So this is part of the show that I grew up on. Oh the memories! Gotta love math. :) As a plus, it mentions my home town - how cool is that?!
Friday, November 28, 2008
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Humor and Life
First Joke:
This is pretty much what I feel like at camp all the time...except more so. And I'm also probably not usually as calm and organized as she is. I usually forget the first question after the third or fourth. :)
Second Joke:
An engineer, a psychologist, and a theologian were hunting in the wilderness of northern Canada. Suddenly, the temperature dropped and a furious snowstorm was upon them. They came across an isolated cabin, far removed from any town. The hunters had heard that the locals in the area were quite hospitable, so they knocked on the door to ask permission to rest. No one answered their knocks, but they discovered the cabin was unlocked and they entered.
It was a simple place -- two rooms with a minimum of furniture and household equipment. Nothing was unusual about the cabin except the stove. It was large, pot-bellied, and made of cast-iron. What was strange about it was its location: it was suspended in midair by wires attached to the ceiling beams.
"Fascinating," said the psychologist. "It is obvious that this lonely trapper, isolated from humanity, has elevated this stove so that he can curl up under it and vicariously experience a return to the womb."
"Nonsense!" replied the engineer. "The man is practicing the laws of thermodynamics. By elevating his stove, he has discovered a way to distribute heat more evenly throughout the cabin."
"With all due respect," interrupted the theologian, "I'm sure that hanging his stove from the ceiling has religious meaning. Fire LIFTED UP has been a religious symbol for centuries."
The three debated the point for several hours without resolving the issue.
When the trapper finally returned, they immediately asked him why he had hung his heavy pot-bellied stove from the ceiling.
His answer was succinct. "Had plenty of wire, not much stove pipe."
I can't tell you how often I have seen this sort of scenario played out here. Scholars argue over the smallest things, often reading enormous ammounts of information into the tiniest statement but ignoring the simplest and (to me at least) most logical answers. It kind of drives me crazy. Let me explain a bit.
The stove basically represents the facts on the ground, whether it be text from the Bible, archaeological or geographical evidence, or text from some other ancient source. The engineer, psychologist, and theologial all represent possible different interpretations of the facts on the ground. The trapper actually knows the truth about the stove, but unfortunately, all the "trappers" in this land died years ago and can't tell us why they built or wrote in such a way. So the different scholars argue about the proper interpretation. In all fairness, many times they probably do come quite close to the actual reasons. Sometimes, though, their theories seem as ridiculous as the three theories about the stove.
One example that comes to mind is from my Matthew class. You are probably all aware of the passage in Matthew where Jesus pronounces woe upon the scribes and Pharisees. (Matthew 23) Apparently this is a big deal. Here are some of the views I've seen represented on what this passage "means:"
1. Maybe it means that Matthew (or whoever the author was) and the small group of believers around (aka "the Matthean Community") him were upset at the Pharisees and other Jews for some reason. Maybe the Jews were persecuting this small group of Christians so Matthew included this scathing rebuke in his gospel.
2. Maybe Matthew meant to imply that all of Israel was utterly rejected by God (which could open the door to some pretty sever anti-semetism).
3. Maybe Matthew only meant to imply that the leaders of Israel were utterly rejected by God (thus preserving the gospel from being anti-semetic).
4. Maybe it was part of the attempt by Matthew to distance his community from the Jewish community and to set themselves up at the "true" followers of God.
...and my thought is, "Maybe Matthew included it in his gospel because Jesus actually said it, and maybe Jesus said it because the Pharisees at the time that he spoke were actually hypocritical." Which is not to say that the book and its contents can be completely separated from the time and location in which it was written. On the other hand, I don't think it can be separated from the time and place which is being written about, either. I think it is going too far to imply that some of these passages were made up by the author of Matthew in response to circumstances facing his community. Doubtlessly the gospel applied, but good grief.
Back to the stove joke, while the trapper probably has some ideas in all the areas the experts discussed, when someone has to choose between freezing to death or setting up a stove that works, well, that person isn't likely going to be considering all the symbolic and scientific implications of his stove placement. He's going to be pretty pragmatic about it. I could be wrong, but I would think that the same would be true of the authors of the texts we have. Most of the time they were probably trying to get the story down. They may have put a spin on it to teach a lesson or included some symbolism or some such thing, but I find it hard to believe, as some scholars seems to imply, that they wrote with 24 and a half different layers of meaning and that by the simple statement "X" they really meant "Y", "Z", and "A" ... and "B" for good measure. The scholars have far more time to discuss the stove than the trapper had to make it in the first place. I want more scholars who put themselves in the shoes of the trapper!
(Ok, I'll stop ranting now...that one has been building up for a while.)
This is pretty much what I feel like at camp all the time...except more so. And I'm also probably not usually as calm and organized as she is. I usually forget the first question after the third or fourth. :)Second Joke:
An engineer, a psychologist, and a theologian were hunting in the wilderness of northern Canada. Suddenly, the temperature dropped and a furious snowstorm was upon them. They came across an isolated cabin, far removed from any town. The hunters had heard that the locals in the area were quite hospitable, so they knocked on the door to ask permission to rest. No one answered their knocks, but they discovered the cabin was unlocked and they entered.
It was a simple place -- two rooms with a minimum of furniture and household equipment. Nothing was unusual about the cabin except the stove. It was large, pot-bellied, and made of cast-iron. What was strange about it was its location: it was suspended in midair by wires attached to the ceiling beams.
"Fascinating," said the psychologist. "It is obvious that this lonely trapper, isolated from humanity, has elevated this stove so that he can curl up under it and vicariously experience a return to the womb."
"Nonsense!" replied the engineer. "The man is practicing the laws of thermodynamics. By elevating his stove, he has discovered a way to distribute heat more evenly throughout the cabin."
"With all due respect," interrupted the theologian, "I'm sure that hanging his stove from the ceiling has religious meaning. Fire LIFTED UP has been a religious symbol for centuries."
The three debated the point for several hours without resolving the issue.
When the trapper finally returned, they immediately asked him why he had hung his heavy pot-bellied stove from the ceiling.
His answer was succinct. "Had plenty of wire, not much stove pipe."
I can't tell you how often I have seen this sort of scenario played out here. Scholars argue over the smallest things, often reading enormous ammounts of information into the tiniest statement but ignoring the simplest and (to me at least) most logical answers. It kind of drives me crazy. Let me explain a bit.
The stove basically represents the facts on the ground, whether it be text from the Bible, archaeological or geographical evidence, or text from some other ancient source. The engineer, psychologist, and theologial all represent possible different interpretations of the facts on the ground. The trapper actually knows the truth about the stove, but unfortunately, all the "trappers" in this land died years ago and can't tell us why they built or wrote in such a way. So the different scholars argue about the proper interpretation. In all fairness, many times they probably do come quite close to the actual reasons. Sometimes, though, their theories seem as ridiculous as the three theories about the stove.
One example that comes to mind is from my Matthew class. You are probably all aware of the passage in Matthew where Jesus pronounces woe upon the scribes and Pharisees. (Matthew 23) Apparently this is a big deal. Here are some of the views I've seen represented on what this passage "means:"
1. Maybe it means that Matthew (or whoever the author was) and the small group of believers around (aka "the Matthean Community") him were upset at the Pharisees and other Jews for some reason. Maybe the Jews were persecuting this small group of Christians so Matthew included this scathing rebuke in his gospel.
2. Maybe Matthew meant to imply that all of Israel was utterly rejected by God (which could open the door to some pretty sever anti-semetism).
3. Maybe Matthew only meant to imply that the leaders of Israel were utterly rejected by God (thus preserving the gospel from being anti-semetic).
4. Maybe it was part of the attempt by Matthew to distance his community from the Jewish community and to set themselves up at the "true" followers of God.
...and my thought is, "Maybe Matthew included it in his gospel because Jesus actually said it, and maybe Jesus said it because the Pharisees at the time that he spoke were actually hypocritical." Which is not to say that the book and its contents can be completely separated from the time and location in which it was written. On the other hand, I don't think it can be separated from the time and place which is being written about, either. I think it is going too far to imply that some of these passages were made up by the author of Matthew in response to circumstances facing his community. Doubtlessly the gospel applied, but good grief.
Back to the stove joke, while the trapper probably has some ideas in all the areas the experts discussed, when someone has to choose between freezing to death or setting up a stove that works, well, that person isn't likely going to be considering all the symbolic and scientific implications of his stove placement. He's going to be pretty pragmatic about it. I could be wrong, but I would think that the same would be true of the authors of the texts we have. Most of the time they were probably trying to get the story down. They may have put a spin on it to teach a lesson or included some symbolism or some such thing, but I find it hard to believe, as some scholars seems to imply, that they wrote with 24 and a half different layers of meaning and that by the simple statement "X" they really meant "Y", "Z", and "A" ... and "B" for good measure. The scholars have far more time to discuss the stove than the trapper had to make it in the first place. I want more scholars who put themselves in the shoes of the trapper!
(Ok, I'll stop ranting now...that one has been building up for a while.)
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Thanksgiving Reflections
A year ago, a week or two before Thanksgiving, my maternal grandmother was in a pretty bad car accident. For a time there we were afraid we might loose her, but she managed to pull through. We spend that Thanksgiving with her at a special physical therapy facility. It probably wasn't the most comfortable Thanksgiving ever (especially for her!) but we were thankful that she was still with us.
This year, a week or two before Thanksgiving my paternal grandmother began failing rapidly. She had a stroke about 8 or 9 years earlier and then another one a little more recently - two close calls where we were grateful that they were not the end. This time her liver was failing and there was no recovery. This time we cannot be thankful that she is still with us after a close call. This time we have something much larger to be thankful for: the fact that she is now home with Jesus. No more pain or disability lingering from her strokes. Now she is able to see her Savior face to face and rejoice in His presence. What a blessing!
I'd better change the subject a little, or I will start bawling here in the Library. Thoughts of heaven always seem to make me cry (in a happy way).
