Gathering Stones aka Biblical Archaeology: February 2008

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Luke 7:11-16

11 And it came to pass the day after, that he went into a city called Nain; and many of his disciples went with him, and much people.
12 Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her.
13 And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not.
14 And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise.
15 And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother.
16 And there came a fear on all: and they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God hath visited his people.

Have you ever stopped to think that when the text of the gospels says, "and many of his disciples went with him"... that group would always include Matthias and Joseph called Barsabas (Justus)

As Jesus approached and touched the "bier", it must have seemed startling to the crowd because to touch a corpse would render the person defiled. The "bier" could have been a coffin as we think today, but more probably was a funeral bed, or open basket bearing the body to the tombs.

It is interesting to note that scholars have studied the Bible, Jewish customs, and the history of the land to such extent that we can see a clear image of Jesus approaching the small town of Nain, being unable to enter the city by the city gate because a funeral procession was exiting the city.

Quoting Alfred Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah 1883

"The way was long - as we reckon, more than twenty-five miles; but, even if it was all taken on foot, there could be no difficulty in reaching Nain ere the evening, when so often funerals took place. Various roads lead to, and from Nain;3 that which stretches to the Lake of Galilee and up to Capernaum is quite distinctly marked. It is difficult to understand, how most of those who have visited the spot could imagine the place, where Christ met the funeral procession, to have been the rock-hewn tombs to the west of Nain and towards Nazareth.4 For, from Capernaum the Lord would not have come that way, but approach it from the north-east by Endor. Hence there can be little doubt, that Canon Tristram correctly identifies the now unfenced burying-ground, about ten minutes' walk to the east of Nain, as that whither, on that spring afternoon, they were carrying the widow's son.5 On the path leading to it the Lord of Life for the first time burst open the gates of death."

And quoting Dr. Sidney DeWaal, President, Jerusalem University College,

"Christian pilgrimage is ultimately the search for places where one can touch the Jesus story. The Christian Bible includes both the Tanach (Old Testament) and the New Testament, and for Christians, the New Testament makes no sense without its predecessor. The connection between the two parts of the Christian Bible becomes even more apparent in the land where they both took place. This is illustrated quite remarkably by two stories with the same theme. In the first, Elisha raises the son of the woman of Shunem from the dead. In the second story, Jesus raises the son of the widow of Nain from the dead. The first story is in the earlier Testament; the second is in the latter. In my pilgrimage, I discovered that Shunem was located on the southwest slope of the hill of Moreh, near Mount Tabor - and that Nain was located on the northwest slope of the same hill, about one kilometer away. This physical proximity amplifies the significance of, and connection between, the two stories.... Through connections like this, Christian pilgrims who explore the stories of the Bible and the physical sites of their occurrence discover the unity of the Scriptures and the mystery of God's presence in history."

So much to be learned in looking at the passage and place from different angles.

~serapha~

Saturday, February 16, 2008

Luke 7:1-5

1 Now when he had ended all his sayings in the audience of the people, he entered into Capernaum.
2 And a certain centurion's servant, who was dear unto him, was sick, and ready to die.
3 And when he heard of Jesus, he sent unto him the elders of the Jews, beseeching him that he would come and heal his servant.
4 And when they came to Jesus, they besought him instantly, saying, That he was worthy for whom he should do this:
5 For he loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagogue.

The white limestone synagogue which is seen today in Capernaum is dated well after the time of Christ, but the present synagogue is located over the foundation of the first-century synagogue where Jesus would have taught. The fact is there was a Roman garrison in Capernaum. There was a need for a garrison of soldiers in Capernaum to insure the collection of the taxes for Caesar and the Roman government as a very important crossing/stop along the Via Maris... and for the collection of taxes on the fishing industry.

In Biblical Archaeology Review, Sep/Oct 1993, John Laughlin writes concerning the excavation on the Greek Orthodox side of Capernaum, page 57

"The Gospels record an incident in the life of Jesus that took place at Capernaum involving a Roman centurion and his sick slave (Luke 7:1-10....

"New evidence indicates that Romans indeed lived in Capernaum in the first century A.D. Moreover, far from being a poor, isolated village, Capernaum, the center of Jesus' Galilean ministry, was quite prosperous and was apparently home to Gentiles as well as Jews. ..."

"Beneath the bathhouse at Capernaum were earlier remains belonging to the first century A.D. (our stratum IX). Since we did not want to destroy the later building on top, the full plan of this earlier structure is still unknown. In general, however, the outline of the lower building is similar to the bathhouse above it."

and, a more interesting note...
"...Immediately beneath the first-century floor were the remains of an Early Bronze Age wall (third millennium B.C.)! Such walls were also found in other areas of our site--but nothing in between that and the first century A.D."

