1.
Hebrew language
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Hebrew is a language native to Israel, spoken by over 9 million people worldwide, of whom over 5 million are in Israel. Historically, it is regarded as the language of the Israelites and their ancestors, the earliest examples of written Paleo-Hebrew date from the 10th century BCE. Hebrew belongs to the West Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic language family, Hebrew is the only living Canaanite language left, and the only truly successful example of a revived dead language. Hebrew had ceased to be a spoken language somewhere between 200 and 400 CE, declining since the aftermath of the Bar Kokhba revolt. Aramaic and to a lesser extent Greek were already in use as international languages, especially among elites and it survived into the medieval period as the language of Jewish liturgy, rabbinic literature, intra-Jewish commerce, and poetry. Then, in the 19th century, it was revived as a spoken and literary language, and, according to Ethnologue, had become, as of 1998, the language of 5 million people worldwide. After Israel, the United States has the second largest Hebrew-speaking population, with 220,000 fluent speakers, Modern Hebrew is one of the two official languages of the State of Israel, while premodern Hebrew is used for prayer or study in Jewish communities around the world today. Ancient Hebrew is also the tongue of the Samaritans, while modern Hebrew or Arabic is their vernacular. For this reason, Hebrew has been referred to by Jews as Leshon Hakodesh, the modern word Hebrew is derived from the word Ivri, one of several names for the Israelite people. It is traditionally understood to be a based on the name of Abrahams ancestor, Eber. This name is based upon the root ʕ-b-r meaning to cross over. Interpretations of the term ʕibrim link it to this verb, cross over, in the Bible, the Hebrew language is called Yәhudit because Judah was the surviving kingdom at the time of the quotation. In Isaiah 19,18 it is called the Language of Canaan, Hebrew belongs to the Canaanite group of languages. In turn, the Canaanite languages are a branch of the Northwest Semitic family of languages, according to Avraham ben-Yosef, Hebrew flourished as a spoken language in the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah during about 1200 to 586 BCE. Scholars debate the degree to which Hebrew was a vernacular in ancient times following the Babylonian exile. In July 2008 Israeli archaeologist Yossi Garfinkel discovered a ceramic shard at Khirbet Qeiyafa which he claimed may be the earliest Hebrew writing yet discovered, dating around 3000 years ago. The Gezer calendar also dates back to the 10th century BCE at the beginning of the Monarchic Period, classified as Archaic Biblical Hebrew, the calendar presents a list of seasons and related agricultural activities. The Gezer calendar is written in an old Semitic script, akin to the Phoenician one that through the Greeks, the Gezer calendar is written without any vowels, and it does not use consonants to imply vowels even in the places where later Hebrew spelling requires it
2.
Valley of Elah
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It was near Azekah and Socho. It marks the end of the valley, and forms a noted object. Rising up from the valley on its extreme south-east end lies the hilltop ruin, the Valley of Elah has gained new importance as a possible point of support for the argument that Israel was more than a tribal chiefdom in the time of King David. At Khirbet Qeiyafa, southwest of Jerusalem in the Elah Valley, the fortifications have been said to support the biblical account of the United Monarchy at the beginning of Iron Age II. Others are sceptical, and suggest it might represent either a Judahite or Canaanite fortress, in the late 19th century, Conder and Kitchener described the Elah valley as being one of the most fertile districts in Palestine. It is an open flat vale about half a mile across, and covered with corn, here and there large terebinths grow along its course, and solitary oak trees. On either side rise the stony hills covered with brushwood and wild growth, since the early 1970s, the valley has also contained a large satellite relay station, with an antenna farm containing some 120 satellite dishes of various sizes
3.
Beit Shemesh
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Beit Shemesh is a city located approximately 30 kilometres west of Jerusalem in Israels Jerusalem District, with a population of 103,922 in 2015. The history of Beit Shemesh goes back to pre-biblical times, the modern city of Beit Shemesh was founded in 1950. The ancient city of Beit Shemesh was originally named after the Canaanite sun-goddess Shemesh, the ruins of the ancient biblical city can still be seen at Tel Beth-Shemesh, a tell located near the modern city. In the Amarna letters Shamash is mentioned several times, along with Addu, as one of the greatest gods, the name Beth-Shemesh was shared by two other places in Palestine and one more in Egypt. Beit Shemesh is first mentioned in the Hebrew Bible in the Book of Joshua, in Joshua 21,16, this city was set aside as one of the 13 Kohanic cities for the priests of the tribe of Levi, the Kohanim. Another city by the name, Beit Shemesh, is later mentioned in Joshua 19,38. In the book of 2 Kings, Beit Shemesh is again mentioned as being the site of the battle between Amaziah king of Judea and Jehoash king of Israel, consequently, the small Arab towns of Dayr Raban and Dayr Rafat used rocks for building from this very ancient source. A monastery and other remains from the Byzantine period have been found on the tell, in the late 19th century, the site was used as a temporary harvest-time residence by local Arabs. The small mosque of Abu Mizar stood there, during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, the Egyptian army invaded the area and set up a fortified post, called Mishlat in Hebrew, on a hill overlooking Beit Shemesh, within the Arab-village Dayr Aban. The post changed hands several times during fighting, the Harel Brigade occupied part of the post for several months giving rise to the name the joint post or the Mishlat HaMeshutaf with 60 meters dividing them and the enemy forces. The Mishlat was finally taken by the Harel force in the Ha-Har offensive during the night of 19–20 October 1948, Beit Shemesh is the point from which the so-called Convoy of 35 set out to bring provisions to besieged Gush Etzion. On 15 January 1948 a group of 38 Palmach volunteers left Hartuv near Beit Shemesh, after one member of the group sprained his ankle, the group, now numbering 35, continued on its way. Their presence was discovered by two Arab women who encountered two scouts of the group near Surif, on 6 December 1950, the Hartuv displaced persons camp Maabarat Har-Tuv was established on the site of the current-day Moshav Naham. The first inhabitants were Jewish Bulgarian immigrants and they were joined by more Jewish immigrants from Bulgaria, Iran, Iraq, Romania, Morocco and Kurdistan. In 1952 the first permanent houses were built in Beit Shemesh, prior to 1948 the Ramat Beit Shemesh neighborhood area was the site belonging to the Arab village Bayt Nattif. This area is currently under dispute about preservation, having been the subject of a grassroots campaign, in its early years, Beit Shemesh came to typify the Development Town with a largely North African immigrant population. In 1977, following a writeup in Haaretz newspaper, Beit Shemesh was perceived as the main outpost for Menachem Begins Likud party and he promised to rehabilitate neighborhoods and when Likud came to power that year, investment in the city increased. The Israel Police maintains a bomb disposal specialist unit and training center in Beit Shemesh, when the city was built in the 1950s, it was initially settled by new immigrants from Iran, Iraq, Romania, Bulgaria, Morocco and Iraqi Kurdistan
4.
Israel
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Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in the Middle East, on the southeastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea and the northern shore of the Red Sea. The country contains geographically diverse features within its small area. Israels economy and technology center is Tel Aviv, while its seat of government and proclaimed capital is Jerusalem, in 1947, the United Nations adopted a Partition Plan for Mandatory Palestine recommending the creation of independent Arab and Jewish states and an internationalized Jerusalem. The plan was accepted by the Jewish Agency for Palestine, next year, the Jewish Agency declared the establishment of a Jewish state in Eretz Israel, to be known as the State of Israel. Israel has since fought several wars with neighboring Arab states, in the course of which it has occupied territories including the West Bank, Golan Heights and it extended its laws to the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem, but not the West Bank. Israels occupation of the Palestinian territories is the worlds longest military occupation in modern times, efforts to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict have not resulted in peace. However, peace treaties between Israel and both Egypt and Jordan have successfully been signed, the population of Israel, as defined by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, was estimated in 2017 to be 8,671,100 people. It is the worlds only Jewish-majority state, with 74. 8% being designated as Jewish, the countrys second largest group of citizens are Arabs, at 20. 8%. The great majority of Israeli Arabs are Sunni Muslims, including significant numbers of semi-settled Negev Bedouins, other minorities include Arameans, Armenians, Assyrians, Black Hebrew Israelites, Circassians, Maronites and Samaritans. Israel also hosts a significant population of foreign workers and asylum seekers from Africa and Asia, including illegal migrants from Sudan, Eritrea. In its Basic Laws, Israel defines itself as a Jewish, Israel is a representative democracy with a parliamentary system, proportional representation and universal suffrage. The prime minister is head of government and the Knesset is the legislature, Israel is a developed country and an OECD member, with the 35th-largest economy in the world by nominal gross domestic product as of 2016. The country benefits from a skilled workforce and is among the most educated countries in the world with one of the highest percentage of its citizens holding a tertiary education degree. The country has the highest standard of living in the Middle East and the third highest in Asia, in the early weeks of independence, the government chose the term Israeli to denote a citizen of Israel, with the formal announcement made by Minister of Foreign Affairs Moshe Sharett. The names Land of Israel and Children of Israel have historically used to refer to the biblical Kingdom of Israel. The name Israel in these phrases refers to the patriarch Jacob who, jacobs twelve sons became the ancestors of the Israelites, also known as the Twelve Tribes of Israel or Children of Israel. The earliest known artifact to mention the word Israel as a collective is the Merneptah Stele of ancient Egypt. The area is known as the Holy Land, being holy for all Abrahamic religions including Judaism, Christianity, Islam
5.