As I think back on the lives of both of my grandmothers (the short part of their lives that I knew them), I am so grateful for both of them. Neither were/are perfect, but both tried/try to walk with Jesus and set an example for their children and grandchildren. I think my grandmothers are one of the main reasons that my parents (and all their siblings) grew up to love and follow the Lord. I also blame them at least partially for the fact that I've grown to like crochet, sewing, and cooking. :)
As I think about my grandmother tonight, I mourn for my family who will miss her. I mourn a little for the great-grandchildren that she wanted so much but will never meet on earth. But more, I look forward to the day when all of us (hopefully including any great-grandchildren that she might someday have) will see each other again in the presence of God. Now that is something to be thankful for!
This year, a week or two before Thanksgiving my paternal grandmother began failing rapidly. She had a stroke about 8 or 9 years earlier and then another one a little more recently - two close calls where we were grateful that they were not the end. This time her liver was failing and there was no recovery. This time we cannot be thankful that she is still with us after a close call. This time we have something much larger to be thankful for: the fact that she is now home with Jesus. No more pain or disability lingering from her strokes. Now she is able to see her Savior face to face and rejoice in His presence. What a blessing!
I'd better change the subject a little, or I will start bawling here in the Library. Thoughts of heaven always seem to make me cry (in a happy way).
As I think back on the lives of both of my grandmothers (the short part of their lives that I knew them), I am so grateful for both of them. Neither were/are perfect, but both tried/try to walk with Jesus and set an example for their children and grandchildren. I think my grandmothers are one of the main reasons that my parents (and all their siblings) grew up to love and follow the Lord. I also blame them at least partially for the fact that I've grown to like crochet, sewing, and cooking. :)
As I think about my grandmother tonight, I mourn for my family who will miss her. I mourn a little for the great-grandchildren that she wanted so much but will never meet on earth. But more, I look forward to the day when all of us (hopefully including any great-grandchildren that she might someday have) will see each other again in the presence of God. Now that is something to be thankful for!
Monday, November 24, 2008
Churches and such
Yesterday I had the chance to actually go to two different churches for two different reasons.
In the morning I went to St. Andrew's Scottish Presbyterian Church, just across the Hinnom Valley from my school. (Maria, I thought of you!) It was a pretty good service. (I liked the windows too.)
The message was on Matthew (specifically 25:31-46). Of course. I seem to be unable to escape Matthew. My pastor at home has been going through Matthew for a couple years now. I'm taking a class on Matthew this semester. I don't claim to know much about the church calendar for readings and such, but apparently the book of Matthew has been part of the scheduled readings for this semester. Therefore, since of the 4 times I've been able to attend church this semester, I've gone twice to an Anglican church and once to a Presbyterian church, those three services have been on Matthew. It's kind of funny, but hey, it's a good book, so I won't complain. Anyway, I'm not sure that I would agree theologically with everything that was said, but for the most part it seemed pretty solid. The preacher started out with a story of how world renowned violinist Joshua Bell had once gone to the train station in Washington DC and started playing like a student trying to earn some extra cash. He played for nearly an hour and only a couple people stopped to listen. He earned something like $32, when just nights ago hundreds of people had payed hundreds of dollars to hear him play in a large concert hall. How often are we so busy with our life that we miss things like that? In the context of Matthew 25:31-46, how often are we so busy that we miss opportunities to do good? Jesus here doesn't judge people based on the bad that they did but on the good they failed to do. Hmm...
After the service we stayed around for a bit and talked to people. I gather that it's normally a pretty small congregation. There were probably about 10 of us from JUC and then there was a group of about 20 visiting from Edinburgh. All together, we must have made up over half the congregation. The only people I ended up talking to were the visitors, but they were very pleasant people. It makes me sad, though. There are so many huge church buildings over here representing so many different denomonations, and they have such tiny memberships. I kind of get the feeling that they are just surviving, not thriving. I do hear, though, that the palestinian church is growing quite a bit, which is encouraging.
As we were heading out Vernon showed us the sight of "Ketef Hinnom" (meaning "the shoulder of Hinnom"). This site was excavated by my own archaeology professor, Gabby Barkay. In fact, it was kind of the sight that made him famous. It also provides numerous problems for the minimalists, which is always a good thing. :) I don't know much about it, but maybe I'll ask in my next archaeology class.
Last night, after finishing my Matthew paper, I headed out with some people to the Dormition Abbey for a free brass ensemble concert! I hadn't been inside the Dormition Abbey before, and it was pretty impressive. As Cameron said, one wonders where they get the money for that sort of a building. (I guess in this case, Kaiser Wilhelm probably provided most of it.) And I wonder if the money could be better spent elsewhere? I mean, how important is it for a church building to be beautiful? I don't think that it's entirely unimportant, but it seems like there are so many other things that should take precidence. Anyway, the concert was a lot of fun. The group was, I believe, from Germany, which means that most of the explanations were done in German. Unfortunately, I understand very little German. Oh well. I enjoyed the music anyway, and recognized some of the songs. And yes, they definitely played Mary Bennet's song ("Slumber dear maid....") It made me smile and wish for someone who would get the joke. They may have not been the best ensemble ever, but since pretty much the only concerts I've been to in recent years have been High School bands, well, I thought they were pretty decent. :) It was fun hearing the resonance in the church too. It made me think fondly of all my brass playing relatives and friends. Miss y'all!
Oh, and while we were there, Peter noticed something about the floor of the church. You may remember a while ago from our Galilee trip I mentioned that a lot of Synagogues in that region had the Zodiac in mosaics on their floor? Well this church did too. Which I find very odd. Why would they do such a thing? It makes even less sense than it did in Jewish Synagogues. Odd.
In the morning I went to St. Andrew's Scottish Presbyterian Church, just across the Hinnom Valley from my school. (Maria, I thought of you!) It was a pretty good service. (I liked the windows too.)
The message was on Matthew (specifically 25:31-46). Of course. I seem to be unable to escape Matthew. My pastor at home has been going through Matthew for a couple years now. I'm taking a class on Matthew this semester. I don't claim to know much about the church calendar for readings and such, but apparently the book of Matthew has been part of the scheduled readings for this semester. Therefore, since of the 4 times I've been able to attend church this semester, I've gone twice to an Anglican church and once to a Presbyterian church, those three services have been on Matthew. It's kind of funny, but hey, it's a good book, so I won't complain. Anyway, I'm not sure that I would agree theologically with everything that was said, but for the most part it seemed pretty solid. The preacher started out with a story of how world renowned violinist Joshua Bell had once gone to the train station in Washington DC and started playing like a student trying to earn some extra cash. He played for nearly an hour and only a couple people stopped to listen. He earned something like $32, when just nights ago hundreds of people had payed hundreds of dollars to hear him play in a large concert hall. How often are we so busy with our life that we miss things like that? In the context of Matthew 25:31-46, how often are we so busy that we miss opportunities to do good? Jesus here doesn't judge people based on the bad that they did but on the good they failed to do. Hmm...After the service we stayed around for a bit and talked to people. I gather that it's normally a pretty small congregation. There were probably about 10 of us from JUC and then there was a group of about 20 visiting from Edinburgh. All together, we must have made up over half the congregation. The only people I ended up talking to were the visitors, but they were very pleasant people. It makes me sad, though. There are so many huge church buildings over here representing so many different denomonations, and they have such tiny memberships. I kind of get the feeling that they are just surviving, not thriving. I do hear, though, that the palestinian church is growing quite a bit, which is encouraging.
As we were heading out Vernon showed us the sight of "Ketef Hinnom" (meaning "the shoulder of Hinnom"). This site was excavated by my own archaeology professor, Gabby Barkay. In fact, it was kind of the sight that made him famous. It also provides numerous problems for the minimalists, which is always a good thing. :) I don't know much about it, but maybe I'll ask in my next archaeology class.
Last night, after finishing my Matthew paper, I headed out with some people to the Dormition Abbey for a free brass ensemble concert! I hadn't been inside the Dormition Abbey before, and it was pretty impressive. As Cameron said, one wonders where they get the money for that sort of a building. (I guess in this case, Kaiser Wilhelm probably provided most of it.) And I wonder if the money could be better spent elsewhere? I mean, how important is it for a church building to be beautiful? I don't think that it's entirely unimportant, but it seems like there are so many other things that should take precidence. Anyway, the concert was a lot of fun. The group was, I believe, from Germany, which means that most of the explanations were done in German. Unfortunately, I understand very little German. Oh well. I enjoyed the music anyway, and recognized some of the songs. And yes, they definitely played Mary Bennet's song ("Slumber dear maid....") It made me smile and wish for someone who would get the joke. They may have not been the best ensemble ever, but since pretty much the only concerts I've been to in recent years have been High School bands, well, I thought they were pretty decent. :) It was fun hearing the resonance in the church too. It made me think fondly of all my brass playing relatives and friends. Miss y'all!
Oh, and while we were there, Peter noticed something about the floor of the church. You may remember a while ago from our Galilee trip I mentioned that a lot of Synagogues in that region had the Zodiac in mosaics on their floor? Well this church did too. Which I find very odd. Why would they do such a thing? It makes even less sense than it did in Jewish Synagogues. Odd.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Jordan, Day 4
This was the last day of our Jordan trip, and also the last day of field study for this class. It was a little bittersweet. More so for others, though. I get to come back for more!
November 16, 2008
The morning started bright and early in a Medieval castle with a view down to the Dead Sea and Masada.
We were at Kerak, location of a crusader castle, formerly the capital (or one of the capitals) of Moab. What a place to defend! Perhaps not quite as impenetrable as Bozrah would have been in its day, but still pretty hard to get into if the inhabitants didn’t want you to.
Our guide, Zaffer, also told a couple good stories about the interaction between the crusaders and Suliman.
We drove through the Wadi Arnon to get to our next sight. Boy, was it impressive! That's quite a valley to cross if you want to conquer land on the other side.
Our next stop was Dibon, Mesha’s Moabite capital on the Medeba plateau and the place where his stele was found. Again, a little less defensible than even Kerak, but still probably better than Jerusalem. We talked about Mesha’s battles and how they related to events and people in the Biblical account. The Medeba plateau was indeed a contested place, both politically and (in a related way) religiously.
At Dibon, I think that Dr. Wright managed to infuse into us a little of his longing to have these places excavated and displayed properly, both for the benefit of Jordan and for the furtherance of our knowledge.
