Day 6 – Thursday, September 15: Beth Shean, Shiloh, Judean Desert/Desert of Parath, Jericho, Dead Sea
Today was another great day. The sun was bright, with warmer temps in the 90s. We left the Sea of Galilee in the morning and arrived at the southern end of the Dead Sea in the late afternoon.
Beth Shean
We loaded the bus after breakfast and drove south, reading portions of Matthew 13 on the way. We also opened our day with the Aleinu prayer, a Jewish prayer used today but with origins back to the days to a time before Jesus. From the Sea of Galilee we drove along the Jordan Valley to Beth Shean, the only city of the Decapolis on the west side of the Jordan. This is a massive archaeological site, primarily Roman. Here we saw the bathhouse, walked the colonnaded street, sat in the public latrenes, and sang in the impressive theater. Some in the group hiked up 190 steps to the top of the Old Testament site where Saul’s body was hung on the walls of the town square (1 Samuel 31, 1 Chronicles 10, 2 Samuel 21).
Shiloh
We continued south along the Jordan Valley about 20 minutes before ascending into the Hill Country of Samaria. We saw shepherd with his large flock of sheep and goats on our way to Shiloh (located about 20 miles north of Jerusalem). This was the location of Tabernacle for over 300 years until it was destroyed by the Philistines (1 Samuel 4). At the site we saw an impressive video presentation. By the ruins we read from 1 Samuel 3 (“Hineni” – “Here I am” was said here by young Samuel!), and Jeremiah 13. We also saw the walls and structures that were perhaps part of the Tabernacle.
Judean Desert & Parath
We continued our drive south towards Jericho. To get there we took a unique windy road down through the Judean Desert and specifically to the area of the Pareth (Parat in Hebrew) where Jeremiah once hid a linen belt (Jeremiah 13). The views were incredible. We spotted a number of gazelles.
“We headed south first. While it is hard to leave the beautiful Sea of Galilee area, there is a unique beauty about the Hill Country of Ephraim and the Judean Desert. Israel is a small country but with so much variety in geography.”
Jericho
We arrived at Jericho at the southern end of the Jordan Valley in time for a late lunch. We then climbed the site of ancient Jericho. We saw an old stone tower that predates even Abraham and a small portion of the city wall on the southern end. Mud-bricks and a burn level could also be seen in a few places. We recalled the Joshua 6 story how the city was defeated (and burned) by the Israelites. Afterwards, we made a brief stop within Jericho at a store that sells Hebron glass.
Ein Bokek/Dead Sea
In the late afternoon we made our way along the western shoreline of the Dead Sea to Ein Bokek. We past Qumran, Ein Gedi, and Masada along the way (we’ll see these sties tomorrow). Once we arrived at our hotel, most in the group changed into our swimming suits and enjoyed a pre-dinner “float” in this unique body of water. What a fun experience this was!
Day 7 – Friday, September 16: Masada, Ein Gedi, Qumran, Wilderness of Judah/Wadi Qelt, Jerusalem
