Judah Archives - Page 34 of 40

Seal Impression from Bethlehem Discovered in Jerusalem

The Israel Antiquities Authority announced today the discovery of a seal impression with the name of Bethlehem.

The first ancient artifact constituting tangible evidence of the existence of the city of Bethlehem, which is mentioned in the Bible, was recently discovered in Jerusalem.
A bulla measuring c. 1.5 cm was found during the sifting of soil removed from archaeological excavations the Israel Antiquities Authority is carrying out in the City of David. The sifting is underwritten by the ‘Ir David Foundation’ in a project being conducted in the Emek Tzurim National Park.
A bulla is a piece of clay that was used for sealing a document or object. The bulla was impressed with the seal of the person who sent the document or object, and its integrity was evidence the document or object was not opened by anyone unauthorized to do so.
Three lines of ancient Hebrew script appear on the bulla:
בשבעת Bishv’at [in the seventh]
בת לחם Bat Lechem [Bethlehem]
[למל]ך [Lemel]ekh [for the king]
According to Eli Shukron, director of the excavation on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, “it seems that in the seventh year of the reign of a king (it is unclear if the king referred to here is Hezekiah, Manasseh or Josiah), a shipment was dispatched from Bethlehem to the king in Jerusalem. The bulla we found belongs to the group of “fiscal” bullae – administrative bullae used to seal tax shipments remitted to the taxation system of the Kingdom of Judah in the late eighth and seventh centuries BCE. The tax could have been paid in the form of silver or agricultural produce such as wine or wheat”.
Shukron emphasizes, “this is the first time the name Bethlehem appears outside the Bible, in an inscription from the First Temple period, which proves that Bethlehem was indeed a city in the Kingdom of Judah, and possibly also in earlier periods”.

Too much can be made from this discovery, especially with the emphasis of the last sentence above.

The existence of Bethlehem in the period of the Old Testament is not disputed, and an inscription this late is not as helpful as one would be from the time of Ruth or David. Nonetheless, it is a nice discovery which adds another piece of data to our understanding of the Judean kingdom.

The closest biblical connection that one can make to this time period (late 8th or 7th century) is the prophet Micah, who derided the failed leadership of his day (chapter 3), predicted a restored Davidic kingdom (chapter 4), and expected that Bethlehem would produce the awaited king, one whose origins are from ancient times and who would “be their peace” (chapter 5).

The full press release is here and a high-resolution photo is here (also below). The story is reported by the Jerusalem Post, Reuters, the Associated Press, and many others.

Bethlehem bulla.
Photograph by Clara Amit, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority.

Tagged Discoveries, Jerusalem, Judah

Cave for Demeter Worship Identified in Judean Hills

From Haaretz:

We often hear about how Jerusalem is holy to followers of the three major monotheistic religions. But what is less well-known is that the surrounding Judean hills were home to pagan ritual sites involving Greco-Roman gods. One such site, linked to the harvest goddess Demeter, has been identified at the Twins Cave, according to a study released by the Yad Ben-Zvi historical research institute last week. In Greek mythology, Demeter’s daughter, Persephone, was kidnapped by Hades, king of the underworld. After Zeus intervened, Hades agreed to send Persephone back aboveground – but first he convinced her to taste the seeds of the pomegranate, an underworld fruit. Once she tried them, she could not remain completely cut off from Hades’ realm, to which she had to return for three months every year. And how do you reach the underworld? In Greco-Roman thought, dark, deep pits or caves were considered gateways to hell and were often used for rituals dedicated to pagan gods, say Boaz Zissu, who teaches classical archaeology at Bar-Ilan University, and Eitan Klein, one of Zissu’s graduate students. Zissu and Klein said in the study that the Twins Cave was used for just such pagan rituals between the second and fourth century C.E. The 42 clay lamps from the late Roman period discovered in the cave were used as part of a pagan rite, apparently meant to guide Demeter’s way as she searched underground for her daughter, they said.

The full story is here. For directions to the cave located east of Beth Shemesh, see here.

Tagged Discoveries, Judah

Herod’s Tomb Reconstruction Defended

A month ago, a plan was announced to construct a 1:1 scale model of Herod’s tomb on location at Herodium. Haaretz ran a story on it with a misleading headline (later revised): “Top archaeologists condemn Israeli plan to rebuild ancient tomb.”

