For seasons, days, and years

2010. We say it is a New Year. All of this depends on the goodness and lovingkindness of the Lord. Today I will post a few scriptures to remind us of the source of all material blessings.

God created the earth, and the entire universe, as a place for man to dwell. He arranged the sun, moon and stars so we might have seasons, days, and years.

Then God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so. (Genesis 1:14-15 NAU)

The New Testament teaches that Jesus, the Word, was active in creation, and that He keeps everything going as it should.

For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities– all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. (Colossians 1:16-17 NAU)

The words of Psalm 106 express an appropriate thanks to the Lord for His provisions.

Praise the LORD! Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; For His lovingkindness is everlasting. (Psalm 106:1 NAU)

Happy New Year!

A lone fisherman on the Sea of Galilee at sunrise. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

A note to my friends: Retiring again

In 2001 I retired from teaching in the Biblical Studies Department at Florida College, but I continued to work with a church on a part-time basis. I had intended to gradually cut back on that work in order to complete some writing that I have been working on over the years. Due to various circumstances, which any preacher understands, I thought it best to continue working with the church. Well, finally, I have decided to make the big move from being partially supported to living off the savings we have been been able to put away over the years. Anyone familiar with independent churches of Christ understands that there is no retirement plan. Perhaps we have begun to build smaller barns (cf. Luke 12:18). Retiring means giving up financial support, not giving up working for the Lord.

It is my plan to continue to lead tours of the Bible Lands, and possibly a few other places, as we have done for the past 42 years. I will continue to conduct a limited number of special lecture series. I am hopeful of being able to maintain the web sites [biblicalstudies.info and BibleWorld.com], and this blog as a by-product of the study and writing that I do. It is difficult to give up things one enjoys doing, but priorities must be set. I try to respond to short questions about specific Bible topics, but I may find it necessary to cut back on that.

The Iron Age Water System at Beersheba. Photo by Leon Mauldin.

“Cracked Pot Archaeology”

If you have not taken a look at Life and Land by Gordon Franz, I suggest you do so now. Gordon is a careful scholar. His material is always well researched and documented. One category that caught my attention at Life and Land is called Cracked Pot Archaeology. Here is how he describes this category.

The Cracked Pot Archaeology category contains articles about popular, contemporary archaeological theories and ideas that, like cracked pots, hold no water! These articles are a review, scholarly analysis and critiques of theories and ideas that have been presented on the Internet or popular books, movies, DVD’s and videos.

Over the past few years Gordon has written a number of articles about the claims of the late Ron Wyatt and Robert Cornuke. Last evening I presented a lesson on “Ports of Paul.” I only had time to talk about Caesarea Maritima and the events of Acts 27-28 (Malta, Syracuse, and Rhegium). I called attention to the claim of Robert Cornuke and the response by Gordon Franz. You will find his response to Cornuke’s book, The Lost Shipwreck of Paul, under the category of Paul and Places. Gordon provides information about the possible places on Malta where the shipwreck may have occurred. I will leave any discussion of that at this time, and let you enjoy working through his material.

The photo below shows Mellieha Bay on Malta. Beyond the bay you may see the island of Gozo. Mellieha Bay is a few miles north of St. Paul’s Bay, the traditional site of the shipwreck. We discussed several places on Malta back in September here, here, and a few other places (use the Search box to locate places you are studying).

Mellieha Bay, Malta. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

One of Gordon’s recent articles is a response to Cornuke’s claim to have found an inscription with the name of Yahweh on it. Read it here. The final sentence by Franz sums it up:

The assertion that Mount Sinai is at Jebel al-Lawz in Saudi Arabia still lacks credible and verifiable historical, geographical, archaeological, or biblical evidence.

You will find links to articles dealing with the claim that Jebel al-Lawz in Saudi Arabia is Mount Sinai.

A word of warning. Beware of someone who has discovered something all others have overlooked. Be especially wary if they have found two things no one else knows about. Shall I keep counting?

