Jerusalem Approaches

Impression Report 3

Jerusalem Approaches

9/20/13

by Andrew Sharp

[with a few notes and corrections by Alana]

            In this field study we looked at the different approaches to Jerusalem, and it's surrounding geography. We started at a look out point north east of the city where we could see some of the landmarks; the temple mount and mount of olives in particular were close and easily visible. While we were here we also looked at an old family tomb, as likely would have been the style of tomb Jesus was put in. These tombs often had large rolling stones as their doorway, just like is mentioned in Scripture. Inside they would have some form of table area where the body could be laid, and individual kokhs (spelling?). Or small tunnels into the rock built for the bodies to be 

placed into once they were properly prepared. Jesus wasn't properly prepared, something attested to in Scripture by both the quickness of his being placed in the tomb, in preparation for Shabbat, but also by the need for the women to carry spices to his tomb after the Shabbat was over. The spices were for his body's preparation to be placed into one of these kokhs where his body would have decomposed to the point of being bones, then likely would have been put into an ossuary, a small stone box to hold his bones. But as we know, they found no body in the tomb when they arrived.

            Next we took the bus a bit further east where we could get out and see just how stark of a contrast a rain shadow can be. On one side of the hill, green, on the other, brown. We were able to barely see the dead sea as well.

            Moving south onto the mount of olives, we stopped and looked over all the tombs on the hillside. This also gave us one of our best first looks at the eastern wall of the temple mount. Or at least the first good view we've had where we could see all of it at once.

            Next we walked down to the Necropole, [at Dominus Flevit] aka house of really old bones. And I don't recall for sure, but I think Vernon said the most ornate one was thought to be the Ossuary of James, brother of Jesus, and that Gabbi believes it's the real thing. [??]

Walking down the Mount of Olives

In the church at Dominus Flevit

            Garden of Gethsemane! Yup, we went there. Had some really old olive trees. Maybe close to a thousand. Super old, hollow. Vernon told us how it was likely that the garden was more likely something of an industrial complex for the production of olive oil. After all, it's the mount of olives. And he pointed out the likely hood of there being caves, and many people who could have been in this garden/complex. Making it necessary for Judas to point out Jesus to his captors. After all, saying “a jew on the mount of olives” would have left them with quite a few choices, not just 10 or 15. We also checked out the church on site. Dimly lit, filled with pictures of Jesus praying for the cup to be taken from him, tall pillars, alabaster windows that let light in through cross shapes, beautiful place.

            Then we got lunch. And ate ice cream.

            Then Sataf! West of Israel. Where I had a son named Eric, a real good man, and my wife and I married him off to Mike and Havvah's daughter Hannah. While we played in the terra rosa soil, discussed family life, and how it'd be super hard to keep a cave or stone house warm in the winter. And how the agricultural land was a lot of hard work. Requiring years for terracing, and requiring rain fall and God's blessing just to get by. As well as the danger of childbirth. Plus there were grape vines and walnuts and almonds being grown, it was pretty cool.

Us under Herodian

            Next we went to the Herodium. 

Got some interesting pictures, in particular of a doorway that seems to have had part of the crossbeam supporting it, removed. Alana suggested it may have been made of wood and in order to preserve the building they put in some concrete and rebar in the stone blocks above where the wood beam once sat, and never replaced the wooden beam, leaving doorways that looked like fat letter T's. Plus we went into the tunnels carved out below it, and could see Jerusalem from there, barely, kind of sorta. And giant round rocks that would have been rolled down onto enemies attempting to scale the fortress. 

And last we wen to the shepherds field.

[After leaving the church we stopped at a nearby store - our drive knew the owners, of course.  They had a lovely sign... 

...and some truly lovely olive wood carvings.  We rather liked this triclinium version of the last supper:]

Jerusalem Field Study - Andrew's Persective

Impression Report, Biblical Jerusalem Field Study

Andrew Sharp September, 9^th, 2013

            Where: We went to a part of the old “broad” wall thrown together from rubble, we went past the dig that wasn't too far from the Temple Mount where gold coins were discovered recently, to an outlook above Hezekiah's Tunnel, through Hezekiah's Tunnel, through the old sewer line that lead towards the Davidson's Center, had lunch, went to the approximate location of the upper room went to the Davidson's center, a ritual cleansing room called a micvah then to the south west corner of the temple mount, the Southern Steps, 

then St. Anne's church/the sheep pools/

pools of Bethesda, then home.