(This is Dibon. See, a little excavation has been done, but what you see is about the extent of it.)
We visited the locations of 4 different ancient capitals (Rabbah, Bozrah, Kir, and Dibon). Most of them have been excavated very little. We were “lucky” with the finding of the Moabite stone – it gives us a bit of insight into Moab. We still know so little of that, though, and next to nothing about the other capitals and their inhabitants, except what we can learn from the Bible, which is limited and written from the perspective of their enemies. And for Jordan’s sake…one would think that they could increase tourism a lot and bring in more money if they would take the trouble to fix up these sites and charge an entrance fee. These were all fairly major cities for centuries. It’s seems likely that at least some ostraca or something would have survived. There is so much we could learn.
After Dibon we skipped Heshbon due to time constraints and headed straight to St. George’s church, the location of the famous mosaic map of the Levant from around the 6th century AD. Unfortunately, we didn’t have a whole lot of time to take it in as we were off running again, this time to grab a lunch to eat on the buses. Still, it was fun to see.
(This is me pointing to where our school would be on the Jerusalem portion of the map.)
As we drove I observed the passing country-side. They have some really good soil in the region of Moab and the Medeba plateau, where we were today. There are also houses scattered here and there, more or less densely. Most houses are colored grey, tan, or whitish (unpainted or white-washed concrete bricks mostly, I think.) Occasionally you’ll see one that is green or blue or orange. And sometimes, far more often than you might suspect, you’ll see one that is pink. All different shades of pink: bubblegum, salmon, Pepto-Bismol, even fuchsia. I entertained myself by trying to take pictures of pink houses and of the trucks with colorful railings.
Our final stop of the day, trip, and semester, was on top of the traditional location of Mt. Nebo. Like Moses, we looked into the “promised land.”
It was a clear day and we could see clear across to the Mount of Olives with its three towers. It was a very poignant moment as we considered Moses’ last words to the Israelites. From where the Israelites were stationed near Jericho, the future could have looked pretty bleak. Most of the land that they could see looked just like more of the wilderness they had been wandering in. This was the promised land? But Moses had surely seen farther up, even before his sight on Mt. Nebo. He knew the promises of God and he reminded the people of those promises. And as the people were preparing for a change of life style (from wandering to a settled life) he reminded them of God’s law and told them how to apply it in this new lifestyle. Moses’ last words…He must have loved these people, some of them especially. This was good-bye. What must have he felt? I think I can relate to some extent. When I decided not to return to Petra (the school, not the Nabatean city) the hardest part was saying good-bye to my students, and I also tried to leave them with some last words. Nothing as lengthy as Deuteronomy, but, I think, reflecting the same desires. Over the 5 (or so) years I spent with them, I came to love them so dearly. I learned with them, played with them, laughed with them, and tried to encourage them in their faith. I want so much for them to follow God with all their heart, and I am so afraid for some of them, especially, who seem to be flirting with the world. (Some of them are doing very well, and will probably read this, so really, I don't think y'all are heathens. :) Moses must have had the same fear for his people.
I think Dr. Wright also has some of the same feelings and thoughts toward us. He’s spent a semester pouring his life into us, and that was pretty much our last class. As we looked across the Jordan to what was Israel’s future, he reminded us that, although our future after this semester is more or less unknown, we know the God we serve. Even if the immediate future looks bleak, like the wilderness of Judah, there is hope – the hill country of Judah is behind it, just out of sight. May we trust and obey God as we move into it, whatever it is!
And to finish it off, a quote from the trip home (across the Israeli border):
Dr. Wright: Good thing we’re not tourist, huh?
Matt: Yeah. We’re home.
I have been blessed, indeed, to have been able to call Israel “home” for the past semester. I’m looking forward to next semester!
(Sunset by Jericho)
November 16, 2008
The morning started bright and early in a Medieval castle with a view down to the Dead Sea and Masada.
We were at Kerak, location of a crusader castle, formerly the capital (or one of the capitals) of Moab. What a place to defend! Perhaps not quite as impenetrable as Bozrah would have been in its day, but still pretty hard to get into if the inhabitants didn’t want you to.
Our guide, Zaffer, also told a couple good stories about the interaction between the crusaders and Suliman.We drove through the Wadi Arnon to get to our next sight. Boy, was it impressive! That's quite a valley to cross if you want to conquer land on the other side.
Our next stop was Dibon, Mesha’s Moabite capital on the Medeba plateau and the place where his stele was found. Again, a little less defensible than even Kerak, but still probably better than Jerusalem. We talked about Mesha’s battles and how they related to events and people in the Biblical account. The Medeba plateau was indeed a contested place, both politically and (in a related way) religiously.
At Dibon, I think that Dr. Wright managed to infuse into us a little of his longing to have these places excavated and displayed properly, both for the benefit of Jordan and for the furtherance of our knowledge.
(This is Dibon. See, a little excavation has been done, but what you see is about the extent of it.)
We visited the locations of 4 different ancient capitals (Rabbah, Bozrah, Kir, and Dibon). Most of them have been excavated very little. We were “lucky” with the finding of the Moabite stone – it gives us a bit of insight into Moab. We still know so little of that, though, and next to nothing about the other capitals and their inhabitants, except what we can learn from the Bible, which is limited and written from the perspective of their enemies. And for Jordan’s sake…one would think that they could increase tourism a lot and bring in more money if they would take the trouble to fix up these sites and charge an entrance fee. These were all fairly major cities for centuries. It’s seems likely that at least some ostraca or something would have survived. There is so much we could learn.After Dibon we skipped Heshbon due to time constraints and headed straight to St. George’s church, the location of the famous mosaic map of the Levant from around the 6th century AD. Unfortunately, we didn’t have a whole lot of time to take it in as we were off running again, this time to grab a lunch to eat on the buses. Still, it was fun to see.
(This is me pointing to where our school would be on the Jerusalem portion of the map.)
As we drove I observed the passing country-side. They have some really good soil in the region of Moab and the Medeba plateau, where we were today. There are also houses scattered here and there, more or less densely. Most houses are colored grey, tan, or whitish (unpainted or white-washed concrete bricks mostly, I think.) Occasionally you’ll see one that is green or blue or orange. And sometimes, far more often than you might suspect, you’ll see one that is pink. All different shades of pink: bubblegum, salmon, Pepto-Bismol, even fuchsia. I entertained myself by trying to take pictures of pink houses and of the trucks with colorful railings.
Our final stop of the day, trip, and semester, was on top of the traditional location of Mt. Nebo. Like Moses, we looked into the “promised land.”
It was a clear day and we could see clear across to the Mount of Olives with its three towers. It was a very poignant moment as we considered Moses’ last words to the Israelites. From where the Israelites were stationed near Jericho, the future could have looked pretty bleak. Most of the land that they could see looked just like more of the wilderness they had been wandering in. This was the promised land? But Moses had surely seen farther up, even before his sight on Mt. Nebo. He knew the promises of God and he reminded the people of those promises. And as the people were preparing for a change of life style (from wandering to a settled life) he reminded them of God’s law and told them how to apply it in this new lifestyle. Moses’ last words…He must have loved these people, some of them especially. This was good-bye. What must have he felt? I think I can relate to some extent. When I decided not to return to Petra (the school, not the Nabatean city) the hardest part was saying good-bye to my students, and I also tried to leave them with some last words. Nothing as lengthy as Deuteronomy, but, I think, reflecting the same desires. Over the 5 (or so) years I spent with them, I came to love them so dearly. I learned with them, played with them, laughed with them, and tried to encourage them in their faith. I want so much for them to follow God with all their heart, and I am so afraid for some of them, especially, who seem to be flirting with the world. (Some of them are doing very well, and will probably read this, so really, I don't think y'all are heathens. :) Moses must have had the same fear for his people.I think Dr. Wright also has some of the same feelings and thoughts toward us. He’s spent a semester pouring his life into us, and that was pretty much our last class. As we looked across the Jordan to what was Israel’s future, he reminded us that, although our future after this semester is more or less unknown, we know the God we serve. Even if the immediate future looks bleak, like the wilderness of Judah, there is hope – the hill country of Judah is behind it, just out of sight. May we trust and obey God as we move into it, whatever it is!
And to finish it off, a quote from the trip home (across the Israeli border):
Dr. Wright: Good thing we’re not tourist, huh?
Matt: Yeah. We’re home.
I have been blessed, indeed, to have been able to call Israel “home” for the past semester. I’m looking forward to next semester!
(Sunset by Jericho)
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Jordan, Day 3
November 15, 2008
Morning came early! But that was ok, because we were going to Petra! Have I mentioned that I have wanted to go to Petra for the longest time? And now I can say, having been there, “Petra Rocks!” I just wish all my students from Petra Academy could have been there with me.
Oh, and it was just amazing. I’m afraid I rather abandoned the guide. I’m sure he would have been very informative, but with the limited time, I really wanted to sort of experience it on my own. So some of us broke off and walked ahead – together, yet alone with our thoughts. It was so beautiful and awe-inspiring and the fulfillment of so many dreams, I almost even cried a couple times. It was hard to believe that I was actually there. And when finally the treasury came into sight and I was able to see in real life the image that is portrayed in so many pictures and movies…it was amazing.
There’s too much to recount, so I’ll try to summarize my favorite parts. After the treasury, Claire and I ended up together, looking for a bathroom. Once we found that we looked at the theatre and then headed off to the side to look at a tomb. On the way up there we saw Laura and Steven sitting with a couple Bedouin women and their beautiful children.
We went over and had tea with them. It was really delicious (I wish I know how they made it) and the wood smoke from their small fire reminded me of camp. (As a side note, it’s been chilly enough on this trip that I’ve been comfortable in long sleeves almost the whole time).