Aderet, Israel
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Aderet is a moshav in central Israel. Located in the Judean foothills in the Adullam region, south of Beit Shemesh, west of Gush Etzion and overlooking the Valley of Elah, in 2015 it had a population of 869. The moshav was founded in the early 1959 by immigrants from Romania, all of the initial settlers, however, left the site. In 1963, the government re-established the town and brought in immigrants from the Atlas Mountains in Morocco and its name was taken from Book of Ezekiel 17,8, meaning mighty in the phrase mighty vine, a symbol of reborn Israel. The name recalls the viticulture in the area, the residents were involved in poultry farming and other agricultural activities until the late 1980s, when the village evolved into a dormitory community for Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. In 1997 a new neighborhood was built, bringing the population to over 110 families, an additional building project started in late 2006 for seventy plots. There are two kindergartens located on the moshav, school-age children are bused outside the community mostly to either Alon Shvut or Rosh Tzurim. A pre-military mechina, open to religious and non-religious students, was founded after the year 2000. There are four synagogues in Aderet, and the rabbi is Moshe Dadon. In the vicinity of Aderet are a vineyard and number of sites from the Roman and Byzantine Eras, including the Atari
6.
Neve Michael
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Neve Michael is a moshav in central Israel. In 2015 it had a population of 630, the village was established on 29 July 1958 by Kurdish immigrants from Iran on farm land that had belonged to the depopulated Arab village of Bayt Nattif. The newly restructured Jewish National Fund, working in concert with Hitahdut HaIkarim, settled new immigrants on the site in 1958, giving to the place the name Roglit, meaning tiller. A newer regional community center built alongside it was given the name Neve Michael, in memory of American philanthropist, Michael M. Weiss, who was a donor to the Jewish National Fund. The newer section had an elementary school which catered to children from the surrounding communities of Roglit, Aderet and Aviezer. Today, the grounds of the old school serve as a home for the mentally retarded, when the new settlement of Neve Michael failed to attract new residents, the settlement of Neve Michael was merged with Roglit in 1983. A new Israel Border Police outpost was built in Neve Michael. The founders were joined by immigrants from North Africa, mainly Morocco, in 2005 the village started an expansion plan attracting many younger families to the moshav. The moshav has a population with people of different, ages, ethnic background. Within relatively short driving distances from the Moshav are the known as Adullam. Rogelit in Antiquity Archaeological Survey of Israel
7.
Roglit
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Neve Michael is a moshav in central Israel. In 2015 it had a population of 630, the village was established on 29 July 1958 by Kurdish immigrants from Iran on farm land that had belonged to the depopulated Arab village of Bayt Nattif. The newly restructured Jewish National Fund, working in concert with Hitahdut HaIkarim, settled new immigrants on the site in 1958, giving to the place the name Roglit, meaning tiller. A newer regional community center built alongside it was given the name Neve Michael, in memory of American philanthropist, Michael M. Weiss, who was a donor to the Jewish National Fund. The newer section had an elementary school which catered to children from the surrounding communities of Roglit, Aderet and Aviezer. Today, the grounds of the old school serve as a home for the mentally retarded, when the new settlement of Neve Michael failed to attract new residents, the settlement of Neve Michael was merged with Roglit in 1983. A new Israel Border Police outpost was built in Neve Michael. The founders were joined by immigrants from North Africa, mainly Morocco, in 2005 the village started an expansion plan attracting many younger families to the moshav. The moshav has a population with people of different, ages, ethnic background. Within relatively short driving distances from the Moshav are the known as Adullam. Rogelit in Antiquity Archaeological Survey of Israel
8.
Aviezer
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Aviezer is a small religious moshav in central Israel. Located nine kilometres south-west of Beit Shemesh, at the east end of the Elah valley, in 2015 it had a population of 847. The moshav was founded on 8 April 1958 by immigrants from Iran and by Cochin Jews from Kochi, being the chief ethnic constituent and it was later renamed after Aviezer Zigmond Gestetner, a former president of the Jewish National Fund in the United Kingdom. It was established on land belonging to the depopulated Arab village of Bayt Nattif, today, the site of Aviezer lies within the green-line of the 1949 Armistice Agreements
9.
Moshav
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Moshav is a type of Israeli town or settlement, in particular a type of cooperative agricultural community of individual farms pioneered by the Labour Zionists during the second wave of aliyah. A resident or a member of a moshav can be called a moshavnik, the moshavim are similar to kibbutzim with an emphasis on community labour. Workers produced crops and goods on their properties through individual and/or pooled labour and resources and used profit, moshavim are governed by an elected council. Community projects and facilities were financed by a special tax, there are several variants, of which the most common are, Moshav ovdim, a workers cooperative settlement. This is the more numerous type and relies on cooperative purchasing of supplies and marketing of produce, the family or household is, however, Moshav shitufi, a collective smallholders settlement that combines the economic features of a kibbutz with the social features of a moshav. Farming is done collectively and profits are shared equally and this form is closer to the collectivity of the kibbutz, although consumption is family- or household-based, production and marketing are collective. Unlike the moshav ovdim, land is not allotted to households or individuals, the first moshav, Nahalal, was established in the Jezreel Valley on September 11,1921. By 1986 about 156,700 Israelis lived and worked on 448 moshavim, for this reason, the moshav became largely a Mizrahi institution, whereas the kibbutz movement remained basically an Ashkenazi institution. Since the Six-Day War in 1967, both moshavim and kibbutzim have relied increasingly on outside—particularly Palestinian—labour, financial instabilities in the early 1980s hit many moshavim hard, as did their high birth rate and the problem of absorbing all the children who might wish to remain in the community. Federal Research Division, Library of Congress
10.
Hebrew Bible
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They are composed mainly in Biblical Hebrew, with some passages in Biblical Aramaic. The term does not comment upon the naming, numbering or ordering of books, the term Hebrew Bible is an attempt to provide specificity with respect to contents but avoid allusion to any particular interpretative tradition or theological school of thought. Hebrew Bible refers to the Jewish biblical canon, in its Latin form, Biblia Hebraica, it traditionally serves as a title for printed editions of the Masoretic Text. Many biblical studies scholars advocate use of the term Hebrew Bible as a substitute to terms with religious connotations. Hebrew Bible Old Testament without prescribing the use of either, however, he accepts that there is no reason why non-Christians should feel obliged to refer to these books as the Old Testament, apart from custom of use. Modern Christian formulations of this tension include Supersessionism, Covenant Theology, New Covenant Theology, Dispensationalism, in terms of canon, Christian usage of Old Testament does not refer to a universally agreed upon set of books but, rather, varies depending on denomination. The Hebrew Bible includes small portions in Aramaic, written and printed in Aramaic square-script, the books that constitute the Hebrew Bible developed over roughly a millennium. The oldest texts seem to come from the 11th or 10th centuries BCE and they are edited works, being collections of various sources intricately and carefully woven together. Since the 19th century, most biblical scholars have agreed that the Pentateuch consists of four sources which have been woven together and these four sources are J, D, E and P sources. They were combined to form the Pentateuch sometime in the 6th century BCE and this theory is now known as the documentary hypothesis, and has been the dominant theory for the past two hundred years. The Deuteronomist credited with the Pentateuchs book of Deuteronomy is also said to be the source of the books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, several editions, all titled Biblia Hebraica, have been produced by various German publishers since 1906. Between 1906 and 1955, Rudolf Kittel published nine editions of it,1966, the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft published the renamed Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia in six editions until 1997. Since 2004 the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft has published the Biblia Hebraica Quinta, other projects include, Hebrew University Bible Project Hebrew Bible, A Critical Edition Biblical canon Books of the Bible Non-canonical books referenced in the Bible Torah Brueggemann, Walter. An introduction to the Old Testament, the canon and Christian imagination, the People of Ancient Israel, an introduction to Old Testament Literature, History, and Thought, Harper and Row,1974. Sinai and Zion, An Entry into the Jewish Bible, archived from the original on 14 March 2012. The Ancient Near East, Volume I, Princeton, New Jersey, Princeton University Press. An abridgement of Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament Noth, how the Bible Became a Book. The Old Testament, A Literary History, hebrew-English Tanakh, the Jewish Bible Complete, fully vocalized, contilated, Masoretic text of the Hebrew Bible, together with the classic English translation by the Jewish Publication Society
11.
