All the Land of the Hittites

February 26, 2014

Following the death and 30-day period of mourning for Moses (Deut. 34), Yahweh spoke words of encouragement to his successor, Joshua:

After the death of Moses the LORD’s servant, the LORD spoke to Joshua son of Nun, who had served Moses: “Moses My servant is dead. Now you and all the people prepare to cross over the Jordan to the land I am giving the Israelites. I have given you every place where the sole of your foot treads, just as I promised Moses.  Your territory will be from the wilderness and Lebanon to the great Euphrates River– all the land of the Hittites— and west to the Mediterranean Sea” (Joshua 1:1-4, CSB).

Holman’s Christian Standard Bible (Study Bible) has the following notation regarding the expression, “land of the Hittites”:

The land of the Hittites seems not to refer to the Hittite Empire of modern Turkey but the Egyptian and later Assyrian usage of this term to describe the region controlled by the Hittites in the western part of modern Syria. These lands and boundaries identify Canaan as it was known both to the Bible (Gn 10:19; Nm 13:17,21-22; 34:3-12) and to Egyptian writers of the second millennium B.C.

In numerous passages the Hittites are mentioned as one of several groups populating the land of Canaan. For example, Joshua told the Israelites, “You will know that the living God is among you and that He will certainly dispossess before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites” (Joshua 1:10; cf. Gen. 15:20; Deut. 7:1, and etc.).

The Ankara (Capitol of modern Turkey) Museum is of international renown for its collection of Hittite artifacts. The relief below shows three Hittite warriors.

Hittite Warriors. Ankara Museum. Photo ©Leon Mauldin.

Hittite Warriors. Ankara Museum. Photo ©Leon Mauldin.

The accompanying placard entitled The Warriors  says, “Three figures with curly hair, and dressed in long tunics with wide belts. The figure at the front holds a spear, which is broken at one end, in his left hand and a leafed tree branch in the right. The figure in the middle clenches his left fist and holds up a tool at head level in his right hand. They are followed by a figure that carries a staff in the left hand. All three wear long swords at the waist.”

The Bible is not a book of fiction. When it mentions people, they were real people, living in real places, participating in real events as recorded in Scripture.

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Posted by Leon Mauldin

The Conquest: Crossing Jordan

February 17, 2014

Joshua 3 records Israel’s crossing Jordan from the eastern side, to set up camp temporarily at Gilgal, and from there to take the city of Jericho. See our map in previous post.

The timing at this point was just prior to Passover (Josh. 5:10), meaning this was the early harvest season.  When Israel was crossing the notation is made, “Now the Jordan overflows its banks throughout the harvest season” (Josh. 3:15, CSB). The text records divine intervention: the priests were carrying the ark, and when their feet touched the Jordan,

. . . the water flowing downstream stood still, rising up in a mass that extended as far as Adam, a city next to Zarethan. The water flowing downstream into the Sea of the Arabah (the Dead Sea) was completely cut off, and the people crossed opposite Jericho. The priests carrying the ark of the LORD’s covenant stood firmly on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel crossed on dry ground until the entire nation had finished crossing the Jordan (Josh. 3:16-17, CSB).

The study note in the Holman Christian Standard Bible states:

At spring flood, after the winter rains and during the barley harvest, the Jordan River could reach a width in excess of 100 feet and a depth of 10 feet. The priests as the leaders of the people were the first to step down into the water. Doing so was a risky activity with the river at flood stage. Carrying the ark could easily have caused them to be swept away by the current unless the promised miracle took place.

Note that the people crossed “opposite Jericho.” Our photo below is at the Jordan at Qasr el-Yahud, opposite and a little south of Jericho. It would be somewhere near here that the crossing of Joshua 3 took place. Our photo looks to the north.

Jordan River at Qasr el-Yahud. Photo by Leon Mauldin.

Jordan River at Qasr el-Yahud. Photo by Leon Mauldin.

In their introduction to the book of Joshua, the HCSB Study Bible has an interesting note about the change in volume of the flow of the Jordan:

The Jordan River was at flood stage when God commanded Joshua to lead the people across. Just as when God opened the Red Sea, He provided a dry path through the Jordan when the priests, bearing the ark of the covenant, touched the edge of the river. . . Up until the 1950’s, more than 3 billion cubic feet flowed through the southern Jordan annually. with construction of a number of dams on the Jordan north of the Sea of Galilee and on rivers that feed the Jordan, that volume of water has been reduced to 300 million cubic feet a year (p.338).