Next, we headed in the direction of the monastery. Of course, all along the way there were people offering us postcards, jewelry, and donkey rides, all for rather outrageous prices. Claire asked one man how much for a donkey ride, and ended up talking him down to 5 dinar (about $7.50, I think) for the two of us, which I think was a fairly decent price. It sure saved our legs a lot. He took us almost all the way up to the monastery, and it was really fun. Kind of like riding a short horse. With horses, my legs never hang past their belly, so kicking them isn’t a problem; with donkeys, I couldn't quite figure out where or how to kick. Not that I really needed to - a couple guys were following on foot keeping them going and making sure they behaved (we also didn’t have reigns). I’ve ridden horses in some pretty sketchy places, but it was still pretty intense to ride donkeys up stairs along cliffs (especially when the tried to race each other). It was really fun. (And my inner thighs -Sorry, Kimberlee, I mean, um, inner upper leg muscles - are going to be sore tomorrow!)
Once at the top we looked around in the monastery, Claire sang, and then we headed up to find a view. We didn't go to the highest point, but a guy who had apparently been all over pointed a different way that he said had the best view (and that Claire thought looked safer) so we went there. It was an amazing view. It kind of made me feel like I was on top of Monument again. We celebrated by eating apples and reading some scripture before heading back down.
We took our time on the downward journey, making a few stops along the way, continually admiring the geology and the architecture, and how well they worked together.
Eventually we said good-bye to Petra (*sigh*), ate a yummy lunch in town (they had salsa with jalapenos!), and then headed up into the heartland of Edom. Our first stop was at the Wadi Dana. It was quite a view, and not something I would like to have to climb up in decked out for battle.
It was really quite impressive. Next we went to the capital of Edom: Bozrah. It was interesting to read about Edom in the Bible. When you're there, its easy to see why the Edomites thought they were so safe. With the deep valleys surrounding thier fortress it would have been virtually impregnable.
Finally we headed to Karak (of Karak Castle fame, formerly Kir of Moab) for the night. We are in a small “rest house” on top of a cliff, right next to the castle. Oh, and we had bananas at dinner tonight, along with some amazing fried fish. Wow.
Morning came early! But that was ok, because we were going to Petra! Have I mentioned that I have wanted to go to Petra for the longest time? And now I can say, having been there, “Petra Rocks!” I just wish all my students from Petra Academy could have been there with me.
Oh, and it was just amazing. I’m afraid I rather abandoned the guide. I’m sure he would have been very informative, but with the limited time, I really wanted to sort of experience it on my own. So some of us broke off and walked ahead – together, yet alone with our thoughts. It was so beautiful and awe-inspiring and the fulfillment of so many dreams, I almost even cried a couple times. It was hard to believe that I was actually there. And when finally the treasury came into sight and I was able to see in real life the image that is portrayed in so many pictures and movies…it was amazing.
There’s too much to recount, so I’ll try to summarize my favorite parts. After the treasury, Claire and I ended up together, looking for a bathroom. Once we found that we looked at the theatre and then headed off to the side to look at a tomb. On the way up there we saw Laura and Steven sitting with a couple Bedouin women and their beautiful children.
We went over and had tea with them. It was really delicious (I wish I know how they made it) and the wood smoke from their small fire reminded me of camp. (As a side note, it’s been chilly enough on this trip that I’ve been comfortable in long sleeves almost the whole time).Next, we headed in the direction of the monastery. Of course, all along the way there were people offering us postcards, jewelry, and donkey rides, all for rather outrageous prices. Claire asked one man how much for a donkey ride, and ended up talking him down to 5 dinar (about $7.50, I think) for the two of us, which I think was a fairly decent price. It sure saved our legs a lot. He took us almost all the way up to the monastery, and it was really fun. Kind of like riding a short horse. With horses, my legs never hang past their belly, so kicking them isn’t a problem; with donkeys, I couldn't quite figure out where or how to kick. Not that I really needed to - a couple guys were following on foot keeping them going and making sure they behaved (we also didn’t have reigns). I’ve ridden horses in some pretty sketchy places, but it was still pretty intense to ride donkeys up stairs along cliffs (especially when the tried to race each other). It was really fun. (And my inner thighs -Sorry, Kimberlee, I mean, um, inner upper leg muscles - are going to be sore tomorrow!)
Once at the top we looked around in the monastery, Claire sang, and then we headed up to find a view. We didn't go to the highest point, but a guy who had apparently been all over pointed a different way that he said had the best view (and that Claire thought looked safer) so we went there. It was an amazing view. It kind of made me feel like I was on top of Monument again. We celebrated by eating apples and reading some scripture before heading back down.
We took our time on the downward journey, making a few stops along the way, continually admiring the geology and the architecture, and how well they worked together.
Eventually we said good-bye to Petra (*sigh*), ate a yummy lunch in town (they had salsa with jalapenos!), and then headed up into the heartland of Edom. Our first stop was at the Wadi Dana. It was quite a view, and not something I would like to have to climb up in decked out for battle.
It was really quite impressive. Next we went to the capital of Edom: Bozrah. It was interesting to read about Edom in the Bible. When you're there, its easy to see why the Edomites thought they were so safe. With the deep valleys surrounding thier fortress it would have been virtually impregnable. 
Finally we headed to Karak (of Karak Castle fame, formerly Kir of Moab) for the night. We are in a small “rest house” on top of a cliff, right next to the castle. Oh, and we had bananas at dinner tonight, along with some amazing fried fish. Wow.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Jordan, Day 2
November 14, 2008
Pillars! Capitals! More Pillars!
That’s kind of what our tour today was like. Of course, our guides had more intelligent things to say about the pillars, but as far as what we saw…mostly pillars. I even started to get a little tired of them and stopped taking as many pictures (also because I was a little afraid of having my battery die before the end of the day.)
We started the day a bit late (again) due to anther mishap involving oversleeping. Oh well. Our first stop was at Rabbah, the capital of Ammon, in modern day Amman. The first thing we saw upon entering the site was the “proto-ionic capital” that we have come to know and love since our first introduction to it at Rachel Ramon. The header-stretcher construction of what I think was an Iron Age palace was also pointed out. The point being, of course, that while we always here stories of the wars between Israel, Judah, and Ammon, most of the time they got along and there was a trade of goods and ideas and building styles. The most obvious aspect of the sight was the huge pillars which once made up a temple to Hercules.
We spent some time looking at different aspects of the site from different time periods (Greek, Roman, Byzantine, and Islamic). It was a bit frustrating because I wanted some time to wander and then to go to the museum. Instead, our Jordanian guide kept going to one next place. It was interesting, but I was more interested in the museum. We eventually did get there, though I felt far more rushed than I would have liked to be. There was so much amazing stuff there! I really wish I would have had more time to take it all in. I think I did manage to see all the main “highlights” but there’s so much more I could have absorbed with another hour or two. Oh well. (Here's one of the Dead Sea scrolls...or what was left of it.)
Our next stop Gerasha, “Beth-Shean on steroids and fertility drugs.” It has been called “The City of a Thousand Columns” and the name definitely fits. I did not count the columns, but between the long cardo and other streets, the various temples, churches, theatres, and other areas, one thousand doesn’t seem like an unreasonable estimate. It was a huge sight and we spent quite a bit of time going around it with our Jordanian guide.
It was one of the Decapolis cites, and after the destruction of Jerusalem apparently attracted quite few Christians. Hadrian slept over night there at one point, and to commemorate (?) that they built a huge, beautiful gate. It was a pretty amazing site, but I’m afraid that I wasn’t quite as interested in its history as I have been of sites with much more mundane ruins. Oh, I believe it's also a traditional site for the story of Luke 8:26. The geography doesn't so much fit, though.
After considering the ruins we had an amazing lunch. All sorts of dips and sauces for pita, HOT from the oven. Various hot dishes. Good (though well seeded) oranges and little “donut holes” that we figured had been dipped in a rosewater syrup. One of the sauces I got was even spicy. It was wonderful. I’ve missed spicy food so much!!
On our way to the last stop of the day, we paused for a couple minutes on the bank of the Jabbok. In spite of the large canyon through which it flows, today it is little more than a trickle. For those who read Patrick McManus, it would definitely qualify as a “crick” rather than a “creek.” It had old tires, soap suds, and the smell of sewage.
In spite of all this, it was still a beautiful place. Back in antiquity, of course, it would have been really quite lovely – a symbol of all that is beautiful and fertile and good. We spent some time talking about the night that Jacob spent along the Jabbok river. The name Jacob means “heel” or, kind of as an allusion, “deceiver.” Jeremiah 17:9 says that the heart is “deceitful.” Apparently, the Hebrew verb there is derived from the Hebrew noun meaning “heel.” So, we could say , our hearts are all like Jacob – clever, out for our own good, sneaky.
The last stop of the day was a “Mystery” sight. Dr. Wright did let the modern name slip – “Iraq Al Amir.” When we arrived we saw a large, rectangular building, made of huge stones, much like some in base of the temple platform. There were also carvings of many large cats around the outside, as well as some more Jewish symbols. Inside, the area had apparently been divided up into quite a few rooms, generally smaller. There were large windows all over the walls. The question was, when was it built, and what was it built for? Apparently four suggestions have been made over the years: palace, temple, fortress, or really elaborate grave. The last three we found unlikely for a variety of reasons. It turns out that Josephus mentions a “country estate” built in this area of the country by a Hasmonean Jew named something like "Herconus". It seems likely that this is that site. I have to admit, it was a beautiful area. I wouldn’t mind living there myself.
And now we are off – traversing the desert high way, on the way to Petra. It is now 6:30. We probably have slightly less than 3 hours left to go. Long day! But worth it.
Addendum: We drove through the darkness to Petra. It was difficult to make out anything along the road, but I sort of got the feeling that it was a bit similar to eastern Montana. Just with better roads (or maybe worse if compared to the highway?), a few more trees, and more people. It seemed fairly flat and fairly barren, though it was hard to tell. I liked it. When we got to Petra it was much too dark to make out anything, but we were told that the site begins where the lights end. (Apparently, electricity is illegal there.) We ate a late dinner, and I headed to bed pretty quickly.
Pillars! Capitals! More Pillars!
That’s kind of what our tour today was like. Of course, our guides had more intelligent things to say about the pillars, but as far as what we saw…mostly pillars. I even started to get a little tired of them and stopped taking as many pictures (also because I was a little afraid of having my battery die before the end of the day.)
