Israel

Thursday, March 10, 2011

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.

This is the proposed sight of Ai. The evangelical site

Remains there at Ai

More remains

And more remains

The mountain being covered by the cloud is Mt. Ebal and we are standing on Mt. Gerizim

Video of Mt.Ebal and Mt. Gerizim

Shiloh. Right after the big part of the storm hit us

That is our Samaria Trip. I didn't take many pictures because of the rain, but i had to get a few to remember it.

Ben and Christina

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.

Flower!

A wall. In all honesty i forgot where this is at

Same with this one

A circular view around Gath. You can tell this would be a prominent city

Benj doing a sling shot. Behind him is the valley David would have fought Goliath

Back at the Moshav, with a sunset.

Thanks for Reading!

Ben and Christina from Israel!!!!

Jericho to Jerusalem hike

Here is paper from our hike a couple weeks ago. Yes i am slacking a bit, but i plan to catch up today! so here is the paper from the 3,500 ft, 18ish mile hike we took from Jericho, down by the dead sea, up to the Jerusalem city wall in the hill Country of Judah. I good hike indeed.

Jericho to Jerusalem

We started this hike around 8:15. This was an early one compared to the other hike because of the nature of the hike. As the crow flies, Jericho and Jerusalem are about 14 miles apart with an elevation change of 3500 feet. There is a continuous ridge from Jericho that gets you close to Jerusalem. Unfortunately the ridge dies off and we had to drop into a valley and climb back out. The climb back up would be the back side of the Mount of Olives, which is a bit steeper than I have always thought. As you know both Jericho and Jerusalem are rich with biblical history, so I will only mention some things.
The place that we started was what bill refers to as the “Municipal Jericho.” Some scholars call this the New Testament Jericho because it was around during the New Testament and the site of the Old Testament Jericho is about 2 miles away. This terminology gives the wrong impression. One may think that Old Testament Jericho wasn’t around when New Testament Jericho came to be. This is wrong. They both operated during the New Testament as cities and were both referred to as Jericho. Bill offers the name Municipal Jericho because this part was were more of the commerce would have been, as well as Herod the Great’s Jericho Palace was. This is important to know for close readers of the Gospels because in Matthew and Mark the text says that when Jesus was “going out” of Jerusalem he came to Bartimaeus and healed him. In Luke the text says that Jesus was “coming into” Jericho and healed Bartimaeus. With the understanding of these two cities named Jericho that was about 2 miles apart this possible contradiction is cleared up. With all that said our starting point for the hike was at the Municipal Jericho site, which the Wadi Quilt flows right through.

After walked with some local Arabs on their way to work we came to our first stop; St. George Monastery. It was quite the place being that it was literally built into the side of a cliff. Monasteries are interesting to think about in that the monks there go to get away from the sinful world when really the sin is inside them. Seems to me like a bit of a waste of time. We ate lunch and continued on up the ridge. The Wadi Quilt is a very deep cutting valley. It is straight down on both sides and I can see why they would avoid it at all costs; not at all traveler friendly.

This is an important route in biblical and modern times because it is the quickest way between Jericho and Jerusalem; two major cities. Not only did the people know this but the robbers did to. In biblical times robbers would be on this road and wait for travelers to attack and steal from. The route is perfect for this activity because it goes right through the Judean Wilderness, which means that settlement are few and far in between. This is the route that the Good Samaritan was traveling on when he came across the man in need. On our way up the ascent we stopped by the traditional site of the inn talked about in the Good Samaritan story. This is probably not the correct location, but it was a nice place to see.

As we were walking along we came to a mustard tree. We got to see what a mustard seed was. The seed is about the size of two tic-tacs, and in order to have enough faith to put a tree in the ocean that is how big it must be. It was humbling to see that and understand a little bit more about what Jesus was saying. Bill gave a quick devotional. We continued walking to the store. We made a stop to grab some drinks and to make sure that everyone would be able to make it to the end because this was the last chance to get a ride. We all continued on after drinking some Coke and using the bathroom.

