Congratulations to the winners of last week’s giveaway of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands.
Elizabeth A. selected the five volumes of the Israel Collection, and Pamela M. chose Samaria and the Center, Jerusalem, Judah and the Dead Sea, Western Turkey, and Cultural Images of the Holy Land.
Thanks to everyone for participating!
I always enjoy reading stories of early explorers in the land of Israel as well as personal accounts of excavation experiences. A little book of essays written by Paul W. Lapp is still in print 35 years later and for good reason. The Tale of the Tell begins with several chapters introducing the nature of archaeology in a clear and concise manner, and the rest of the book contains brief accounts of Lapp’s work at other sites in Israel and Jordan, including Wadi ed-Daliyeh, Gibeah (Tell el-Ful), Taanach, and Bab edh-Dhra. The final chapter describes his work at a site that he believed was biblical Ramoth Gilead. The introduction to his excavations is interesting for a number of reasons, including the daily schedule, the future archaeologists on staff, and other personal details. Lapp writes:
“The winter of 1967 was an unusually cold and wet season in Jerusalem, and it reached its climax in the form of a blizzard on Easter Sunday, March 26. The Rumeith dig was scheduled to get underway on the first day of April, but there was some doubt whether the inclement weather would allow us to comply with our plans. We were fortunate to have some ideal weather right after Easter, so on 
March 30 the first contingent headed for Rumeith, and on the following day the rest of the staff followed with equal enthusiasm. The 1967 campaign took place between April 1 and May 12, a period of six weeks on a five-day week basis.
Out of deference to our Moslem workers we observed the weekly holiday on Friday; out of consideration for the staff Saturday was also included. At the end of the work-day each Thursday the staff wasted no time as they hurried to Jerusalem to re-enter civilization at the American School in the form of a bath and a change of clothes. After being sandblasted for several days each week on the wind-swept mound, the latter were very much in order.
“The Rumeith expedition was jointly sponsored by Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and the American Schools of Oriental Research. The budget was provided by the former, and the equipment and transportation by the latter. The staff was composed of the following: Howard M. Jamieson, who represented the Pittsburgh Seminary as codirector and also functioned as treasurer and field supervisor; Susan E. Culp of the University of Pennsylvania, anthropologist and field supervisor; Gavriel Flores, C.SS.R., a Brazilian and student at the Ecole Biblique, field supervisor; also Gustav Jeeninga from Anderson College, Indiana, Edward D. Grohman from Knoxville College, Tennessee, Philip J. King from St. John Seminary, Boston, Robert A. Hutchison from St. Charles, Illinois, and Walter E. Rast from Valparaiso University, Indiana, field supervisors; Thomas Schaub, O.P., from the Ecole Biblique and Aquinas Institute in Dubuque, architect; Fouad Zoghbi of Bethlehem, draftsman; Issa Zoghbi, Bethlehem, assistant draftsman; Aletta Jeeninga of Anderson, registrar; Sister Marie McNamara of Rosary College, River Forest, Illinois, pottery mending; Ahmed Odeh, representative of the Jordan Department of Antiquities. The service staff included Aboud Dhib Nasif as driver and camp manager; Kamel Ikhdayir as cook with two assistants; and Nasir Dhiab as chief technical man with eight assistants from Taanach, Samaria, Balatah, and Bab edh-Dhra’. The staff was very dedicated and worked together in a spirit of warm friendship and good humor.
“The days and weeks spent at Tell er-Rumeith were busy ones. The day began shortly after six o’clock when there would be a great rush to the water storage tank to fill a basin with cold water for the morning ablutions. Breakfast was served shortly thereafter, and it consisted of hot cereal, eggs, bread, and coffee. This was more than adequate preparation for a full day’s work. The workers began to arrive from Ramtha during our breakfast period, which meant that they were well ahead of the seven o’clock roll-call.”
The continuation of the account will be posted tomorrow.
Bryant Wood has posted a summary of this season’s excavations at Khirbet el-Maqatir.
Joe Yudin recommends a short, wet hike near the Sea of Galilee.
Wayne Stiles explains why Shechem is the “most important crossroads in central Israel.”
He has also created the best illustrated page on the first-century boat in Galilee.
Ferrell Jenkins has discovered a way to keep tabs on the water level in the Sea of Galilee.
The discovery of gold coins in Apollonia and Kiryat Gat has led to an increase in illegal digging at sites in southern Israel. (A longer article and photos are available in an IAA press release in Hebrew.)
Israel’s Attorney-General says that all construction on the Temple Mount must adhere to existing laws.
An individual has filed a complaint with Israeli police against the playing of soccer on the Temple Mount.
Matthew Kalman’s story on the trial of the James Ossuary and Jehoash Tablet from The Jerusalem Report is now available for purchase in Kindle format (with free borrowing for Prime members).
The ASOR weekly roundup is here.
HT: Joseph Lauer
(Guest post by Seth M. Rodriquez. For an introduction to this series, see last week’s post.)
This week’s photo comes from Volume 2 of the revised and expanded edition of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands. It is entitled “Cliffs Near Michmash and Geba from Southeast” (photo ID #: tb092706140). However, the name of the picture does not do justice to the thrilling events that took place here in the time of King Saul.