Canaan
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Canaan was a Semitic-speaking region in the Ancient Near East during the late 2nd millennium BC. The name Canaan occurs commonly in the Hebrew Bible, in particular, the references in Genesis 10 and Numbers 34 define the Land of Canaan as extending from Lebanon southward to the Brook of Egypt and eastward to the Jordan River Valley. References to Canaan in the Bible are usually backward-looking, referring to a region that had something else. The term Canaanites serves as an ethnic catch-all term covering various indigenous populations—both settled, the Amarna Letters and other cuneiform documents use Kinaḫḫu, while other sources of the Egyptian New Kingdom mention numerous military campaigns conducted in Ka-na-na. Canaan had significant geopolitical importance in the Late Bronze Age Amarna period as the area where the spheres of interest of the Egyptian, Hittite, Mitanni and Assyrian Empires converged. Much of the knowledge about Canaan stems from archaeological excavation in this area at sites such as Tel Hazor, Tel Megiddo. The English term Canaan comes from the Hebrew כנען, via Greek Χαναάν Khanaan and it appears as KUR ki-na-ah-na in the Amarna letters, and knʿn is found on coins from Phoenicia in the last half of the 1st millennium. It first occurs in Greek in the writings of Hecataeus as Khna, scholars connect the name Canaan with knʿn, Kanaan, the general Northwest Semitic name for this region. An early explanation derives the term from the Semitic root knʿ to be low, humble, purple cloth became a renowned Canaanite export commodity which is mentioned in Exodus. The dyes may have named after their place of origin. The purple cloth of Tyre in Phoenicia was well known far, however, according to Robert Drews, Speisers proposal has generally been abandoned. The Late Bronze Age state of Ugarit is considered quintessentially Canaanite archaeologically, Jonathan Tubb states that the term ga-na-na may provide a third millennium reference to Canaanite while at the same time stating that the first certain reference is in the 18th century BC. See Ebla-Biblical controversy for further details, Mari letters A letter from Mutu-bisir to Shamshi-Adad I of the Old Assyrian Empire has been translated, It is in Rahisum that the brigands and the Canaanites are situated. It was found in 1973 in the ruins of Mari, an Assyrian outpost at that time in Syria, additional unpublished references to Kinahnum in the Mari letters refer to the same episode. Alalakh texts A reference to Ammiya being in the land of Canaan is found on the Statue of Idrimi from Alalakh in modern Syria. After a popular uprising against his rule, Idrimi was forced into exile with his mothers relatives to seek refuge in the land of Canaan, the other references in the Alalakh texts are, AT154 AT181, A list of Apiru people with their origins. All are towns, except for Canaan AT188, A list of Muskenu people with their origins, the letters are written in the official and diplomatic East Semitic Akkadian language of Assyria and Babylonia, though Canaanitish words and idioms are also in evidence. May the king ask Yanhamu about these matters, may the king ask his commissioner, who is familiar with Canaan EA151, Letter from Abimilku to the Pharaoh, The king, my lord wrote to me, write to me what you have heard from Canaan
12.
Roman roads
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They provided efficient means for the overland movement of armies, officials, and civilians, and the inland carriage of official communications and trade goods. Roman roads were of several kinds, ranging from local roads to broad, long-distance highways built to connect cities, major towns. These major roads were often stone-paved and metaled, cambered for drainage and they were laid along accurately surveyed courses, and some were cut through hills, or conducted over rivers and ravines on bridgework. Sections could be supported over marshy ground on rafted or piled foundations, at the peak of Romes development, no fewer than 29 great military highways radiated from the capital, and the late Empires 113 provinces were interconnected by 372 great roads. The whole comprised more than 400,000 kilometres of roads, in Gaul alone, no less than 21,000 kilometres of roadways are said to have been improved, and in Britain at least 4,000 kilometres. The courses of many Roman roads survived for millennia, some are overlaid by modern roads, livy mentions some of the most familiar roads near Rome, and the milestones on them, at times long before the first paved road—the Appian Way. Unless these allusions are just simple anachronisms, the referred to were probably at the time little more than levelled earthen tracks. Thus, the Via Gabina is mentioned in about 500 BC, the Via Latina in about 490 BC, the Via Nomentana, in 449 BC, the Via Labicana in 421 BC, and the Via Salaria in 361 BC. There is hardly a district to which we expect a Roman official to be sent, on service either civil or military. They reach the Wall in Britain, run along the Rhine, the Danube, and the Euphrates, and cover, as with a network, a road map of the empire reveals that it was generally laced with a dense network of prepared viae. Beyond its borders there were no paved roads, however, it can be supposed that footpaths, there were, for instance, some pre-Roman ancient trackways in Britain, such as the Ridgeway and the Icknield Way. For specific roads, see Roman road locations below, the Laws of the Twelve Tables, dated to about 450 BC, specified that a road shall be 8 Roman feet wide where straight and twice that width where curved. Actual practices varied from this standard, the Tables command Romans to build roads and give wayfarers the right to pass over private land where the road is in disrepair. Roman law defined the right to use a road as a servitus, the ius eundi established a claim to use an iter, or footpath, across private land, the ius agendi, an actus, or carriage track. A via combined both types of servitutes, provided it was of the width, which was determined by an arbiter. The default width was the latitudo legitima of 8 feet, Roman law and tradition forbade the use of vehicles in urban areas, except in certain cases. Married women and government officials on business could ride, the Lex Iulia Municipalis restricted commercial carts to night-time access in the city within the walls and within a mile outside the walls. Such roads led either to the sea, or to a town, or to a public river and these roads bear the names of their constructors
13.
David
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David was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the second king of the United Kingdom of Israel and Judah, reigning in c. He is described as a man after Gods own heart in 1 Samuel 13,14 and Acts 13,22. The Hebrew prophets regarded him as the ancestor of the future messiah, the New Testament says he was an ancestor of Jesus. God is angered when Saul, Israels king, unlawfully offers a sacrifice and later disobeys a divine instruction to not only all of the Amalekites. Consequently, he sends the prophet Samuel to anoint David, the youngest son of Jesse of Bethlehem, God sends an evil spirit to torment Saul. Sauls courtiers recommend that he send for David, a man skillful on the lyre, wise in speech, and brave in battle. So David enters Sauls service as one of the royal armour-bearers, and plays the lyre to soothe the king, war comes between Israel and the Philistines, and the giant Goliath challenges the Israelites to send out a champion to face him in single combat. David, sent by his father to bring provisions to his brothers serving in Sauls army, refusing the kings offer of the royal armour, he kills Goliath with his sling. Saul inquires the name of the heros father. Saul sets David over his army, all Israel loves David, but his popularity causes Saul to fear him. Saul plots his death, but Sauls son Jonathan, one of those who loves David, warns him of his fathers schemes and David flees. He becomes a vassal of the Philistine king Achish of Gath, but Achishs nobles question his loyalty, Jonathan and Saul are killed, and David is anointed king over Judah. In the north, Sauls son Ish-Bosheth is anointed king of Israel, with the death of Sauls son, the elders of Israel come to Hebron and David is anointed king over all Israel. He conquers Jerusalem, previously a Jebusite stronghold, and makes it his capital. He brings the Ark of the Covenant to the city, intending to build a temple for God, Nathan also prophesies that God has made a covenant with the house of David, Your throne shall be established forever. David wins more victories over the Philistines, while the Moabites, Edomites, Amalekites, Ammonites, during a battle to conquer the Ammonite capital of Rabbah, David seduces Bathsheba and causes the death of her husband Uriah the Hittite. In response, Nathan prophesies the punishment that shall fall upon him, in fulfillment of these words Davids son Absalom rebels. The rebellion ends at the battle of the Wood of Ephraim, Absaloms forces are routed, and Absalom is caught by his long hair in the branches of a tree, and killed by Joab, contrary to Davids order. Joab was the commander of Davids army, David laments the death of his favourite son, O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom
14.
