Our instructor...Todd, talking with archaeolgist Eli Shukron at the Pool of Siloam. The rest of us are sitting in front of them listening attentively and amazed to be in the presence of a famous archaeologist.
Last night we visited the Israel Museum and outdoor model of Jerusalem in the Second Temple period. This to-scale model of the city in the year 66 AD helped me get a good idea of the city’s growth over the 1st and 2nd Temple periods. The model especially helped me understand the building of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd walls. From here we went inside the Israel Museum and saw the Dead Sea scrolls.
After spending the night in the Knights Palace Hotel, we walked down to the Temple Mount. Thankfully it wasn’t raining, but it was chilly. We walked around the Temple Mount and discussed the different aspects of the area. The Dome of the Rock was built over a piece of bedrock believed by Christians and Jews to be the place where Abraham was going to sacrifice Isaac, Muslims believe this to be the place where Abraham was going to sacrifice Ishmael and where Mohammed had his “night journey.” This rock may also be the place where the Ark of the Covenant was as its dimensions match that of the Ark exactly. The original Dome of the Rock was built in 691 A.D. The construction and design included many Byzantine type elements. The Dome wasn’t covered with gold until 1960s and the gold covering was replaced in the 1990s. The Dome of the Rock is not a mosque but a shrine. To the south of the dome is the al-Aqsa mosque. The dome on the al-Aqsa mosque was originally on the Dome of the Rock before it was replaced with a gold one. The al-Aqsa mosque was finished in 715 A.D. but has been destroyed and replaced 3 times in the last 1300 years. From 1099-1187 the Temple Mount was under the control of the Crusaders who turned the Dome of the Rock and the al-Aqsa Mosque into churches.
The state of Israel has sovereignty over the Temple Mount but has not maintained strict control over the area in order to help prevent a world outcry and maintain some peace in the area. The Temple Mount is the 3rd most holy place to the Muslim world with Mecca and Medina coming in 1st and 2nd place. Most orthodox Jews do not want the Temple Mount rebuilt to its original state since they believe that to be a job for the Messiah and believe that to make efforts to rebuild it would be forcing God’s hand. 10 years ago the Muslims wanted to build another mosque to handle the amount of worshippers that visit there every year.
Underneath the southern plaza of the Temple Mount is a columned area that has been called Solomon’s Stables as the Crusaders believed it to possibly have been used for that purpose (el-Marwanni mosque). Since then the Muslims have worked on converting the area to a mosque and have dug up part of the southeastern area of the plaza to insert a stairway down to the doors leading to the mosque area. On the eastern side of the Temple Mount we saw the inner side of the Golden Gate. This particular gate was built in 640 A.D and has both Byzantine and Muslim features to its construction and design. It was later sealed up by the Muslims in an attempt to prevent a (faulty?) Christian/Jewish tradition that believes that the Messiah will return to Jerusalem by entering through the Golden Gate. The gate has remained sealed. The Dome of the Tablets is a small dome that some believe may be on the place where the Holy of Holies may have been…however this is not likely.
After leaving the Temple Mount, we proceeded down to the basement of an Arab Palace built by the Umayyad dynasty (which happened to also build the al-Aqsa Mosque) that has since been excavated and turned into a museum. After that we walked to the Archaeological Gardens were we saw the remains of Robinson’s arch, discussed the location and function of Wilson’s arch, analyzed relics found in and around the area, and saw the basement of a wealthy persons’ home. I was amazed at how advanced these ancient people were in their technology of construction and how sophisticated some of their homes were.
Part of this tour included the southern steps and wall of the temple mount. Here we discussed the way the steps were built and how their design would help a worshipper maintain a worshipful attitude by controlling the way he walked. We discussed other aspects of the design of the steps leading up to the Temple Mount and how they were used including as a meeting place, and possibly as a place to read the 15 Psalms of Ascent. The highlight of the day for me was reading the Psalms of Ascent together…one psalm on each of the 15 wider steps. It was amazing to be in the place where many people probably read the same psalms, and even see some of the things the Scripture verses were discussing, for instance, Psalm 125 that says “Those who trust in the LORD are as Mount Zion, which cannot be moved but abides forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds His people.”
We had already discussed how the Temple was built on bedrock and therefore would not be affected in a natural disaster such as an earthquake, and this verse seems to echo, or reaffirm that fact. Also the second verse talks about the mountains surrounding Jerusalem…I could look around and see myself surrounded by deep valleys that led up to more hills, that surround Jerusalem. It is awesome to see how accurate Scripture is in light of being in the location it is discussing. I know and believe the Word of God is true, even if the “facts” don’t seem to match…but it is even more convincing when you see for yourself that the Word is in fact accurate.
After walking further up into the Jewish Quarter we watched a video that described what events may have occurred at the “Burnt House.” This video helped make the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 A.D. seem a little more personal. At the excavation of this house, archaeologists found and unused spear and the arm bones of a young woman. It is possible that this house was destroyed on the 8th of Elul, 70 A.D. This date is likely because the Romans burned the Temple on the 9th of Av, but it took them another month to get up to the upper city where this house was located.
The last thing we did was walk down the Kidron valley and into Hezekiah’s tunnel. This tunnel runs from the Gihon spring down to the Pool of Siloam. It is about 1/3 of a mile long and the gradient is a mere 1’. I was amazed by how this tunnel was carved with such accuracy without the help of modern day devices. It was a cool, windy day, and I wasn’t particularly looking forward to getting all wet in the tunnel. Thankfully the water wasn’t that cold, and the heat produced by the 45+ of us trekking through the narrow passageway along with the brisk walk through the tunnel kept me plenty warm. It was probably the most fun thing we have done so far. At the end of the tunnel, we walked a short distance to the real Pool of Siloam and discussed its history, read a correlating passage in Scripture (John 9) and even got to meet the archaeologist who found and is working on the site, Eli Shukron.
The last thing we did was hike up the very steep Central valley, through the Old City to the Jaffa gate where we were very thankful to see our trusty orange bus waiting to return us home. This field study was my favorite so far, despite the cold, windy weather, and me being stupid enough to wear water sandals the entire day without closed shoes to keep my feet warm. Oh well, it made the day more memorable, and gave me something to be patient about. It was a good opportunity to practice not complaining and being thankful for socks and shoes!