We started the day a bit late (again) due to anther mishap involving oversleeping. Oh well. Our first stop was at Rabbah, the capital of Ammon, in modern day Amman. The first thing we saw upon entering the site was the “proto-ionic capital” that we have come to know and love since our first introduction to it at Rachel Ramon. The header-stretcher construction of what I think was an Iron Age palace was also pointed out. The point being, of course, that while we always here stories of the wars between Israel, Judah, and Ammon, most of the time they got along and there was a trade of goods and ideas and building styles. The most obvious aspect of the sight was the huge pillars which once made up a temple to Hercules.
We spent some time looking at different aspects of the site from different time periods (Greek, Roman, Byzantine, and Islamic). It was a bit frustrating because I wanted some time to wander and then to go to the museum. Instead, our Jordanian guide kept going to one next place. It was interesting, but I was more interested in the museum. We eventually did get there, though I felt far more rushed than I would have liked to be. There was so much amazing stuff there! I really wish I would have had more time to take it all in. I think I did manage to see all the main “highlights” but there’s so much more I could have absorbed with another hour or two. Oh well. (Here's one of the Dead Sea scrolls...or what was left of it.)
Our next stop Gerasha, “Beth-Shean on steroids and fertility drugs.” It has been called “The City of a Thousand Columns” and the name definitely fits. I did not count the columns, but between the long cardo and other streets, the various temples, churches, theatres, and other areas, one thousand doesn’t seem like an unreasonable estimate. It was a huge sight and we spent quite a bit of time going around it with our Jordanian guide.
It was one of the Decapolis cites, and after the destruction of Jerusalem apparently attracted quite few Christians. Hadrian slept over night there at one point, and to commemorate (?) that they built a huge, beautiful gate. It was a pretty amazing site, but I’m afraid that I wasn’t quite as interested in its history as I have been of sites with much more mundane ruins. Oh, I believe it's also a traditional site for the story of Luke 8:26. The geography doesn't so much fit, though.After considering the ruins we had an amazing lunch. All sorts of dips and sauces for pita, HOT from the oven. Various hot dishes. Good (though well seeded) oranges and little “donut holes” that we figured had been dipped in a rosewater syrup. One of the sauces I got was even spicy. It was wonderful. I’ve missed spicy food so much!!
On our way to the last stop of the day, we paused for a couple minutes on the bank of the Jabbok. In spite of the large canyon through which it flows, today it is little more than a trickle. For those who read Patrick McManus, it would definitely qualify as a “crick” rather than a “creek.” It had old tires, soap suds, and the smell of sewage.
In spite of all this, it was still a beautiful place. Back in antiquity, of course, it would have been really quite lovely – a symbol of all that is beautiful and fertile and good. We spent some time talking about the night that Jacob spent along the Jabbok river. The name Jacob means “heel” or, kind of as an allusion, “deceiver.” Jeremiah 17:9 says that the heart is “deceitful.” Apparently, the Hebrew verb there is derived from the Hebrew noun meaning “heel.” So, we could say , our hearts are all like Jacob – clever, out for our own good, sneaky.The last stop of the day was a “Mystery” sight. Dr. Wright did let the modern name slip – “Iraq Al Amir.” When we arrived we saw a large, rectangular building, made of huge stones, much like some in base of the temple platform. There were also carvings of many large cats around the outside, as well as some more Jewish symbols. Inside, the area had apparently been divided up into quite a few rooms, generally smaller. There were large windows all over the walls. The question was, when was it built, and what was it built for? Apparently four suggestions have been made over the years: palace, temple, fortress, or really elaborate grave. The last three we found unlikely for a variety of reasons. It turns out that Josephus mentions a “country estate” built in this area of the country by a Hasmonean Jew named something like "Herconus". It seems likely that this is that site. I have to admit, it was a beautiful area. I wouldn’t mind living there myself.
And now we are off – traversing the desert high way, on the way to Petra. It is now 6:30. We probably have slightly less than 3 hours left to go. Long day! But worth it.
Addendum: We drove through the darkness to Petra. It was difficult to make out anything along the road, but I sort of got the feeling that it was a bit similar to eastern Montana. Just with better roads (or maybe worse if compared to the highway?), a few more trees, and more people. It seemed fairly flat and fairly barren, though it was hard to tell. I liked it. When we got to Petra it was much too dark to make out anything, but we were told that the site begins where the lights end. (Apparently, electricity is illegal there.) We ate a late dinner, and I headed to bed pretty quickly.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Back from Jordan!
And indeed, what a trip it was! We covered a huge area in only 4 days, a feat that was made slightly easier by the fact that they Jordanians apparently have no interest in excavating or keeping up Biblical sites and therefore not enough is known about them to keep us there for long periods of time. Rather a mixed blessing, I guess.
At any rate, here are my thoughts from the first day:
November 13, 2008, Amman, Jordan.
Hooray! My first time in Jordan! I don’t think I really learned or saw anything earth-shattering today, but it has been an interesting day, though not so much in terms of history or geography. Probably the most interesting thing to me has just been to observe the country – the towns, the people, and to see similarities and differences between Jordan, Israel, and home.
The day started out at the border crossing near Jericho. It had poured rain in Jerusalem shortly before we left, and apparently had even rained some in the rift valley. It was fun to see puddles still sitting and wadis flowing with small amounts of muddy water. I think it’s one of my goals to see a flash wadi flood (from a safe distance, of course), but for now I enjoyed actually seeing water in these wadis. Crossing the border went as smoothly as could be expected. I was amused by the mobile x-ray machine for our baggage as we entered Jordan. Security is definitely not as tight as at the airports back home. At any rate, we made it through, both the Israeli side and the Jordanian side.
Our first “real” stop of the day was as Deir Alla (not sure of the spelling?) which is thought to be ancient Succoth. It was supposedly in this area that Solomon molded metals in clay to furnish his house. Strangely enough, there is evidence of smelting here, dating to the 10th century. Not proof, but interesting. It is also the place where an inscription mentioning Balaam son of Beor was found. From there we could see the Alexandrium and the Wadi Faria. I personally was favoribly impressed with the vaious colored rocks they had. I've gotten a little tired of similarly colored limestones.
It turns out that the archaeologist of that region lives or works right across the street from the tell, and he was very impressed a) that we visited and b) that we stayed so long. I wouldn’t necessarily say that archaeological interest is thriving in that area of the country. I’m sure there’s some, but probably very few tourists.
After that we stopped at the window place (Pella). No, they don’t really have windows, that’s just my lame attempt at a joke. They did have some spiffy columns, though, as well as a huge, steep tell. Pella was one of the Decapolis cities, right across the rift valley from Beth Shean. This probably would have been the most important Jordan crossing in ancient times. From transjordan all the way to the coast there is very minimal elevation changes.
The next stop was Gadera (another spot of the commemoration of the demonized pigs). This place is special for a couple reasons. It’s a Decapolis city which, of course, means a cardo, columns, a couple theaters, temples, etc. However, it just so happens that it is built in a small region with basalt rock. So it has Corinthian capitals made of basalt (instead of limestone or marble or granite).
How cool is that? It also has some very hot springs nearby that I believe were used in/as a Roman bath. This site was also special because we finally got to eat here. At 3pm. Actually, we ate on the bus on our way to our next site.
The final stop of the day was Ramoth Gilead. It was indeed remote. This is the place that Ahab with Jehoshephat of Judah tried to take and ended up dying. It’s quite a ways (and climb) from Samaria. It’s a much easier trip (flatter) from Damascus. What he was attempting would have been quite a feat if he had pulled it off. There wasn’t much on the tell. They had apparently found a small fort from about the right time, but all I saw of it was a small corner. There was a Bedouin tent, though, a few bones, a beautiful sunset, and a lovely full moon. The land there is a bit like eastern Montana in its feel. Its partly the openness (fairly dry too) and partly the smell of animals, I think. We even used Montana for an analogy – how does someone who’s grown up in the hills (of Western Montana or Ephriam) feel when they get to the open areas (of eastern Montana or Gilead)?
Turning back from that site we came as close to Iraq as we will on this trip…not very close, really, though we did see a sign for an Iraqi border.
That was about all the geographical and historical information we covered. I had a few other impressions, though. In general the people seemed friendly. Many of the kids we passed would smile and wave…or sometimes throw fruit at us. It’s a colorful place – I’m not quite sure what the point of the multi-colored trucks is, but they’re fun.
Our bus driver apparently got lost while finding our hotel in Amman, Jordan. The hotel is pretty nice, though we’re not to drink the water. It’s lovely to use elevators – I’m so tired. It’s odd – the elevators are pretty nice, but the stairs are pretty sketchy. Some of use went out wandering after dinner. I thought we were just going to wander a bit, and I suppose we did, but somehow we still ended up at Starbucks (where everyone else had gone, but by taxi.) I think that may be the first “real” Starbucks (not counting B&N) that I’ve been in. And I didn’t even buy anything. Driving through Amman (a city of about 2.6 million) it was odd to see so many American places – McDonald's (who apparently delivers here),
Burger King, Subway, Pizza Hut, even Hardee's. Our outing ended up being about 2 hours. I was exhausted when we started. But I enjoyed seeing a bit of Jordan. Crossing streets was interesting. I’m not sure how it happened, but a boy fell right in front of a car while we were walking. That was a little scary. I felt sorry for him. Walking home, a man in a car kept talking to us. “Welcome to Jordan! I love Americans! Me, I am Turkish!” It was kind of funny.
I’m sure I could write more, but I need sleep! Bon Nuit.
At any rate, here are my thoughts from the first day:
November 13, 2008, Amman, Jordan.
Hooray! My first time in Jordan! I don’t think I really learned or saw anything earth-shattering today, but it has been an interesting day, though not so much in terms of history or geography. Probably the most interesting thing to me has just been to observe the country – the towns, the people, and to see similarities and differences between Jordan, Israel, and home.
The day started out at the border crossing near Jericho. It had poured rain in Jerusalem shortly before we left, and apparently had even rained some in the rift valley. It was fun to see puddles still sitting and wadis flowing with small amounts of muddy water. I think it’s one of my goals to see a flash wadi flood (from a safe distance, of course), but for now I enjoyed actually seeing water in these wadis. Crossing the border went as smoothly as could be expected. I was amused by the mobile x-ray machine for our baggage as we entered Jordan. Security is definitely not as tight as at the airports back home. At any rate, we made it through, both the Israeli side and the Jordanian side.