Thus, evidence that Capernaum was known as some other site in the Old Testament times.

~serapha~

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Luke 6:38

Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.

A measure that is "good", "pressed down", "shaken together", and "running over" is the guideline that Jesus gave to the people.

In measuring grain, for a fair measure, the merchant would measure by taking a timneh and scooping the grain into the measure. When it begins to get full, the merchant shakes the timneh several times to get the grain to pack in tightly. When it appears to be full, the merchant pressed down on the grain with all of his weight to compress the grain together. Then, when he has a solid foundation, he scoops out the middle of the grain towards the edge and begins to fill the cup that was created, and fills it until the grain is running over.

A measure that is not compressed and shaken down contains about 37 pounds, but one that is measure correctly, shaken down, compressed, and with the cone running over measures in at about 48 pounds, or a difference of 11 pounds. That's a difference of about 25 percent between loose grain and compacted and running over grain.

The question is, I guess, what measure of work do you want to give to God? The amount that looks like a full measure and calling it 100 percent, or going the extra mile and giving God the extra 25 percent? Looking at the measures, they will look the same, and it isn't until they are weighed that the difference is noticeable.

God knows what measure we use.

~serapha~

Sunday, February 10, 2008

Luke 5:17-19

17 And it came to pass on a certain day, as he was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judaea, and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was present to heal them.
18 And, behold, men brought in a bed a man which was taken with a palsy: and they sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before him.
19 And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop, and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus.

The gospels of Matthew and Mark identify that the location of this healing was in Jesus' "own town" or more specifically Capernaum.

The central insula identified as the "house of Peter" is interesting because the actual portion of the insulae where Peter is believed to have lived is identified. The main road in Capernaum ran from the north, going alongside the synagogue, and past the "house of Peter" with an entrance to the courtyard of the insula from the main street.

Since the "house of Peter" was located just off the prominade of the seaport of Capernaum, the space involved around the area would or could include the area of two major streets, a side street, and the area leading to the sea. That would leave room for many people to be waiting to see or hear Jesus in the "house of Peter."

According to Stanislao Loffreda, one of the excavators at Capernaum and author of Recovering Capharhaum, the house belonging to Peter was almost square and contained an area of 84 square meters--equavelent to a home of 904 square feet--quite a large home for the time and location. The structure dates to the Helenistic period, and twelve square meters of area were cleared and found to contain superimposed layers of white plaster. White plaster floors were common for the time, but in the Capernaum excavations, this house was the only house found to have plaster floors. Dating of the plaster identifies that the structure was used as a community area as early as the third quarter of the first century A.D.

Peter's house in Capernaum was the first example of the "house church" where churches originated in homes and as the number of believers grew, a public facility would be used. In this case, the house began to be used very early as a public facility for religious purposes.

Friday, February 08, 2008

Luke 5:1-11

1 And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret,
2 And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets.
3 And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship.
4 Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.
5 And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.
6 And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake.
7 And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink.
8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.
9 For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken:
10 And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men.
11 And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him.

There are three archaeology discussions and evidences in this passage.

The first one is in verse 3 when Jesus goes into the ship and teaches the people from the ship. There is a location on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee which, when speaking from the bottom of the hill, the sound of a regular voice can be carried all across the hillside, making it possible to speak in a normal voice and thousands of people could hear.

This location is "Sower's Cove."

The second archaeological evidence that would influence this passage is the "Jesus boat" from Ginossar. It is a first-century fishing boat that was recovered in 1986 and required 14 years of being maintained in a special fluid to preserve the wood in the 2,000 year old boat. It would be a boat similar to those used by Peter, Andrew, James, and John in their fishing businesses.

The third archaeological evidence is the written works of Mendel Nun.

There are some great articles on the "Jerusalem Perspective" concerning the fishing industry on the Sea of Galilee. These are written by Mendel Nun who is an archaeologist who worked as a fisherman on the Galilee most of his life. He relates the knowledge to a biblical understanding better than anyone I have read.

Mendel Nun's works are a "must read" for anyone interested in biblical archaeology and for understanding the fishing industry on the Galilee in first-century Israel.

http://jerusalemperspective.com/Defa...ArticleID=1566

Mendel Nun is probably the most knowledgeable person on the fishing industry of the Sea of Galilee. He has worked as a fisherman on the Sea of Galilee for most of his years, both before the 1948 formation of Israel and the introduction of changes in the fishing industry for the Sea in the 1950's. Before the 1950's and the introduction of nylon nets, the fishing industry on the Sea of Galilee has been constant for thousands of years. What fishermen did in the first century, fishermen were doing in the first half of the twenty-first century.

