East Again

Overlooking the land of Ephraim and Manasseh. The mound in the distance is another Herodian fortress, Alexandrium  Today we had our field study to the land of Samaria, which was allotted to the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh. Or first stop was a roadside lookout, where we discussed the Bible's perspective of the land of Ephraim and Manasseh as being especially blessed. It is also the place where the Israelites entered the land after the Exodus. This idea of the Israelites approaching from the east, and then spreading southward into the hills is not only given in the Bible, but is also supported by early archaeological evidence of Israelite settlement. Mt. Gerezim seen from Shechem Next we stopped at Mt. Gerazim, at the foot of which lies the site of Shechem. This is where Abraham first came when he entered the land of Canaan (Gen. 12), and it was on Mt Gerazim and nearby Mt. Ebal that the blessings and curses of the tribes were given (Deut. 27-18). Gerazim is also where th...

Field Study 4: The Land Of Benjamin Tell Gezer As we traveled around the area once belonging to the Tribe of Benjamin, I found myself repeatedly returning to the issue, or question of space. Israel is a much smaller country than I had always imagined it, probably because my idea of a long journey is driving across several states in the U.S.A. Israel, however, is only about the size of New Jersey, the 5 th smallest state back home. Could so much have happened in such a small space, and did it even feel small to the people who lived there in the time of the Bible? Our first stop was near the coast, at Tell Gezer. The luscious green site is larger than many Tells, about a kilometer long. Even though this would have been considered a large city, I can’t help but think of how in the U.S. one family might own that amount of property as their back yard. Could a whole city really have lived within the walls of this Tell, spreading their fields into the surrounding valleys? Recalling ...

Dome of the Rock This picture is from about a week ago, but I wanted to wait to post it until I knew a little more about the Dome of the Rock, and the al-Aqsa mosque, a ways behind me from where I stood for this photo. This Octagonal monument is older than I thought, being built in A.D. 691 by Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan. At the time Jerusalem had been turned into the Byzantine city of Aelia Capitolina, but surrendered to Umar ibn al-Hatab, the second Rightly Guided Calif. Because the Jews had been put out of Aelia Capitolina, and the Byzantine Christians worshiped at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the Temple Mt. was mostly abandoned and in disrepair when the Muslims gained control. There are several speculations as to why this monument and the accompanying mosque were built, but the one that I think makes most sense and is best supported is as follows. The Muslims had a policy that if a town resisted their invasion, they would be destroyed, but if a town complied, no one would be...

Field Study 3: Jerusalem Approaches Jerusalem, seen from Mt. of Olives Today was our third field study, entitled “Jerusalem Approaches,” because we visited several sites in the surrounding territory which either ran along routes to Jerusalem, or provided a good vantage of the city. Once again, I found that using the maps to orient ourselves frequently was very helpful. I think this has been the first time that I’ve really kept my bearings, and knew which way I was facing, at least most of the time! We visited several sites, including the Mt. of Olives Ridge, and a lookout from just south of the ancient boarder of Judah and Benjamin, but the site I was most excited about visiting was Herodium. Looking East into Judean Wilderness from Mt. Scopus (North of Mt. of Olives)             Situated south of Bethlehem and Jerusalem, Herodium was built by Herod as both a fortress and a palace. Herod constructed several such fortres...

It's the weekend! After my morning Archaeology class, I headed to the shuke (an open air market) with a few other students, to buy some dried fruit and just to walk around a bit. It was super busy because so many people were shopping before everything closed down for Shabbat. This afternoon we played Frisbee in the Hinnom, two really good games! Afterwards, we hurried back to shower before Shabbat dinner, and after dinner we had a great vespers service. I'd like to wright more, but it is getting late, and we have a full day field study tomorrow. I am very thankful, for all these lovely moments and days. There is so much daily life to enjoy here! The Shuke Street in New Jerusalem