The next stop was remnants of the old Roman Road what went from Jericho to Jerusalem. This would not have been the same road that Jesus would have used because it was built around 135 A.D., but chances are good that this road was built right on top of the road that was there before it, and that one would have been walked on by Jesus. At this point we could feel pain starting to build and knew that this was quite the hike. I thought Al said it nicely when he said that Jesus had to work to die for our sins; he was determined. This hike isn’t easy, but Jesus knew that he came for this reason and he hiked this same hike a week before his death knowing that he was going up to Jerusalem to die to the sins of mankind. Jesus suffering before he made it to Jerusalem. This Roman Road was an interesting place and very cool to see. This spot also naturally lent itself to a good stop for the reenactment of the Good Samaritan story.

We finally made it to the base of the Mount of Olives. This is an Arabic Village just inside the West Bank. As we walked through we attracted lot of attention. The guys kept an eye on the girls and we just kept walking. We got through the guard station into the West Bank and headed up the back of the Mount of Olives. It was a steep incline but we all made it safely. Then we dropped into the Kidron Valley and back up the other side to the north east corner of the Old City wall. After some pictures and kissing of the wall we climbed into the bus and headed back.

Just some people hiking with us for a bit

A view into Jericho

The group hiking along

Random Donkey

Camel in its nature habitat

This is a mustard plant. The seeds are much smaller.

Nice layer in the side of the hill

The old Roman road. Not the same one Jesus would have used, but it would be under this

I well with a bucket to draw water

More of the Roman Road

Reenactment of the Good Samaritan. It would have happened along this climb

The Good Samaritan

We were safe

We made it to the old city wall

Thanks for Reading!

Ben and Christina

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Rabbi/ Missionary/Tel Aviv

Thanks for taking the time to read this. This isn't a paper this time and no pictures but i think it will be enjoyable. so Enjoy!

Things have been picking up around Yad Hashmona. This second half of the semester has come out of nowhere and is almost on us. this will be the most busy/exciting half i think. We have many trips planned. One a week. The first one that is coming up on saturday is a camp-out on the Dead Sea. We will sleep under the starts and do a small hike. We will also get our chance to float in the Dead Sea. We are very excited for this. After that we go to the Negev. That is the wilderness in the south of the country. We will be there for about 4 days. We also have a Galilee trip planned that will be close to ten day, if i remember right. Then we have travel study and then home. So with all that coming up we still got the homework as normal. Prayer are much appreciated. It will be a very good time, of course, but it may be a little more challenging as far as getting things done. We look forward to it!

About a week ago we got the chance to listen to a Jewish Rabbi explain to us the Jewish view of the Messiah. That was a very sad but informative lecture. The Jewish people have a lot of views that i never knew about. He said a lot of things. The main thing i think is most important as to why the reject Jesus as the Messiah is that they have made up how they think the Messiah should come to the earth. He explained it to us. The have a time period in which they think he will come, which is in the next 270 years. They have all sorts of unbiblical qualifications saying that The Messiah must be this type of person and do these type of things. All of this adds to their greatest mistake (quite possibly the greatest mistake of all time), the miss the true Messiah, Jesus. The Jewish people have set up for God how God is supposed to bring The Messiah to them, instead of looking through the scriptures and seeing how the Messiah will really come. The other factor that plays into this is the Judaism has many more book that they follow and consider divine other than the O.T. They have what they call the Oral Torah. They claim that all of the revelation given to Moses on Mount Sinai was not written down and that their was an oral torah also given the Moses. And through the years this is a Oral tradition passed through the generations until in 200 B.C. and man named Hanasi wrote down the Oral Torah. They believe this to be completely divine. The problems with this are pretty clear if you ask me, but we won't go into that. They hold this book as authoritative so i a lot of their veiws and practices come from this. These also have Rabbi's books and commentaries on the Torah. They also hold these up high and some things they do come from those as well. All very interesting but i think this is were they got the things about the Messiah. The also have "explanations" for passages like Isaiah 53, even though they are weak explanations. They also discredit miracles as a way of proving ones self as the Messiah. The Rabbi that came was very good and really got us thinking. I can't remember everything he said, or at least write it all out, but it was good to hear this from someone who believes it to be true.