This weekend The Bible and Interpretation published an article by two on the planning team, giving their motivation for proposing the reconstruction. While much of the article reviews the historical importance of the Herodium, Zeev Margalit and Roi Porat conclude with the rationale for the plan that they concede is “unique, extraordinary, and unprecedented at an archaeological site.” They describe their principles as follows:

1. Construction of the model will not damage the antiquities!
2. New construction will be clearly separated from the original remains.
3. The principle of reversibility will be strictly observed at all times; after implementation is complete, the model will be able to be dismantled and the site returned to the previous state.
4. Conservation of all archaeological findings at Herodium will be carried out together with the construction of the model, including the nearby structures – the royal chamber, the theater, the monumental steps, etc.

The full article is here.

Upper and Lower Herodium from the north

Tagged Herod's Tomb, Judah

Wednesday Roundup

The news report was that Tel Shiloh would receive about $1.3 million for renovation and preservation of the site, besides an additional $2.5 million from private sources. Only a few bloggers seem to note the new archaeological excavation underway on the southwestern side of the tell, with work scheduled to begin on the proposed tabernacle site in a few weeks.

Arutz-7: “Muslims hurled stones and shoes at police escorting Jewish and Christian visitors on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City on Tuesday.”

JPost: “The Tourism Ministry on Tuesday launched an online ballot where the public can vote on what shape the NIS 833 million renovation of the Dead Sea will take in the coming years.”

NASA has a photo showing the weekend’s snowfall on Mount Hermon and the ranges to the north.

Wayne Stiles connects the beauty on display at Neot Kedumim with the Passover holiday.

The Jerusalem Post has a new column named “All Out Adventure.” It begins with a rather tame outing to Sataf in the Judean hills.

Tom Powers has an interesting and well-illustrated post on the Historic Valley Railway that once connected Damascus to Haifa.

G. M. Grena teases his readers with an Arabic-English riddle. I think I can make some sense of it.

James Hoffmeier’s recent lecture on what his archaeological work in Egypt tells us about the exodus is online for viewing.

The royal garden at Ramat Rahel is described in a brief but helpful summary by LiveScience.

HT: BibleX

Recent excavations at Shiloh

Tagged Dead Sea, Egypt, Exodus-Conquest, Jerusalem, Jezreel Valley, Judah, Samaria, Temple Mount, Weekend Roundup

Another Christmas, Another Brawl in Bethlehem

The Greek Orthodox and Armenian priests are at it again. From Haaretz:

The annual cleaning of one of Christianity’s holiest churches deteriorated into a brawl between rival clergy Wednesday, as dozens of monks feuding over sacred space at the Church of the Nativity battled each other with brooms until police intervened.
The ancient church, built over the traditional site of Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem, is shared by three Christian denominations: Roman Catholics, Armenians and Greek Orthodox.
Wednesday’s fight erupted between Greek and Armenian clergy, with both sides accusing each other of encroaching on parts of the church to which they lay claim.
The monks were tidying up the church ahead of Orthodox Christmas celebrations in early January, following celebrations by Western Christians on Dec. 25. The fight erupted between monks along the border of their respective areas. Some shouted and hurled brooms.

The full story is here. A video of the scene is posted online here.

HT: ShalomIL

Tagged Holidays, Judah

Weekend Roundup

Wayne Stiles’ weekly column provides the best and most concise review of the significance of Bethlehem that I have read. You might bookmark this one for future lessons or sermons.

Yoni Cohen investigates some sites in Israel related to the festival of Hanukkah.

One of 107 cuneiform texts recently published depicts the great king Nebuchadnezzar.

Oded Borowski reviews Eilat Mazar’s new book Discovering the Solomonic Wall in Jerusalem: A Remarkable Archaeological Adventure.

Did the Magi give Jesus frankincense and myrrh because they cure arthritis?

Travelujah has the full run-down of Christmas services in Bethlehem and Jerusalem.

A retired professor, preaching tomorrow about Bethlehem in north Texas, has been to Israel 69 times.

The Star-Telegram tells his story.

Merry Christmas to all!

Bethlehem from the north

Tagged Discoveries, Holidays, Judah