2010 Five Day Bible Reading Program

Mark Roberts, BibleClassMaterial.com, has a good five day [a week] Bible reading schedule available for 2010 here. A single copy for personal use is free. Churches and study groups may buy a license to print multiple copies. Check the catalog for other good materials currently available.

Vandalism of the Midras Ruins rolling stone tomb

The Midras Ruins (Horvat Midras) in Israel are part of the Adulam Grove Nature Reserve east of Hwy 38 between the Elah Valley and Beit Guvrin. According to the Parks department sign at the site, the ruins are part of an ancient settlement including caves, pits, and other installations. The Carta touring atlas says the area was continuously inhabited from the time of the Kings of Judah to the Roman period.

For several years I had wanted to visit the Midras Ruins. In August, 2008, I went there for the first time. It was hot, and the hour was late. Elizabeth and I looked for the burial cave with a rolling stone from the Roman period, but were not able to locate it. We spoke with some visitors from near Tel Aviv who had been crawling through the tunnels, but they were unable to help. Earlier this month Leon and I went to Midras and spent a lot of time searching for the burial cave. There are no signs pointing specifically to this burial site. As we searched the area we called a guide friend who told us we should go to the right of the entry. We tried that without success.

On another day our guide friend went with us. He said he had been there since the burial cave was restored. After we got to the site he called a friend who lives in the nearby village. He assured us that the cave was to the right of the entry. After more searching we noted that the older entry from the main road (Hwy 38) had been closed. Now the parking and entry is from the side road about a mile from the main road. Instead of the cave being to the right of the entry, it is to the left of the end of the trail. Here is the sign you need to look for.

Midras Ruins sign. Go toward Pyramid Tomb. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Go toward the Pyramid Tomb. The burial cave is marked as number 4 on the left side of the trail. The sign at the cave indicates that it was in use from the first century B.C. until the Bar Kochba revolt (about A.D. 135). The site was vandalized about 15 years ago.

Midras Ruins Burial Cave.

It was getting dark by the time we located the tomb, but I had a good flash attachment with me that allowed some fairly good photos.

Midras Ruins Burial Cave 4. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins 2009.

I am not able to make out the graffiti above the tomb. Here is a closer view of the rolling stone.

Midras Ruins Burial Cave 4 with rolling stone. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

This tomb is supposed to have been restored. Compare the way it looks now with the way it looked before the vandalism. There are two sources that I know about.

Dr. Carl Rasmussen, Holy Land Photos, says,

In 1976 part of the cemetery was excavated. Several tombs were uncovered, including, in my estimation, THE BEST ROLLING STONE TOMB in the country. Unfortunately in the late 1990’s the tomb site was totally destroyed by vandals.  BUT it has been reconstructed and is now visible in the Adullam Park!

Carl has six photos of the tomb here. Open a new browser and compare the tomb now with the photos he made earlier.

Todd Bolen, BiblePlaces Blog, has an excellent photo of the tomb before and after it was vandalized here. Here you may see the original photo with some restoration photos by A.D. Riddle. I think you will agree that the restoration is not very good.

Why is this tomb important enough that I would go to so much trouble to locate and photograph it? It is because this illustrates the type of tomb in which Jesus was buried.

And Joseph [from Arimathea] took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away. (Matthew 27:59-60 ESV)

Why would anyone want to vandalize this tomb? Probably the same reason!

Several other tombs with a rolling stone are known in the Bible lands.

First century residence uncovered in Nazareth

A simple Jewish residence from the first century has been unearthed in Nazareth, according to an announcement made by the Israel Antiquities Authority today.

Excavation of first century Nazareth residence. Photo courtesy IAA.

An archaeological excavation the Israel Antiquities Authority recently conducted has revealed new information about ancient Nazareth from the time of Jesus. Remains of a dwelling that date to the Early Roman period were discovered for the first time in an excavation, which was carried out prior to the construction of the “International Marian Center of Nazareth” by the the Association Mary of Nazareth, next to the Church of the Annunciation.

According to the New Testament, Mary, the mother of Jesus, lived in Nazareth together with her husband Joseph. It was there that she also received the revelation by the Angel Gabriel that she would conceive a child to be born the Son of God. The New Testament mentions that Jesus himself grew up in Nazareth.

