Day 7 – Thursday, May 11: Beth Shean, Shiloh, Jericho, Judean Desert, Ein Bokek, Dead Sea
Today we drove south. Our end-of-day destination was the southern end of the Dead Sea (Ein Bokek). Once again, we made many biblical connections with the sites we visited. The weather was on the warm side, with full sun and highs in the low 90s by the time we got to Jericho. We read the other kingdom parables from Matthew 13 after we loaded the bus and departed the hotel at 7:35.
Beth Shean
Leaving Nof Ginnosar, we traveled south of the Sea of Galilee nearly 20 miles through the Jordan Valley to Beth Shean. The ride took about an hour and a half. This ancient site is an incredibly large site, with many ruins from the Roman Period. We saw colonnaded streets, the bathhouse, agora, public latrenes, and the theater. Some in the group climbed to the top of the OT site. According to 1 Samuel 31 (and 1 Chronicles 10), the body of Saul was hung on the walls of the town square after he died on near by Mt. Gilboa. The men from Jabesh Gilead (located on the east side of the Jordan Valley), came at night to rescue the body of Saul.
Shiloh
Next, we drove into the Hill Country of Ephraim to Shiloh. On the way, we drove throw the Hill Country of Samaria. We even saw a boar (a first here!). When we arrived, we made our way up this ancient site where the Tabernacle once stood here for over 300 years. It was destroyed by the Philistines (1 Samuel 4). We watched a short movie about the events that took place here. We also read from 1 Samuel 3 (the call of Samuel) and Jeremiah 7. Among the ruins we saw a massive Middle Bronze wall that was incorporated into the Israelite site. Other structures, including perhaps the Holy of Holies area (as proposed by archaeologist Dr. Scott Stripling) could also be seen. It was young Samuel who said, “Hineni” (“Here I am!”) When God called Him into service.
“Today we drove south all the way to the Dead Sea. The landscape changed dramatically as we left the Galilee and enter the region of the Judean Desert. The sites today that we visited were once again wonderful. To see where the Tabernacle once stood at Shiloh was a highlight!”
Jericho
From Shiloh we took a unique road through the Parat Desert (part of the Judean Desert) on our way to Jericho. We past by Bethel (Genesis 12) and Mishmash (1 Samuel 13-14) before descending down to the Parat (Jeremiah 13). We even saw a few gazelles! We finally arrived at Jericho. After a late lunch we visited Tel es-Sultan, or Old Testament Jericho. We first looked east and could see the Jordan Valley, with Mt. Nebo on the ridge on the horizon (Dt. 34). Elijah was taken to heaven in the area across the river (2 Kings 2). Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River at “Bethany Beyond the Jordan” (John 1). Looking south we could see the area of NT Jericho (where Zachaeus and Bartimeaus lived, and where Herod the Great died in 4 BC). We then turned our attention to the ancient OT site of Jericho. The archaeology of this ancient site of Jericho supports and confirms the Bible’s historicity. Besides seeing the oldest structure (a round tower) in Israel, on the southern end we saw the double retaining walls of this Canaanite city taken my Joshua (Joshua 6). A mud brick wall once stood on top of these stone walls. They came tumblin down.
Dead Sea
Driving about an hour south along the western side was beautiful. We arrived at our hotel at Ein Bokek located on the Dead Sea. After checking in we enjoyed floating on this unique body of water (33% salt and minerals). We had dinner and we overnighted here.
Day 8 – Friday, May 12: Masada, Ein Gedi, Qumran, Wilderness of Judah, Jerusalem
