Israel Small Group
February 22nd, 2017
• BEIT SHEAN
Beit Shean is one of the oldest cities in Israel. Often overlooked by tourists, it’s worth a visit.
Like most places in Israel Beit Shean has several names – Scythopolis, Tel Beit Shean, Tel
el-Husn, Tel el-Hosn, Beisan and Nysa. It is located in the Galilee region of northern Israel
where the Harod Valley and Jordan Valley meet, just 27km south of the Sea of Galilee and
5km east of the Jordan River and is one of the country’s largest archaeological sites.
History of Beit Shean
The amphitheater at Beit Shean. Credit: Vad Levin
Beit Shean was settled as early as the Chalcolithic era (about 6000 years ago) and has
remained continually inhabited since then. Extensive excavation of a large mound in Beit
Shean has revealed over 20 layers of remains from ancient civilizations. Canaanite Temples
pre-date Egyptian occupation of the region followed by Israelite rule and the Philistines
during the Old Testament period. Beit Shean is mentioned in the Bible several times and is
best known as the site where King Saul and his sons were hung from the city walls. The city
remained a significant metropolis during the reign of King David and King Solomon. The
Hellenistic period followed when the city was renamed, Scythopolis after Dionysus’ nurse
who was believed to have been buried here.
In the 1st century AD Beit Shean became a flourishing multi-cultural Roman city and one of
10 cities in the Decapolis regional league. Beit Shean was the Roman provincial capital in
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the 4th century AD but following an earthquake in 749 AD the city never truly regained its
former status. Since then the Crusaders, Mamluks, Ottomans, British and finally Israelis have
each settled in Beit Shean.
Beit Shean National Park
Roman street in Beit Shean National Park, Israel. Credit: By Mark via Wiki Commons
Today the main attraction in Beit Shean is the Archaeological National Park where tourists
can see the history of Israel through the archaeological remains from each historic period.
On the elevated mound are remains of the Canaanite and Egyptian cities and at the foot of
the mound are the extensive remains of the Roman city. The excavation and reconstruction
offers a clear picture of what the city would have looked like. This former Roman metropolis
was home to 30,000 to 40,000 citizens and covered approximately 370 acres.
Visitors to the park can see the ancient wall that surrounded the city, public baths, a Roman
temple, stores, artisan workshops and other well preserved structures. The central Palladius
street runs for 24 meters and is lined by colonnades. Historians established that the street
was named after a 4th century Roman governor after uncovering an inscription. There are
rare mosaics and a Roman amphitheater which is still in use today.
Beth Shean in the Bible and Archaeology
The story of the death of King Saul as told by archaeology and the Bible
Biblical Archaeology Society Staff • 12/07/2016
This Bible History Daily feature was originally published in 2012.—Ed.
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The imposing tell of Beth Shean. In the Bible the city plays an important role following the death of King Saul
and as a major Israelite administrative center. Excavations over the past century have revealed what
archaeology (and the Bible) can—and can’t—tell us about the site’s history. Photo: Gaby Laron, The Hebrew
University of Jerusalem.
The most famous episode featuring Beth Shean in the Bible follows the death of King Saul
on Mt. Gilboa:
The Philistines came to strip the slain, and they found Saul and his three sons lying on Mt. Gilboa.
They cut off his head and stripped him of his armor … They placed his armor in the temple of
Ashtaroth, and they impaled his body on the wall of Beth Shean. When the men of Jabesh-Gilead
heard about it—what the Philistines had done to Saul—all their stalwart men set out and marched all
night. They removed the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall of Beth Shean and came to Jabesh
and burned them there. Then they took the bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh,
and they fasted for seven days (1 Samuel 31:8–13; cf. 1 Chronicles 10:8–12).
Archaeology seeks to uncover an even broader picture of a site’s past. In the Bible, Beth Shean is a
major administrative center in Solomon’s kingdom, but excavations show that the site was an
important one long before (and after) the kings of Israel reigned over it.
• NAZARETH
Nazareth
Also known as En Nasira, Japhia, Mash-had, en-Nasirah, Nazerat, Nazareth of Galilee,
Nazareth in Galilee, Yafti en Nasra
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Aerial view from the north
Situated inside a bowl atop the Nazareth ridge north of the Jezreel valley, Nazareth was
a relatively isolated village in the time of Jesus with a population less than two hundred.
Today Nazareth is home to more than 60,000 Israeli Arabs, and Upper Nazareth is
home to thousands more Jewish residents.
View from the south
Very little is known about Nazareth from the ancient sources. Outside of the New
Testament, Nazareth is never mentioned until the Byzantine period (4th c. AD).
Archaeological excavations have confirmed that the city was only a small agricultural
village during the Hellenistic and Roman periods.
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Church of Annunciation
A Byzantine church was built over the place where it is believed that the angel Gabriel
announced the birth of Jesus to the virgin Mary. In 1966 the Roman Catholic Church
began constructing a new basilica over these remains and today this church is the
largest church building in the Middle East. The Greek Orthodox Church nearby is built
over the town’s water source.
