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A Visit to Tell Dan
On a recent trip to Isreal, we visited the site of Tell Dan. While visiting the site we learned about all the history of this place. Most of us know Dan only for the fact that one of Jeroboam’s calves were placed at Dan. Come explore with us the complete story behind this city and discover why it is one of Israel’s most fascinating sites. It is really worth the visit.
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Who were the Essenes?
We have recently had a lot of exposure to a group of people called the Essenes. The majority view at the moment states that they were the people who lived at Wadi Qumran. They are believed to be the owners of the scrolls that were found in the Judean desert. They are also known for the fact that they did not use the lunar calendar but rather a solar calendar. This makes it clear that they did not follow the norm of the Pharisees and Sadducees of their time. Except for these two facts, what else do we know about this group? Did they have truth that we should be aware of? We will also investigate the potential links between Y´Shua and John the Baptist to the Essenes.
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Why care about the Dead Sea Scrolls?
Why should we care about a bunch of fragments that were discovered at Qumran? In this study we will investigate what was found in the caves in the Judean dessert and how the analysis of these documents impact our lives today. These documents teach us a lot about the history of our faith.
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Digging around in Israel
Whenever we travel to Israel for one of the feasts, we always look for something of interest to do. Traveling with our kids also means that we have to look for something that would interest them. However, in a country as rich in culture and history, it is not a difficult task. On one of these trips, we decided to give our kids a better understanding of what archeology is and what value it adds. After some searching, we found the ideal solution. We could join a group of professional archeologists who are busy excavating a site near Jerusalem. We would all join them in a physical dig! We ended up with a very pleasant and enlightening day that I am sure all the kids would remember. Let me share some of this with you.
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Noah’s Ark – Our trip to Turkey
During one of our recent visits to Israel, we decided to make an additional stop over in Turkey. It is claimed that there is a site in Turkey that could be the final resting place of Noah’s Ark. We have never been to Eastern Turkey and have heard good things, so we decided to include this in our trip. There exists today still a number of differing opinions regarding the validity of this site among the professionals, with good proof for and against the claim that this is the original resting place of Noah’s Ark. This is a trip report of what we saw during out visit.
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Who are the Samaritans?
Recently I saw the importance of context again when I was doing some Bible study. I wanted to get a good understanding of the changes that had happened in the world between the books of Malachi and Matthew. The purpose of this study was not to be a history lesson, but purely to understand how the people of Jerusalem went from a small group of people led by a High-Priest and Governor, serving under the Persians, to a mighty nation lead by the High-Priest, Pharisees, Sadducees and scribes under Roman rule. While studying the Persian period after Nehemiah and Ezra, I stumbled across a part in the book of Josephus that described the building of the temple on Mount Gerizim. This small bit of information lead me to a more complete study on the Samaritans. This provided me with lot more insight into two incidents in the Apostolic Scriptures. I have decided to write up this study as an example of how the context could lead us to a more complete understanding of the text.
