Thursday, February 4, 2010

The Holy of Holies of a Temple in the Arad fortress. The Israelites were worshipping the LORD on their own terms. The small incense altar on the right corresponds with a small standing stone in the back. The same is true of the larger altar on the left. The large stone in the back (which you can't see here) probably represents the LORD, while the smaller stone in the back probably represents his consort or wife (probably Asherah). Isn't this exactly what the Bible says? The Israelites did what was right in their own eyes.

The Israelite fortress at Arad in the Eastern Biblical Negev.

Lachish. The right side of the hill is actually a manmade seige ramp built by the Assyrians so that they could climb to the top of the Israelite city and conquer it. There is a famous relief that was found in Assyrian depicting this seige.

Beth Shemesh, an important city in the Old Testament. Go to www.blueletterbible.org and search "bethshemesh."

It reads "the beginning/birth of Christ." There were several paintings like this in the Church of the Nativity, the traditional site of Jesus' birth, in Bethlehem.


A threshing floor on a hillside. Remeber the book of Ruth? The wind coming over the hill would cut through the cast barley and remove the chaff. Boaz was out sleeping on his threshing floor when Ruth came to him.

There is a group of orthodox Jews in Jerusalem that has been rebuilding the furnishings for the future Temple. This manorah would go in the new Temple when the messiah comes (of course, they don't believe Jesus is the Messiah).