Goliath
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Post-Classical Jewish traditions stressed Goliaths status as the representative of paganism, in contrast to David, the champion of the God of Israel. Saul and the Israelites are facing the Philistines in the Valley of Elah, David, bringing food for his elder brothers, hears that Goliath had defied the armies of God and of the reward from Saul to the one that defeats him, and accepts the challenge. Saul reluctantly agrees and offers his armor, which David declines, taking only his staff, sling, David and Goliath confront each other, Goliath with his armor and javelin, David with his staff and sling. David hurls a stone from his sling with all his might and hits Goliath in the center of his forehead, Goliath falls on his face to the ground, the Philistines flee and are pursued by the Israelites as far as Gath and the gates of Ekron. David puts the armor of Goliath in his own tent and takes the head to Jerusalem, the king asks whose son he is, and David answers, I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite. The first edition of the history was written at the court of Judahs King Josiah. These signs indicate that the Goliath story is made up of base-narrative with numerous additions made probably after the exile, the biblical account describes Goliath as falling on his face after he is struck by a stone that sank into his forehead. British rabbi Jonathan Magonet has discussed some of the difficulties this raises. In the first place, he notes that archaeological information suggests that Philistine helmets generally had a forehead covering, why should David aim at such an impenetrable spot. And why should Goliath fall forward when struck by something heavy enough to stop him, an answer to both questions, Magonet suggests, lies in the Hebrew word meitzach, normally translated forehead. A word almost identical with it appears earlier in the passage—the word mitzchat, then David removed the head of Goliath to show all that the giant was killed. A Goliath makes another appearance in 2 Samuel 21,19, which tells how Goliath the Gittite was killed by Elhanan the son of Jaare-oregim, the Bethlehemite. The King James Bible translators adopted this into their translation of 2 Samuel 21, 18–19, most likely, storytellers displaced the deed from the otherwise obscure Elhanan onto the more famous character, David. Tell es-Safi, the biblical Gath and traditional home of Goliath, has been the subject of excavations by Israels Bar-Ilan University. The archaeologists have established that this was one of the largest of the Philistine cities until destroyed in the ninth century BC, a potsherd discovered at the site, and reliably dated to the tenth to mid-ninth centuries BC, is inscribed with the two names alwt and wlt. The name Goliath itself is non-Semitic and has linked with the Lydian king Alyattes. The underlying purpose of the story of Goliath is to show that Saul is not fit to be king. Saul was chosen to lead the Israelites against their enemies, but when faced with Goliath he refuses to do so, Goliath is a giant, and Saul is a very tall man
15.
Genesis (Hebrew Bible)
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The Book of Genesis is the first book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. The basic narrative expresses the theme, God creates the world and appoints man as his regent. The new post-Flood world is also corrupt, God does not destroy it, instead calling one man, Abraham, to be the seed of its salvation. At Gods command Abraham descends from his home into the land of Canaan, given to him by God, Genesis ends with Israel in Egypt, ready for the coming of Moses and the Exodus. The narrative is punctuated by a series of covenants with God, the books author or authors appear to have structured it around ten toledot sections, but modern commentators see it in terms of a primeval history followed by the cycle of Patriarchal stories. In Judaism, the importance of Genesis centers on the covenants linking God to his chosen people. It is not clear, however, what this meant to the original authors, while the first is far shorter than the second, it sets out the basic themes and provides an interpretive key for understanding the entire book. The primeval history has a symmetrical structure hinging on chapters 6–9, God creates the world in six days and consecrates the seventh as a day of rest. God creates the first humans Adam and Eve and all the animals in the Garden of Eden but instructs them not to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. A talking serpent portrayed as a creature or trickster, entices Eve into eating it anyway. Eve bears two sons, Cain and Abel, Cain kills Abel after God accepts Abels offering but not Cains. Eve bears another son, Seth, to take Abels place, after many generations of Adam have passed from the lines of Cain and Seth, the world becomes corrupted by the sin of man and Nephilim, and God determines to wipe out mankind. First, he instructs the righteous Noah and his family to build a huge boat, then God sends a great flood to wipe out the rest of the world. When the waters recede, God promises that he not destroy the world a second time with water with the rainbow as the symbol of his promise. But upon seeing mankind cooperating to build a great tower city, God instructs Abram to travel from his home in Mesopotamia to the land of Canaan. Abrams name is changed to Abraham and that of his wife Sarai to Sarah, because Sarah is old, she tells Abraham to take her Egyptian handmaiden, Hagar, as a second wife. God resolves to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah for the sins of their people, Abraham protests and gets God to agree not to destroy the cities if 10 righteous men can be found. Angels save Abrahams nephew Lot and his family, but his wife back on the destruction against their command and is turned into a pillar of salt
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Rehoboam
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Rehoboam was an Israelite king mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. He was a son of Solomon and a grandson of David and his mother was Naamah the Ammonite. One of the most difficult issues in identifying Shishak with Shoshenq I is the statement that King Shishak of Egypt attacked Jerusalem. Solomons wisdom and power were not sufficient to prevent the rebellion of several of his border cities, Damascus under Rezon secured its independence of Solomon, and Jeroboam, a superintendent of works, his ambition stirred by the words of the prophet Ahijah, fled to Egypt. Thus before the death of Solomon the apparently unified kingdom of David began to disintegrate, with Damascus independent and a powerful man of Ephraim, the most prominent of the Ten Tribes, awaiting his opportunity, the future of Solomons kingdom became dubious. Conventional Bible chronology dates the start of Rehoboams reign to the mid-10th century BC and his reign is described in 1 Kings 12 and 14, 21-31 and in 2 Chronicles 10-12 In the Hebrew Bible, Rehoboam was 41 years old when he ascended the throne. The assembly for the coronation of Solomons successor, Rehoboam, was called at Shechem, before the coronation took place the assembly requested certain reforms in the policy followed by Rehoboams father, Solomon. The reforms requested would materially reduce the royal exchequer and hence its power to continue the magnificence of Solomons court, the older men counseled Rehoboam at least to speak to the people in a civil manner. However, the new king sought the advice from the people he had grown up with, who advised the king to show no weakness to the people, and to tax them even more, which Rehoboam did. He proclaimed to the people, Whereas my father laid upon you a heavy yoke, Whereas my father chastised you with whips, so shall I chastise you with scorpions. For my littlest finger is thicker than my fathers loins, and your backs, the two sections had acted independently until David, by his victories, succeeded in uniting all the tribes, though the Ephraimitic jealousy was ever ready to develop into open revolt. The building of the Temple was a blow for the various sanctuaries scattered through the land. Josephus makes the rebels exclaim, We leave to Rehoboam the Temple his father built, Jeroboam and the people rebelled, with the ten northern tribes breaking away and forming a separate kingdom. The new breakaway kingdom continued to be called Kingdom of Israel, the realm Rehoboam was left with was called Kingdom of Judah. Rehoboam went to war against the new Kingdom of Israel with a force of 180,000 soldiers, however, he was advised against fighting his brethren, and so returned to Jerusalem. The text reports that Israel and Judah were in a state of war throughout his 17-year reign, in the 5th year of Rehoboams reign Shishaq, king of Egypt, brought a huge army and took many cities. According to Joshua, son of Nadav, the mention in 2 Chron,11,6 sqq. that Rehoboam built fifteen fortified cities, indicates that the attack was not unexpected. The account in Chronicles states that Shishaq marched with 1,200 chariots,60,000 horsemen and troops who came with him from Egypt, Libyans, Sukkites, shishaqs armies captured all of the fortified towns leading to Jerusalem between Gezer and Gibeon
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Egypt