Last stop of the day: Bethesda

            Details: First we went to the “broad wall” a wall built by Hezekiah in response to the approaching Assyrian army. It was hastily thrown together and as a result wasn't as neatly built or as organized as most of the walls. Mostly it looks like they took rock and tossed it into a pile and put some semi-faced and semi-organized rocks on the outside edge to make it function as a wall. It even appears to have cut through some houses in their hurry to get it built.

            We passed quickly past the location of the Ophel excavation (I believe that was the one?) where some gold coins and artifacts were uncovered recently with quite the claim about their age.

            Then stood far above the entrance to Hezekiah's tunnel and looked down into the Kidron valley at lots and lots of trash. Namely the filling of the valley some 40-60 feet by all the trash that collected there through history.

            Next we went through Hezekiah's tunnel. To this day water still runs through it, though not in the same amounts or intervals. The whole of the hike was down hill of course, but gently so as we wandered in the dark underground shaft, to the constant noise of our feet splashing in the ankle, calf, and sometimes knee-high water. It was cool, but not cold (not to a Montana resident at least) and clear. No one is entirely sure how the tunnel was built. Surely it was dug with picks and the like, but each end of the tunnel was started about the same time, and they met in the middle, the pick marks are evidence of that. But how did they find each other in that solid tomb of stone? We don't know.

Andrew also enjoyed watching some of the excavations around the City of David

            Next we discussed the pool of water that gathered at the bottom, possibly the pool of Siloam. Then we went and had lunch. Mmm, lunch.            

         We went to the approximate location of the upper room discussed in Acts, where the church began. We could almost hear the sound of the great rushing wind mentioned, and it meant more considering we have felt the nightly breezes and now know that the writer of Acts would have been familiar with them, and unlikely to have attributed some slight breeze with any notice. One wonders if he was thinking of the ferocious sound of the Hamseen (spelling?) the powerful east winds.

            Next we went to the Davidson's center which discussed some of the old temple in all it's glory. Huge, almost white in color and filled with people from all over. Surely it would have been an amazing sight and would have made quite the impression on those coming to see it for the first time. And it's likely that many people did come to the new temple for their first time in a state of awe and wonder. Appropriate for a temple to the Lord.

The area of Robinson's Arch

            That lead into our walking around the south and south west section of the retaining wall. Looking at Robinson's arch, what would have been a very large multi-section staircase up to the temple mount. We also looked at the ritual baths known as “Micvahs,” where one would go to be ceremonially cleansed. And we took a quick moment to look at “the place of the trumpeting to,” a section of stone that had that inscription. Lastly, the southern steps. Or did we go to the Davidson's after the southern steps? I cant recall. But it was all pretty great.

The corner where the trumpeting inscription fell

Impressions

My first semester here I was required to do "impression reports" for the Physical Settings class, and I posted most of them to kill two birds with one stone.  Since I was required to write about our field studies, I figured I might as well use those to inform friends and family of what I had been doing as well.  Since this is Andrew's first time in Physical Settings, now it's his turn to write impression reports.  I'll be posting a few of them here too.  It won't be anything especially new for those of you who have either read my blog or have been here yourself.  Still, it's always good to review, and it can be helpful to get a new perspective.  So, without further ado...Here are Andrew's thoughts on his first field study, supplemented with pictures from both him and me.

Impression Report, Old City Field Study

Andrew Sharp September, 9^th, 2013

            We went to the garden outback where we discussed our blue books and tools and general class overview stuff. 

Then off we went. 

Out the gate...

Down the hill..

First we walked the watershed ridge, the high point of the mountains running north and south just west of the rift valley. The ridge was a “watershed” because it's the geographic point where water begins to go east into the valley or west towards the sea. This officially puts Jerusalem in a rain shadow, but not by much, and with the underground watershed being further west it catches much of what comes off the ridge, and funnels it into the underground springs that head east, one of which being the Gihon Spring.