The translation of the Bible using the word "net" has been a generic translation, and Mendel Nun has been able to take every use of the word "net" relating to fishing and relate it to a specific type of fishing and/or relating to a specific area of the Galilee where the event would have occurred. Additionally, at times, he is able to accurately render the season of the year depending upon the hot springs of Tabgha when entice the fish to warmer water in the colder months.

http://jerusalemperspective.com/Default.aspx?tabid=27&ArticleID=1552

http://jerusalemperspective.com/Default.aspx?tabid=27&ArticleID=1568

http://jerusalemperspective.com/Default.aspx?tabid=27&ArticleID=1621

In this Luke passage, the type of fishing that has been done through the night is trammel fishing.... where the fishermen have fished at night and in the early morning, the fishermen are washing their nets and hanging them to dry for the next night's work.

http://jerusalemperspective.com/Default.aspx?tabid=27&ArticleID=1565

Thursday, February 07, 2008

Hezekiah’s Tunnel

“He said Hezekiah's Tunnel would not be any deeper than my knees!”

I was excited to finally be able to tour through Hezekiah’s tunnel. On previous trips to Jerusalem, I had arrived on a Friday evening at the beginning of the Sabbath and the tunnel would be closed—but this trip was an exception. The tickets to tour Hezekiah’s Tunnel are now purchased in advance at the City of David, Jerusalem Walls National Park, just outside the Dung Gate.

The Bible gives us some information about Hezekiah’s Tunnel.

2 Chronicles 32:2-4
And when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib was come, and that he was purposed to fight against Jerusalem, He took counsel with his princes and his mighty men to stop the waters of the fountains which were without the city: and they did help him. So there was gathered much people together, who stopped all the fountains, and the brook that ran through the midst of the land, saying, Why should the kings of Assyria come, and find much water?

2 Kings 20:20
And the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and all his might, and how he made a pool, and a conduit, and brought water into the city, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

2 Chronicles 32:30
This same Hezekiah also stopped the upper watercourse of Gihon, and brought it straight down to the west side of the city of David. And Hezekiah prospered in all his works.

What the Bible doesn’t say is that the first step into the water channel in the tunnel is the deepest and that the spring water can be cold.

This is not an adventure for the claustrophic. The walls are narrow and it is not the imagination that the walls are closing in—for they are closing in. The tunnel begins to make s-turns as the channel advances. Then, the ceiling begins to descend as even with my somewhat short 5’5” stature, I had to stoop as I walked through parts of the tunnel to prevent my head from hitting the ceiling.

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I am walking under
150 feet of bedrock.

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What is impressive is the ever-present chisel marks on the walls. The walls aren’t smoothed with time, the walls of Hezekiah’s Tunnel still hold all the chisel marks from workers chipping away at this piece of solid rock 2700 years ago. There is a meeting point where the chisel marks change the direction of their slant as workers were digging from both ends of the channel hoping to meet in the middle.

I had to think about those men that worked so desperately on this project 2700 years ago. Sennacherib was about to lay siege on the City of Jerusalem and in his own words he made claim that he held the city as a bird in a cage.

What he didn’t record was that he never was able to take the city of Jerusalem. The city held out against the superior Assyrian army because they had a water source which was accessible from within the city. That was because Hezekiah had built a tunnel.

“As for Hezekiah, the Judean, who did not submit to my yoke, 46 of his strong fortified cities as well as the small cities in their vicinity, which were without number—I besieged and conquered.... Himself, like a cage bird, I shut him up in Jerusalem, his royal city.... the terrifying splendor of my majesty overcame him, and he sent rich tribute to me in Nineveh.”

A remarkable project, the tunnel was begun from the vicinity of the Pool of Siloam at one end and the Gihon Spring on the other, and by miraculous feat and a number of turns, the two tunnels finally met in the middle.

The inscription was found within Hezekiah’s tunnel in 1880 by a young boy who was bathing in the waters within the tunnel. The Siloam inscription is six lines of Hebrew text identifying how the tunnel was finished.

“[...] the tunneling; and this was how the tunneling was completed: As [the laborers employed] their picks, each crew toward the other and while there were still three cubits remaining, the voices of the men calling out to each other [could be heard], since it got louder on the right [and lef]t. The day the opening was made, the stonecutters hacked toward each other, pick against pick. And the water flowed from the source to the pool [twel]ve hundred cubits, (despite the fact that) the height of the rock above the stonecutters’ heads was one hundred cubits.”