In 1969 the Church of the Annunciation was erected in the spot that the Catholic faith identified with the house of Mary. It was built atop the remains of three earlier churches, the oldest of which is ascribed to the Byzantine period (the fourth century CE). In light of the plans to build there, the Israel Antiquities Authority recently undertook a small scale archaeological excavation close to the church, which resulted in the exposure of the structure.

According to Yardenna Alexandre, excavation director on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, “The discovery is of the utmost importance since it reveals for the very first time a house from the Jewish village of Nazareth and thereby sheds light on the way of life at the time of Jesus. The building that we found is small and modest and it is most likely typical of the dwellings in Nazareth in that period. From the few written sources that there are, we know that in the first century CE Nazareth was a small Jewish village, located inside a valley. Until now a number of tombs from the time of Jesus were found in Nazareth; however, no settlement remains have been discovered that are attributed to this period”.

In the excavation a large broad wall that dates to the Mamluk period (the fifteenth century CE) was exposed that was constructed on top of and “utilized” the walls of an ancinet building. This earlier building consisted of two rooms and a courtyard in which there was a rock-hewn cistern into which the rainwater was conveyed. The artifacts recovered from inside the building were few and mostly included fragments of pottery vessels from the Early Roman period (the first and second centuries CE). In addition, several fragments of chalk vessels were found, which were only used by Jews in this period because such vessels were not susceptible to becoming ritually unclean.

Another hewn pit, whose entrance was apparently camouflaged, was excavated and a few pottery sherds from the Early Roman period were found inside it. The excavator, Yardenna Alexandre, said, “Based on other excavations that I conducted in other villages in the region, this pit was probably hewn as part of the preparations by the Jews to protect themselves during the Great Revolt against the Romans in 67 CE”.

In a few of the archaeological excavations that were carried out in this crowded city, a number of burial caves dating to the Early Roman period were exposed that are situated close to the inhabited area. The modern Church of the Annunciation was constructed in the heart of Nazareth, above the Crusader Church of the Annunciation and atop the ruins of a church from the Byzantine period. In the middle of these churches is a cave that was already ascribed in antiquity to the house of Jesus’ family. Many storage pits and cisterns, some of which date to the Early Roman period, were found in the compound of the Church of the Annunciation.

Excavation of Nazareth residence and Church of Annuciation. Photo: IAA.

The Ha’aretz article includes several additional photos here. The article in the London Telegraph includes a photo of the excavation director Yardenna Alexandre here.

Attempts to link this house to Joseph, Mary, and Jesus are unfounded at this time.

But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream he withdrew to the district of Galilee. And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled: “He shall be called a Nazarene.” (Matthew 2:22-23 ESV)

Video of high waves at Caesarea Maritima

December 13th I wrote about the high waves at the Herodian harbor of Caesarea Maritima here.  While in Israel I tried to post a short video I made, but it did not play smoothly and I gave up. Back home, I note that it plays correctly on my home computer. See if you get a good play.

If you have trouble playing the video, try the direct link here.

On USA soil

If being in the Atlanta airport qualifies, I am on USA soil. The flight from Israel was scheduled for 13 1/2 hours (longer than I mentioned in the previous blog), but we had a good wind and made it in 13 hours. From touchdown it took a full hour and a half to make it through passport control, customs, luggage collection, Atlanta security to enter the airport, etc. In Israel we arrived at the airport and started through the security process about three hours ahead of departure. That makes a total of 17 1/2 hours, and I still have a flight home (about 2 hours counting collecting luggage). Add in the wait here and that makes another 2 1/2 hours. Total time is now at 20 hours. Don’t forget getting to/from the airport. Travel is fun! But I have time to blog.

Israeli security has a deserved reputation as being the best in the world, but I did not have to remove my shoes.

We flew Delta for this trip. I think every seat was full on the return. Flights were departing Tel Aviv for Philadelphia and New York about the same time last night. This is not the most popular time for travel to Israel. We saw a few American groups, but there were several Asian and Indian groups.