Qasr el-Yahud is a site on the Jordan thought by some to be across from the Bethany referenced in John 1:28, where John the Baptist did some of his baptizing. We had the opportunity to visit here in October.

Baptism in the Jordan River. Photo by Leon Mauldin.

Baptism in the Jordan River. Photo by Leon Mauldin.

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Posted by Leon Mauldin

House of David Inscription

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

“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

William Ramsay on the Halys River and North Galatia

January 17, 2014

Sir William M. Ramsay (1851-1939), archaeologist, scholar, and author, was a champion of the South Galatia position (i.e., the N.T. letter to the Galatians was addressed to Antioch of Pisidia, Iconium, Lystra and Derbe) at a time when the North Galatia theory had been accepted for centuries. In his book, A Historical Commentary on St. Paul’s Epistles to the Galatians, he deals with the geography of north Galatia, giving evidence to eliminate that as the area intended in the book of Galatians. He was seeking to understand the geography of Galatia especially and specifically in the mid 1st century AD.

In that portion of his historical introduction, Ramsay mentions the Halys River and how it divided Galatia into two parts.

The country afterwards called Galatia was in primitive time divided ethnographically and politically into two parts, eastern and western: the division was made by the river Halys, which in this part of its course runs in a northerly direction towards the Black Sea. Galatia east of the Halys seems to have been originally reckoned to Cappadocia, though part of it was probably sometimes described as included in Paphlagonia; but the bounds of those countries were so indeterminate, and the ancient writers themselves were so ignorant of the geography of those lands, that it is quite impossible to say anything positive and certain on the subject. . .

Eastern Galatia lies mostly in the basin of the Halys (Kizil-Irmak, the “Red River”). The Halys itself has very few and quite insignificant tributaries. In Eastern Galatia the Delije-Irmak (whose ancient name is unknown) is the only tributary of any consequence; and most of the country lies in its basin; but the river, though it looks large on the map, carries very little water except in flood, when it becomes a broad and raging torrent, exactly as its name indicates, the “Mad River”. . .

Galatia west of the Halys, which was much larger than the eastern country, was the most important and the most typical part of the country; most of our scanty information relates to it; and in general, when any statement is made about North Galatia, the writer has the western part of it in his mind. This western region was originally part of the vast land called Phrygia; and, clearly, the population of the country in the early part of the fourth century were known to the Greeks as Phrygians (Φρύγες). (Ramsay, W. M. (1900). A Historical Commentary on St. Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians (pp. 15–17).

Halys River near the Black Sea. Photo by Leon Mauldin.

Halys River near the Black Sea. Photo by Leon Mauldin.

Sir Ramsay referenced the Halys as the Kizil-Irmak. Note the sign here at the bridge crossing the river.

Halys River/Kizil-Irmak. Photo by Leon Mauldin.

Halys River/Kizil-Irmak. Photo by Leon Mauldin.

Click images for larger view.

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Posted by Leon Mauldin

Just Weights and Measures

December 23, 2013

Our last couple of posts have illustrated some texts from Deuteronomy. Yet another text we want to consider is found in Deuteronomy 25:13-15:

13 You shall not have in your bag two kinds of weights, a large and a small. 14 You shall not have in your house two kinds of measures, a large and a small. 15 A full and fair weight you shall have, a full and fair measure you shall have, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.

The Israel Museum has a set of scales on display that would be illustrative of this text.

Set of ancient scales. Israel Museum. Photo ©Leon Mauldin.

Set of ancient scales. Israel Museum. Photo ©Leon Mauldin.

There are also some examples of standard weights.

Standard weights in biblical times. Israel Museum. Photo ©Leon Mauldin.

Standard weights in biblical times. Israel Museum. Photo ©Leon Mauldin.

At left is the beqa, at center is the pym (pim), and at right is the nezif. Of special interest to Old Testament studies is the “pim,” the Hebrew word occurring only in 1 Sam. 13:21: “and the charge for a sharpening was a pim for the plowshares, the mattocks, the forks, and the axes, and to set the points of the goads” (NKJV). This is speaking of the days of King Saul when the Philistines had a monopoly on the blacksmith industry. Others translations render, “They charged two-thirds of a shekel to sharpen plowshares and cutting instruments, and a third of a shekel to sharpen picks and axes, and to set ox goads” (NET).

