We are happy to recommend Todd Bolen’s latest collection of biblical photos, Photo Companion for Ezra and Nehemiah. Like the previous Photo Companion volumes, a PPT is prepared for each chapter, with literally hundreds of illustrative photos. The slides are labeled, and also have informative notes. Because the setting of both Ezra and Nehemiah is that of the Persian Empire, including today’s Iran, these sets are especially helpful because of modern difficulties in obtaining photos in these sites!
Here below is a snippet from the current BiblePlaces Newsletter, which includes ordering info:
“We have been building the Photo Companion to the Bible for nine years now, and there is nothing else like it anywhere. There are a wide variety of good commentaries and Bible study guides available, but there is only one photographic resource for Ezra and Nehemiah. Today you can get the best price on the two books together: Ezra ($39), Nehemiah ($49), or Ezra and Nehemiah together for $59 as DVD+download or as download-only.”
I have been using and recommending Dr. Bolen’s materials since 2003! The new publications are welcome additions to the library of any serious Bible student!
In a class studying Hebrews in our local congregation, we are impressed with the many references to the Tabernacle (9X, NKJV). The Old Testament and its priesthood “serve the copy and shadow of the heavenly things” (Heb. 8:5), and are among the things “having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things” (Heb. 10:1). It is a matter of typology: the OT tabernacle, its priests, its sacrifices, point forward to the High Priest Jesus, with His sacrifice (His blood), and the “true tabernacle” (Heb. 8:2) with its “holy place” which is “heaven itself” (Heb. 9:24).
In this post we will share some visuals of the life-size model of the tabernacle in Timna, southern Israel.
Here is a view inside the tabernacle, where you see the lampstand on your left, the table of showbread on your right, and the altar of incense at back just in front of the veil. Also you can see models of the priest, and High Priest.
“Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king” (2 Chron. 10:1, ESV). Biblical Shechem is modern Tell Balata, near Nablus, in today’s West Bank. Though our text does not specify why Rehoboam went to Shechem, it was a city of great historical significance to God’s people, especially prior to the monarchy. We will briefly summarize what happened to Rehoboam at Shechem, but first let’s consider some of the biblical events that transpired at this location.
Shechem, at Israel’s geographical center. Map courtesy of biblemapper.com.
Having first entered the land of Canaan, Abraham was standing here at Shechem, with Mt. Ebal and Mt. Gerizim looming on either side, when God gave him the land promise (Gen. 12:6-7). Sadly, it was also here that Jacob’s daughter Dinah was defiled, and where Levi and Simeon savagely destroyed much of the populace in retaliation (Gen. 34).
In Joshua 8:30-35, in the early days of the Conquest of Canaan, all Israel assembled at Shechem, with six tribes on Mt. Gerizim (mount of “blessing”) and six tribes on Mt. Ebal (mount of “cursing”). At that time Joshua “read all the words of the law, the blessing and the cursings, according to all that is written in the Book of the Law” (v.34, NKJV). This was in obedience to prior instructions given by Moses in his final days (Deut. 27:11-26). In our Joshua text, that great nation who had descended from that childless couple (at the time of the promise), Abraham and Sarah, was there to lay claim to the promise. But they weren’t just there to receive the land; their reception of Canaan was grounded upon their pledge to keep the covenant of Yahweh.
Then later as Joshua’s death approached, Shechem was the location for Joshua’s last words and for Israel’s covenant renewal (Josh. 24:1-28). Shechem was also where Joseph was buried (Josh. 24:32).
In addition to its great historical significance, the site of Shechem was also a central location and thus a logical meeting place for the matter at hand, Rehoboam’s coronation. On the other hand, Maier suggests that perhaps Rehoboam sensed a bit of discontent among the northern tribes. “One clue was that they did not come to Jerusalem but wanted the meeting at another place, in Shechem, on their own turf, so to speak” (A Theological Exposition of Sacred Scripture, pub. Concordia, 1K12-22, p. 1052).
The outcome of the meeting at Shechem: The northern tribes rejected Rehoboam, with the result that the kingdom divided into Israel (north) and Judah (south). This was punitive, as a result of Solomon’s apostasy, and foretold by the prophet Ahijah (1 Kings 11; 2 Chron. 10:15; 11:1-5). The dynasty would change several times in Israel to the north, but the southern kingdom of Judah would be ruled by the Davidic dynasty, from Rehoboam (Solomon’s son) down through Zedekiah. This covers the years 931-586 BC.