To turn tides a bit, just this last friday we had a missionary come and speak to us. He is studying here in Jerusalem and his father is a pastor in the Mid-west. He was a high up official in the U.S. Army so he lived in the Sinai Peninsula, north Africa, and a few others places doing the work of the army. He was a light in those places for the gospel, but he felt the call to full-time ministry. So now he studies at the Hebrew University and is trying to reach out to the Arabs and the Jews of Israel. I very neat man. He is married and has a few kids. He challenged us with with possibly thinking missions to unreached areas. That is his passion. He goes into areas with less then 1% christianity and Shares the gospel with people who have never heard of Jesus. It is true, some people have never heard about Jesus. (I would say a good amount of Jews don't really know who Jesus is, they only know what their Rabbi tells them). I am not ready to get up and move to Sadie Arabia but he challenged me in what i am planning for my future. One thing he told us that he had heard was, "Don't plan according to fear or comfort." Than was really challenging to me because i think i was planning my life and getting it to the point that i am comfortable and then from their figuring out how to serve God. That is right. I have fooled myself into thinking that way and he brought that to light. It was a very good talk.

Finally last sunday we went to Tel Aviv for the first time, other than the plane ride. It was a good trip. We went to a IDF museum, which is the Israeli Defense Force. We saw old Tanks and learned about their wars. Very interesting stuff. Israel has been through a lot and it is nice to say that we are American and back them. We then went to downtown Tel Aviv and walked around a bit. It was the first time in a Modern cities since L.A. I didn't see 1 religious Jew until the end of the day. Tel Aviv is pretty secular and modern. It is the only city like this is Israel.

I just want to share a verse that i have thinking about recently. 2 Corinthians 10: 5 "...and take every thought captive in order to obey Christ." That has been my prayer as of late. I want to honor Christ not only in my action but in my thoughts as well. This is hard for me sometimes but by the grace of God i am learn to control my thoughts and "take them captive". This is just the verse i needed right now, and God knew it. I would challenge you to think about you thoughts. Are they honoring to Christ? or do they honor yourself? are you taking them captive to obey Christ? or letting your mind roam free? God knows what you think, he knows what i think. That is scary. I don't want anyone to know what i think sometimes if i am honest. But God always knows what i am thinking. Take them captive to obey Christ. Jesus Christ died a ugly death for you so that you would not be under the wrath for your sin, which includes bad thoughts. He calls us to fight sin. My prayer is for myself and all is that we would obey what Christ says and fight for a pure thought life. After all if God designed us and life and knows the best way to live, i think we should head his instruction.

thanks for reading the blog. Let me know what you think of it! Hope all is well. More to come soon.....hopefully:)

Ben and Christina

Friday, February 25, 2011

Approaches to Jerusalem

Here is another paper. This is from our Jerusalem Approaches Trip. That is pretty much a broad name for all the things we did. It was a great trip. We saw some pretty incredible sites; Mt. of Olives and Bethlehem to name two. I hope you enjoy the paper. As usual Pictures are included!

This week we were able to travel to the areas around Jerusalem. The first place that we stopped was on the eastern side of the Mount of Olives. Right in front of our view was a wall to separate the West bank. However, on the other side of the wall of the left, there was another mountain which is present day El Azariah. In Biblical times it was known as Bethany, the hometown of Lazarus and just 2 miles from Jerusalem. There are tombs from the 1^st century AD, showing that there was a settlement during the time of Christ. Just west of Bethany (where we were standing) is the area of Bethphage.

While we were on the mountain top, we turned to map 11-7 in our map book, discussing the last days of the ministry of Christ. In John 11, He raises Lazarus from the dead in order to show the glory of God. He demonstrates that He is the light of the world. At the the end of the day, the question is whether we believe that He is the resurrection and the life. Lazarus was in the tomb for 4 days, he came out with the linens still wrapped around his body. Christ had the power to keep Lazarus from dying, but decided that the best way of demonstrating His power would be to raise him from the dead.

Bethphage is mentioned in Matthew 21, as the Triumphal Entry of Christ. At this time Jesus still had the support of the people at the time of the feast, which was probably the Passover. This would have been the general area where they found the donkey, in order to fulfill the prophecy. He rode the donkey down the Mount of Olives into the temple, this would be Sunday of the Passion Week. On Monday, He goes back to the temple and cleanses it from the idolatry. On Tuesday, He is swarmed with an angry mob: questioning His authority. At this time we looked at Matthew chapter 24-25, dealing with the Olive discourse, talking about the signs that would appear at the end of the age. On Thursday, the upper room was prepared, the last supper took place and Jesus experienced six different trials. Friday at 9 am is when Christ was crucified and Sunday was when He was resurrected. During the whole account Christ was based in Bethany during the passion week.

