June 18, 2014
There is some beautiful scenery as you make the drive from the Mediterranean coast at Antalya (biblical Attalia) north and west to Laodicea.
En Route NW to Laodicea from Med. coast. Photo ©Leon Mauldin.
Laodicea was known to be a wealthy city. It was a banking center, had a medical school specializing in ophthalmology, and manufactured clothing, especially known for its black wool market.
It is always a danger that God’s people become like the world around them. Jesus addressed the church at Laodicea (Revelation 3:14-21) and rebuked them for their self-satisfied, complacent attitude:
Because you say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,” and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked, I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see (vv.16-18).
Excavations have shown numerous indications of Laodicea’s wealth.
Columns lining street in Laodicea. Photo ©Leon Mauldin.
W.M. Ramsay wrote:
It is characteristic of a city devoted to commercial interests and the material side of life, that the Church of Laodicea is entirely self-satisfied. It says, as the city said in A.D. 60, when it recovered its prosperity after the great earthquake without any of that help which the Imperial government was generally ready to bestow, and which the greatest cities of Asia had always been ready to accept, “I have grown rich, and have need of nothing.” It has never seen its real condition: it is poor and blind and naked (Letters to the Seven Churches, p.428).
Their complacency led to lukewarmness, and this nauseated the Lord (v.16). This is the only church of the seven addressed in Rev. 2-3 about which nothing good is said.
We have made several other posts on Laodicea. Use search box at upper right for more articles & photos.
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Posted by Leon Mauldin
May 30, 2014
The last few years have seen an enormous amount of excavation in Laodicea. It is still ongoing, as Ferrell Jenkins and I saw several sectors of the very large tel that had teams of workers. One site of importance is the restoration of a pagan temple which reflects some of the wealth and splendor for which this city was famous. Remember God had His people here in Laodicea also, and they were the recipients of the 7th of the Seven Letters (Rev. 2-3).
Pagan Temple at Laodicea. Photo ©Leon Mauldin.
At the back of the temple there is a clear platform through which you can look down and see more excavation several meters below.
Ferrell Jenkins behind temple. The white spot behind (6 miles distance across the Lycus Valley) is Hierapolis. Photo ©Leon Mauldin.
On the lighter side I present you with a camel photo.
Happy Camel at Hierapolis. Photo ©Leon Mauldin.
May I say it’s good to be back in Sweet Home Alabama!
2 Comments | Archaeology, Bible History and Geography, Bible Study, New Testament, photography, Temples, Travel, Turkey | Tagged: camel | Permalink
Posted by Leon Mauldin
April 11, 2014
A book I have found helpful in understanding the background of Revelation is Imperial Cults and the Apocalypse of John: Reading Revelation in the Ruins, by Steven J. Friesen (pub Oxford). Friesen states:
The signal development, first manifest in the dedications of the Temple of the Sebastoi but reflecting broader trends in society was the use of neokoros as a technical title for a city with a provincial temple of the emperors. The power of this innovation was explosive. In a matter of years it changed the public rhetoric of empire in Asia. Within a century it had transformed the discourse of Roman imperialism in the eastern Mediterranean. From the late first century onward, the most prestigious self-designation that could be employed by a city in Asia was neokoros, indicating the presence of a provincial temple where the emperors and their relatives were worshipped (p.150).
Neokoros literally means one who sweeps and cleans a temple; one who has charge of a temple, to keep and adorn it. It came to designate a city which maintained a temple for imperial worship. It is a historical fact that cities competed for this “honor.”
G. K. Beale observes, “Revelation presupposes that Christians were being required to participate to some degree in the imperial cult (e.g., 13:4-8,15-17; 14:9-11; 15:2; 16:2; 19:20; 20:4). . . in the Apocalypse persecution arises because of refusal to worship the ungodly king” (NIGTC Revelation, p.5).
Smyrna Inscription, designating it neokoros. Photo by Leon Mauldin.
This inscription found in biblical Smyrna (see Revelation 2:8-11; Smyrna was one of the seven churches of the Roman province of Asia addressed in Rev. 2-3), in lines 3 and 4 designates Smyrna as neokoros of Sebaston [Greek equivalent to Latin Augusti]. Dr. David McClister says, “This inscription is known in the scholarly literature as Smyrna 162. It is an honorary inscription for Cl(audius) Aristophanes Aurelianus, dated AD 193/235” [lines 1 and 2), and further, “It appears to me to have been a statue base honoring this individual for his leadership in the emperor cult.”
