The Christian martyr Stephen reminded his audience that Moses received living oracles on Mount Sinai.
Perhaps this is one of the reasons so many persons put forth the effort to approach the top of a mountain presumed to be Mount Sinai.
We began telling you about Michael’s trek to the top of the mountain on the morning of January 26, 2011. As he approached the top of the 7,519 feet high Jebel Musa he recorded several instances of snow.
Snow near summit of Jebel Musa, Jan. 26, 2011. Photo by Michael Lusk.
Yes, we climbed the same mountain in mid-March 2011. Our view of the sunrise was but a sliver due to clouds, but the mountain grandeur was breathtaking. At the top were other Christians singing “How Great Thou Art” in a foreign language. We joined in!
Michael had a good morning from the perspective of a photographer. Here is one of his sunrise photos.
Sunrise from top of Jebel Musa, January 26, 2011. Photo by Michael Lusk.
Thanks to Michael for sharing these photos with our readers.
If you have followed this blog for several months you may recall that I had a group leaving Egypt the evening before the Egyptian Revolution began on January 25, 2011. Five members of our party had made arrangements to visit the Sinai peninsula, including a visit to Jebel Musa, the traditional Mount Sinai, following the tour.
The group of five left for Sinai on the morning of January 25 with no knowledge of the situation in Cairo. After one night at Saint Catherine and a visit to Saint Catherine’s Monastery three of the tours members (a couple from Indiana and a single man from Florida) returned to Cairo. The couple went directly to the airport and departed that evening. I am not sure that they had any indication of a problem in Cairo. The younger man had made arrangements to visit Abu Simbel and some other places in Egypt that we had not visited during the tour. My wife and I continued through the Sinai to Taba and crossed into to Israel at Eilat.
The single man, Michael Lusk, was the only member of our party to climb to the top of Jebel Musa. Michael was anxious to get up early and make the two and one half hour climb to the top in time for the sunrise. I don’t recall the temperature that morning, but it was cool at the hotel during the night and early morning. When I climbed the mountain in April of 1986 I wore jeans over pajamas, an undershirt covered by a T-shirt, a flannel shirt, and the thick jacket. By the way, Michael made it out of Egypt on the last Delta flight to leave after the Revolution began. He left his hotel early due to the curfew and spent all night in the airport awaiting the flight.
When I asked Michael, a former student, if he would allow me to run a few of his photos here, he was pleased to do so. This first photo shows Jebel Musa (the Mountain of Moses), traditional Mount Sinai. A small building can be seen on top of the mountain just to the right of center. There has been a small chapel on the summit of the mountain since the 4th century A.D. A church was built here by Emperor Justinian (early 6th century A.D.) and a new chapel was built on the ruins in 1934.
It was here, according to the 1500 year old tradition, that Moses met the LORD and received the Ten Commandments.
This photo would have been made on the return from the top. Note the camel and rider in the bottom right of the photo.
Jebel Musa, traditional Mount Sinai. Photo by Michael Lusk.
The next photo shows one of the camel drivers (leaders) waiting for someone to hire him to take them back to the monastery. It is possible to hire the camel to take you up the winding slope to where the 3,000 granite steps begin. Notice also his heavy clothing for the cold January nights.
A camel waiting to take a tired walker back to the monastery. Photo by Michael Lusk.
Seven hundred and fifty steps below the summit one comes to a site called Elijah’s Basin. This, according to the tradition, is where the prophet Elijah came when he fled from the wrath of Jezebel after the defeat of the prophets of Baal. Here, the prophet received instructions from the LORD to return and complete his work.
Elijah's Basin on Mount Sinai. Photo by Michael Lusk.
This photo shows the morning light beginning to illuminate portions of the mountain peaks. In the basin you will see some snow. I think the red (orange) glow may be caused by the light striking the area.
In a future post we will share, thanks to Michael, the sunrise from the summit.
As a young man David became well known in the royal household and was called upon to play the harp (Hebrew kinnor; often English lyre) for King Saul.
The statue in our photo is near the “Tomb of David” and the room of the Last Supper on the traditional Mount Zion in Jerusalem.
Statue of King David playing the harp (Jerusalem). Photo by F. Jenkins.
David was later described as “the sweet psalmist of Israel” (2 Samuel 23:1).
Water is necessary for life. Much has been learned about the provisions made for water in the cities of the biblical world. We know about the tunnels dug to bring water into the city at Hazor, Megiddo, Gibeon and Jerusalem, and about the well at Lachish.