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Egypt, officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia by a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. Egypt is a Mediterranean country bordered by the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Gulf of Aqaba to the east, the Red Sea to the east and south, Sudan to the south, and Libya to the west. Across the Gulf of Aqaba lies Jordan, and across from the Sinai Peninsula lies Saudi Arabia, although Jordan and it is the worlds only contiguous Afrasian nation. Egypt has among the longest histories of any country, emerging as one of the worlds first nation states in the tenth millennium BC. Considered a cradle of civilisation, Ancient Egypt experienced some of the earliest developments of writing, agriculture, urbanisation, organised religion and central government. One of the earliest centres of Christianity, Egypt was Islamised in the century and remains a predominantly Muslim country. With over 92 million inhabitants, Egypt is the most populous country in North Africa and the Arab world, the third-most populous in Africa, and the fifteenth-most populous in the world. The great majority of its people live near the banks of the Nile River, an area of about 40,000 square kilometres, the large regions of the Sahara desert, which constitute most of Egypts territory, are sparsely inhabited. About half of Egypts residents live in areas, with most spread across the densely populated centres of greater Cairo, Alexandria. Modern Egypt is considered to be a regional and middle power, with significant cultural, political, and military influence in North Africa, the Middle East and the Muslim world. Egypts economy is one of the largest and most diversified in the Middle East, Egypt is a member of the United Nations, Non-Aligned Movement, Arab League, African Union, and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. Miṣr is the Classical Quranic Arabic and modern name of Egypt. The name is of Semitic origin, directly cognate with other Semitic words for Egypt such as the Hebrew מִצְרַיִם, the oldest attestation of this name for Egypt is the Akkadian
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Book of Micah
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The Book of Micah is a prophetic book in the Tanakh / Old Testament, and the sixth of the twelve minor prophets. It records the sayings of Micah, whose name is Mikayahu, an 8th-century B. C. prophet from the village of Moresheth in Judah. The book has three divisions, chapters 1–2, 3–5 and 6–7, each introduced by the word Hear, with a pattern of alternating announcements of doom. At the broadest level, Micah can be divided into three equal parts, Judgment against the nations and their leaders Restoration of Zion, Gods lawsuit against Israel. Samaria and Jerusalem are given prominence as the foci of the prophet’s attention, Judgment against Samaria, Drawing upon ancient traditions for depicting a theophany, the prophet depicts the coming of Yahweh to punish the city, whose sins are idolatry and the abuse of the poor. Warnings to the cities of Judah, Samaria has fallen, Judah is next, Micah describes the destruction of the lesser towns of Judah. For these passages of doom on the cities, the device paronomasia is used. Paronomasia is a device which plays on the sound of each word for literary effect. For example, the inhabitants of Beth-le-aphrah are told to “roll yourselves in the dust. ”Though most of the Paronomasia is lost in translation, it is the equivalent of ‘Ashdod shall be but ashes, ’ where the fate of the city matches its name. Misuse of power denounced, Denounces those who appropriate the land, the context may be simply the amassing wealth for its own sake, or could be connected with the militarisation of the region for the expected Assyrian attack. Threats against the prophet, The prophet is warned not to prophesy and he answers that the rulers are harming Gods people, and want to listen only to those who advocate the virtues of wine. A later promise, These verses assume that judgement has already fallen, Judgment on wicked Zion, Israels rulers are accused of gaining more wealth at the expense of the poor, by any means. The metaphor of flesh being torn illustrates the length to which the classes and socialites would go to further increase their wealth. Prophets are corrupt, seeking personal gain, jerusalems rulers believe that God will always be with them, but God will be with his people, and Jerusalem will be destroyed. Zions future hope This is a passage, almost identical with Isaiah 2. Zion will be rebuilt, but by God, and based not on violence and corruption but on the desire to learn Gods laws, further promises to Zion This is another later passage, promising Zion that she will once more enjoy her former independence and power. Despite their trials, God will not desert his people, the promised ruler from Bethlehem, This passage is usually dated to the exile. Assyria will be stricken, and Israels punishment will lead to the punishment of the nations, Micah then responds by that God requires only to do justice, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God
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Gath (city)
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Gath, Gat, or Geth, often referred to as Gath of the Philistines, was one of the five Philistine city-states, established in northwestern Philistia. Gath is often mentioned in the Hebrew Bible and its existence is confirmed by Egyptian inscriptions, Gath is mentioned in the El-Amarna letters as Gimti/Gintu, ruled by the two Shuwardata and ʿAbdi-Ashtarti. Another Gath, known as Ginti-kirmil also appears in the Amarna letters, Gath is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible as one of the main five Philistine cities. It was one of the last refuges of the Anakim in front of the conquering Israelites under Joshua. Gath was either subdued during the days of prophet Samuel, or by king David, although 1 Kings 2, 39-40 states that in the time of king Solomon it was still ruled by a Philistine king named Achish. King Achish is mentioned as the ruler of Gath for the times of Saul, David and Solomon, Gath was also the home city of Goliath and his brothers, as well as of Itai and his 600 soldiers who aided David in his exile from Absalom. David, while running from Saul, escaped to Gath, during Solomons reign, Shemei goes to Gath to recover his escaped slave. In 2 Kings 12,18, the city of Gath is mentioned as being captured by Hazael of Aram Damascus, a tradition reported by Ishtori Haparchi and other early Jewish writers is that Ramla was the biblical Gath of the Philistines. Earlier, Mazar had proposed that ancient Gath lay at a site called Ras Abu Hamid east of Ramla, avi-Yonah, however, considered that to be a different Gath, usually now called Gath-Gittaim. This view is supported by other scholars, those holding that there was. The 19th-century scholar Edward Robinson proposed that Gath be identified with Tell es-Safi, albright suggested another site, Tell Areini which, despite some opposition, was accepted to the point that the Israel Government Names Committee renamed it as Tel Gat in 1953. Attention then returned to Tell es-Safi, and it is now again the most favored site as the location of Gath. Tell es-Safi and Tel Zafit are Arabic and Hebrew names for the ancient mound now popularly identified as Gath, one of the five cities in the ancient Canaanite and Philistine Pentapolis. Although first noted by explorers in the mid-19th century CE, macalister, extensive exploration of the site was not conducted until 1996, when a long-term project was commenced at the site, directed by Aren Maeir of Bar-Ilan University, Israel. The site was inhabited from Proto-Historic through Modern times, during the Early Bronze Age there is evidence of a large urban site, apparently similar to other EB III urban sites in southern Canaan, such as nearby Tel Yarmut. Scant evidence of this period was found on the tell in the form of stray sherds, in the vicinity of the tell evidence of tombs and possible domestic activities were found. Finds from the MB IIB were found on parts of the tell in the survey. Recently, in the 2006 season, evidence of an impressive MB IIB fortification was found in the vicinity of the summit of the tell, comprising a stone wall/tower and a packed earth rampart/glacis
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Books of Samuel
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According to Jewish tradition the book was written by Samuel, with additions by the prophets Gad and Nathan, modern scholarly thinking is that the entire history was composed in the period c. 630–540 BC by combining a number of independent texts of various ages, Samuel begins with the prophet Samuels birth and Gods call to him as a boy. The story of the Ark of the Covenant that follows tells of Israels oppression by the Philistines, but Saul proved unworthy and Gods choice turned to David, who defeated Israels enemies and brought the Ark to Jerusalem. God then promised David and his successors an everlasting dynasty, the childless Hannah vows to Yahweh of hosts that if she has a son, he will be dedicated to him. Eli, the priest of Shiloh, blesses her, and a child named Samuel is born, Samuel is dedicated to the Lord as a Nazirite – the only one beside Samson to be identified in the Bible. Elis sons, Hophni and Phinehas, prove unworthy of the priesthood and are killed in battle during the Battle of Aphek, the Philistines capture the Ark of the Covenant from Shiloh and take it to the temple of their god Dagon, who recognises the supremacy of Yahweh. The Philistines are afflicted with plagues and return the ark to the Israelites, the Philistines attack the Israelites gathered at Mizpah in Benjamin. Samuel appeals to Yahweh, the Philistines are decisively beaten, in Samuels old age, he appoints his sons as judges, but they are unworthy, and so the people clamour for a king. God