It was at Shechem that Israel met with Solomon’s son Rehoboam to make him king. Shechem is located between Mount Gerizim (left) and Mount Ebal (right).
“Then Solomon went to Ezion Geber and Elath on the coast of Edom. And Hiram sent him ships commanded by his own officers, men who knew the sea. These, with Solomon’s men, sailed to Ophir and brought back four hundred and fifty talents of gold, which they delivered to King Solomon (2 Chronicles 8:17,18).
Let’s first get the geographical setting of Elath (also spelled Eloth, Eilat):
Map courtesy of biblemapper.com
The location of Elath was at the southern tip of the Arabah, and the north eastern tip of the Red Sea, at the Gulf of Aqaba. This allowed Solomon’s fleet of ships access to the Red Sea and of course, south from there into the Indian Ocean. It would seem that through this means of commerce the Queen of Sheba (see map inset) learned of Solomon, and made the journey to see for herself the incredible reports she had heard (related in the next chapter, 2 Chron. 9:1-12).
In March 2018, Ferrell Jenkins and I made a personal study trip which included this area. In this photo I am at Elath looking south.
B. S. Hummel has the following information regarding Elath:
A city and harbor at the head of the Gulf of Aqabah. Elath’s strategic position made it an important gateway for caravan and naval commerce with Arabia and eastern Africa. In the OT Elath is frequently placed in close proximity to Ezion-geber. Some scholars consider Tell el-Kheleifeh (147884), which lies between modern Elath and Aqabah, as Elath, others as Ezion-geber, and still others as the site for both Elath and Ezion-geber. The site was also known as El-paran (Gen. 14:6). The Ptolemies changed its name to Bernice. Elath was originally Edomite, possibly taking its name from the Edomite chief Elah (Gen. 36:41 = 1 Chr. 1:52; Eloth). Toward the end of the Exodus, the Israelites passed through Elath before turning north toward Edom and Moab (Deut. 2:8). David probably captured it during his campaign against the Edomites (2 Sam. 8:13–14). Solomon then established a navy of ships in Ezion-geber near Elath (1 Kgs. 9:26 = 2 Chr. 8:17). Apparently the Edomites had regained control, but Uzziah (Azariah, 2 Kgs. 14:22; 2 Chr. 26:2) recaptured and restored it (ca. 780 B.C.). However, under Aramean (Syrian) pressure during the Syro-Ephraimite War (ca. 735), Ahaz lost it to the Edomites permanently (2 Kgs. 16:6).
Hummel, B. S. (2000). Elath. In D. N. Freedman, A. C. Myers, & A. B. Beck (Eds.), Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (p. 388). W.B. Eerdmans.
At Elath, looking east. We are of course in the Great Rift Valley here.
When Moses was still atop Mt. Sinai, receiving the Ten Commandments, the nation of Israel grew impatient and said to Aaron, “Come, make us a god who will go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him” (Ex. 32:1). Accordingly, Aaron fashioned a golden molten calf; and they said, “This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt” (Ex. 32:4). In the New Testament, Stephen would explain that in their hearts Israel turned back to Egypt (Acts 7:39).
Egyptian mythology presents the Apis bull as the incarnation of the Egyptian creator god Ptah, or the son of Hathor, the primeval goddess. Cattle represented other significant Egyptian gods.
Here is an informative article by M. Froelich, from the Lexham Bible Dictionary:
APIS (חַף, chaph; Ἄπις, Apis). Egyptian bull god of agriculture and fertility. Apis came to be associated with Ptah, chief god of Memphis, and was embodied as a live, sacred bull in the temple there.