For many years we have known about the water tunnel at Gezer. Now, as a result of the current Gezer Water System Expedition, new information is coming to light about the water system there. This project is a joint effort of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and the Israel Nature and Parks Authority.
“The research at Gezer is important to Baptists because of our commitment to understand the Bible within its historical context,” Warner said. “Any information we can gain to give better insights into the cultures of the biblical world helps us interpret the Bible.
It is believed the Canaanites cut the massive tunnel around the time of Abraham using flint tools. Measuring nearly 13 feet wide by 24 feet high at the opening and stretching 150 feet into the ground at a 38 degree slope, the Gezer tunnel is the largest ancient water system ever unearthed.
Late in the last week of the 2011 dig, the NOBTS team found the natural cave at the end of the massive rock-hewn water system — the prime objective of this season’s dig. It is believed that the system’s original water source is located in or near the opening of the cave.
Two reports on the recent work may be read here. Here is one of the photos available with the reports.
Excavating the Gezer Water System. Photo by Art Beaulieu. Courtesy BP & NOBTS.
The photo below is an aerial shot that I made in December, 2009. This shows the massive Canaanite wall and the entrance to the water system to the right of center in the photo. The path goes down into the shaft that is now being excavated.
Aerial view of the Canaanite Wall and Water System at Gezer. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.
We included an aerial photo of Tel Gezer suitable for use in presentations here. From that same post we summarized the biblical information about Gezer.
The king of Gezer fought against Joshua and the Israelites during the conquest (Joshua 10:33; 12:12).
Gezer was allotted to Ephraim (Joshua 16:3).
Gezer became a city of the Levites (Joshua 21:21). It was designated as a city of refuge (1 Chronicles 6:67).
Israel failed to drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer (Joshua 16:10; Judges 1:29).
By the time of David the Philistine seem to be living at Gezer (2 Samuel 5:25; 1 Chronicles 14:16; 20:4).
Pharaoh, king of Egypt, captured Gezer, burned it, and gave it as a dowry to his daughter, Solomon’s wife (1 Kings 9:16).
Solomon (re)built the cities of Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer (1 Kings 9:15-17).
Update: I failed to call attention to the web site of the Center for Archaeological Research at NOBTS here, and Can You Dig It? archaeology blog here. Under PHOTOS you will find a large gallery of photos and videos of the recent excavation.
Since returning from Israel we have been trying to catch up, preparing for some lectures on Daily Life in Bible Times at the Church of Christ in Centreville, Virginia, and now trying to catch up from that and get ready for the next series.
I am still working on sorting the photos that have been made in Egypt and Israel this year.
Thanks for continuing to follow the blog.
Rejoice Christian Software makes some of the best offers on software of any seller that I know about. From now until September 22 they are offering the 12 volume Baker New Testament Commentary software program for the incredibly low price of $49.95. I think you will pay $2.95 for shipping in the USA. This means that for $53 you will have the software program covering all 27 books of the New Testament. These book are written by Presbyterian scholars William Hendriksen and Simon Kistemaker.
Read more about the commentary set here. Note that the price there is $79.95 (already a bargain), but you must go to this link to get the $49.95 price.
The Libronix software program needed to access the books is included.
Even if you have a few of the print volumes you can give them to someone who refuses to use a computer and still have a great deal for yourself.
Be sure you sign up for the RCS newsletters.
A friend (he really is) on Facebook left this comment about yesterday’s post.
is the fig of the Bible the same as what we call figs? They used a fig dresser; we don’t.
He seems to be thinking of the fig mentioned in Amos 7:14.
Other English versions use the terms grower, tender, or took care of. Amos tended the sycamore fig — the ficus sycomorus.
The question results from some confusion in translating the various biblical words into English. According to Fauna and Flora of the Bible, the fig we showed yesterday is the ficus carica. The fig mentioned in Amos 7:14 is the ficus sycomorus.
The sycamore fig growing in the lowlands at Neot Kedumim. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.
The leaves are evergreen and heart-shaped, and the fruit looks like figs, but its taste is unpleasant. However, it was eaten by poor people, and Amos (7:14) was a gatherer of sycamore fruit. The Hb. [Hebrew] verb may indicate the way the sycamore fruits were eaten, so that the proper translation may not be ‘gatherer of sycamore fruit’, or ‘cultivator’, but ‘one who nips (with a nail or with iron) the fruits to make them edible’.
See more about the Sycamore fig and Zaccheus here.