead Sea Scrolls from when they were found in 1947 and then all that had happened after. The remainder of this section of the museum focused on the communities within the time period the Dead Sea Scrolls were written. A lot of these artifacts were objects used for daily living such as sandals, tools, jewelry, dining objects and pottery. One of my favorite finds in the Shrine of the Book was the large pots, which the Dead Sea Scrolls were found in. They were these rather tall clay pots and were in excellent condition!

In addition to the Shrine of the Book, there were also many other interesting finds throughout the museum. There so much that I probably only saw a third of it, and it would take a few days or even a week to see it all! I found it especially fascinating to see the variety of artifacts from the different eras. In this time period the areas of focus in chronological order are the Late Bronze Age, Iron Age I, Iron Age II, Babylonian and Persian Periods, Hellenistic Period and Roman Period (timespan of 1500 BCE to 325 AD). The bulk of our time was spent looking at Late Bronze Age and Iron Age I and II periods, although this museum was full of ancient artifacts from every period. When we were in the sections from this period the artifact that stuck out the most to me was this pillar-like object that had the appearance of Yahwism, but it was intermeshed with the Ancient Near Eastern Religions of the time. If you look at this pillar you will see Lions, which symbolize Yahweh. Then there are two Cherubs, which is the body of a human with the head of a lion. Then at the bottom of the pillar you will see this female figure holding the ears of two lions and this figure was most likely Asherah, which was a false goddess of fertility that was worshipped at the time. What does this tell us? It tells us that many of these cultures had idols of other religions and that there was a mixed form of religious following. When I think about this, I must question, has this really changed for us today? Do we not tend to idolize our possessions such as our cell phones, tablets and our traditional holiday trinkets? Just a bit of food for thought there.

In addition to these time periods, we did look at some artifacts from the Roman period, during the time of Jesus and past his death. On interesting artifact here was the possible evidence of crucifixion as a form of execution. There really is not much evidence for crucifixion, however, we know that this is how our Lord Jesus suffered and died for our sins. This little piece of artifact was replicated, but it was a piece of hand with a nail it. Personally, I found this fascinating because I did not know that there was such little evidence of this form of execution.

I also found that the section specifically devoted to the Roman Empire was fascinating! The architecture of the churches and other buildings were so massive. However, as interesting as this was, I had to think about something that we talked about earlier in the day at Herodium. That many times in history we speak as if the Romans invented the idea of these huge massive palaces, colosseums, theatrons and other architecture of this period. However, it is the other way around. Herod the Great, was a powerful individual who built these things before the Romans did. I saw these very structures at various sites that Herod the Great was the mastermind of the architecture. Each site was truly breath-taking! I found it intriguing that as I was viewing the Roman section of the museum that is what came to my mind. Then it caused me to think how often in this world is there this fight for power and people will do whatever it takes to be on top, even if it means stealing someone else’s ideas and claiming it as their own. Yet at the end of the day, we have Jesus, the greatest King of all, who did not feel the need to fight for power or be on top. He just felt compassion for others and felt the strong urge to show love and kindness towards all. It is my hope that I strive to always be more like Jesus rather than these rich rulers.

Written by Anthony F.

We are in Jerusalem, driving and walking through the streets of the city that was chosen as the stage in which Jesus ministered, healed, taught, celebrated Jewish feasts, was followed by some and rejected by others, was sold, tried, crucified and ultimately risen by the Father. We visited the Israel Museum today, and were able to see the Jerusalem Model in the second temple period before the first Jewish revolt against the Romans in year 66 AD in which the city and temple were destroyed by the Romans. The model provides a big picture and layout of the city that helps locate several biblical accounts such as the festivals at the temple, ministry, healing at the pool of Bethesda and Shiloam, and the days before his death and resurrection.

We talked at different times of the day about how archaeology changes the way we understand history. A good example of this is the tomb of David that initially was located in one spot and has recently been discovered and located in the city of David south east of the temple.  An important and helpful feature of the model is that it reflects the topography of the city. This is consistent with our study of the regions of Israel and our goal of having a better understanding of the setting and context of the story of the Bible. 

There was much to see inside the museum, we could not possibly see everything in a few hours. This can easily be a multiple day stop. I appreciate the fact that we were able to visit many other national parks and sites before we got to the museum. It was nice to be able to locate in our minds some of the artifacts that are displayed. We began by exploring the dead sea scrolls that were found at Qumran. Since we have been to Qumran ourselves now and we have heard some of the stories we were delighted to put together the place with the findings. It was a bit hard for our group to leave that first stop.

We had the added blessing of touring the Museum with Dr. Greer, listen to his explanations, especially about the discoveries at Tel Dan (the excavation site in which he personally participated), and notice the excitement and passion that he has for the study of the ancient times of the Bible. Some of us who have been in class with him experienced some “aha” moments as well, as we recognized artifacts that he has pointed out or described for us in his lectures.

We had time to observe and talk about a variety of pottery, jewelry, weapons, money, tools, official seals and some artifacts which use has not been determined. Once again we were reminded of the 3 C’s of Biblical archaeology that we have discussed in class: the times when archaeology confirms, clarifies or complicates our understanding of the Bible. Our visit to Israel has been filled with a mixture of feelings of excitement for the things that we are learning and discovering as well as a new awareness and humbleness for all the things that we have not discovered or comprehend. 

Written by Ana C.