First Samuel 13 tells us that shortly after Saul was crowned king, the Philistines had penetrated deep into Israelite territory. Normally the Philistines controlled only the coastal plains, but at this point in history they were attempting to gain control over the hill country as well. They were encamped at Michmash in the territory of Benjamin, in the heart of Israelite territory (1 Sam 13:5). Saul mustered his troops but suffered a defeat (1 Sam 13:6-7). He was in dire straits and his character was put to the test as he waited for Samuel to arrive and offer sacrifice on behalf of the troops (1 Sam 13:8). Saul cracked under the strain and offered the sacrifice himself, incurring God’s judgment (1 Sam 13:9-15). This chain of events only made matters worse and the Philistine army started spreading out from Michmash, gaining control over the heart of Saul’s kingdom (1 Sam 13:16-18).
This was the situation that Jonathan found himself in, yet unlike his father his character blossomed under such difficult circumstances. First Samuel 14 provides us with the story. The picture above shows the cliffs that separated the Philistine camp at Michmash and the Israelite camp at Geba. The modern name for this valley is the Wadi Suweinit. The cliffs on the left side of the photo led to Geba and the cliffs on the right to Michmash. The Bible refers to these cliffs in this way:
“Within the passes, by which Jonathan sought to go over to the Philistine garrison, there was a rocky crag on the one side and a rocky crag on the other side. The name of the one was Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh. The one crag rose on the north in front of Michmash, and the other on the south in front of Geba.” (1 Sam. 14:4-5, ESV.)
The camps were only about a mile apart. There is a pass between the two sites at the head of the valley (near the top center of the photo) where the main road was and still is today. That strategic pass through the area was probably the reason the Philistine soldiers chose to camp at Michmash: if they camped close by, they could monitor and control the traffic through the pass.
However, instead of approaching the Philistine garrison on the main road through the pass, Jonathan decided to surprise the Philistines by scaling the cliffs. Verse 13 tells us that Jonathan climbed up to the Philistine camp “on his hands and his feet.” Amazingly, he takes only his equipment bearer with him: two soldiers against an entire garrison. His reasoning for the attack is a testimony to his great faith:
“Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised. It may be that the Lord will work for us, for nothing can hinder the Lord from saving by many or by few.” (1 Sam 14:6, ESV.)
In the end, God rewarded Jonathan’s faith by giving him the victory. He and his equipment bearer killed 20 soldiers and the rest were thrown into a panic (1 Sam 14:14-15), which provided the Israelites with an opportunity to win a great victory. (You can read the rest of the story here.) Many things have changed in the land of Saul and Jonathan over the last 3,000 years, but these cliffs still stand today as a silent witness of the faith and heroic deeds of Jonathan.
This photo is included in Volume 2, “Samaria and the Center” of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands can be purchased here.
For more on Michmash, Geba and the pass, go here.
A Reuters report describes how the Jordan River has shrunk over the years but a new plan will bring the stream back to life.
Today, as a result of years of overtaxing for irrigation and drinking water, [the Jordan River] snakes irresolutely along the valley from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea. As far as the eye can see, it is just a few meters wide.
“It’s five percent of what once flowed,” said Ben Ari, who is one of the rehabilitation project leaders. “You can easily walk across without getting your head wet.”
Almost all the water that feeds the river is diverted by Syria, Jordan and Israel before it reaches the south, he explained.
But for the first time, Israel — which is two-thirds arid and has battled drought since its establishment 64 years ago — has a water surplus.
This follows decades of massive investment in the country’s water infrastructure. It re-uses 75 percent of its wastewater, mostly for agriculture, and by next year, 85 percent of drinking water will come from desalination plants.
The Israeli government has chosen to use this bounty to rehabilitate the country’s rivers. The Jordan tops the list.
The rest of the story describes other ways that Israel plans to promote tourism in the area. The article does not mention the impact this may have on the Dead Sea.
HT: Charles Savelle
In April 2009, Israeli archaeologists announced the discovery of a harbor at Acco dating to the 3rd-2nd centuries BC. More evidence has been uncovered in recent excavations, including a destruction layer and a slipway probably used for military ships. From the Israel Antiquities Authority:
According to Kobi Sharvit, director of the Israel Antiquities Authority Marine Archaeology Unit , “Among the finds we’ve discovered now are large mooring stones that were incorporated in the quay and were used to secure sailing vessels that anchored in the harbor c. 2,300 years ago. This unique and important find finally provides an unequivocal answer to the question of whether we are dealing with port installations or the floor of a building. In addition, we exposed collapse comprised of large dressed stones that apparently belonged to large buildings or installations, which was spread of a distance of dozens of meters. What emerges from these finds is a clear picture of systematic and deliberate destruction of the port facilities that occurred in antiquity”. Sharvit adds, “Recently a find was uncovered that suggests we are excavating part of the military port of Akko. We are talking about an impressive section of stone pavement c. 8 meters long by c. 5 meters wide that was partially exposed. The floor is delimited on both sides by two impressive stone walls that are also built in the Phoenician manner. It seems that the floor between the walls slopes slightly toward the south, and there was a small amount of stone collapse in its center. Presumably this is a slipway, an installation that was used for lifting boats onto the shore, probably warships in this case”. According to Sharvit, “Only further archaeological excavations will corroborate or invalidate this theory”.
The bottom of the ancient harbor was exposed at the foot of the installations. There the mooring stones were found as well as thousands of fragments of pottery vessels, among which are dozens of intact vessels and metallic objects. The preliminary identification of the pottery vessels indicates that many of them come from islands in the Aegean Sea, including Knidos, Rhodes, Kos and others, as well as other port cities located along the Mediterranean coast.
The story includes photographs of the ancient quay, a mooring stone, and an imported bowl. High-resolution images are available from the IAA here.
The city of Acco was known as Ptolemais in the Hellenistic and New Testament periods. It is mentioned once in the New Testament in connection with Paul’s return from his third missionary journey (Acts 21:7). You can read more about the city here.
