So Dave and I were looking at a map of archaeological sites in the Negev, southern Israel, ancient Judah’s territory, and we saw that Tel Beit Shemesh was near us. “Wonderful,” we said. “Let’s go see Beit Shemesh!
Tel Lachish
Lachish's history is long, beginning in the Neolithic age and continuing to become Judah's second most important city (the first being Jerusalem). Not much is left today but the lizards
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The Passion of Saints Perpetua and Felicitas, Part Two
Perpetua's visions had a great impact on the martyrs who came after her, as well as our understanding of life after death. Her first vision is described in Part One. Today are the rest of Perpetua's visions.
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Arad, and a View of Moab
One of the distinctive features of Arad are their lookout points giving a view of the vast valleys and grand mountain ranges surrounding the area. It was an admitted thrill to stand in the foothills of what was once Judah and gaze across to the mountains of Moab.
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Masada Museum: The Sicarii
They were considered a splinter group of the Zealots, and were called Sicarii because they hid small daggers called sicae in their cloaks. Like silent, stealthy assassins, they would blend in with the crowd then in a split-second strike of a snake, they would whip out their sicae to attack Romans, and disappear as a wisp of smoke.
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Masada Museum: Roman Soldiers
While Dave and I were walking through the Masada Museum, it occurred to me that Roman soldiers show up a lot, and at important junctures, throughout the Gospels and the Book of Acts.
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Masada: Herod’s Aerie
Herod the Great’s palace complex on the plateau of Masada does not feature in the Biblical narrative, but it is an impressive site, nonetheless, and speaks to Herod’s ambitious building program, enormous budget, and ambitions of grandeur.
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The Passion of Saints Perpetua and Felicitas, Part One
I came across the story of Perpetua and Felicitas during my studies at Portland Seminary. She was an early Christian martyr, notable because she was a woman, of noble birth, and she died just as the second century came to a close.
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Be’er Sheva: Abraham’s Well
Abraham’s brothers and father also became believers in the One True and Living God, the first monotheists in the history of humankind.