Rejection of Jesus
Jesus spent his boyhood years in Nazareth before beginning his ministry when he was
about 30. After moving his home to Capernaum, Jesus returned to teach in the
synagogue of Nazareth twice more, but was rejected both times. On one occasion the
townspeople were so outraged at Jesus that they tried to throw him off a cliff to his
death.
Has the Childhood Home of Jesus Been Found?
Jesus’ home in Nazareth
Ellen White • 11/15/2016
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This Bible History Daily feature was originally published in 2015. It has been updated.—Ed.
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This very well could be the childhood home of Jesus. It doesn’t look inviting, but this rock-hewn courtyard
house was quite likely Jesus’ home in Nazareth. The recent excavation by Ken Dark and the Nazareth
Archaeological Project revealed evidence suggesting this is where Jesus was raised—or at the least the place
venerated as such by the Byzantine period. Photo: Ken Dark.
The childhood home of Jesus may have been found underneath the Sisters of Nazareth
Convent in Nazareth, Israel, according to archaeologist Ken Dark.
The excavation site located beneath the convent has been known since 1880, but it was never
professionally excavated until the Nazareth Archaeological Project began its work in 2006. In “Has
Jesus’ Nazareth House Been Found?” in the March/April 2015 issue of BAR, Ken Dark, the director
of the Nazareth Archaeological Project, not only describes the remains of the home itself, but
explores the evidence that suggests that this is the place where Jesus spent his formative years—or at
least the place regarded in the Byzantine period as the childhood home of Jesus.
The excavation revealed a first-century “courtyard house” that was partially hewn from naturally
occurring rock and partially constructed with rock-built walls. Many of the home’s original features
are still intact, including doors and windows. Also found at the site were tombs, a cistern and, later, a
Byzantine church.
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• CANA
THE SIT
View of modern Cana (© Welcometohosanna.com)
Cana in Galilee is celebrated as the scene of Jesus’ first miracle. It is actually the
place of his first two public miracles in Galilee — the changing of water into wine
and the remote healing of an official’s son 32km away in Capernaum.
On the first occasion, Jesus and his first disciples turned up at a wedding feast,
possibly that of a close relative of his mother Mary. The wine ran out — perhaps
because those additional guests had not been catered for — and Mary turned to her
Son to overcome the embarrassment (John 2: 1-11).
“Woman, what concern is that to you and to me?” he responded. “My hour has not
yet come.” But she persisted and her Son turned six jars holding more than 550
litres of water (equivalent to more than 730 bottles) into fine wine.
This miracle is significant for Christian pastoral theology. Christ’s attendance at the
wedding feast, and his divine intervention to rescue the hosts from embarrassment,
are taken as setting his seal on the sanctity of marriage and, as the Catholic
Encyclopedia puts it, “on the propriety of humble rejoicing on such occasions”. The
incident is also seen as an argument against teetotalism.
Jesus’ newest disciple at the time of the wedding was Nathaniel, who actually
came from Cana of Galilee.
Location remains uncertain
Cana’s actual location is uncertain, with at least three possible candidates. But
the commemoration of the miracle of the wine is traditionally fixed at Kefer-Kenna
(also known as Kefr Kana and Kfar-Cana), about 5km north-east of Nazareth on the
road to Tiberias.
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Here the Franciscans, relying on the testimony of early pilgrims including St
Jerome, established themselves in 1641. And here streetside vendors sell Cana
wine.
Franciscan Church at Cana (Tom Callinan/Seetheholyland.net)
The Franciscans believe excavations beneath their present church, dating from the
early 1900s, confirm the existence of an early place of worship, perhaps a JewishChristian synagogue, on the site.
Beneath the sacristy of the present Franciscan church were found remains of
dwellings dated back to the 1st century and an ancient basilica with three apses in
cross-like form. In a crypt a small stone cistern was found fitted into a flagstone
floor.
Not far from the Franciscan church is the Greek Orthodox Church of the Marriage
Feast, with two large stone jars claimed to be two of the original water pots. But
archaeologist Rivka Gonen says “they seem to be old baptismal fonts”.
The town also has a chapel dedicated to StBartholomew, who some scholars
identify with Nathanael of Cana.
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Second miracle brought healing
Cana wine on sale (David Poe)
The second time Jesus visited Cana, he was met by a distressed official of the court
of Herod Antipas (John 4:46-49). The official lived at Capernaum — which Jesus
was soon to make his home town — and he had come to plead for his son, who was
dying.
Jesus, who had earlier proved he could make good wine from water, now showed he
could heal from 30km away. “Go; your son will live,” he told the official.
One of the early pilgrims to Cana, the Anonymous Pilgrim of Piacenza, confessed in
570 to an act of religious graffiti. “Our Lord was at the wedding,” he wrote, “and
we reclined upon his very couch upon which I, unworthy that I am, wrote the
names of my parents.”
Another possible site for Cana, preferred by many modern scholars, is the ruined
village of Khirbet Kana (Khirbet Qana), 12km northwest of Nazareth.