reluctantly accedes and gives them Saul of the tribe of Benjamin, Saul defeats the enemies of the Israelites, but sins against Yahweh. Yahweh tells Samuel to anoint David of Bethlehem as king, and David enters Sauls court as his armour-bearer, Sauls son and heir Jonathan befriends David and recognises him as rightful king. Saul plots Davids death, but David flees into the wilderness, David joins the Philistines, but continues secretly to champion his own people, until Saul and Jonathan are killed in battle at Mount Gilboa. At this point, David offers a eulogy, where he praises the bravery. The elders of Judah anoint David as king, but in the north Sauls son Ishbaal rules over the northern tribes. After a long war Ishbaal is murdered by Rechab and Baanah, David is then anointed King of all Israel. David captures Jerusalem and brings the Ark there, David wishes to build a temple, but Nathan tells him that one of Davids sons will be the one to build the temple. David defeats the enemies of Israel, slaughtering Philistines, Moabites, Edomites, David commits adultery with Bathsheba and plots the death of her husband, Uriah the Hittite, for this Yahweh sends disasters against his house. The prophet Nathan tells David that the sword shall never depart from his house, for the remainder of his reign there are problems. Absalom kills Amnon, rebels against his father, and is killed following the Battle of the Wood of Ephraim, finally only two contenders for the succession remain, Adonijah and Bathshebas son Solomon
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Saul
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Saul, according to the Hebrew Bible, was the first king of the Kingdom of Israel and Judah. His reign, traditionally placed in the late 11th century BCE, Sauls life and reign are described in the Hebrew Bible. He was anointed by the prophet Samuel and reigned from Gibeah and he fell on his sword to avoid capture in the battle against the Philistines at Mount Gilboa, during which three of his sons were also killed. The succession to his throne was contested by Ish-bosheth, his surviving son, and his son-in-law David. A similar yet different account of Sauls life may be given in the Quran, according to the New Testament account, Saul reigned for a period of forty years. The Biblical accounts of Sauls life are found in the Books of Samuel, the narrative contains various internal inconsistencies, to the point that his biography is often embarrassingly confusing. According to the Tanakh, Saul was the son of Kish, of the family of the Matrites, and it appears that he came from Gibeah. Saul married Ahinoam, daughter of Ahimaaz and they had four sons and two daughters. The sons were Jonathan, Abinadab, Malchishua and Ish-bosheth and their daughters were named Merab and Michal. Saul also had a concubine named Rizpah, daughter of Aiah, Saul died at the Battle of Mount Gilboa, and was buried in Zelah, in the region of Benjamin. Three of Sauls sons – Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Malchishua – died with him at Mount Gilboa, Ish-bosheth became king of Israel, at the age of forty. At Davids request Abner had Michal returned to David, Ish-bosheth reigned for two years, but after the death of Abner, was killed by two of his own captains. Armoni and Mephibosheth were given by David along with the five sons of Merab to the Gibeonites, the only male descendant of Saul to survive was Mephibosheth, Jonathans lame son, who had been five when his father and grandfather Saul had died in battle. In time, he came under the protection of David, Mephibosheth had a young son, Micah, who had four sons and descendants named until the ninth generation. The Books of Samuel give three differing accounts of Sauls rise to the throne, Saul is sent with a servant to look for his fathers strayed donkeys. Leaving his home at Gibeah, they arrive at the district of Zuph. Sauls servant tells him that they happen to be near the town of Ramah, where a famous seer is located, the seer offers hospitality to Saul and later anoints him in private. A popular movement having arisen to establish a centralized monarchy like other nations, after having been chosen as monarch, Saul returns to his home in Gibeah, along with a number of followers
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Judas Maccabeus
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Judah Maccabee was a Jewish priest and a son of the priest Mattathias. He led the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire, the Jewish feast of Hanukkah commemorates the restoration of Jewish worship at the temple in Jerusalem in 164 BCE, after Judah Maccabee removed the Hellenistic statuary. Judah was the son of Mattathias the Hasmonean, a Jewish priest from the village of Modiin. After Mattathiass death in 166 BCE, Judah assumed leadership of the revolt in accordance with the disposition of his father. The First Book of Maccabees praises Judahs valor and military talent, in the early days of the rebellion, Judah received a surname Maccabee. Several explanations have been put forward for this surname, one suggestion is that the name derives from the Aramaic maqqaba, hammer or sledgehammer, in recognition of his ferocity in battle. It is also possible that the name Maccabee is an acronym for the Torah verse Mi kamokha baelim Adonai, Who among the gods is like you, rabbi Moshe Schreiber writes that it is an acronym for his fathers name Mattityahu Kohen Ben Yochanan. Some scholars maintain that the name is a form of the Hebrew maqqab-ya ¯hû. The strategy enabled Judah to win a string of victories, at the battle of Nahal el-Haramiah, he defeated a small Seleucid force under the command of Apollonius, governor of Samaria, who was killed. Judah took possession of Apolloniuss sword and used it until his death as a symbol of vengeance, after Nahal el-Haramiah, recruits flocked to the Jewish cause. Shortly thereafter, Judah routed a larger Seleucid army under the command of Seron near Beth-Horon, then in the Battle of Emmaus, Judah proceeded to defeat the Seleucid forces led by generals Nicanor and Gorgias. This force was dispatched by Lysias, whom Antiochus left as viceroy after departing on a campaign against the Parthians, by a forced night march, Judah succeeded in eluding Gorgias, who had intended to attack and destroy the Jewish forces in their camp with his cavalry. While Gorgias was searching for him in the mountains, Judah made an attack upon the Seleucid camp. The Seleucid commander had no alternative but to withdraw to the coast, the defeat at Emmaus convinced Lysias that he must prepare for a serious and prolonged war. He accordingly assembled a new and larger army and marched with it on Judea from the south via Idumea, after several years of conflict Judah drove out his foes from Jerusalem, except for the garrison in the citadel of Acra. He purified the defiled Temple of Jerusalem and on the 25th of Kislev restored the service in the Temple, the reconsecration of the Temple became a permanent Jewish holiday, Hanukkah, which continued even after the Temple was destroyed in 70 CE. The liberation of Jerusalem was the first step on the road to ultimate independence, upon hearing the news that the Jewish communities in Gilead, Transjordan, and Galilee were under attack by neighboring Greek cities, Judah immediately went to their aid. He personally led the campaign in Transjordan, taking him his brother Jonathan
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Edom
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Edom is the name of a country and a people located initially in Transjordan, between Ammon to the north, the Dead Sea and the Arabah to the west, and the Arabian desert to the south and east. Edom is a used in written sources relating to the late Bronze Age and to the entire Iron Age in the Levant, such as the Hebrew Bible. In classical antiquity the cognate name Idumea was used to refer to an area in the same general region. Edom is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, but also in a list of the Egyptian pharaoh Seti I from c.1215 BC, the Edomites, who have been identified archaeologically, were a Semitic people who probably arrived in the region around the 14th century BC. Archaeological investigation showed that the country flourished between the 13th and 8th centuries BC, and was destroyed after a period of decline in the 6th century BC by the Babylonians. Once pushed out of their territory, the Edomites settled during the Persian period in an area comprising the hills of Judea down to the area north of Beer Sheva. Here the people appear under the form of their old name, as Idumeans or Idumaeans, and their new territory is called Idumea or Idumaea. The Hebrew word Edom means red, and is derived from the name of its founder, whose name was Esau. Later, as an adult, he sold his birthright to his brother Jacob for red pottage. The Tanakh describes the Edomites as descendants of Esau, the Edomites may have been connected with the Shasu and Shutu, nomadic raiders mentioned in Egyptian sources. The earliest Iron Age settlements—possibly copper mining camps—date to the 9th century BC, settlement intensified by the late 8th century BC and the main sites so far excavated have been dated between the 8th and 6th centuries BC. This occurred after the Hebrew prophet Isaiah had earlier quoted Yahweh as pronouncing that Edom was marked for destruction, another scriptural reference from Ezekiel chapter 35 foretells that Edom will be completely destroyed. According to the Egyptian inscriptions, the Aduma at times extended their possessions to the borders of Egypt, after the conquest of Judah by the Babylonians, Edomites settled in the region of Hebron. They prospered in this new country, called by the Greeks and Romans Idumaea or Idumea, the Edomites original country, according to the Hebrew Bible, stretched from the Sinai peninsula as far as Kadesh Barnea. Southward it reached as far as Eilat, which was the seaport of Edom, on the north of Edom was the territory of Moab. The boundary between Moab and Edom was the Wadi Zered, the ancient capital of Edom was Bozrah. According to Genesis, Esaus descendants settled in land after displacing the Horites. It was also called the land of Seir, Mount Seir appears to have been identified with them
