Jezreel The meaning of “Jezreel” (יִזְרְעֶאל, yizre’e’l; LXX Ιεζραελ) appears to be either “God sows” or “may God make fertile/fruitful.” Jezreel sits opposite Shunem (1 Samuel 28:4; 2 Kings 4:8–10) and near halfway between Megiddo and Bethshan/Beth-shean with each being about ten miles distant from Jezreel. The junction of the Via Maris and the Way […]
Israel Research Trip, Post #6 Read More »
Megiddo Introduction. Some scholars date the city of Megiddo from as early as 5000 BC. Of all the sites excavated in Israel, this represents the richest of all. The history of Biblical archaeology, together with the progressive development of a variety of methods and techniques finds expression in the archaeological excavations conducted at Megiddo. Its
Israel Research Trip, Post #5 Read More »
Caesarea Maritima / Caesarea Palestina Intertestamental Period In the 3rd century BC the Persians gave the area to the Phoenicians who built a small anchorage here and named it Strato’s Tower. The site had been controlled by the Sidonians, but the Romans under Octavian (who later became Augustus Caesar and the first emperor of the Roman
Israel Research Trip, Post #4 Read More »
Timnaʿ The valley of Timnaʿ sits about 20 miles north of the Gulf of Aqaba. The location stands out for its copper mining operations for at least 5,000 years. Only Spain’s southern region of Rio Tinto can claim such a long history of mining metals. High cliffs (1,600–2,300 feet high) surround the valley on three
Israel Research Trip, Post #3 Read More »
Tel Arad Arad sits on the southern border of Old Testament Judah along the ancient caravan route to Edom. When Israel first came to Arad, the Canaanites together with the Amalekites withstood their assault and drove the Israelites as far as neighboring Hormah (Numbers 14:44–45; Deuteronomy 1:44). Later, when the Israelites returned to this Canaanite
Israel Research Trip, Post #2 Read More »
After one week of research on the ground in Jordan, we turned our attention to Israel for the next two weeks. On our first day, six of us drove a rented van south to the Negev and the Gulf of Aqaba. We went with two purposes in mind: (1) to visit the site of ancient
Israel Research Trip, Post #1 Read More »
This final post reporting on my research trip to Jordan includes two sites we visited on our first day. I’ve done so in order to tie together some of the significance aspects of our visit to Gerasa and our later examination of sites in Israel. Elijah’s Hill / Tell Elias In order to identify sites
Jordan Research Trip, Post #11 Read More »
Where should we expect to find the ancient cities of Sodom and Gomorrah? I already addressed this matter in part in Post #9 about Lot’s Cave in the vicinity of Zoar. In that post I used the evidence of the biblical text, of toponomy (linguistics of place names), and the Medeba Map. In addition, we
Jordan Research Trip, Post #10 Read More »
This particular research trip set as one of its goals the evaluation of three lines of evidence with regard to identifying the locations of Sodom and Gomorrah and attempting to establish chronological timelines: (1) Biblical evidence within the text of Scripture itself as the prima facie evidence; (2) archaeological evidence as provided in excavation reports; and, (3)
Jordan Research Trip, Post #9 Read More »
Petra Match me such a marvel save in Eastern clime, a rose-red city half as old as time. — John William Burgon Biblical Connections Preparing for a tour of Petra provides an opportunity to think about its biblical connections. Petra and its peoples’ histories begin with the history of Abraham’s descendants. When Abraham’s wife Sarah
Jordan Research Trip, Post #8 Read More »