On the watershed ridge, looking over to JUC and Mt. Zion

            Next we got a feel for land marks and major routes through the area in Old Testament times as well as the names of the valleys. Talking of the Hinnom valley, and how the western hill was not nearly so occupied as it is now (if at all) in the times of the Patriarchs.

            We discussed water conditions in light of the water park just across the valley from JUC. Mentioning how Israel has far less water than many places and how the fresh water is very valuable and shouldn't be wasted. And yet hundreds if not thousands are surely wasted at the park each year.

            After that we discussed the old wall, and it's different ages, where it should be built in order to best work as a defense, 

and Alana pretended Vernon was Jesus and played the part of Zacchaeus climbing a tree to see and hear him. 

View from the tree

The Old City Wall has been knocked down and rebuilt in varying degrees and times leaving the wall built out of stone that looks visibly somewhat different in cut. It was also not built on the steepest part of the hill, nor around mt. Zion for which some foremen were killed. The problem this posed was fairly simple. If your enemey must climb uphill just to reach your wall, he's moving slower, more susceptible to large stones tossed down the hill from over the wall, or arrows. Not to mention it's far more difficult to use a ladder or battering ram in those conditions, and any hook and rope system used to pull the wall down would need to be very very long, to avoid pulling the rock down on top of your men.

            Next into the old city and through Zion Gate, then out into the parking lot to look out towards the south and east, orienting ourselves and looking towards the city of David and the Tyropean valley between. It turns out Orienting yourself is facing east, as the east is the direction of the Orient. Which puts the mount of olives directly into our range of vision, way out past the temple mount.

            Then the Cardo. 

The Cardo is the name to the central street in town that runs north south, and the main street running east west was called the Decumanus. Being used to divide a city into easy disctricts, it was a Roman concept as they liked cities squared, and symmetrical. Here we stopped in the cool of the shade and imagined the many different vendors selling their wares to travelers. An image not too hard to imagine. Even these days going down the streets in the Old City is similar, many merchants and stores, all trying to get you to come take a look and purchase their wares.

            Then we went off to the western wall observation point, and back above the old Cardo. 

Then finally off to the church of the Holy Sepulcher. 

Inside we went to the chapel of Adam under Greek Calvary where Adam is believed to have been buried according to Greek orthodox theology. And while we were there we had to wait while a ceremony was held over the stone of unction. The stone of unction being the kind of stone thought to have been used when removing Jesus body from the cross. One wonders how those large nails were removed. I'd imagine they would have been long enough that maybe they were driven through and out the back of the cross, and a hammer taken to the tip would help them come back out, if not, I can't imagine a quick easy way to do the job without damaging the body.

In the Syriac Chapel

            After that we went to the first century tomb and took a look around the rotunda and peeked at the Catholicon. Then we headed on out and home.

At another look-out point...Andrew finally escaped!

Saint Anne's

The melody rose and fell, lingering, shimmering in the air, adorning the plain, limestone walls of the crusader church with fantastic shapes and colors, formed from the living, moving sounds.

The church is large with grand, sweeping ceilings, but plain.  Ugly, even, by some standards, with its exactly mis-matched windows and pillars.  Nothing quite fits in.  Like the universal church: large, centuries old, and made of misfit human stones, with all their contrasts and conflicts.  But when both churches are filled with praise, then their true, ancient beauty shines through, undeniable.

Consortium Vocale Oslo - Encore at St. Anne's

New Beginnings

Perhaps it's about time for the resurrection of the blog.  Those of you who know me personally (if anyone still reads this) will, no doubt, guess at the reasons for my long absence.  Basically, though back in Israel and still with many adventures to communicate, my communication was narrowed in to one certain person, who, a little over a month ago, became my husband.

We dated mostly online over the last year and a half, he came to Israel to propose, and I went home to Montana this summer to get married.  We are now back in Israel for what will be, for the foreseeable future, my last semester in Israel.  

We're still settling in, but we're excited for this semester and will hopefully have the chance to share here the adventures and thoughts we have together.