Biblical Relevance Although Apis does not appear in the Hebrew text of the Old Testament, the Septuagint text of Jeremiah includes him in a prophecy against Egypt. The text reflects the common understanding that cities and peoples were protected by patron gods, whose withdrawal or weakness could spell doom (e.g., Ezek 8–11; Matt 23:38–39; Homer, Iliad, 22.350–59). In this case, the king of Babylon is able to defeat Egypt because “Apis, your chosen calf,” has fled after being weakened by the Lord (Jer 26:13–15 LES). The Septuagint text does not offer specifics about the Apis cult, but it indicates that he was considered a patron or protector of Memphis, which is named in Jer 26:14 (LXX). The corresponding text in the Hebrew Bible (and in English translations) is Jer 46:13–15. Although this version mentions Memphis (Jer 46:14), it generally refers to “bulls” instead of naming Apis. Bull worship was common in the ancient world and appears in the Old Testament. Gods such as Baal, Zeus, El, and others appear with bull imagery in mythology and in worship. The incident of the golden calf in Exod 32 is an example of Semitic bull worship. Calf worship also is mentioned in 1 Kgs 12:25–33, in which Jeroboam returns from Egypt and sets up calf statues in the northern kingdom.
Mythology and History Apis is the bull god of the Egyptian pantheon. According to religious belief, Apis was the son of Ptah, who impregnated the mother cow via lightning bolts or moonbeams. In some myths, Apis was the son of Hathor, a heifer goddess often depicted with the sun disk between her horns; the same symbol often appears in visual representations of Apis (see Malaise, “Histoire et signification”). Apis’ most important temple was in Memphis and dates at least as far back as Egypt’s New Kingdom (16th–11th centuries BC), though the god himself goes back to the earliest periods of Egyptian history. Apis was broadly popular, and his worship lasted at least into the late Ptolemaic period; the latest bull found buried in his temple in Memphis dates to the late second or early first century BC. In Memphis and possibly elsewhere, the worship of Serapis seems to have taken over by the Graeco-Roman era. Like many important ancient deities, Apis was associated with the king and his powers. Because the most important of these powers was the fertility of the land, worship of Apis inspired festival traditions such as the trampling of a farm plot (Meeks and Favard-Meeks, Daily Life, 137). Plutarch states that the Egyptians revered the Apis bull “being the image of the soul of Osiris” (Plutarch, De Iside et Osire, 20). This association between Apis and Osiris was part of the process that eventually led to their assimilation in Serapis.
Cult and Worship One of the main features of the Apis cult was the worship of the bull at the Memphis temple. The bull was believed to be the god himself. He would be selected as a calf, whose distinctive markings had to include a white triangle on the forehead and a wing pattern across the back. During his journey to Memphis, young women would gather to lift their skirts before him in order to guarantee their fertility. The animal (and often its mother) lived in luxury at the temple. Some ancient sources claim that he had a harem of cows; others emphasize that Apis had no offspring and “that a cow was selected and presented to Apis once a year, and then put to death so that no offspring would come of the match” (Meeks and Favard-Meeks, Daily Life, 137). The bull’s death would bring elaborate funeral rites and preparation, including the mummification and burial of the animal in a nearby cemetery. Then the search for a new Apis would begin. A stele, possibly of the late Ptolemaic or early Roman period, depicts the Apis bull on a funeral vessel, being mourned by Isis and Nephthys. Although the piece was not found in situ, it most likely is from the nearby Saqqara Serapeum and represents the funeral procession for the Apis bull (Farag, “Two Serapeum Stelae,” 165–66).
Froelich, M. (2016). Apis. In J. D. Barry, D. Bomar, D. R. Brown, R. Klippenstein, D. Mangum, C. Sinclair Wolcott, L. Wentz, E. Ritzema, & W. Widder (Eds.), The Lexham Bible Dictionary. Lexham Press.
It would seem reasonable then, that when Israel worshipped the golden calf at Sinai, they rejected the true God in favor of the idols they knew. Later, when the kingdom divided, Jeroboam, first king of the northern kingdom of Israel, installed golden calves at Dan and Bethel, and called on Israel to worship. He said, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem; behold your god, O Israel, that brought you up from the land of Egypt” (1 Kings 12:28).
Our special interest in our recent trip to Malta was the biblical record of Paul’s shipwreck there. (Paul was a prisoner on his way to Rome for trial). They wintered on the island (there were 276 passengers on the ship) and then from there went on to Rome (Acts 28). See our previous post here, “Saint Paul’s Bay at Malta.”
