The Setting of The Song of Moses - Deuteronomy 32

Tomorrow I am preaching at my church, Country Bible Church in Taft, TX. My text will be Deuteronomy 32 - aka the song of Moses (Deut. 31:30). As I have repeatedly read through this chapter of Scripture I have been struck by how specifically the flora, fauna and overall geographical setting of the passage matches that of Israel's contemporaneous political positioning.  Namely - their encampment in the "Plains of Moab" after conquering the western side of the Transjordan hill country (outlined green on map) from Moab to Bashan (Deut. 32:14).  This specific location looks over the general area of Sodom and Gomorrah (Deut. 32:32) and became the spot where the great leader, Moses, gave up the ghost (Deut. 34 - Mt. Nebo).  To illuminate this point it is vital to establish both what is mentioned and what is not mentioned.

Mentioned: desert land, waste of the wilderness, eagle, high places of the land, produce of the field, honey from the rock, oil from the flinty rock, curds from the herd, milk from the flock, fat of lambs, rams of Bashan (Golan Heights), very finest of the wheat, foaming wine, blood of the grape, vine of Sodom, fields of Gomorrah, grapes of poison, bitter clusters, poison of serpents, venom of asps.

Not mentioned: no city west of the Jordan, hill country, trees, wine from coast or CisJordan hill country (wine mentioned is explicitly from Bashan and Sodom and Gomorrah), fox, bears, lions, non-carrion birds.

If this passage was created by a Judean living in the late 7th cent. BCE (or anytime after 1400 BCE for that matter) then he certainly had a keen eye for deceptive detail and a flair for illusory authenticity.

Tel Burna 2010-11 Excavation Season(s)

The dates for Tel Burna's excavation seasons have just been announced. Can't wait to go back for a couple days with IBEX this November to continue work at this fascinating site.  You can see some of Burna's fortifications here. Our short season will include a continuation of the surface survey, as well as a clearing of brush around some of the fortification lines.

Taken from 1980 Calloway, J. "Sir Flinders Petrie: Father of Palestinian Archaeology," BAR 6/6: 44-45.

Here is what Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie (of headless fame) had to say about the site in 1891 in his journal on Tell el Hesy:

“Tell Bornat – Late Jewish pottery, no Greek (?) or Roman. Top is in crops, the sides half barren.  About 200 feet square with long slopes."

Petrie's description was spot on as this is the exact archaeological picture (there were no such designations as EBIV/MBI/IB, LB I, Iron IIa in Petrie's day) we have of Tel Burna with the same dimensions he describes nearly 120 years ago.  As confirmed by Google Earth.

If you look closely you can make out the shape of the tell on its  north, west and east sides (oriented due north) - these sides are basically symmetrical and according to Google Earth about 200 ft long.  (Google earth is amazing).

Tel Burna Excavations

For the last week-and-a-half Mindy and I have been excavating at Tel Burna (also known as Tell Bornat).  So far the finds have been numerous and the fun ubiquitous.

You can check out the Tel Burna Excavation at the official website.
and Mindy's blog where she has been posting a lot of pictures of the excavation.

Mindy and I's square for the last week and a half - photos courtesy of Amit Dagam.

Working hard.  This is probably a 9th century destruction level - although no one knows how far it will go across the site.

The site of Tel Burna is very interesting - it is in the Shephelah very close to Beth Guvrim/Maresha. It has never been excavated and the Israelite period is directly on the surface (a rarity nowadays). This is the first season of excavation and already the finds have been quite interesting including the discovery of Iron II fortification walls and a 9th century destruction level. Geographically, Burna may be identified with the biblical city of Libnah, which was a border town and Levitical city within Judah (Josh. 15:42; 21:13) on the fringe of southern Judah near Philistia.  Two other prominent candidates for Libnah are Tel Goded and Tell Zayit.  The excavations at Tel Burna are being carried out under the direction of Drs. Itzick Shai and Joe Uziel.

Here is a biblical concordance of Libnah.  Note that in order for a site to be Libnah it need have material culture (remains) from each of these periods (unless of course that period was completely robbed out - which sometimes happens.)