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

The New BAS Forum

Sarah Murphy is a most-gracious representative of the Bibical Archaeology Society. Sarah sends out the weekly BAR newsletter with all the updates and debates concerning biblical archaeology.

Recently, BAS opened a new internet forum for discussions in archaeology and the newsletter has encouraged newsletter members to register and post in discussions in archaeology.

Notice, that in paragraph one, I use the terminology “biblical archaeology” and in paragraph two, I simply use “archaeology.” The reason the change in terminology between paragraph one and two is because the forum is not about discussions on biblical archaeology.

I posted several postings on the new BAS forum, and I found that “anti-biblical” was the standard and “biblical” was set aside. After posting my dissatisfaction with the new “Biblical Archaeology” forum, I posted I was leaving because of the “anti-biblical” flavor of the forum.

The immediate response from a poster was that if the fundamentals left the forum, that the IQ of posters would go up 50 points. I reported that thread, and a week later, I sent Sarah Murphy a complaint with the new BAS forum. I cited that the moderation was poor. I have complained that if the forum was being supported by BAR, then why should there be postings on subjects that BAR would never consider publishing.

I was told by Ms. Murphy that the personal comments had been removed, and I was encouraged to continue posting. I posted several responses until I reached the point that I found the same thread and same comment that the forum IQ would go up 50 points if the fundamentals left. Again, I reported the thread.

The response from the moderator was that they didn’t see a problem. I was told that in reporting responses, the exact statement had to be quoted for them to be able to moderate the response. Now, the program format in the new BAS forum identified that to report an inappropriate response to click on the appropriate icon in individual responses.

That tells me several things.

1) Sarah Murphy is not in control of the forum.
2) The reporting format is ineffective in moderating the forum.
3) The moderator staff is unable to identify problems without someone taking them by the hand and leading them to the exact line and word that is in violation of rules posted on the forum.
4) The new BAS forum is supporting “anti-biblical” subjects and the moderation staff has no problem with that type of posting.

Do I recommend this forum to anyone studying or interested in biblical archaeology?

ABSOLUTELY NOT!

Unless, of course, you believe that Moses was actually Sargon, the Assyrian ruler, and that the Exodus did not occur. If you believe that—and you are willing to entertain poor moderation—then the new BAS forum is for you.

Been there, done that—twice.

And twice was enough for me, sufficiently so, that I feel that a warning should be made to others before posting.

~serapha~

The City of David

It is officially called Jerusalem Walls National Park—City of David.

But the City of David covers more area than the National Park has encompassed. The City of David covers all of Mount Ophel which is speckled today with Israeli and Arab homes. It overlooks the Kidron Valley and part of the City of David faces toward the Arab village of Silwan.

For nine years, Dr. Eilat Mazar presented her case for an excavation on the ridge known as the City of David. Her argument stemmed from the biblical text that said that David went down to the Canaanite fortress as described in 2 Samuel 5:17

But when the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king over Israel, all the Philistines came up to seek David; and David heard [of it], and went down to the hold.

Mount Ophel is a lower elevation than the ancient city of Jerusalem.

Dame Kathleen Kenyon had done extensive excavations in this area in the 1960’s and had verified through pottery dating that the casements walls that were exposed were from the 9th-10th century BCE. However, Kathleen Kenyon did not study the excavation in search of David’s palace as she thought it was within the Old City walls.

Dr. Mazar wanted to excavate to see if the casement walls from the time of the united monarchy could be King David’s palace which has never been found. When King David took the city of Jerusalem, he did not destroy the city, but rather, he established his kingdom at Jerusalem. He lived at Jerusalem and he began to improve the area of Jerusalem.

One day, Dr. Mazar presented her case to the right person, and money was donated to begin the excavations in the area known as the City of David. Almost immediately, Dr. Mazar realized that the previous [three] excavations had struck bedrock and this was their argument for discontinuing excavations. Instead of stopping excavations at the bedrock level, Eilat Mazar expanded the area, and almost immediately, the excavation began to uncover massive walls of a building which she very conservatively calls the “Large-Stone Structure.”

The depth of the wall along with the size of the stones signifies a massive structure

In January 2006, Dr. Mazar published her findings and she identified the location with the introduction of, “Did I Find King David’s Palace?” Then, she presented her case which included the findings of Phoenician columns and capitals and the evidences of the “Large-Stone Structure.” She further argued from the past evidences of casement walls, fortifications, and the biblical text itself.

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This is where the rubber
meets the road.

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Dr. Mazar published her evidences and most archaeology scholars rejected her theory. Professor Israel Finkelstein, Chair of the Archaeology Department of Tel Aviv University is one of Dr. Mazar’s most fierce opponents and he was quick to reply.