The NET BIBLE has this textual note:

This word, which appears only here in the OT, probably refers to a stone weight. Stones marked pim have been found in excavations of Palestinian sites. The average weight of such stones is 0.268 ounces, which is equivalent to about two-thirds of a shekel. This probably refers to the price charged by the Philistines for the services listed. See P. K. McCarter, I Samuel (AB), 238; DNWSI 2:910; and G. I. Davies, Ancient Hebrew Inscriptions, 259.

As illustrated above, the pim, the standard would be on one side of the scales. The customer would put an equal weight of silver on the other side (this was before coinage).

Consider some related passages (NKJV).

Leviticus 19:36 You shall have honest scales, honest weights, an honest ephah, and an honest hin: I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.

Proverbs 11:1 Dishonest scales are an abomination to the LORD, But a just weight is His delight.

Proverbs 16:11 Honest weights and scales are the LORD’s; All the weights in the bag are His work.

Proverbs 20:10 Diverse weights and diverse measures, They are both alike, an abomination to the LORD.

Proverbs 20:23 Diverse weights are an abomination to the LORD, And dishonest scales are not good.

Ezekiel 45:10 You shall have honest scales, an honest ephah, and an honest bath.

Micah 6:11 Shall I count pure those with the wicked scales, And with the bag of deceitful weights?

We made a previous posts regarding scales to illustrate Daniel 5 here.

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Posted by Leon Mauldin

Build a Parapet on Your Roof

December 7, 2013

Reading recently in Deuteronomy I came across the following text: “When you build a new house, you shall make a parapet for your roof, that you may not bring the guilt of blood upon your house, if anyone should fall from it” (22:8, ESV). The NET renders, “guard rail.”

It  would be difficult to understand the meaning of that passage if we only read through 21st century eyes. The roof on my house is steep. It is much too steep for me to consider walking on it, or anybody else for that matter, except for roofers or repair men. There is no need for me to put a guard rail around my roof.

But roofs in biblical times were generally different (both Old and New Testament), being flat, and serving as a sort of “patio” or additional room. This is illustrated by the reconstructed two-story Talmudic house at Katzrin in the Golan:

Housetop at Katzrin in the Golan. Photo by Leon Mauldin.

Housetop at Katzrin in the Golan. Photo by Leon Mauldin.

It is not hard to visualize how several people might be on a housetop such as this. I might note that the above photo does not have a guard rail around the housetop, but does illustrate the need for one and the practical nature of the command in the Deuteronomy text.

Understanding this can make several biblical texts come alive:

Proverbs 21:9 It is better to live on a corner of the housetop than in a house in company with a quarrelsome wife.

Looking ahead to the Roman destruction of Jerusalem, Jesus said, “Whoever is on the housetop must not go down to get the things out that are in his house” (Matt. 24:17).

Acts 10:9: “On the next day, as they were on their way and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray.” Context: Men from Cornelius of Caesarea sent down the coast to Joppa where Peter was residing, to ask him to come to Caesarea to preach the Gospel there.

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We have previously posted on Katzrin here.

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Posted by Leon Mauldin

The Tabernacle at Shiloh

November 23, 2013

I had the occasion to visit Shiloh while in Israel last month. A special area of interest is the proposed site of the tabernacle.

Proposed site of Tabernacle at Shiloh. Photo by Greg Picogna.

Proposed site of Tabernacle at Shiloh. Photo by Greg Picogna.

The tabernacle stood here for about 400 years, from its installment during the Conquest (Josh. 18:1), to its destruction in the days of the Judges by the Philistines (1 Samuel 4), during the final days of Eli.

Site of Tabernacle at Shiloh. Photo by Leon Mauldin.

Site of Tabernacle at Shiloh. Photo by Leon Mauldin.

Todd Bolen reports that recent excavations have discovered an altar at Shiloh, and provides the link here.

We have previously posted several articles on Shiloh here and here and here.

At this point there are very few info signs on the site.

It is truly an exciting place to visit.

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Posted by Leon Mauldin

Jesus Pays the Half Shekel Tax

November 13, 2013

In Matthew 17, an  unforgettable event transpired in the lives of Peter and Jesus:

When they came to Capernaum, those who collected the two-drachma tax came to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the two-drachma tax?” 25 He said, “Yes.” And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth collect customs or poll-tax, from their sons or from strangers?” 26 When Peter said, “From strangers,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are exempt. 27 “However, so that we do not offend them, go to the sea and throw in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a shekel. Take that and give it to them for you and Me.” (Matt. 17:24-27).

