JERUSALEM JOURNAL: DAY 13– FRIDAY, JANUARY 8, 2010
We are now at Yad Hashmona and will be here for the next three days. We completed our tour of the the Shephelah, Negev, the Wilderness, and the South Arava, or Jordan Rift Valley. Tomorrow we have another silly test.
Todd still doesn’t have a clue as to how to deal with people with disabilities. This afternoon, we made a stop, to hike up the canyon of the Nature preserve at En Gedi. He suggested that I and others who might have difficulty doing steep climbing would be better to stay with the bus. However, when people got back, they told me that the hike was easy, because Todd was forced to hike behind a slower group. So, Todd’s concerns weren’t about me or others. It was the fact that they might slow him down. I have lost a lot of respect for him and for the Bible Lands tour. Yet, we are still seeing some wonderful places, so I can’t complain too much.
My cold has not become worse, thank God. Tomorrow is a free afternoon. However, Todd wants us to go to his Assembly of God Church and then drop us in Old Jerusalem for shopping. I really don’t feel up to that. Instead, I would rather come back. I may ask him in the morning to stay here instead of go to church.
MASADA
Our first site was Masada. We stayed at the guest house last night, and then this morning we were given the choice of walking up for the sunrise, walking up later, or taking the tram. Of course, I chose the latter. The ride up was spectacular, and the top was awesome. Masada is the second most visited site in Israel. It is the drama of the place that draws people to it.
There are two important periods of time that concern Masada. The first was during the reign of King Herod, around 28 BC. Masada may have been first built by the Hasmonaeans, but Herod the Great made many improvements and refurbishments. The site is surrounded by casement walls and includes numerous cisterns and a water system which channels water from the surrounding wadis which fill up from flash floods. Herod probably strengthened the site for one or more of the following reasons:
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He was afraid of a Jewish uprising, especially because of his known cooperation with the Romans, as well as his building of pagan temples throughout the land.
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He was afraid of outside threats by those close to him. For example, he supported
Mark Anthony and probably feared loosing favor with the Romans when Anthony lost favor with the emperor. Also, he feared that
Cleopatra might be coveting the territory given to him by the Romans.
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The second period that concerns Masada was the Jewish Revolt in 66, which ended with the destruction of the Temple in AD 70. All of the information available about this period in Masada’s history was provided by the historian Josephus Flavius, who was a priest, but found enough favor with the Romans to end up commanding the Roman Army in Galilee. Although not an eye witness, he would have been privy to the account of battle by General Silva, who fought the last holdouts at Masada, before 967 of them, by his account, committed suicide in AD 73 or 74, when they could no longer hold out against Roman siege.
There was plenty and food and water for the holdouts to survive at Masada; Herod had seen to that, building storehouses to insure adequate provisioning. Because of the dry weather, food was easily preserved for long periods. Evidence, for example, was found of imported wine from Italy, the inscriptions showing that the wine belonged to Herod. It was the siege ramp and siege engine that the Romans built that did the Jews in. A siege engine is a big tower on wheels with battering rams. The Romans built an incline up the walls of the fortress and then rolled the tower into place, using the battering rams to break through the casement walls. The Jews countered by filling up the spaces in the casement with wood, but the Romans were able to set fire to the wood and breach the walls, anyway. Evidence of the siege can be seen by the siege camps that were set up around the mountain by the Romans. The fact that all but six committed suicide, if Josephus is to be believed, surely must have disheartened the 10th Roman Legion of 15,000 men who had been waiting as many as five years to finally defeat the rebels. It also raises the rallying cry of today that says, “Masada, never again.”
We know from 1 Samuel that David was in the area, running away from Saul. The Bible says that he spent time in the “stronghold” of En Gedi. This may be a reference to Masada, because the word metzuda is used. It is also probable that the Romans used Masada as a place from where they could observe and control the trade routes.