1. (ca. 1400 BC - Late Bronze I (according to an Early Conquest view - ca. 1200 BC Late Bronze II for a Late Conquest view) "As for Makkedah, Joshua captured it on that day and struck it, and its king, with the edge of the sword. He devoted to destruction every person in it; he left none remaining. And he did to the king of Makkedah just as he had done to the king of Jericho. Then Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Makkedah to Libnah and fought against Libnah. And the LORD gave it also and its king into the hand of Israel. And he struck it with the edge of the sword, and every person in it; he left none remaining in it. And he did to its king as he had done to the king of Jericho. Then Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Libnah to Lachish and laid siege to it and fought against it. And the LORD gave Lachish into the hand of Israel, and he captured it on the second day and struck it with the edge of the sword, and every person in it, as he had done to Libnah.”  (Joshua 10:28–32 ESV)
2. (Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat ca. 845 BC - Iron IIa) "So Edom revolted from the rule of Judah to this day. Then Libnah revolted at the same time.” (2 Kings 8:22 ESV; see also 2 Chron. 21:10)
3. (During the time of Hezekiah ca. 701 BC Iron IIc) "Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah, for he heard that the king had left Lachish.” (2 Kings 19:8 ESV; see also Is. 37:8)
4. (ca. 600 BC right before the destruction of Jerusalem - Iron IIc) "Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.”(2 Kings 23:31 ESV)
5. (ca. 586 BC right before the destruction of Jerusalem - Iron IIc) "Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.” (2 Kings 24:18 ESV; see also Jer. 52:1)

Hippus: A City on a Hill?

During Jesus' Galilean ministry he delivered perhaps the world's most influential sermon - dubbed the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7; Luke 12).  In this sermon the greatest rabbi and theologian asks His hearers to weigh their actions against Torah - removing the already difficult standard of the righteousness of the elite and replacing it with faithful obedience.  The teaching delves deeply into the conscience of its hearers by teaching wisdom through everyday occurrences.  Jesus the consummate teacher and illustrator as He often did, once again, used the 1st-century Galilean sites and sounds of his surroundings to portray His timeless and boundless truths.  Among the many illustrations, the King of the Universe compares the manner of a believer's obedient life to a "city set on a hill that cannot be hidden” (Matthew 5:14b ESV) hmmmm....  Interesting - more on that later.

I think it is important to note that Jesus taught almost exclusively outdoors and the majority of the time in Galilee both among and to farmers and fishermen.  He knew the realities each faced in this complex, eclectic region.  Consider the following map:

Notice the three big regions.  Galilee was ruled by Herod Antipas (Herod the Great's son) with his capital in Tiberias it was primarily Jewish with cities like Capernaum and Chorazin on the western half of the Lake.  The Tetrarchy of Philip - most of which was in modern Syria and the Golan Heights.  Philip had a very small sliver of the lake where Philip (also the son of Herod the Great) established the city of Julia - his populace was a mix of Jew and Gentile.  The eastern half was under direct Roman rule with the free city-states of the Decapolis (literally 10 cities - although it was more than that - this would be cities like Gadera, Gerasa, Scytholpolis and Hippus). This region was almost exclusively Gentile. The casting out of demons into swine Matt. 8:30 happened in this region.  All three of these regions would have their own governmental (read taxation) system and radically different diets.  One can easily imagine the Jewish fishermen selling the non-kosher fish to their Gentile neighbors in an attempt to sell all of their catch.  It was within this cultural context that the Son of God was revealed and eloquently interacted.  

I say all of that to make one observation from the Sermon on the Mount.  I will do so in the form of a question.

Is it possible that Jesus was referring to an actual city when he said “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden?"   I think he may have been - examine the following images.

This is a view of the traditional location of the Mt. of Beattitudes (likely its a small hill between Capernaum and Tabgha) looking southeast at Hippus - the only major city sitting on a hill during the time of Jesus in the vicinity.

Hippus/Susita (horse) named such because the city resembled a horse's head as it sits alone connected to the Golan Heights by a small spur line.