In Scripture
The miracle at the wedding feast: John 2:1-11
Jesus heals the official’s son: John 4:46-54
John Chapter 2
The Wedding at Cana
The
d
9
a
next
y
* there was a wedding celebration in the village of Cana in Galilee
2 and Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the
celebration. 3 The wine supply ran out during the
festivities, so Jesus’ mother told him, “They have no
more wine.”
4 “Dear woman, that’s not our problem,” Jesus
replied. “My time has not yet come.”
5 But his mother told the servants, “Do whatever he
tells you.”
6 Standing nearby were six stone water jars, used for
Jewish ceremonial washing. Each could hold twenty to
thirty gallons.* 7 Jesus told the servants, “Fill the jars
with water.” When the jars had been filled, 8 he said,
“Now dip some out, and take it to the master of
ceremonies.” So the servants followed his instructions.
9 When the master of ceremonies tasted the water
that was now wine, not knowing where it had come from
(though, of course, the servants knew), he called the
bridegroom over. 10 “A host always serves the best wine
first,” he said. “Then, when everyone has had a lot to
drink, he brings out the less expensive wine. But you
have kept the best until now!”
11 This miraculous sign at Cana in Galilee was the first
time Jesus revealed his glory. And his disciples believed
in him.
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* 2:1 Greek On the third day; see 1:35, 43.
* 2:6 Greek 2 or 3 measures [75 to 113 liters].
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12 After
the wedding he went to Capernaum for a few
days with his mother, his brothers, and his disciples. 1
JORDAN RIVER
Posted on 23/10/2013 at 9:16 am / Baptism, Christian / 0
The Jordan River, in which John the Baptist baptized his cousin Jesus of
Nazareth, is a river in Southwest Asia which flows into the Dead Sea.
It is considered to be one of the world’s most sacred rivers.
It originates approximately 200 meters above sea level on the slopes
of Mt. Hermon, Israel. It ends its course at the lowest spot in the
world, the Dead Sea, at 420 meters below sea level. Along its course,
the Jordan feeds two lakes: the Hula (now almost completely drained)
and the Sea of Galilee. In its course from the Sea of Galilee to the
Dead Sea, the Jordan travels a winding 230 kilometers, covering just
105 kilometers in a straight line.
Numerous references to the Jordan River appear both in the Old
Testament and the New Testament, indicating its biblical importance
and sanctity. In fact, the Jordan River is mentioned about 175 times in
the Old Testament and about 15 times in the New Testament. The
word Jordan comes from the Hebrew word ‘yarden’ meaning
descender. This name is appropriate for the river that courses from the
heights of Mt Hermon to the depths of the Dead Sea.
The first mention of the Jordan is in the story of the separation of
Abraham and Lot. The Bible tells us of Lot’s decision to settle in the
Jordan Valley:
“And Lot lifted up his eyes and beheld all the plan of Jordan, that it
was well watered everywhere.”
Genesis 13:10
1 Tyndale House Publishers. (2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Jn 2). Carol Stream,
IL: Tyndale House Publishers.
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The Jordan appears as the scene of several miracles, the first taking
place when Jordan near Jericho, was crossed by the Israelites under
Joshua (Joshua 3:15-17). Later the two tribes and the half tribe that
settled east of the Jordan built a large altar on its banks as a ‘witness’
between them and other tribes (Joshua 22:10).
In the period of the First Temple, the Jordan was crossed by Elijah and
Elisha on dry ground (2 Kings 2:8) Elisha also healed Naaman by
having him bathe in its waters.
The Jordan was spoken of as an important defensive weapon (Judges
3:28; 7:24-25; 12:5-6). David escaped across the Jordan during
Absalom’s rebellion (11 Sam. 17:20-22).
The Jordan was crossed by Judas Maccabeus and his brother Jonathan
Maccabeus during their war with the Nabataeans (1Maccabees 5:24).
Later the Jordan was the scene of the battle between Jonathan and
Bacchides in which the latter was defeated.
Numerous references to the Jordan River appear in the New
Testament. It states that in those days John the Baptist came
preaching and saying “repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near”…and
people confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan
River.
“And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a
baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”
Luke 3:3
“The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went
out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the
Jordan River”
Mark 1:4-5
In the period of the Second Temple, both John the Baptist and Jesus of
Nazareth, made their homes here on the banks of the Jordan River.
For hundreds of years, the Jordan remained desolate. Pilgrims and
adventurous travelers described the descent to the
Jordan, baptism and sailing as one of the most exciting events of their
journey in the Holy Land.
• Kibbutz
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Kibbutz means group in Hebrew. It is a modest name for something unique: a voluntary democratic
community where people live and work together on a non-competitive basis. Its aim is to generate an
economically and socially independent society founded on principles of communal ownership of property,
social justice, and equality.
The first kibbutzim (plural of kibbutz) were organized by idealistic young Zionists who came to Palestine in
the beginning of the 20th Century. Their dream was not just to settle the land it, but to build a whole new
kind of society. Despite many hardships, they succeeded in creating a social system and a way of life
which has played a crucial role in the development of the State of Israel both culturally and politically.
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