The comments left on the blog, and Emails from friends are appreciated. I did note, however, that almost every friend who wrote also made a request. Sorry I did not have time to answer. Don’t expect one tomorrow, either! I will do my best. Several Emails came from folks who were unaware that I was in Israel. That is a sure giveaway that they do not follow the blog. Shame! Shame!

Yesterday we went to Nabi Samwil (or Nebi Samwil), the traditional burial place of Samuel the prophet. According to the Bible Samuel was buried at Ramah, a short distance from Nebi Samwil.

Now Samuel had died, and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in Ramah, his own city. And Saul had put the mediums and the necromancers out of the land. (1 Samuel 28:3 ESV)

We know from the Old Testament that Samuel anointed both Saul and David as kings of Israel. Both Old and New Testaments acknowledge the importance of Samuel as a prophet.

And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established as a prophet of the LORD. And the LORD appeared again at Shiloh, for the LORD revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the LORD. (1 Samuel 3:20-21 ESV)

And all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those who came after him, also proclaimed these days. (Acts 3:24 ESV)

Traditional Burial Place of the prophet Samuel at Nabi Samwil. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins 2009.

The Herodian Family Tomb

In the morning we visited Nabi Samwil, the traditional tomb of the prophet Samuel. Some scholars think this may be the biblical Mizpah. Others believe that Mizpah should be identified by Tell en-Nahbeh.

Now Samuel called the people together to the LORD at Mizpah. (1 Samuel 10:17 ESV)

The site at Nabi Samwil provides a great view of the biblical territory of Benjamin.

Later we went to the traditional family tomb of Herod the Great (37 – 4 B.C.) which is located on the west side of the Old City, and behind the famous King David Hotel. We know from Josephus that Herod buried certain family members in Jerusalem (Wars 1:581). Herod was buried at the Herodium near Bethlehem.

This first photo shows the general area of the tomb which is cut from solid rock.

Herodian Family Tomb in Jerusalem. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins 2009.

The photo below shows the rolling stone. In more recent time a door has been places at the opening of the tomb. Murphy-O’Connor says the tomb was found empty because robbers got there before the archaeologists (The Holy Land).

Herodian Family Tomb Rolling Stone. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins 2009.

We also visited the Skirball Museum at the Hebrew Union College. Some artifacts from Gezer and Dan have been displayed at this small museum. Today we learned that the museum is closed. The lady at the reception desk said she did not know when or if it would be opened. She allowed us to look at a few items displayed in cases along a corridor among the offices. This was a disappointment. One item of interest that is in the poorly lit cases is a replica of the inscription from Dan that mentions the “god” who is in Dan.

High waves at Caesarea Maritima

Friday evening we stayed in the plain of Sharon with friends and former students. We had selected some sites north of there to visit today, but the weather forecast indicated that the weather would be bad. The forecast for the area around Tel Aviv looked better so we went to Caesarea Maritima. When we arrived there was some sun. I noticed the waves were much higher than I had ever seen and those crashing into the breakwater splashed high into the air.

The first photo shows the site of the Herodian harbor. I rented a wide angle lens for this trip to be able to make photos of this type.

Harbor at Caesarea Maritima with high waves. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Look carefully at the breakwater to the right of the building on the left of the photo. You will see the splash of the waves high above the breakwater. The next photo shows a closeup of the same area. The splash appear to almost touch the clouds.

High waves splashing against the breakwater. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Caesarea Maritima was a first century Roman capital and seaport. The gospel was first preached to the Gentiles here when Peter came from Joppa to Caesarea to tell Cornelius words by which he could be saved (Acts 10, 11).

Herod the Great built a city on the site of Strato’s Tower and named it Caesarea in honor of Caesar Augustus. It became a center of Roman provincial government in Judea. The city had a harbor and was located on the main caravan route between Tyre and Egypt. This city is called Caesarea Maritima (on the sea) to distinguish it from Caesarea Philippi.

The Apostle Paul used the harbor at Caesarea several times. He was imprisoned here for two years before departing for Rome (Acts 24:27; 27:1).