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Claude Reignier Conder
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Claude Reignier Conder was an English soldier, explorer and antiquarian. He was a great-great-grandson of Louis-François Roubiliac, Conder was educated at University College London and the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. He became a lieutenant in the Corps of Royal Engineers in 1870 and he retired with the rank of colonel in 1904. Conder joined the expedition to Egypt in 1882, under Sir Garnet Wolseley and he was appointed a deputy assistant adjutant and quartermaster-general on the staff of the intelligence department. In Egypt his perfect knowledge of Arabic and of Eastern people proved most useful and he was present at the action of Kassassin, the Battle of Tel el-Kebir, and the advance to Cairo, but then, seized with typhoid fever, he was invalided home. For his services he received the war medal with clasp for Tel el-Kebir, the Khedives bronze star, the work of surveying the country of Palestine commenced again only in late February 1877, without Conder. Conder was first proposed as a candidate for the Jack the Ripper murders by the author Tom Slemen. H, Kitchener, The Survey of Western Palestine, memoirs of the topography, orography, hydrography, and archaeology. London, Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund, vol 1 The full text, archive. org, Can download PDF. Conder, Claude Reignier and H. H. Kitchener, The Survey of Western Palestine, memoirs of the topography, orography, hydrography, London, Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund. Vol 2 The full text, archive. org, Can download PDF, Conder, Claude Reignier and H. H. Kitchener, The Survey of Western Palestine, memoirs of the topography, orography, hydrography, and archaeology. London, Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund, vol 3 The full text, archive. org, Can download PDF. Measuring Jerusalem, the Palestine Exploration Fund and British interests in the Holy Land, la fortaleza de Herodes y el último bastión de los Zelotes
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Beth-zur
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Beth-Zur is a biblical site of historic and archaeological importance in the mountains of Hebron in southern Judea, now part of the West Bank. Beth Zur is mentioned several times in the Hebrew Bible and the writings of the Roman Jewish historian Josephus, the Battle of Beth-Zur took place here in 164 BCE. Beth-Zur has been identified with the site of Khirbet et-Tubeiqa, the name Beth-Zur means house of rock, or less likely house of the god Zur. Beth-Zur is mentioned in Joshua as being near Halhul and Gedor, rehoboam is credited with its fortification. The Prophet Nehemiah is said to have been the ruler of a district of the same name. The settlement continued into the Iron Age, and a coin inscribed the governor Hezekiah attests to the existence of Beth-Zur during the Persian period. Betsoura, as the Greeks called the town, reached a peak of prosperity during the Hellenistic period, a citadel was built at Betsoura during the 3rd century BCE, when a series of wars between the Seleucid Empire and the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt rocked the region. In 164 BC, during the Maccabean wars, the Battle of Beth-Zur was fought here, the site’s importance lay in its strategic location on a hilltop dominating the highway, preventing the approach of a hostile army from the Valley of Elah to the Judean plateau. Josephus describes Beth-Zur as the mightiest stronghold in Judea, the battle was the confrontation between the Seleucid Greek general Lysias and the Maccabees, led by Judas Maccabeus, resulting in the defeat of Lysias and his forces. This victory was followed by the recapture of Jerusalem by the Maccabees, the key to the battle was the exploitation of the natural terrain and fortifications. Once victorious, Judas rebuilt the old Middle Bronze Age ramparts, the fortified town then changed hands repeatedly until regaining the peaceful character lost during the Maccabean Wars, under the reign of John Hyrcanus. However, by 100 BCE the town had been fully abandoned, Beth-Zur was inhabited in the lifetimes of Eusebius, who mentions it as the village of Bethsoro, and of Jerome. Khirbet Burj as-Sur, the site at Beth-Zur, has the Palestine grid coordinates 1594.1104. The ruins of a stand near the main road between Jerusalem and Hebron, approximately 4 miles north of Hebron. The western wall, the most visible remnant of the building, is standing to a height of 9.5 m, beithsur or Bethsura, as the Crusaders called Beth-Zur, was given in 1136 to the Hospitallers by the lord of Hebron
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Ashdod
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Ashdod is the sixth-largest city and the largest port in Israel accounting for 60% of the countrys imported goods. Ashdod is located in the Southern District of the country, on the Mediterranean coast where it is situated between Tel Aviv to the north and Ashkelon to the south, Jerusalem is 53 km to the east. The city is also an important regional industrial center and this article is dealing with both these historic towns and other ancient sites now located within the territory of modern Ashdod. The first documented settlement at Ashdod dates to the Canaanite culture of the 17th century BCE. Ashdod is mentioned 13 times in the Bible, during its pre-1956 history the city was settled by Philistines, Israelites, Greek colonists coming in the wake of Alexanders conquests, Romans and Byzantines, Arabs, Crusaders, and Ottoman Turks. Modern Ashdod was established in 1956 on the hills near the site of the ancient town. Being a planned city, expansion followed a main development plan, according to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, Ashdod had a population of 220,174 in 2015, with an area of 47,242 dunams. Three stone tools dating from the Neolithic era were discovered, but no evidence of a Stone Age settlement in Ashdod was found. The site of Ashdod in the Bronze Age and Iron Ages was at a tell just south of the modern city and it was excavated by archaeologists in nine seasons between 1962 and 1972. The effort was led during the first few years by David Noel Freedman of the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, the remaining seasons were headed by Dothan for the Israel Antiquities Authority. The earliest major habitation in Ashdod dates to the 17th century BCE, Ashdod is first mentioned in written documents from Late Bronze Age Ugarit, which indicate that the city was a center of export for dyed woolen purple fabric and garments. At the end of the 13th century BCE the Sea Peoples conquered and destroyed Ashdod, by the beginning of the 12th century BCE, the Philistines, generally thought to have been one of the Sea Peoples, ruled the city. During their reign, the city prospered and was a member of the Philistine Pentapolis, in 950 BCE Ashdod was destroyed during Pharaoh Siamuns conquest of the region. The city was not rebuilt until at least 815 BCE, asdûdu led the revolt of Philistines, Judeans, Edomites, and Moabites against Assyria after expulsion of king Ahimiti, whom Sargon had installed instead of his brother Azuri. Gath belonged to the kingdom of Ashdod at that time, assyrian king Sargon IIs commander-in-chief, whom the King James Bible calls simply Tartan, Isaiah 20,1 regained control of Ashdod in 712/711 BCE and forced the usurper Yamani to flee. Sargons general destroyed the city and exiled its residents, including some Israelites who were settled in Media. Mitinti was king at the time of Sargons son Sennacherib, psamtik I of Egypt is reported to have besieged the great city Azotus for twenty-nine years, the biblical references to the remnant of Ashdod are interpreted as allusions to this event. The city absorbed another blow in 605 BCE, when Nebuchadnezzar conquered it, in 539 BCE the city was rebuilt by the Persians
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Adullam Grove Nature Reserve
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Adullam Grove Nature Reserve is a nature reserve in central Israel, south of Beit Shemesh, managed by the Israel Nature and National Parks Protection Authority. The reserve was established in 1994, covering 5,380 dunams and was extended to include another 1,152 dunams in 2004, the reserve was declared in order to protect Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub that grow naturally in the area. Horvat Midras or Khirbet Midras, sometimes spelled Madras, dated to the 10th century BCE until approximately the 4th century CE, is located within the boundaries of the reserve. Burial caves, hiding tunnels and caves used during the Bar Kokhba revolt in 132-135 CE, a columbarium, flora include Buckthorn trees, Oak trees, Greek Strawberry trees, Pistacia lentiscus trees, and various types of Cistus and Hyssop. Adullam Cave of Adullam profile on The Israel Nature and Parks Authority website