Our first “real” stop of the day was as Deir Alla (not sure of the spelling?) which is thought to be ancient Succoth. It was supposedly in this area that Solomon molded metals in clay to furnish his house. Strangely enough, there is evidence of smelting here, dating to the 10th century. Not proof, but interesting. It is also the place where an inscription mentioning Balaam son of Beor was found. From there we could see the Alexandrium and the Wadi Faria. I personally was favoribly impressed with the vaious colored rocks they had. I've gotten a little tired of similarly colored limestones.
It turns out that the archaeologist of that region lives or works right across the street from the tell, and he was very impressed a) that we visited and b) that we stayed so long. I wouldn’t necessarily say that archaeological interest is thriving in that area of the country. I’m sure there’s some, but probably very few tourists.
After that we stopped at the window place (Pella). No, they don’t really have windows, that’s just my lame attempt at a joke. They did have some spiffy columns, though, as well as a huge, steep tell. Pella was one of the Decapolis cities, right across the rift valley from Beth Shean. This probably would have been the most important Jordan crossing in ancient times. From transjordan all the way to the coast there is very minimal elevation changes.
The next stop was Gadera (another spot of the commemoration of the demonized pigs). This place is special for a couple reasons. It’s a Decapolis city which, of course, means a cardo, columns, a couple theaters, temples, etc. However, it just so happens that it is built in a small region with basalt rock. So it has Corinthian capitals made of basalt (instead of limestone or marble or granite).
How cool is that? It also has some very hot springs nearby that I believe were used in/as a Roman bath. This site was also special because we finally got to eat here. At 3pm. Actually, we ate on the bus on our way to our next site.
The final stop of the day was Ramoth Gilead. It was indeed remote. This is the place that Ahab with Jehoshephat of Judah tried to take and ended up dying. It’s quite a ways (and climb) from Samaria. It’s a much easier trip (flatter) from Damascus. What he was attempting would have been quite a feat if he had pulled it off. There wasn’t much on the tell. They had apparently found a small fort from about the right time, but all I saw of it was a small corner. There was a Bedouin tent, though, a few bones, a beautiful sunset, and a lovely full moon. The land there is a bit like eastern Montana in its feel. Its partly the openness (fairly dry too) and partly the smell of animals, I think. We even used Montana for an analogy – how does someone who’s grown up in the hills (of Western Montana or Ephriam) feel when they get to the open areas (of eastern Montana or Gilead)?
Turning back from that site we came as close to Iraq as we will on this trip…not very close, really, though we did see a sign for an Iraqi border.
That was about all the geographical and historical information we covered. I had a few other impressions, though. In general the people seemed friendly. Many of the kids we passed would smile and wave…or sometimes throw fruit at us. It’s a colorful place – I’m not quite sure what the point of the multi-colored trucks is, but they’re fun.
Our bus driver apparently got lost while finding our hotel in Amman, Jordan. The hotel is pretty nice, though we’re not to drink the water. It’s lovely to use elevators – I’m so tired. It’s odd – the elevators are pretty nice, but the stairs are pretty sketchy. Some of use went out wandering after dinner. I thought we were just going to wander a bit, and I suppose we did, but somehow we still ended up at Starbucks (where everyone else had gone, but by taxi.) I think that may be the first “real” Starbucks (not counting B&N) that I’ve been in. And I didn’t even buy anything. Driving through Amman (a city of about 2.6 million) it was odd to see so many American places – McDonald's (who apparently delivers here),
Burger King, Subway, Pizza Hut, even Hardee's. Our outing ended up being about 2 hours. I was exhausted when we started. But I enjoyed seeing a bit of Jordan. Crossing streets was interesting. I’m not sure how it happened, but a boy fell right in front of a car while we were walking. That was a little scary. I felt sorry for him. Walking home, a man in a car kept talking to us. “Welcome to Jordan! I love Americans! Me, I am Turkish!” It was kind of funny.I’m sure I could write more, but I need sleep! Bon Nuit.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Randomness!
Today I went to volunteer again. I helped in a 3rd grade classroom, which went fairly well. I don't think I would have the patience to teach there full-time, though. The kids are pretty wild and the school seems pretty disorganized (both in discipline and other areas.) Anyway... Melissa, who had been going with me, was again unable to go today. I always miss her, but I am also growing in my confidence to go about the city by myself when necessary. Apparently I'm starting to look like I belong too. Today I was walking back to school from the bus stop and a lady stopped me by Jaffa gate to ask about "Mamilla." I think she was Muslim (by her head covering) and I think she was speaking Hebrew, so that's about all that I understood. I pointed her to the Mamilla Mall (hopefully that's what she wanted) and was thanked in Hebrew. Anyway, not sure why she choose to ask me, but I guess I'll take it as a compliment. :)
I heard a fairly strong indictment of Christian music the other day. I was talking to a friend here who likes to listen to rap music. He apparently especially likes this Muslim rapper from Chicago. I must have looked skeptical or something becaue he tried to assure me, saying something like "It's clean - pretty much the same as Christian music." If all we expect of Christian music is that it be clean and otherwise indistinguishable from the music of any other worldview (secular humanism, Islam, Budhism, etc.) then our standards are far too low. (In defense of him, that's probably not quite what he meant, and he would probably agree that Christian music should have higher standards, but I think that his statement, whether he meant it that way or not, reflects the attitude of a lot of people. We listen to Christian music because it's clean, not because it's specifically CHRISTIAN in its worldview.)
Today is election day in Jerusalem. Interesting issues in this city. An article I read the other day said that Jerusalem rated pretty low in "livablity" when compared to other Israeli cities - lots of trash, fewer city services, bad parking. Jerusalem is also on the border between Israel and the West Bank, which means it has a larger Arab population. In addition to the Arab population there are Religious Jews, Ultra-Orthodox Jews, and Secular Jews, all of which have very different ideas of how thing should be. I didn't know this before coming here, but apparently the Ultra-Orthodox don't work so they can spend all day studying Torah and Mishnah. They also have lots of children. They expect to be supported by the government. Kind of a drain on the economy. Jewish-Arab tensions aside, Jewish-Jewish tensions are fierce.
Here's an interesting article: http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1035415.html.
I have Hebrew today! We are working on translating Ruth. As much as I get rather frustrated with that class, I do enjoy starting to understand the text.
I leave for Jordan on Thrusday! I'm pretty excited. :) I get to see the "real" Petra. I'm sure I'll post notes and photos when I get back. Until then...
I heard a fairly strong indictment of Christian music the other day. I was talking to a friend here who likes to listen to rap music. He apparently especially likes this Muslim rapper from Chicago. I must have looked skeptical or something becaue he tried to assure me, saying something like "It's clean - pretty much the same as Christian music." If all we expect of Christian music is that it be clean and otherwise indistinguishable from the music of any other worldview (secular humanism, Islam, Budhism, etc.) then our standards are far too low. (In defense of him, that's probably not quite what he meant, and he would probably agree that Christian music should have higher standards, but I think that his statement, whether he meant it that way or not, reflects the attitude of a lot of people. We listen to Christian music because it's clean, not because it's specifically CHRISTIAN in its worldview.)
Today is election day in Jerusalem. Interesting issues in this city. An article I read the other day said that Jerusalem rated pretty low in "livablity" when compared to other Israeli cities - lots of trash, fewer city services, bad parking. Jerusalem is also on the border between Israel and the West Bank, which means it has a larger Arab population. In addition to the Arab population there are Religious Jews, Ultra-Orthodox Jews, and Secular Jews, all of which have very different ideas of how thing should be. I didn't know this before coming here, but apparently the Ultra-Orthodox don't work so they can spend all day studying Torah and Mishnah. They also have lots of children. They expect to be supported by the government. Kind of a drain on the economy. Jewish-Arab tensions aside, Jewish-Jewish tensions are fierce.
Here's an interesting article: http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1035415.html.
I have Hebrew today! We are working on translating Ruth. As much as I get rather frustrated with that class, I do enjoy starting to understand the text.
I leave for Jordan on Thrusday! I'm pretty excited. :) I get to see the "real" Petra. I'm sure I'll post notes and photos when I get back. Until then...
Monday, November 10, 2008
How lovely
I just had a delightful experience.
"And what" you might ask, "was that experience?" Or you might not ask, but I will tell you anyway.
First, though, I must inform you of a couple relevant circumstances.
1. The main "caretaker" (for lack of a better term) on campus has a wife and two daughters, all of whom live on campus. The daughters are named Luna and Lamara, and are (I believe) 9 and 8 years old, respectively.
2. A small orange kitty has recently been "adopted" by some students here on campus. It was in pretty poor shape, but has been showered with some care, and is now doing better and has become at least marginally tame.
This afternoon I was outside, sitting under our grape arbor, enjoying the cool breeze and warm sunshine, listening to some Celtic music, occasionally catching a whiff of the fragrance of dying roses, and reading about the history of Israel, when these two circumstances converged in a way that was simply marvelous.
The two girls had just gotten home from school (I greeted them) and immediately commenced to search for the small orange kitty (who someone decide to name "Francis"). The found him and proceeded to hold him (very badly), pass him back and forth, ask me to guard him while they got food for him, attempted to "force" him to eat, chased him as he ran away, and the continued to search for him and try to get him back until they had to leave for a meal. This may not seems like a delightful experience to you, but really it was. It was so similar to the dramas I've seen acted out with the kitties at camp, over and over. It just made me laugh and remember that kids are the same, wherever you are in the world. And come to think of it, kitties are pretty much the same too. :)
"And what" you might ask, "was that experience?" Or you might not ask, but I will tell you anyway.
First, though, I must inform you of a couple relevant circumstances.
1. The main "caretaker" (for lack of a better term) on campus has a wife and two daughters, all of whom live on campus. The daughters are named Luna and Lamara, and are (I believe) 9 and 8 years old, respectively.
2. A small orange kitty has recently been "adopted" by some students here on campus. It was in pretty poor shape, but has been showered with some care, and is now doing better and has become at least marginally tame.
