Bethshean was a large Old Testament city. A Greek city was later build beside it. I am standing on top of the Old Testament city looking down on the Greek city (Scythopolis). In the far back of the city you can see the remains of a large theatre.

Qumran, the place where archaeologists found scrolls of the Old Testament that were 2200 years old--the oldest copies we have. Caves like this one pepper the area. In May Liberty University will bring a team of students to this site to continue digging here. The people who lived in this area were purists who had left Jerusalem because they felt that the Pharisees and other there were hypocritical and corrupt. The Essenes, as they are called, had a strict set of rules in Qumran. As an example, here are some of the rules archaeologists have found on scrolls:

All of the following sins would result in 1/4 food reduction for 3 months.

"Falling asleep in assembly, missing a vote, spitting in the assembly, exposing one's genitals, laughing loudly and foolishly."

The En Gedi Springs, on the southewestern shore of the Dead Sea. It's amazing what a little water can do to a barren land. Everything around this area was extremely dry and dead, but the stream found here had Ibexes and rodents and birds--life was everywhere. When you read imagery in the Psalms about greenness and water, this is an appropriate image to harken to.

Masada, Herod the Great's fortress overlooking the Dead Sea. Herod was known for his ability to defy nature by bringing water to places that had none and building mountains where there were none. The three large steps you see each had parts of his palace on them. It was very impressive.

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.