Day 9
Today was an eclectic, busy day. We drove to and visited so many places as we made our way to Jerusalem, so this post may be a bit choppy.
As we left the Dead Sea, we made our way up around the mountains to the cliffs above the sea. The terrain we went through was so, so pretty. The first part looked very much like the Badlands of South Dakota and is currently a nature reserve with tons of hiking and backpacking trails. Uri said again that I need to come back and backpack the country for 6-12 months. I asked Val if I could take a sabbatical for that amount of time, and she said no. Slave driver.
From the Badlands area we drove through terrain that looked like the desert foothills of southern Idaho. I've found that at each place I tend to compare it with something from the west in the U.S. It will make it easier to remember later when I'm reading my Bible at home. In this area, the tribe of Judah ran their sheep. The Bible refers to a lot of this land as desert, but that word in Hebrew means grazing ground. Their "real" desert is in southern Israel. Uri says that is the land that is completely desolate and wild...and that I need to go visit it. This area we drove through was in the Old Testament the border to Philistine country.
Our first stop was at the Hebron mountains, which are outside of the town if Aran. This is the spot where Abram and Lot stood as they decided to part ways because their herds were too big to be jointly sustained. Lot chose to journey down to the Jordan valley all the way to the outskirts of Sodom, and Abram journeyed on (Genesis 13). It was a great view and a very pretty area with hiking trails all over. Definitely a place I would like to explore more someday. Israel just has so much to see and do.
As we continued driving, Uri gave us a recent history lesson and run-down of Palestinian/Israeli issues. There is no way I can recount all we heard, with multiple layers and levels that are involved. Let's just say there is way more going on and it is way more complicated than the news makes it out to be. They are missing a lot of details.
After lunch, we arrived at the archeological site if Be'er Sheva, or Beersheba. The current ruins are from the 8th century B.C., but the actual city has been around for much longer. Before a city even existed, though, Isaac first dug a well there as stated in Genesis 26:23-33. The land there is on the boundary of the Promised Land, with wilderness off to the south.
It was interesting to see that the well was built OUTSIDE the city, something that isn't usually done due to safety reasons. Why was it built outside then? The area consisted of city dwellers and nomads. Both were dependent on each other, so the city didn't want to keep nomads away even though they may have sometimes posed a threat. Since the main reason nomads would attack was for water, there was a well outside the gates so there wouldn't be that need.
Beersheba was a small city, but we had fun exploring it and looking around. I loved seeing the landscape and getting an idea of what it would have looked like back in Biblical times. There were other Tels (digs) in the area. Israel is full of them! There are just ruins everywhere! Something that is 500 years old isn't even worth exploring when you are here. Bizarre. We also walked through an old water system and saw streaks from hands that were thousands of years old. Wow.
Our next stop was the completely unique tel city of Maresha. First, the landscape was so pretty! Green with trees, rocks, and rolling hills. It had a bit of a Colorado feel to it, or New Mexico in the spring. This city itself blew my mind. Maresha is mentioned in 2 Chronicles 11:5-8 during the reign of King Rehoboam. Later, when the Babylonians went through and defeated Israel, the Idumeans (descendants of Esau), joined forces with them and took over Maresha. In the 4th century B.C., they were joined by the Greeks and Sidonians. At this time, they discovered they could build some pretty amazing rooms underground by cutting into the
soft limestone that is under the bedrock. They constructed an entire city underground. It is incredible.
There are caves everywhere that you can explore. We went through three of them (an olive press, a cistern, and a pigeon farm), but Uri said you can go spelunking in a bunch of them. It was amazing to see the level of work they had done.
Working the olive press
Our final stop today before getting into Jerusalem was the Valley of Elah, where David fought Goliath (1 Samuel 17). We pulled onto the side of a busy road and walked back a little ways to a plowed field. It seemed like a weird spot, but it blew my mind when Uri explained the setup in that valley of the Israelite and Philistine camps. The Israelites were on one hill, and the Philistines were on another. Neither army wanted to go down into the valley and lose the high ground. Enter Goliath. Uri explained that scholars believe he had a condition known as gigantism, which would have made his sight pretty bad, and he would have had a large protruding forehead. In verse 44, Goliath says, "Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the field." He wants David within his grasp so he can squish him like a bug. Instead, David keeps his distance and uses his slingshot on him. Good slingshot users could send a rock almost to the speed of a bullet. It hit him between the eyes and likely pushed his nose into his brain, probably killing him instantly.
The Israelites would have been on this hill
I loved this spot because I was able to visualize everything! Where the armies were, where the battle took place, what the terrain looked like. It was a really cool experience.
As we left the area, Uri said that developers are trying to build housing complexes on the hill and into the valley. Groups are trying to block it, so there is hope that it won't happen. The thought of building there bothers me so much. How can they even think of doing that in that area? So much history. I was livid as I looked out the window. I hope they fail.
The day was very informative and involved a lot of amazing exploring and info. We drove into Jerusalem, and grabbed dinner at the hotel. At dinner, our group (Val, Steve, Elizabeth, and I) were out of control. Everything that was said was hilarious. I laughed so hard my stomach hurt, and Steve had tears streaming down his face. It was by far a highlight. Just another great part of this trip!
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