In a very real sense, Jesus was uniquely the Son of God; His Father was/is the owner of the universe. A case could be made that as such, Jesus was exempt from paying the temple tax, a half shekel, an annual tax paid by every male Israelite. But to avoid causing an occasion of offense, Jesus paid the tax. Peter would never forget the day that he went to the sea (Sea of Galilee) and pulled in the fish that had a shekel in its mouth, payment for two.

I had the opportunity to photograph the temple tax in the Israel Museum a few weeks ago.

Half Shekel. Israel Museum. Photo by Leon Mauldin.

Half Shekel. Israel Museum. Photo by Leon Mauldin.

This is a Tyrian half-shekel, a silver coin dated about AD 47-48. The placard provides the following information:

Every Jewish male over the age of twenty was obligated to pay a yearly tax to the temple. The Tyrian half-shekel silver coin was used for this purpose. The funds raised were used for maintenance, the purchase of sacrifices, and, indirectly, as a means of conducting a census.  Because Tyrian coins were not particularly common, they needed to be purchased from money-changers in the Temple. The coin depicts the Tyrian god Hercules-Melqart on one side and an eagle standing on the bow of a boat on the other.

It is our desire that such photos and info help illuminate our reading of Scripture.

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Posted by Leon Mauldin

Reflections on the Cities of Refuge

November 11, 2013

Our previous three posts have featured the three cities of refuge on the western side of Jordan: Kedesh, Shechem and Hebron. There were also three on the Transjordan, making a total of six. These were to serve as sanctuary to one who was guilty of accidental manslaughter, such as when an ax head flew off the handle, etc.

I was recently reading Warren Wiersbe’s commentary on Deut. 19, pertaining to the cities of refuge and related matters. Wiersbe was tying in the OT city of refuge with the New Testament application made in Hebrews:

In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath, 18 so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us. 19 This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, 20 where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek (Heb. 6:17-20)..

Really, the comparison is one of contrasts:

1. The OT resident of a city of refuge was not guilty of murder, though he had accidentally shed man’s blood. But all those who have fled to Christ for refuge ARE guilty of sin (Rom. 3:23).

2. The accidental man-slayer had to dwell in the city of refuge until the death of the High Priest. But now there is a High Priest who never dies, “Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them” (Heb. 7:25).

Jacob’s well, referenced in John 4, is very near the ruins of ancient Shechem. It is housed inside a Greek Orthodox Church, the interior of which was completed in 2007. We were able to visit the church and the well while at Shechem last month.

Shechem Jacob's Well Greek Orthodox church interior. Photo by Leon Mauldin.

Shechem Jacob’s Well Greek Orthodox church interior. Photo by Leon Mauldin.

A very cordial Greek Orthodox Priest was on duty during our visit there. Here is a view of the church from the outside:

Jacobs Well Greek Orthodox Church Outside. Photo by Leon Mauldin.

Jacobs Well Greek Orthodox Church Outside. Photo by Leon Mauldin.

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2 Comments | Bible History and Geography, Bible Study, Biblical Interpretation, Israel, New Testament, photography, Shechem, Travel | Permalink
Posted by Leon Mauldin

Hebron, Third City of Refuge

November 8, 2013

Our previous two posts have featured cities of refuge on the western side of Jordan, Kedesh and Shechem. Several passages discuss the cities of refuge, but the one that gives the most information is Numbers 35.

The cities of refuge were Levitical cities. Unlike the other tribes, which were assigned allotments of land for their inheritance, the Levites were given a total of 48 cities, 6 of which were the cities of refuge. “The cities you give the Levites will include six cities of refuge, which you must provide so that the one who kills someone may flee there; in addition to these, give 42 other cities” (Num. 35:6, CSB). Further Moses instructed, “Select three cities across the Jordan and three cities in the land of Canaan to be cities of refuge”(v.14).

The three cities of refuge in Canaan are set forth as follows, “So they designated Kedesh in the hill country of Naphtali in Galilee, Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the hill country of Judah” (Josh. 20:7, CSB).

Hebron has a lot of history pertaining to the patriarchs. Not only was it a dwelling place for many of them, it was also a burial-place (Gen. 23:16-20). Our photo here at Hebron was taken with the cave of Machpelah at our back.

Hebron, a city of refuge. Photo by Leon Mauldin.

Hebron, a city of refuge. Photo by Leon Mauldin.

Other posts on Hebron may be viewed here and here.

For security reasons, Hebron is usually not included on tour to Israel.

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1 Comment | Bible History and Geography, Bible Study, Hebron, Israel, Machpelah, Old Testament, photography, Travel | Permalink
Posted by Leon Mauldin

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