View from the east looking west across the Sea of Galilee to the Plain of Gennesaret and Tiberias.  Looking at the back of the head of a very schematic horse (with no mane or ears of course).

Would it have been shining?  Probably not Thomas Edison would not be born until about 20 centuries later, but Hippus would have had large tall Roman buildings like these (remains are a little later but are indicative of the city) made out of white limestone shining in the hot Galilean sunshine.  The Decapolis city could have easily been seen from all locations around the Lake, as the hill can still be readily spotted today. 

More or less the same view as the first one.  Clearly Hippus could have easily been seen by Jesus' audience. (all images Google Earth and Mindy McKinny).

 It could be that Jesus not only pointed to Hippus (or maybe shrugged his head there emphatically) when he referred to a "city on a hill that cannot be hidden," but he also looked to the eastern shore later in his message when he said the following: “Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.” (Matthew 7:6 ESV)  Pigs would have been found in abundance on the eastern shore (remember Matt. 8:30) and would have been very scarce on the Jewish western shore from where Jesus was speaking.  

In the end this argumentation cannot be proven - it is difficult enough to uncover the meaning of texts -  all the more difficult to discern a speaker's thoughts and unrecorded actions.  Regardless, I believe interacting with the text geographically provides it with a certain realness that it might not have otherwise.  Most believers believe the Bible is inerrant (free from error), but sometimes we forget that its people lived in a real place, in a real time, with real geographicall realities.

Passion Week in One Day

Monday morning I am leading a couple and their friend around Jerusalem on a very directed study of the Passion Week of the grave-conquering Messiah.  I have been looking forward to it for quite a while - rarely do you have the opportunity to focus in on such a specific period (normally I will cover from Abraham-Mohamed in 1 DAY - 2100 BC-640 AD - 2750 years vs. 7 days!)  We will start with the triumphal entry and make our way through the rest of the week stopping at the various sites which are mentioned in the four Gospels.

Here is a satellite view of what our 5 1/2 mile trip will look like.

1.     Mt. of Olives - Triumphal Entry (Sunday or Monday of Passion Week Luke 19:37-40) 

2.     Dominus Flevit – Triumphal Entry (“the Lord Wept” – Luke 19:41-42)

3.    Temple Mount (Monday or Tuesday-Thursday of Passion Week - Mark 11:27-30)

4.     Southern Temple Mount Steps (Monday or Tuesday-Thursday of Passion Week - Matthew 23)

5.     Room of the Last Supper (Thursday Night of Passion Week - John 13-14)

6.     Garden of Gethsemane (Thursday Night/Friday Morning of Passion Week - John 18:1-12)

7.     Herodian Quarter (Friday Morning of Passion Week - John 18:13-27)

8.     Herod's Palace (David's Citadel) (Friday Morning of Passion Week - John 18:28-40)

9.     Church of the Holy Sepulcher (Friday Morning-3pm of Passion Week - Mark 15)

10.  Austrian Hospice Overlook – Ascension (40 Days Later - Matthew 28)

Alive King Jesus - Dead King Herod

There are many interesting aspects about the Biblical story - many fascinating tidbits that can only be gleaned by being in the land and seeing and experiencing how the land fits together.  Here is one of my favorites.

As King Jesus made his way up and over the Mt. of Olives, while the deafening throng erupted with shouts of Hosannah, the coronation of the true king of Israel finally was realized.

Imagine the amount of conflicting emotions the Lord experienced - joy, fear, anxiety, foreboding, and quite possibly irony.   The tomb of Herod the Great (or at least Herodium where the tomb was) could be seen quite clearly from the route the King of Kings took on his way to Jerusalem.  It's quite probable that Jesus looked to his left, towards the Judean Wilderness and the Dead Sea, and saw the tomb of the jealous "king" who once sought to have Him murdered by killing the babies of David's city - the king who claimed to be the true king of the Jews now rotting in an illustrious tomb unloved and still posthumously trying not to be forgotten.  Jesus was about to show Israel and the whole world what true kingship was all about.