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Posted by Leon Mauldin
March 14, 2014
It is only in the last two years that photos have been permitted in the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. There are so many wings with so many artifacts, it is helpful to have some sort of guideline to serve as a starting point to make the most of a visit to the museum.
Ferrell Jenkins delivered a lecture entitled, “With the Bible in the Israel Museum” during the 2014 lecture series at Florida College, Temple Terrace, FL. In the lecture he selectively (because of so much to choose from) makes use of recent photos to deal with artifacts beginning with time of the patriarchs, continuing through Old Testament history (United Kingdom, Divided Kingdom, Captivity, Persian Period) and concluding with the Roman and Early Christianity. Included are numerous examples from various sites of Israel’s propensity to engage in idolatrous worship. Also there is insightful information on burial customs for different periods.
Ferrell Jenkins’ DVD on biblical artifacts in the Israel Museum. Photo by Leon Mauldin.
I recommend the DVD both as helpful to prepare for a visit to the museum, as well as to review and restudy if you have had opportunity already to go to.
You can place your order here with the FC Bookstore. Use the search box to enter keywords. Cost is $5.00 plus shipping.
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Posted by Leon Mauldin
February 12, 2014
The current issue of Biblical Archaeology Review has an article entitled, “Archaeology Confirms 50 Real People in the Bible,” by Lawrence Mykytiuk. The first in his list is King David, whose name was found in the Tel Dan Stela, found in Tel Dan in July, 1993. Mykytiuk writes:
According to the Bible, David ruled in the tenth century B.C.E., using the traditional chronology. Until 1993, however, the personal name David had never appeared in the archaeological record, let alone a reference to King David. That led some scholars to doubt his very existence. According to this speculation David was either a shadowy, perhaps mythical, ancestor or a literary creation of later Biblical authors and editors. In 1993, however, the now-famous Tel Dan inscription was found in an excavation led by Avraham Biran. Actually, it was the team’s surveyor, Gila Cook, who noticed the inscription on a basalt stone in secondary use in the lower part of a wall. Written in ninth-century B.C.E. Aramaic, it was part of a victory stele commissioned by a non-Israelite king mentioning his victory over “the king of Israel” and the “House of David.” [See BAR 20:02, Mar-Apr 1994] Whether or not the foreign king’s claim to victory was true, it is clear that a century after he had died, David was still remembered as the founder of a dynasty.
This past October I had the occasion to photograph this important stela, which is housed in the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.
“House of David” Inscription. Discovered 1993. Photo by Leon Mauldin
Gary Byers suggests that the stela “most likely memorializes the victory of Hazael, king of Aram, over Joram, king of Israel, and Ahaziah, king of Judah, at Ramoth Gilead recorded in 2 Kings 8:28–29” (Bible and Spade 16:4, p. 121).
For more information on the House of David see Ferrell Jenkins’ post illustrating Isaiah 7 here.
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Posted by Leon Mauldin
September 28, 2013
I recently received a question from a friend, which says in part:
It concerns the crossing of the Read Sea. There is an awful lot of talk about the “traditional” Red Sea crossing maps versus the so-called “archaeological findings” purportedly found at the Gulf of Aqaba.
. . . However, some of our brethren have begun using maps and pictures that show what is believed to be possibly the “real Mt. Sinai” with charred rock covering its cap, a “split rock” in the wilderness, chariot wheels, etc… (I’m not buying it.) All of these things I see look like the work of Ron Wyatt, but all sorts of people have these things on their internet sites.
. . . All of that said, I was wondering if you had any material or resources dealing with the subject head on. I do not plan on making this an issue… nor do I plan on bringing anyone else’s name into the mix. I would just like to be able to give a “ready defense” if I am ever called upon. I’d greatly value your input on the matter. Thank you.
Others more qualified that I have dealt with the claims of Mr. Wyatt. As a starting point I can recommend the following sources: Ferrell Jenkins has an article entitled, “Pharaoh’s Chariot Wheels and Other Things that Won’t Float — Examining the Claims of the Late Ron Wyatt ,” that you can access
here, plus another article entitled, “Pseudo Archaeologists”
here. These articles have numerous related links for further reading. Additionally I would recommend Gordan Franz’s site,
Life and Land,
here. Use the search box. He has several entries under “Cracked Pot Archaeology.” The use of caution in using Mr. Wyatt’s material/claims would be prudent.
While no one can be certain of the exact location of Israel’s crossing. the best evidence would be somewhere along the Suez.
From Sinai looking across Suez to Egypt. Photo by Leon Mauldin.
I took the above photo in 2003, having crossed the Suez. We are standing on the Sinai side looking back across Egypt.