Dormition Abbey Today is pretty quiet, just trying to get some homework done before a big field study this Saturday. I just wanted to share a few photos from this past week, of everyday things I wanted to capture. The Dormition Abbey, which is just behind JUC a bit farther up on Mt. Zion, is a beautiful church with lots of lovely mosaics, and in the crypt below there is the supposed place where Mary "fell asleep." There are three places in Jerusalem which are supposed to be the place where she died though, so I don't think it's the real deal! ;) Anyways, they also have a nice coffee shop attached, so I went there to study one morning. The Cafeteria at Dormition Abbey A rainy day, looking out of my room. Simba There has been quite a bit of rain, which is cold and a bit miserable if you have to be out in it, but it is lovely when the sun shines through some. Last but not least, I've been making friends with Simba, a little dog owned by J...

This morning we went to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Museum. It was very sobering. It is a very well set up museum, and they have so much documentation of and material from the genocide. It was different than other Nazi Germany exhibits I'd seen, because it hardly talked at all about the allied forces and the end of the war, or people within Germany who resisted the regime. It was specifically to remember the Holocaust and the victims it claimed. Although it was very heavy and tragic, I really am glad we went. It is important to remember those sorts of things. While we were there, the museum was filled with IDF (Israeli Defense Force), probably a couple hundred of them were being lead through in groups. You can tell that the hard past Jews have had is important to their identity toady.

The Church of St. Anne.  On the Steps of the Temple Mt, looking back over the city. to the left of this picture are  several Mikva'ot, ritual cleansing baths for people who wanted to ascend to the temple.  Sunday we had another field study in Jerusalem. It was very cold, and rained the whole day! It was still worth it, though. The morning we spent looking at Old Testament related parts of the city, such as David's city and the Broad wall built by Hezekiah. We talked about the nature of the city in the time of the united monarchy, and discussed if it were possible for the city to be as large as claimed in the Old testament. It seems like Jerusalem was a pretty thriving city, even as far back as Saul, David and Solomon. After lunch we shifted focus to New Testament period remains. We saw the pool of Siloam, and the pools of Bethesda. We also stopped in the Church of St. Anne, near the pools of Bethesda. It is the best preserved Crusader church in the whole city...

Shabbat Shalom! Tomorrow we have a full day of field study in Jerusalem, so this week Sabbath is on Saturday for me. We began Shabbat after sunset yesterday, with dinner and our Vespers service, with singing and a brief devotion from Dr. Wright. Matilda, a grad student here, recited the first Psalm in Hebrew!  This morning I went to Jerusalem Assembly with five other students this morning. It is a Messianic church, but there were certainly more than just Jews attending! The sermon was in Hebrew, with an elder translating it into English. The seven African men behind us had an old woman translating it into french, and one of the baptisms was for a man from Germany, who hardly understood English or Hebrew. There were several other translators at work, some people we heard were speaking Finnish. This was partly because 15% of the church's attendance are visitors, like myself, who come and go from all over the world. It was really neat to see so many different ethnicities and tongues ...

Exterior mosaic, showing Christ praying. The Latin is Hebrews 5:7 The stags on top represent Psalm 42:1 Center Mosaic, above the rock. Donated by the  Hungarian Catholics, the Mosaic depicts Christ  praying in Gethsemane.  Tuesday, Feb. 2, a few students and I explored the Old City some more. We went to the Wailing Wall and the Temple Mt., but I was glad we got to go to the Basilica of the Agony, (also known as the Church of all Nations). It was on my to do list, after not being able to enter last time I was here, and seeing pictures of the interior. It did not disappoint! Today I looked it up in a book from JUC's library, and just read a brief description of it. The Basilica is located next to the Garden of Gethsemane, and beneath the altar is the rock which Jesus supposedly prayed upon, the night before his crucifixion. Originally built by the Byzantine ruler Theodosius I in A.D. 380,  the church was destroyed twice, once by Persians, and later by ...