This afternoon I was outside, sitting under our grape arbor, enjoying the cool breeze and warm sunshine, listening to some Celtic music, occasionally catching a whiff of the fragrance of dying roses, and reading about the history of Israel, when these two circumstances converged in a way that was simply marvelous.
The two girls had just gotten home from school (I greeted them) and immediately commenced to search for the small orange kitty (who someone decide to name "Francis"). The found him and proceeded to hold him (very badly), pass him back and forth, ask me to guard him while they got food for him, attempted to "force" him to eat, chased him as he ran away, and the continued to search for him and try to get him back until they had to leave for a meal. This may not seems like a delightful experience to you, but really it was. It was so similar to the dramas I've seen acted out with the kitties at camp, over and over. It just made me laugh and remember that kids are the same, wherever you are in the world. And come to think of it, kitties are pretty much the same too. :)
Saturday, November 8, 2008
The Joys of Museums
Today, a few of us finally made the effort to go to one of the nearby museums that has been recommended numerous times. Specifically, we went to the Pontifical Biblical Institute Museum, near the King David Hotel. It turns out that they're not generally open on Saturday, but they let us in anyway, and we even got a personal tour from Father Maurice Gilbert. It was pretty sweet. It's a small place (2 rooms, one small and one larger), but it has quite a few fairly famous pieces, as well as various archaeological remains from all time periods and from all over this region. I think I may have mentioned before how exciting it is to see things that you've learned about in class. Some of the artifacts they have we've heard mentioned in several classes numerous times, which just adds to the excitement. Many of the remains are from Teleilat Ghassul, a chalcolithic site NE of the Dead Sea, which was excavated from 1921-1929 by Jesuit Monks. Possibly the most spectacular things they found there were frescoes, beautifully preserved, on the walls of a couple buildings. Unfortunately, almost as soon as they were uncovered, they crumbled to dust. They did manage to make a replica, though, which is at the museum we visited. (There was more than one painting, as I understand, but this is probably the most famous.)
This is a fenestrated basalt pedestal. I don't recall where this one was found, but in archaeology we learned about them in conection with the Chalcolithic period around Beersheva. Of course, since Basalt is only found in the north of the country, this means that they had some level of trade going on.
Just yesterday in archaeology we talked about how during the Middle Bronze Age is was apparently very common to bury infants in large jars underneath the floor of the house. Rooms from this time have been found with up to 10 burials in the floor. We don't really know why. It's possible that there was a really high infant mortality rates and they wanted to keep the remains of the child close to home so they were in some sense still part of the family. We also know that there were times and places where human sacrifice was practiced and its possible that at least some of these infants were victims of that horrendous practice. The picture below is of a simliar infant burial from the Chalcolithic Age, found at Teleilat Ghassul.
These are connical pottery vessels from the Chalcholithic Period called "cornettes," generally considered to be drinking glasses.
These are just some cool looking figures. I don't know much about them. Quite a few of the things in the museum were also found in Egypt (maybe at Elephantine?), and these may have been among them.
Tell el-Yehudiyah ware! The first examples of this type of pottery were found at Tel el-Yehudiyah ("Mound of the Jews") in the Nile Delta by none other than Flinders Petrie. It's an interesting site for many reasons which I will not go into at this point. At any rate, this type of pottery actually originated in Palestine, but is still named after the first place it was found. It's generally dark in color, usually jugs or juglets (though occasionally shaped as animals or even people), and decorated with "holes" to form a pattern. One theory is that the jugs, which are thought to have held perfume, were shaped to imitate the fruit from whence the perfume came.
So, that was an example of the delights I experienced this morning. Facinating, isn't it? :)
This is a fenestrated basalt pedestal. I don't recall where this one was found, but in archaeology we learned about them in conection with the Chalcolithic period around Beersheva. Of course, since Basalt is only found in the north of the country, this means that they had some level of trade going on.
Just yesterday in archaeology we talked about how during the Middle Bronze Age is was apparently very common to bury infants in large jars underneath the floor of the house. Rooms from this time have been found with up to 10 burials in the floor. We don't really know why. It's possible that there was a really high infant mortality rates and they wanted to keep the remains of the child close to home so they were in some sense still part of the family. We also know that there were times and places where human sacrifice was practiced and its possible that at least some of these infants were victims of that horrendous practice. The picture below is of a simliar infant burial from the Chalcolithic Age, found at Teleilat Ghassul.
These are connical pottery vessels from the Chalcholithic Period called "cornettes," generally considered to be drinking glasses.
These are just some cool looking figures. I don't know much about them. Quite a few of the things in the museum were also found in Egypt (maybe at Elephantine?), and these may have been among them.
Tell el-Yehudiyah ware! The first examples of this type of pottery were found at Tel el-Yehudiyah ("Mound of the Jews") in the Nile Delta by none other than Flinders Petrie. It's an interesting site for many reasons which I will not go into at this point. At any rate, this type of pottery actually originated in Palestine, but is still named after the first place it was found. It's generally dark in color, usually jugs or juglets (though occasionally shaped as animals or even people), and decorated with "holes" to form a pattern. One theory is that the jugs, which are thought to have held perfume, were shaped to imitate the fruit from whence the perfume came.
So, that was an example of the delights I experienced this morning. Facinating, isn't it? :)
Sunday, November 2, 2008
It's Fall! It's Spring! It's...I'm so confused!
It's fall:
Friday night here on campus we celebrated Halloween. They said they wouldn't feed us if we didn't dress up....I kind a hate being forced into things like that, but I did end up being fun.
The evening started at 4:30 with a tour of our graveyard. Yes, we do have a graveyard. It's kind of a long story, but for quite some time it we the only protestant graveyard in the country. Various and sundry people are there, including some famous ones: Flinders Petrie (minus his head), the father of modern middle-eastern archaeology; Brian Starkey, the excavator of Lachish who was murdered on his way to the opening of the Rockefeller museum; and Horatio G. Spafford, author of the hymn, "It is well." To add spice to the adventure there was a low hanging 220V live wire (duck!), soft ground, and sink-holes. It wasn't dark when we started, but the twilight was rapidly deepening by the end.
As dinner approached, various odd creatures began apearing in the dining area: a couple pirates, a fairy or two, Aladdin, a gypsy, Absolom, the Rosh Pinnah Sill (a basalt plug above the Sea of Galilee), a Greek Lady, a Roman Statesmen, the two witnesses from Revelations, and much more.
I personally came as Pippi Longstockings.
We said the normal Shabbat blessings before the meal, but the meal itself was anything but normal. We got to choose 5 things for each of our 3 courses, but everything was given odd names. For my first course I got noodles, humus, a plate, dirt pie, and juice. No fork or spoon. Yeah, one of those. It made it entertaining, though.
After dinner we finished the festivites by breaking open a couple pinatas, singing some worship songs, and then watching an eppisode of "The Office" from an earlier Halloween.
And that was Fall.
It's Spring:
Today my archaeology class and our professor, Dr. Gabi Barkai, headed off to Lachish for a field study. We've gotten some good rain lately, and as we drove along I couldn't help but notice that the fields that have been lying fallow are slowly being covered by a fuzzy green carpet.
In Montana such things are always a harbinger of spring. Here, where wheat and such things are grown in the winter (the rainy season!) I don't think it means the same thing... Still, it was fun to see little green sprouts here and there where before it had been all brown.
We spent pretty much the whole day at Lachish. Dr. Barkai spent a number of years excavating there and used it to give us an idea of what to look for and technique and all those sorts of thing. Lachish (and the area around it) has evidence of inhabitance since the neolithic period. Most of what has been excavated is from the Iron Age, though, with everthing earlier still buried.
And what, you might ask, is the Biblical significance of Lachish? Well, to give you a summary, it's mentioned about 23 times in the Old Testament, it was conquered by Joshua, fortified probably by Rehoboam and/or Hezekiah, defeated by Sennacherib and the Assyrian army, and then was defeated again by Babylon before Jerusalem finally fell itself. It was then probably rebuild during the time of Nehemiah.
(Dr. Barkai pointing out some feature outside the gate area. W)
Lachish is especially interesting because of two archaeological finds. The first is called "The Lachish Letters." Those are 21 ostraca from around that time and contain the line that mentions Lachish and Azekah. There are debates over how to translate it and what it means. Dr. Barkai was of the opinion that it said something like "We are guarding Lachish whole-heartedly and we can't see Azekah" (implying that Azekah had fallen). It's likely that these were written before the Babylonian captivity.
The second interesting find was actually in the palace of Sennacherib in Ninevah. In his chamber there he had a relief done, depicting his siege and destruction of Lachish.
Both offer some evidence (circumstantial, but still) that this tel is, in fact, the ancient sight of Lachish.
It was a long trip, but interesting. So much to learn, so many questions...
(Here's some of our group examining the wall of the platform of the Judean palace.)
Friday night here on campus we celebrated Halloween. They said they wouldn't feed us if we didn't dress up....I kind a hate being forced into things like that, but I did end up being fun.
The evening started at 4:30 with a tour of our graveyard. Yes, we do have a graveyard. It's kind of a long story, but for quite some time it we the only protestant graveyard in the country. Various and sundry people are there, including some famous ones: Flinders Petrie (minus his head), the father of modern middle-eastern archaeology; Brian Starkey, the excavator of Lachish who was murdered on his way to the opening of the Rockefeller museum; and Horatio G. Spafford, author of the hymn, "It is well." To add spice to the adventure there was a low hanging 220V live wire (duck!), soft ground, and sink-holes. It wasn't dark when we started, but the twilight was rapidly deepening by the end.
As dinner approached, various odd creatures began apearing in the dining area: a couple pirates, a fairy or two, Aladdin, a gypsy, Absolom, the Rosh Pinnah Sill (a basalt plug above the Sea of Galilee), a Greek Lady, a Roman Statesmen, the two witnesses from Revelations, and much more.
I personally came as Pippi Longstockings.
We said the normal Shabbat blessings before the meal, but the meal itself was anything but normal. We got to choose 5 things for each of our 3 courses, but everything was given odd names. For my first course I got noodles, humus, a plate, dirt pie, and juice. No fork or spoon. Yeah, one of those. It made it entertaining, though.
