In the center of this photo is pictured the area of Jaffa Gate, as depicted on the 6th century mosaic map discovered in Medeba, Jordan. Recent discoveries in Jerusalem reportedly “confirm an ancient map of Jerusalem.” Tomorrow morning a press conference will be held at Jaffa Gate. Until then, you can try to guess what they found. I have my own prediction.
HT: Joe Lauer
The reconstruction of the Hurva Synagogue is progressing. These photos were taken last month. In the first photo, you can see the mountains of Jordan in the distance.
Hurva Synagogue from Herod’s tower (Citadel of David)
Hurva Synagogue from Jewish Quarter plaza 
Hurva synagogue interiorThe collapsed ramp that leads to the Mughrabi Gate of the Temple Mount appears to be no closer to reconstruction. From Arutz-7:
Jordanian pressure is preventing the completion of a walkway to the Temple Mount next to the Western Wall (Kotel), according to Nadav Shragai, senior researcher at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. The Islamic Historical Society has filed suit in the Jerusalem District Court, demanding a halt to the work on widening the Kotel Plaza and the renovation of the Rambam (Mughrabim) Gate entrance to the Temple Mount. The court is awaiting a reply from the Prime Minister’s Office on the matter. […] The plan for renovating the walkway to the Rambam Gate has been approved, Shragai said, but the government is delaying its implementation. “At first they wanted the bridge to be suspended from support columns,” the veteran former journalist explained, “but environmental groups objected. In the end it was decided that the bridge would be placed on what remains of the [dirt] ramp, in order to avoid damage to houses in the Mughrabim neighborhood. This plan currently has the necessary approvals and all that is needed is a construction permit from the Kotel Heritage Fund which answers to the Prime Minister’s Office. For some reason, because of pressure from the Jordanian government, the government is not granting this permit.”
The full story is here. 
Collapsed ramp (center) and temporary wooden ramp (left). The Mughrabi Gate is just visible at the end of the temporary ramp.
Five hikers were wounded when a mine exploded near Mount Avital in the Golan Heights.
Richard S. Hess has written an essay on the “Names in Genesis 11” at The Bible and Interpretation.
Professor Donald Wiseman passed away this week.
You can see and read more about the 1st century boat found at the Sea of Galilee at the new website entitled the “Jesus Boat Museum.” I can’t say I like the name they’ve chosen for marketing purposes, but they have some good photographs and explanations about an important archaeological discovery.
The Biblical Learning Blog has a post about “25 Open Courseware Classes about Early Christianity.” The title is a bit misleading, but you may find some subjects of interest here, including a Notre Dame course on Ancient Rome, a MIT course on Ancient Greece, or a Boise State course on the Crusades.
From the Jerusalem Post:
Snow flurries drifted to the ground on Mount Gerizim overlooking Nablus on Thursday, as mourners gathered to bury the spiritual leader of the Samaritans, who passed away the previous day.
High Priest Elazar ben Tsedaka ben Yitzhaq was born during a snowstorm 83 years ago, one mourner said. On Thursday, as he was being laid to rest at the holiest site in the Samaritan religion, the snow began to fall again.
According to Samaritan tradition he was the 131st holder of the post since Aaron. This is not be accepted by all historians, but the office may well go back to the Hellenistic period, which would still make it the oldest office in the world. One account in Josephus suggest that it is an offshoot of the Zadokite high priests in Jerusalem from around the time of Alexander the Great.
Mourners took shelter from the storm inside the community center in the hilltop neighborhood of Kiryat Luza, where much of the ethnoreligious group of 730 lives. Nearly all the rest live in Holon’s Neveh Pinchas neighborhood.
Inside, well over 100 men gathered in a somber, eerily quiet ceremony around the casket holding Elazar, who will be replaced as head priest by his cousin Aharon Ben-Av Hisda Cohen.
The Samaritans are a tiny, largely misunderstood sect that practices a religion that is a close parallel to Judaism. Samaritans believe theirs is the true religion of the Israelites and follow their own Samarian Torah, written in an ancient form of Hebrew largely alien to modern Israeli eyes. Today’s Samarians trace their lineage to Israelites who have lived in northern Samaria before the Babylonian exile, and they still view Mount Gerizim, not Jerusalem, as the center of their religion.
According to his obituary on the Samaritan Update website, Elazar ben Tsedaka became high priest in 2004. At the time of his appointment, it was written:
The new High priest is a prominent scholar in the community, a poet, and an expert in the calculation of the Samaritan yearly calendar. He was born in Nablus/Samaria in 1927. He had been a high school teacher of mathematics for many years in Nablus and after his retirement devoted himself to matters of the priesthood, literature and research. High Priest Elazar participated in research delegations on Samaritan manuscripts in St. Petersburg in 1991 and in political issues to Washington D.C. in 1995.
The Samaritan Update also has a list of high priests from 1624 until present.
Future dates of the celebration of the Samaritan Passover sacrifice are also given:
Samaritans praying at Passover, led by high priest, early 1900sThis photo is from the Traditional Life and Customs volume of The American Colony and Eric Matson Collection (Library of Congress, LC-matpc-01845).
Rubén Gómez of Bible Software Review published a review of the latest photo collection from BiblePlaces.com / LifeintheHolyLand.com. Here is his conclusion:
I cannot overemphasize what a great deal The American Colony and Eric Matson Collection is. And if you happen to teach the Bible, you will find numerous illustrations that will take your teaching to a new level. The pictures, the people depicted, the atmosphere that surrounds them, the interesting and well-researched notes, all add to a truly valuable learning experience. Get this set and see for yourself what the Land of the Bible looked like. You will not be disappointed.
After having visited Israel just a few months ago (and taken a good number of pictures and personal notes!), this DVD set helped me appreciate even more some of the many details this fascinating land has to offer.
You can read the full review, with illustrations, here.
Let us know if you’re interested in reviewing this collection for a journal, magazine, or website.