I personally conclude that the traditional Mt. Sinai (Jebel Musa) best fits the biblical criteria.
Click photo for larger view.
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Posted by Leon Mauldin
May 24, 2013
Yodfat, site of Josephus’ surrender to Vespasian’s Roman forces, was unoccupied after its destruction in AD 67. This Jewish Galilean city was considered to be very significant archaeologically, as it gives a glimpse of Jewish life just ca. 37 years after the death of Jesus. Beginning in 1993 Yodfat was excavated by a team of archaeologists led by the University of Rochester and the IAA. W.S. Green, educational director of the archaeological team, described Yodfat as a “pristine site.”
Yodfat info sign, in Hebrew. The University of Rochester led in the excavation. Photo by Leon Mauldin.
On the site is a memorial to the defenders of Yodfat.
Onsite Memorial to Defenders of Yodfat. Photo by Leon Mauldin.
There were numerous caves at Yodfat. Inhabitants hid in locations such as these when the Romans advanced.
Natural Caves at Yodfat. Photo by Leon Mauldin.
The picture emerging at Yodfat is of a devout community that clung to Jewish observance despite its poverty and distance from the center of Jewish worship, the Temple in Jerusalem, says University of Rochester religion professor William Scott Green, educational director of the archaeological team (Bible and Spade Volume 10. 1997, p.66).
This is interesting in view of the fact that many of the Jewish Galilean cities were an admixture of Judaism and paganism.
Excavations have unearthed numerous stoneware pots and mikvaot, or ritual baths. Both items indicate that the Galilee Jews of Yodfat observed stringent laws regarding ritual purity, a dominant concern of Temple Judaism. Stoneware, unlike the more porous earthen pottery, was used by devout Jews for eating because they believed it did not transmit ritual impurity, notes Green. Ritual baths, while expensive and difficult to build, were constructed inside a number of Yodfat homes, even though the town was not particularly wealthy and other architectural embellishments were lacking.
The use of Jewish coins bereft of Roman idols, evident in the types of money unearthed at Yodfat, was another symbol of ordinary piety (ibid.67).
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Posted by Leon Mauldin
May 22, 2013
Yodfat (also Jotapata, Iotapata, Yodefat) was the site of a 47 day siege in AD 67 by Roman forces led by General Vespasian and his son Titus (both of whom would later be emperors). It is said that this was the second bloodiest battle of the Jewish revolt. The historian Josephus chronicled the siege. He was at that time the commander of the Jewish forces. (See The Wars of the Jews, III.7-8). The Jewish forces were killed, some died of suicide; the Romans sold the women and children into slavery.
Site of ancient Yodfat. Photo by Leon Mauldin.
This site gave archaeologists what can be a rare opportunity; it was never resettled or built over after its destruction in AD 67.
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Posted by Leon Mauldin
October 9, 2012
We read in Joshua 10:29,30:
29 Then Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Makkedah to Libnah, and fought against Libnah. 30 The LORD gave it also with its king into the hands of Israel, and he struck it and every person who was in it with the edge of the sword. He left no survivor in it. Thus he did to its king just as he had done to the king of Jericho.
We had the occasion last year to visit Tel Burna, in Israel’s Shephelah, a location which many believe to be biblical Libnah.
Tel Burna, believed to be biblical Libnah. Photo by Leon Mauldin.
The Tel Burna Excavation Project is devoted to this site and may be viewed here.
Another biblical reference to Libnah is found in 2 Kgs. 19:8, contextually speaking of the Assyrian invasion of Judah, 701 BC: “Then Rabshakeh returned and found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah, for he had heard that the king had left Lachish.”
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Posted by Leon Mauldin
September 13, 2012
Archaeologists have determined there were three building phases at Omrit: first, the temple built by Herod the Great, second, the temple built probably by Trajan (AD 98-117), and third, an industrial complex to the north constructed in the Byzantine period.
Entrance to Omrit. Photo by Leon Mauldin.
Here you can see the steps leading up to the temple. This site has been identified as a location for Imperial Cult Worship.
Steps to Imperial Temple at Omrit. Photo by Leon Mauldin.
This photo shows the southwest corner of the temple. The large stones horizontally placed at center have been identified as Herodian. Herod was a politician and he overtly courted the favor of the Emperor Augustus.
Section of Herodian stones in Omrit Temple. Photo by Leon Mauldin.
The site abounds with interesting architectural fragments.
Architectural fragment at Omrit. Photo by Leon Mauldin.
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Posted by Leon Mauldin
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