Israel: Shephelah

This is about our trip into the Shephelah. A very interesting and beautiful part of the country. I lot of Biblical events happened there and they are in the following paper. We had beautiful weather for this day. It was true blessing. We got to see many different ancient cities. I found 4 pieces of pottery and different sites. One of them is a full handle form a large pot at Beth Shemesh, the hometown of Samsom. Pretty neat souvenir. Also i have tried to get maps but it always doesn't work, including this time. I hope you can follow along. Enjoy!

Shephelah

Today’s trip was into the Shephelah. The Shephelah is the land in between the Hill Country in the Middle of Israel, and the flat Coastal Plain that runs along the Mediterranean Sea. We had a packed day ahead of us. We started by going to the Tel of ancient city Beth Shemesh. On our way their Benj briefly mentioned the Burma Road. This was a road that followed the Cesalon ridge into Jerusalem. This was used in 1967 by the Israelites who were trying to get supplies to other Israelites through enemy territory. They were stuck in the Coastal plain and had to try many different ways to get supplies up into the Jerusalem area to support their people. Back to Beth Shemesh. This city is located on the Sorek Valley. It sits just up above the valley on a little hilltop. This is a prominent location in that it is a border city between Dan and Judah. Beth Shemesh is considered in Dan but it also serves as the border. Samson was from Beth Shemesh, and a lot of the Biblical record of him shows him staying around the Sorek Valley for most of his life. The Ark of the Covenant also came through Beth Shemesh. This is the place that they looked inside of it and the 7 people that did died. Some interesting things about this site is that it was a city destroyed by Senachrib in 701 B.C. Also the tel itself has tombs from the Iron Age, as well as the biggest cistern known about. It is from the 10 Century and hold 56,000 gallon of water. I also happened to find a complete handle from a pot at this site.

Next we went to Gath. Gath sites up high on a hilltop in the Elah Valley. It is a great place for a city in that there are not many other hills around. Some important things about Gath are that Goliath was from there. Also David comes to Gath and acts like a madman. He is dismissed as a madman and gets off free. He had to do this because they realized who David was. The Philistines occupied this territory in the 800’s B.C. and it was a good place to occupy in that it sat in the Sorek Valley and was a prominent city. This city was also destroyed by Senachrib in 701 B.C. It is one of the biggest tells found in Judah. It was also a very important site back in history. One important thing found here was the oldest non-Semitic inscription. They also found pillars that hold up a building, something similar to what Samson was tied to. Around the city they also found a trench. This trench was used by the Syrians when they came and conquered this city. It is a deep trench and circles around the city. It allowed them to control the city and to ultimately win the city.

Next city we went to was Azekah. This was a tel that sits in the Elah valley to the north of Gath. Not much has been excavated at Azekah, but it serves as a good view of the Elah Valley. From here one can see Socoh. In 1 Samuel 17 we learned that the Philistines where encamped in between Azekah and Socoh in the story of David and Goliath. They then fought in the Elah Valley. We read that story while looking at the valley in which it happened. Also just across the valley from us is the tel at Qelyafa. This could have been the tel that the Philistines were camped at but we do not know for sure. One thing we do know is that an inscription from the 10 century was found there. This would date back to the time of David, which means that it is pretty significant. After this we went to Socoh. There we learned how to properly use a sling like David would have used to kill Goliath and we also acted out the scene on top of this tel.

After Socoh we kept moving in order to keep on schedule. We went to Lachish. This is also a prominent tel back in history. It stood high on a hilltop. It was a large tel, but not as big as Gath. One thing about this city is that it has the largest Gate House in the Country. This is a little room inside the gate of the city. It was used as a city council meeting place where important people would discuss important things. Lots of pottery with inscriptions was found in this room. These inscriptions talk about the time right before the siege of Nebuchadnezzar. They were supposed to be sent out of the city but they never made it to the destination they we meant for. Also found at Lachish is the only siege ramp still preserved today. A siege ramp is a ramp built up back the attackers that allows them to walk up the ramp into the city. It is dirt that is piled up so high that the people could walk right over the city walls. When Senachrib attacked these cities in 701 B.C. he used this method. This is a siege ramp from the invasion of Senachrib on Lachish. They have even excavated and found that the people in the city were building and had built a defense against this siege ramp. It didn’t work but it was a good try. Also found here were many arrow heads and a part of an Assyrian helmet. This is important because it shows that a big battled was held here. Also found on the tel was a huge well. It went down 145 feet. This is also a prominent tel. It is the place that Joshua centers his southern campaign around. This shows us that it was an important city in those days.

We ended our day climbing through tunnels at Mareshet Gath. These tunnels were used in the 2^nd Jewish revolt in 132-135 A.D. They were used by the Jewish people who followed Bar Kochva. They were a series of tunnels and open rooms that the Jewish people found protection in. The tunnels were very tight until you got to the open room. The point of this was to protect from Roman soldiers coming in. They would not be able to climb through them with all their gear and protective equipment. We climbed through them and went into the secret passages. The tunnels were very tight and cramped in many areas, so some tunnels were easier to climb through than others. After getting all dirty and enjoying some of Becky’s cookies we went back to the Moshav.

Sorek Valley. View from Beth Shemesh

Sorek Valley

Jawbone of a donkey. Samson-like man fighting a bunch of girls?

Remains at Beth Shemesh

We went in a O.T. Tomb

Byzantine wall. Probably a weak 200 years old

Beth Shemesh

Soaking it up! Gath. Hometown of Goliath

Elah Valley

Remains at Gath.

Other side of Gath looking into the Elah Valley

Another one of the beautiful Elah Valley

Elah Valley

Elah Valley. It curves to the left in between the mountains. That would probably have been the place that David and Goliath happened. If that isn't it then it is more than likely in this picture somewhere, but probably up the Elah more to the left.