He states emphatically, "You cannot study biblical archeology with only a simple reading of the text. The Bible cannot be understood without a knowledge of the millennia of biblical criticism that has gone along with it, not the least of which necessarily includes the dating of different sections of the Bible according to who wrote them and when." (JP: Jan 2006)

And he makes a second emphatic statement. "The Bible is an important source, but we can't take it seriously." (JP: Jan 2006)

Well, personally I emphatically oppose Dr. Finkelstein and his constant work to discredit the biblical text. But, I am neither a biblical scholar nor an accomplished archaeologist. I am a fundamentalist who believes the biblical text to be truth.

Debate abounds on the City of David excavations and the interpretations of the archaeological findings.

David Ilan, Director of the Nelson Glueck School of Biblical Archaeology at Hebrew Union College in Jerusalem sums up the general opinion of archaeology towards the excavations in the City of David.

"Probably 20 percent of archaeologists would say, yes, it is the palace of David. And 10 percent would say, no, it definitely isn't. And 70 percent of us would say we don't know." (Plotz: Jan 2008)

You be the judge. The article is still online with beautiful pictures of the area.

http://www.bib-arch.org/Mazar.pdf

“The Once and Future City,” Rena Rossner, Jerusalem Post, January 26, 2006
“The Palace of King David (Or Not),” David Plotz, Digging the Bible, Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2008.

Saturday, February 02, 2008

“... An End to the Occupation That Began in 1967”

In early January President George Bush visited the Middle East. During one of his press conferences while in Israel, President Bush made a statement that for peace to come to the Middle East, that there was a need for "an end to the occupation that began in 1967."

Clarity on that statement has never been forthcoming from the White House press representatives.

What an impact that would have on archaeology in the Golan Heights.

A portion of the 1967 border between Israel and Syria was the ancient stone fence that surrounded the Orthodox side of Capernaum. It included the area of Bethsaida where eighteen excavation seasons have uncovered a magnitude of information from Iron Age II to the Byzantine period. It covers the area of Kursi (the first Gentile conversion), Susita (Hippos), Gamla, also known as the Masada of the north, and the all-important site of Caesarea Philippi, the location of great controversy between the Roman Catholics and Protestants where Jesus made the statement concerning Peter as the "rock.”

Mount Hermon is in the Golan Heights.

Before the 1967 war, Syrian had plans to divert the water from Banias (Caesarea Philippi) thus depriving Israel of water sources feeding the Jordan River. Because the elevations in the Golan Heights were a strategic advantage to Syria, during the 1960’s Syria used that elevation advantage to randomly shell Israeli settlements in the upper Galilee.

Syrian had not performed any archaeological excavations into the Christian areas of Bethsaida, Kursi, Capernaum, or the Jewish sites in the area. I feel it would be a negative impact to archaeological research to give the Golan Heights back to Syria. Returning the Golan Heights will not preclude Syria in returning to the concept of diverting the water from the Jordan, nor will it insure that the sites of Christian and Jewish tradition will continue to be maintained and that pilgrims would be allowed to travel there.

I am speaking of areas that have been excavated because the ruins of these former locations were above ground level and the locations could be identified. Yet, for centuries, Syria saw no need to excavate the areas. Why?

...Because they were Christian and Jewish sites.

The Palestinian state isn't interested in Jewish or Christian sites being preserved or that water sources be available for everyone, and by the lack of action in the past on the part of Syrian, neither are they.

If, indeed, the borders are returned to the 1967 borders, the Golan will return to Syria and part of Jerusalem will return to Jordan. What a set back that will be for archaeology.

Friday, February 01, 2008

Tiberias 2008

This month I would like to write a few lines about the excavations that are beginning at Tiberias on the Sea of Galilee. This is the fifth and last season for excavations on the outskirts of the modern city of Tiberias.

The image above is one of Herod's throne room in the Tiberias palace

The view of the Galilee is spectacular from the excavation site.

The past four year’s excavations have uncovered what Dr. Yizhar Hirschfield described as “Herod’s palace” in Tiberias and the ancient entrance to the city of Tiberias as well as other structures. The excavations were being led by Dr. Yizhar Hirschfield, a noted Israeli archaeology. But unfortunately, Dr. Hirschfield died on the last day of excavations in 2006.

The excavations will resume March 8 and continue through April 3, 2008, under the direction of current project co-directors Shulamit Miller and Anna de Vincenz. The entire excavation program falls under the auspices of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

This is their last season for excavations in this area, and they hope to tie up all the loose ends from the previous years’ excavations.

Their website can be found at:

http://www.tiberiasexcavation.com/

Gathering Stones aka Biblical Archaeology