Israel: Samaria

From our trip in Samaria. That is north of Benjamin. It is more or less the land between Benjamin and Galilee. It was a fun day:) Lot of surprises at the end...meaning rain. Really though it was good trip. This happened just yesterday (wednesday 3/9) so this catches us up. I hope you enjoy once again. Thanks for Reading.! Feel free to response or email a response, but don't feel like you have too. Hope all is well with every one.

Samaria

This trip started out with our fingers crossed. Benj told us that there was a good chance of rain, and then when we got on the bus he told us it would probably be pretty ugly. What a way to start a day on the field. Being that this was the only day we could do this field trip and the storm was on track to get worse, we continued on with the day’s plan. Before our first stop we passed by what Bill believes to be the sight of Rachel’s tomb, but this time we got to hear from Benj why he disagrees (respectfully of course) with Bill on the location of this site. Those details were covered in another paper, but the question comes down to if their was two cities by the name of Bethlehem in ancient times. Bill believes that there was and the other one was up in Benjmain near Rachel’s tomb, and Benj doesn’t think there was and that Rachel’s tomb is south of Jerusalem near the Bethlehem Jesus came from. This is just another ongoing geographical debate between our two beloved professors.

Our first stop is what most evangelical scholars believe to be to ancient site of Ai. I say that it is the view held by most evangelical scholars because there are at least two other proposed sites for the city of Ai. Bryant Wood, an evangelical archeologist, is currently digging here, meaning he will be this summer and has in the past. He himself believes this to be the sight of Ai with much confidence. Potentially this is the place but we are not yet fully convinced ad we would like to be. Some things that point to this being the site is its location. We know that when Abraham came into the land he went and camped into between Ai and Bethel. That gives us a clue to the general area of Ai and Kirbet El Makatir (the evangelical site) fits that description. The other major option offered is Et Tel, but in order to believe that this is Ai one must say they are looking for a Biblical city but that the Bible is wrong in saying where it is because Et Tel doesn’t fit the biblical description. One other main reason for Kirbet El Makatir being the correct local of Ai is that when Joshua came to conquer it he had an ambush come from behind Ai while he was in front of Ai on a hilltop drawing them out of the city. The geography of this story and the geography of this location work great together. The ambush came from the west and to the west of this proposed location is a deep Wadi perfect for hiding in waiting for an ambush. On the east where Joshua would have stood is a hill perfect for the hill that he would have been on. The last thing they need to find to say that this is Ai is a burn layer. When Joshua destroyed the city he burned it to the ground. That would leave a significant layer of ash is the archeology, and if found that would be major proof along with the pottery from the late bronze age found to this being the location of the biblical city of Ai. Oh, and it didn’t rain, yet.

Our next stop was on top of Mt. Gerizim. By now we are deep into the West Bank. There is much to be said about this area but I will limit myself to the most important. Mt. Gerizim sits across the Nahal Shechem from Mt. Ebal. Also the Ancient city of Shechem sits in between the two mountains right where the Nahal summits on the road of the Patriarchs. We know that this was the first stop of Abraham when he came into the promise land for the first time. Of course it wasn’t the promise land then but this was the land his people would later inhabit. Mt. Gerizim and Mt. Ebal also hold a major place in biblical history. Two times Joshua reaffirms the covenant with God at this site. The first time is when they were expanding north and claiming the territory that God wad giving to them. This is the time when the said the blessings from Mt. Gerizim and the curse from Mt. Ebal. These are found in Duet 27. Then the second time is when Joshua came back through this place after he conquered the land in the north. So two times at the same place he reaffirmed his covenant with the Lord in the same place. Something interesting about this place is that the Samaritans today believe that Mt. Gerizim is God’s holy place. They do not think that Jerusalem is holy city of God, but that Mt. Gerizim is. They have their reasons, which of course are faulty but they believe them. They even have a place that they currently sacrifice to God every Passover on top of the mountain. After being spotted by the Israeli Military these told us we had to leave. They try to keep a close eye on Shechem because it isn’t the safest area, so they watch from Mt. Gerizim. Yet again, it didn’t rain on us, yet.

Our next and final stop was the city of Shiloh. We know that this is the location of Shiloh for a few different reasons. First, the name is preserved but the locals. Second, if fits the biblical description perfectly, and thirdly Eucibeus tells us that Shiloh is 12 miles south of Shechem, which also fits. Some things that happened here are the tribal allotment. After the main tribes got there allotment a meeting was held and Shiloh to divide up the rest of the land among the remaining tribes. Lots were cast here at Shiloh and it was settled. Another significant aspect of Shiloh is that the tabernacle was here. It probably was on the north side of the city. This was where Samuel was dedicated to the Lord. Also Samuel ministers here in front of the tabernacle. Finally God tells Samuel he will raise up a faithful priest for him. Our time here at Shiloh was unfortunately cut short due to the rain/hail that swept in on us. It was as if it waited all day and then hit us at once. The Lord was gracious though because he let us reach all our spots that were planned for that day, and gave the land of Israel the rain they need. We came back and warmed up.