There are many other historical and archaeological sites to visit at Malta (which consists of three islands: Malta, the largest, Comino, and Gozo). At Gozo we visited the Ġgantija temples, two temples enclosed within one boundary wall. One is composed of five apses (the southern temple), the other has four. Here is the view as one approaches (note the Mediterranean Sea in the distance):
The Ġgantija temples, as well as other Maltese temples, date back to the Bronze Age (with some scholars dating the older building phase at c. 3500 BC). They are considered to be the oldest free-standing stone buildings in the world, predating the pyramids!
There is the inner left apse of the south temple. It has one of the most complex altars, consisting of three trilithons between four uprights.
We are looking forward to again touring Sicily/Italy in March 2024, the Lord willing. I was recently reviewing some photos from previous trips and wanted to share a few of these. Pompeii was covered with volcanic ash by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius (August AD 79).
In this post we will look at the Odeum at Pompeii. Here is the view of Pompeii just inside the entrance (Mt. Vesuvius is in the background):
The city had two theaters, the large theater, which seated about 5,000 spectators, and the small theater, the odeon. The seating capacity of this small theater was about 1,000 people. A pyramid-shaped roof would have covered it. It would have been used for musical performances and mime.
An inscription at the site states that the duumviri C. Quintius Valgus and M. Porcius, two leading citizens of Pompeii, financed the construction of the theater. In 80 BC Pompeii became a Roman colony with the name of Colonia Cornelia Veneria Pompei.
Acts 27:39-Acts 28:1 describes the shipwreck on which the Apostle Paul was a prisoner en route to Rome:
When it was day, they did not recognize the land; but they observed a bay with a beach, onto which they planned to run the ship if possible. And they let go the anchors and left them in the sea, meanwhile loosing the rudder ropes; and they hoisted the mainsail to the wind and made for shore. But striking a place where two seas met, they ran the ship aground; and the prow stuck fast and remained immovable, but the stern was being broken up by the violence of the waves. And the soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners, lest any of them should swim away and escape. But the centurion, wanting to save Paul, kept them from their purpose, and commanded that those who could swim should jump overboard first and get to land, and the rest, some on boards and some on parts of the ship. And so it was that they all escaped safely to land. Now when they had escaped, they then found out that the island was called Malta.
Acts 27:39-Acts 28:1
Here is the site proposed by many scholars of that area, known as St. Paul’s Bay:
Having just returned from a personal study trip to Malta, I hope to share some of the sites and artifacts we were able to photograph in upcoming posts.
We are currently enjoying a study of 2 Timothy in our local congregation. 2 Timothy was the last of Paul’s thirteen New Testament epistles. At the time of writing he was in prison in Rome, facing certain death by execution. In this post I wish to share some visuals which may be helpful to you.
This is the traditional site of Paul’s prison (also Peter):
Some biblical texts are especially illuminated by archaeological finds. For example, Acts 21:28 records the false charge against Paul, “He also brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place” (v.28). The next verse shows this they “supposed” (NET “assumed). Ephesians 2:14 speaks of Jesus’ death breaking down “the middle wall of separation” between Jews and Gentiles.
Temple Inscription Fragment. Israel Museum. Photo by Leon Mauldin.
Our photo shows one of the warnings posted marking the boundary within the temple complex beyond which no Gentile could proceed. The inscription read, “NO FOREIGNER IS TO GO BEYOND THE BALUSTRADE AND THE PLAZA OF THE TEMPLE ZONE. WHOEVER IS CAUGHT DOING SO WILL HAVE HIMSELF TO BLAME FOR HIS DEATH WHICH WILL FOLLOW.” I took this photo earlier this month in the Israel Museum.
A complete tablet is housed in the Istanbul Museum, as seen in our photo here:
Complete Temple Inscription. Istanbul Archaeology Museum. Photo by Leon Mauldin.
So the Acts 21 text means that Paul was charged with taking a Gentile beyond the balustrade marked off by signs just like thsee.
The Ephesians 2 text shows that with Jesus’ death on the cross, reconciliation is made possible between men (Jew and Gentile) and God, and those reconciled unto God are reconciled to each other. The reconciled are in one body (the church, Eph. 1:22-23). That distinction epitomized by the wall of separation, and reflected by these warning signs, has been removed!
Posted by Leon Mauldin 
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