The Ascension mentioned in Luke 24:50 was on the eastern side of the mount of Olives, it says that He led them toward Bethany, and then lifted up His hands, a cloud covered Him as He ascended into Heaven. We do not know the specific time that He will return, but we know that He will return in the same manner.

We continued to the Paternoster Church, a traditional spot, on the mount of Olives. At this church the Lord's prayer is in about 100 different languages. This example of prayer speaks about the Lord's will and about our daily needs. The Lord does not want us to pray with empty phrases. Prayer is suppose to be a reminder that we need to be dependent on Him. Through the word choice of 'Our Father' there is a demonstration of a relationship, He is our Father and truly wants what is best for us.

As we walked down the mount of Olives, we stopped right above the cemetery. Some of the tombs are 5,000 years old!! From this view there was a good view of the Old city. To the right, we could see the 'tear drop' where Jesus wept over the city of Jerusalem and the “Mary Magdalene” Russian church. As we continued down the mountain, we stopped at Dominus Favi (the tear drop). In Luke 19: 41-44, is where it mentions that Christ wept over the city of Jerusalem. In Matthew 24, it says that no one knows the day or the hour. There could be a time gap and part of the chapter could be discussing the 2^nd coming. It was clear though that He was giving warning about false prophets, a sign does not mean that they are of Christ. We have to continuously be on the watch and ready for the return of the Lord.

Garden of Gethsemane, this is the traditional place from the Byzantine period. It means oil press. He brought Peter, James, and John, it was a place known to the disciples and the account is in John 18:1. The

Church of the Nations is built on this site. Just outside of Gethsemane was a cave, where tradition says that this is where the disciples slept. The cave was used to make oil form the olive press. There is a possibility that from the 2^nd Century AD, there is a connection to the garden in some sort of way. In Mark 14, it discusses how there was a man that had a linen cloth around his naked body, and followed Christ after he was arrested. This could possibly show that they were planning on staying the night there. Also on this site is a church, which is suppose to hold the tomb of Mary.

Before we arrived in Bethlehem, we stopped at the 'shoulder of the Hinnon valley' Ketef Hinnon. There are tombs, that encircle the city of Jerusalem, like a belt. However, at this spot Edward Robinson discovered tombs from the Old Testament period, from 8^th BC. In most cases tombs are robed, but in 1979 there was a discovery because the roof had collapsed blocking the entrance. Inside this old tomb, they discovered silver amulets, which took 2 years to unroll. They were 2in x ? in. It was an interesting find because LORD was the first word in the inscription of a priestly prayer from Numbers 6. It dates back to the late 7^th century 610 BC, a good 400 years older than the dead sea scrolls! They are able to use pottery that was discovered and the shape of the letters to see what time period they are from.

In Judges 17-18, we are able to see a connection to Bethlehem. This passage is used to show how depraved the nation had become set up narrative for David, who is from Bethlehem. In Micah 5:1, the prophecy decrees that the Messiah will be born in Bethlehem. God has the ability to use circumstances for His good. In Bethlehem there is the church of the Nativity, built by Helena, Constantine's mother. Tradition says that it was built over caves, there also seems to be evidence of a 1^st century settlement. As we left Bethlehem, we were able to see some fields, that could have possibly been where the angels appeared to the shepherds.

Final stop was Herodian, a palace built by Herod the Great, in the middle of the Judean Desert, as a winter get away. This is where Herod was buried and just two years ago a sarcophagus was found. He built walls and then packed dirt, had the walls connect to 4 towers, and then there are two walls, where there would be a passage way for servants. The palace was divided in 2 sections on the east there was a covered walkway with vegetation and on the west there were dwelling place and a bathhouse. Herod the Great was considered a half-Jew, so when the Magi came in Matthew 2, they were looking for the one that was Born King of the Jews, Herod was Made King of the Jews. His life ended insickness and a painful death.