After dinner we finished the festivites by breaking open a couple pinatas, singing some worship songs, and then watching an eppisode of "The Office" from an earlier Halloween.
And that was Fall.
It's Spring:
Today my archaeology class and our professor, Dr. Gabi Barkai, headed off to Lachish for a field study. We've gotten some good rain lately, and as we drove along I couldn't help but notice that the fields that have been lying fallow are slowly being covered by a fuzzy green carpet.
In Montana such things are always a harbinger of spring. Here, where wheat and such things are grown in the winter (the rainy season!) I don't think it means the same thing... Still, it was fun to see little green sprouts here and there where before it had been all brown. 
We spent pretty much the whole day at Lachish. Dr. Barkai spent a number of years excavating there and used it to give us an idea of what to look for and technique and all those sorts of thing. Lachish (and the area around it) has evidence of inhabitance since the neolithic period. Most of what has been excavated is from the Iron Age, though, with everthing earlier still buried.
And what, you might ask, is the Biblical significance of Lachish? Well, to give you a summary, it's mentioned about 23 times in the Old Testament, it was conquered by Joshua, fortified probably by Rehoboam and/or Hezekiah, defeated by Sennacherib and the Assyrian army, and then was defeated again by Babylon before Jerusalem finally fell itself. It was then probably rebuild during the time of Nehemiah.
(Dr. Barkai pointing out some feature outside the gate area. W)
Lachish is especially interesting because of two archaeological finds. The first is called "The Lachish Letters." Those are 21 ostraca from around that time and contain the line that mentions Lachish and Azekah. There are debates over how to translate it and what it means. Dr. Barkai was of the opinion that it said something like "We are guarding Lachish whole-heartedly and we can't see Azekah" (implying that Azekah had fallen). It's likely that these were written before the Babylonian captivity.
The second interesting find was actually in the palace of Sennacherib in Ninevah. In his chamber there he had a relief done, depicting his siege and destruction of Lachish.
Both offer some evidence (circumstantial, but still) that this tel is, in fact, the ancient sight of Lachish.
It was a long trip, but interesting. So much to learn, so many questions...
(Here's some of our group examining the wall of the platform of the Judean palace.)
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Galilee, Day 4
October 28, 2008
Today was yet another full and rainy day. I’m so glad that it’s raining – the land needs it so badly. I’m also so glad that I’m staying here for a couple years so that I’ll have a chance to see some of these sites on clear days.
Today, besides being a day of rain, was also a day of mosaics. I don’t think I can even count all the different mosaics I saw today. Some well preserved, some not quite as well. Some spectacular in their coloring and precisions. Others, well, a bit more warped and amateur looking. All of them were pretty amazing.
The first stop of the day (not counting modern-day Kana where we got Pita for what ended up being our very late lunch) was Sepphoris (Zippori today). Sepphoris apparently was the location of a Jewish revolt of some sort right after the death of Herod the Great. Rome, of course, crush it and burned down the city in the process. They then turned right around and re-build the city. It was, after all, their capital in that region. It was being built, then, from around 4BC to 17AD or so. Notably, it is just across the way from Nazareth – a walk of a couple hours. Hmmm… Joseph was a carpenter who lived in Nazareth. A carpenter in those days probably worked in all sorts of materials – stone, wood, leather, metal. He would probably help specifically in laying foundations and making doors for houses, but could be involved in all aspects of a construction project. Nazareth was a pretty small town. It doesn’t seem likely that it would keep a carpenter occupied all the time. Maybe, just maybe Joseph and any apprentices he had (like a son, maybe?) headed over to Sepphoris to help rebuild it. This is, of course conjecture, which will likely never be proved or disproved. It is a reasonable conjecture, though. At very least it seems likely that Jesus was in Sepphoris on a number of occasions, even if he didn’t help build it.
Sepphoris was the first place today where we saw mosaics, and it also had the most spectacular ones. According to the informational video we watched, Sepphoris was the “Ornament of Galilee.” According to Dr. Wright, on part of a specific mosaic we saw is also referred to at the “Ornament of Galilee.” It was truly spectacular. What was it? Well, here’s another hint. It is also called “The Mona Lisa of Galilee.” As little as I know about art, I think that is an apt title. This lady is to mosaics what the DaVinci’s painting is to oil paintings. From a distance you can hardly tell that it is a mosaic – the colors and shading are so smooth. Most mosaics I’ve seen have things that are recognizable as faces but only barely. This looked almost alive. But enough gushing. The lady is part of a larger mosaic that was found in the remains of a triclinium.
Today was yet another full and rainy day. I’m so glad that it’s raining – the land needs it so badly. I’m also so glad that I’m staying here for a couple years so that I’ll have a chance to see some of these sites on clear days.
Today, besides being a day of rain, was also a day of mosaics. I don’t think I can even count all the different mosaics I saw today. Some well preserved, some not quite as well. Some spectacular in their coloring and precisions. Others, well, a bit more warped and amateur looking. All of them were pretty amazing.
The first stop of the day (not counting modern-day Kana where we got Pita for what ended up being our very late lunch) was Sepphoris (Zippori today). Sepphoris apparently was the location of a Jewish revolt of some sort right after the death of Herod the Great. Rome, of course, crush it and burned down the city in the process. They then turned right around and re-build the city. It was, after all, their capital in that region. It was being built, then, from around 4BC to 17AD or so. Notably, it is just across the way from Nazareth – a walk of a couple hours. Hmmm… Joseph was a carpenter who lived in Nazareth. A carpenter in those days probably worked in all sorts of materials – stone, wood, leather, metal. He would probably help specifically in laying foundations and making doors for houses, but could be involved in all aspects of a construction project. Nazareth was a pretty small town. It doesn’t seem likely that it would keep a carpenter occupied all the time. Maybe, just maybe Joseph and any apprentices he had (like a son, maybe?) headed over to Sepphoris to help rebuild it. This is, of course conjecture, which will likely never be proved or disproved. It is a reasonable conjecture, though. At very least it seems likely that Jesus was in Sepphoris on a number of occasions, even if he didn’t help build it.
Sepphoris was the first place today where we saw mosaics, and it also had the most spectacular ones. According to the informational video we watched, Sepphoris was the “Ornament of Galilee.” According to Dr. Wright, on part of a specific mosaic we saw is also referred to at the “Ornament of Galilee.” It was truly spectacular. What was it? Well, here’s another hint. It is also called “The Mona Lisa of Galilee.” As little as I know about art, I think that is an apt title. This lady is to mosaics what the DaVinci’s painting is to oil paintings. From a distance you can hardly tell that it is a mosaic – the colors and shading are so smooth. Most mosaics I’ve seen have things that are recognizable as faces but only barely. This looked almost alive. But enough gushing. The lady is part of a larger mosaic that was found in the remains of a triclinium.
The mosaics are from a time quite a while after the time of Christ, but still give us a lot of food for thought.
For one thing, Sepphoris was a mixture of Jewish and Gentile inhabitants. In fact, we can’t even tell which owned the house that contained this spectacular mosaic. The mosaic itself is very Greek in nature but we know that the Jews had to some extent “adopted” Greek culture. How do we know this? There is another fairly spectacular mosaic found at this site – in the remains of the synagogue. Not only that, but it has pictures of people and animals on it – graven images?! Not only that, but some of those people and animals are in the Zodiac wheel – the central mosaic of the floor. What would a Zodiac be doing in a Jewish synagogue? That’s a good topic for discussion.
Sepphoris also gives us another snapshot of what life was like in this region around the time of Christ. A lot of the remains are later, but the culture was still similar in many ways to that of the earlier time so we can gain insights. Did Jesus and his disciples eat the last supper in a triclinium? Does this mean that Judas was in the seat of honor beside Jesus?
Moving on, our next stop was Jezreel, the site of Ahab’s winter palace. Winter palace because it is warmer and drier than
Our plans were modified a bit because of the rain, so our next stop was the Kibbutz Beth Alpha. It was sometime in 1928, just when the Kibbutz was starting, that they were plowing a field or something and uncovered another mosaic. Again, it was the floor of a synagogue, and again it contained a Zodiac wheel. In fact, there are 6 synagogues from around this time that have been discovered with a Zodiac mosaic. This one was not nearly as sophisticated as the one at Sepphoris, but it was much more completely. I don’t think there were really any parts of it missing, which is pretty amazing preservation.
The final stop (which, finally, included lunch) was at Beth Shean. This was another highly anticipated site for me. It has been mentioned numerous times in almost all of my classes. The tell itself has 21 layers including Egyptian, Israelite, and Canaanite remains. And then there is the bottom of the tel – where the city moved to in Roman times (renamed Scythopolis). It is truly a spectacular site. It was a fairly major city up until 749AD when it was devastated by a large earthquake. Hundreds of pillars toppled and were found as they lay – all in rows. It was one of the 10 cities of the
a large theatre, a bridge, temples, market places, bath houses, and, of course, a public latrine. (Who thinks of these things?!) We had about an hour to explore the site, but it’s never enough. We did have probably the best view of the trip from on top of the tell. The clouds had cleared off a bit and it wasn’t hazy, enabling us to actually see things.
(Looking down into the rift valley here. You can see the Jabbok cut the transjordan mountains in the right side of the picture.)
When I heard that the town was destroyed in 749AD, I thought something along the lines of “Wow, that was really recent.” And then I remembered that that was still about 1000 years before
I also think it is ironic that the general rule seems to be that the “spectacularness” of a site today (state of preservation, cool looking mosaics and columns and such) is inversely related to its Biblical significance. This isn’t totally true, but most of the cool looking ruins are from a time after the Bible was written, and most of the remains from the time of the Bible are mud brick that, to me at least, is barely distinguishable from the dirt around it. Oh well. I’m learning to appreciate the mud brick. Though I still enjoy seeing columns and mosaics. J I guess Beth Shean has the best of both worlds.
(This is the remains of a bridge at Scythopolis.)
More ruins at Scythopolis...
On this trip we have also gotten lots of experience in public bathrooms. Almost all of the ones we’ve stopped at I would rate as being above the public latrine at Beth Shean. The one at Sepphoris was really quite nice.
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