On the site, there is a synagogue which the rebels built from the stables. There they found scripture buried in one of the back rooms and also found scrolls in other places. Some of these places may have been genizahs, or places for worn out scrolls. There was also a bathhouse and a Mikvah, or ritual bathing place. Bathhouses were places where people socialized. Ritual bathing places where people cleansed themselves. The bathhouses were heated by burning wood under floors which were held up by pillars. There were pipes which went up the walls. The ceilings were curved to prevent water dripping down from above.
Herod’s Palace, on the Northern side was terraced in three levels, with a clear view of En Gedi and the mountains of Moab. There was a circular terrace which was a meeting area. Below that, there was a private residence for VIPs. They also found a small bathroom. Steel staircases allowed people access to the different levels along the side of the cliffs. While there is no proof yet found that all 967 of Masada’s residences committed suicide, the bodies of three people were found on the lower terrace.
Another site, Machaerous, across the Dead Sea in Jordan, was also a hold-out, but there, the Jews surrendered, after their leader was captured. Herodion was also a hold-out during the revolt.
DEAD SEA
We stopped at a public beach in En Gedi to take a swim at the Dead Sea. The salt and mineral content of the water is 30 to 35%, almost double that of the Pacific Ocean. The reason is that the Dead Sea is the lowest point on earth, 1330’ below sea level, at the shoreline. Because of that, there is no place for the water to flow out. It is impossible to sink in the Dead Sea, because the mineral content of the water is denser than it is in your body. When you swim in the Dead Sea, you bob up and down like a cork. The salt will sting your lips, eyes, and any open sores which you might have. However, the mineral content also has a healing affect, and there are many creams and ointments that are manufactured from the Dead Sea minerals. In biblical times, the Dead Sea was known as the Salt Sea, the Sea of the Aravah, or the Eastern Sea. The word En Gedi means “Young Goat.” After the Bar Kova, or second revolt, virtually all Jews moved to Capernaum.
QUMRAN
The current theory is that Qumran was a community of Essene Jews who rejected the temple establishment. Some of the evidence pointing to that includes:
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Pottery which was fashioned for poor people.
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The writings of
Pliny, who reference the Essenes as a group living above En Gedi.
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The caves are located within a mile and a half of their community.
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Predominantly men are found in the cemetery below.
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Inkwells and writing implements were found on the site.
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Ritual baths were found on the site.
They called themselves the “Yaha.” They claim to have connections with John the Baptist:
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They both lived in the wilderness.
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They both considered ritual baths (baptism) important.
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They were both against the leadership of Jerusalem.
Yet, John’s baptism is different; it is one time. Therefore, it may be doubtful that John the Baptist lived with them, as they claim.
The site was originally discovered by Bedouins. Many of those Bedouins who worked for the archeologists sold discovered scrolls on the black market rather than turn them over to their employers. The scrolls were written-on animal skins, and they were dated according to their paleography, or their writing style. Most of the scrolls were written elsewhere and brought to Qumran. About 400 of the scrolls found were in Cave #4 (there were eleven caves), and many of the scrolls were non-biblical, giving us a glance into the lives of the Essenes. They use similar metaphors to the Apostle John (lightness, as compared with darkness, for example) and preserve Old Testament Text and a window into the New Testament.
Therefore, the caves could be genizahs, where damaged or worn-out scriptures or other documents (including heretical writings with God’s name) are stored, or a place to hide the scrolls, because the Romans were coming. It could have also been a plain old storage space, although it could not be considered a library in the traditional sense. The probability is that there are additional scrolls and, perhaps caves, to be found.
The people living here dammed the Wadi Kidron and built an aqueduct to transfer water to the ritual pools. In 31 AD, the site was destroyed by an earthquake. After AD 70, this site may be become a Roman fort to guard the routes along the Dead Sea.
Service at the Jerusalem Assembly of God, January 9, 2010 
Service at the Jerusalem Assembly of God, January 9, 2010 