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Jewish National Fund
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The Jewish National Fund was founded in 1901 to buy and develop land in Ottoman Palestine for Jewish settlement. The JNF is a non-profit organization, by 2007, it owned 13% of the total land in Israel. Since its inception, the JNF says it has planted over 240 million trees in Israel and it has also built 180 dams and reservoirs, developed 250,000 acres of land and established more than 1,000 parks. In 2002, the JNF was awarded the Israel Prize for lifetime achievement and special contribution to society, the JNF was founded at the Fifth Zionist Congress in Basel in 1901 with Theodor Herzls support based on the proposal of a German Jewish mathematician, Zvi Hermann Schapira. Early land purchases were completed in Judea and the Lower Galilee, in 1909, the JNF played a central role in the founding of Tel Aviv. The establishment of the “Olive Tree Fund” marked the beginning of Diaspora support of afforestation efforts, the Blue Box has been part of the JNF since its inception, symbolizing the partnership between Israel and the Diaspora. In the period between the two wars, about one million of these blue and white tin collection boxes could be found in Jewish homes throughout the world. From 1902 until the late 1940s, the JNF sold JNF stamps to raise money, for a brief period in May 1948, JNF stamps were used as postage stamps during the transition from Palestine to Israel. The first parcel of land,200 dunams east of Hadera, was received as a gift from the Russian Zionist leader Isaac Leib Goldberg of Vilnius, in 1904 and 1905, the JNF purchased land plots near the Sea of Galilee and at Ben Shemen. In 1921, JNF land holdings reached 25,000 acres, at the end of 1935, JNF held 89,500 acres of land housing 108 Jewish communities. In 1939, 10% of the Jewish population of the British Mandate of Palestine lived on JNF land, JNF holdings by the end of the British Mandate period amounted to 936 km². By 1948, the JNF owned 54% of the held by Jews in the region. By the eve of statehood, the JNF had acquired a total of 936,000 dunums of land, most of the JNFs activities during the Mandatory period were closely associated with Yossef Weitz, the head of its settlement department. From the beginning, JNFs policy was to lease land long-term rather than sell it, after Israels establishment in 1948, the government began to sell absentee lands to the JNF. On January 27,1949,1,000 km² of land was sold to the JNF for the price of I£11 million, another 1,000 km² of land was sold to the JNF in October 1950. Over the years questions about the legitimacy of these transactions have been raised, in 1953, the JNF was dissolved and re-organized as an Israeli company under the name Keren Kayemet LeYisrael. In 1960, administration of the held by the JNF-KKL, apart from forested areas, was transferred to a newly formed government agency. The ILA was then responsible for managing some 93% of the land of Israel, all the land managed by the ILA was defined as Israeli lands, it included both land owned by the government and land owned by the JNF-KKL
29.
Hevel Lakhish
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Hevel Lakhish is an area of south-central Israel. Part of the southern Shephelah, it is located between the Judean Mountains and the Mediterranean Sea and is named after the Biblical city of Lachish, before the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, three kibbutzim were founded in the area - Gal On, Gat and Negba. Between 1955 and 1961 twenty more settlements were established, the area is covered by three regional councils - Lakhish, Shafir and Yoav - and one city council, Kiryat Gat. In the year 200970,200 people lived in the region, 100% of them Jews
30.
Israel Antiquities Authority
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The Israel Antiquities Authority is an independent Israeli governmental authority responsible for enforcing the 1978 Law of Antiquities. The IAA regulates excavation and conservation, and promotes research, the director-general is Shuka Dorfmann and its offices are housed in the Rockefeller Museum. The Israel Antiquities Authority plans to move into a new building for The National Campus for the Archaeology of Israel in Jerusalem, the Israel Department of Antiquities and Museums of the Ministry of Education was founded on July 26,1948, after the establishment of the State of Israel. It took over the functions of the Department of Antiquities of the British Mandate in Israel, originally, its activities were based on the British Mandate Department of Antiquities ordinances. IDAM was the authority responsible for the Israels antiquities and for the administration of small museums. It published the results of excavations in three journals, Booklet of the Department of Antiquities Hebrew, now defunct, Atiqot, still published, and Hadashot Arkheologiyot --still published, online. IDAM also funded and managed the Archaeological Survey of Israel and published the results of its work in maps covering 10 km² of the State of Israel, the Israel Antiquities Authority was created from the IDAM by the Knesset in a 1990 statute. Amir Drori became its first director, the Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein National Campus for the Archaeology of Israel is the future building of the IAA, aiming to concentrate all centralized administrative offices into one structure. The campus is planned on 20,000 square meters between the Israel Museum and the Bible Lands Museum in Jerusalem by Architect Moshe Safdie, unlike their peers around the world, the team in Israel is barred by Israeli law from working with human remains. Israel Antiquities Authority - official website, eisenbrauns - Official distributor for IAA publications in North America The Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein National Campus for the Archaeology of Israel on the Israel Antiquities Authority website
31.
Shale oil extraction
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Shale oil extraction is an industrial process for unconventional oil production. This process converts kerogen in oil shale into shale oil by pyrolysis, hydrogenation, the resultant shale oil is used as fuel oil or upgraded to meet refinery feedstock specifications by adding hydrogen and removing sulfur and nitrogen impurities. Shale oil extraction is usually performed above ground by mining the oil shale, other modern technologies perform the processing underground by applying heat and extracting the oil via oil wells. The earliest description of the dates to the 10th century. In 1684, Great Britain granted the first formal extraction process patent, Extraction industries and innovations became widespread during the 19th century. As of 2010, major long-standing extraction industries are operating in Estonia, Brazil and its economic viability usually requires a lack of locally available crude oil. National energy security issues have also played a role in its development, critics of shale oil extraction pose questions about environmental management issues, such as waste disposal, extensive water use, waste water management, and air pollution. In the 10th century, the Arabian physician Masawaih al-Mardini wrote of his experiments in extracting oil from some kind of bituminous shale, during the late 19th century, plants were built in Australia, Brazil, Canada, and the United States. The 1894 invention of the Pumpherston retort, which was less reliant on coal heat than its predecessors. China, Estonia, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, however, crude oil discoveries in Texas during the 1920s and in the Middle East in the mid 20th century brought most oil shale industries to a halt. In 1944, the US recommenced shale oil extraction as part of its Synthetic Liquid Fuels Program and these industries continued until oil prices fell sharply in the 1980s. The last oil shale retort in the US, operated by Unocal Corporation, as of 2010, shale oil extraction is in operation in Estonia, Brazil, and China. In 2008, their industries produced about 930,000 metric tonnes of shale oil, only four processes are in commercial use, Kiviter, Galoter, Fushun, and Petrosix. Shale oil extraction process decomposes oil shale and converts its kerogen into shale oil—a petroleum-like synthetic crude oil, the process is conducted by pyrolysis, hydrogenation, or thermal dissolution. The efficiencies of extraction processes are often evaluated by comparing their yields to the results of a Fischer Assay performed on a sample of the shale, the oldest and the most common extraction method involves pyrolysis. In this process, oil shale is heated in the absence of oxygen until its kerogen decomposes into condensable shale oil vapors, Oil vapors and oil shale gas are then collected and cooled, causing the shale oil to condense. In addition, oil shale processing produces spent oil shale, which is a solid residue, spent shale consists of inorganic compounds and char—a carbonaceous residue formed from kerogen. Burning the char off the spent shale produces oil shale ash, spent shale and shale ash can be used as ingredients in cement or brick manufacture
32.
Green Zionist Alliance
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Aytzim, formerly Green Zionist Alliance, is a New York-based Jewish environmental organization that is a U. S. -registered 501 tax-deductible nonprofit charity. A grassroots all-volunteer organization, Aytzim is active in the United States, Canada, in 2002 it became the first environmental party at the World Zionist Congress, where it has had elected representation since. Through this process, the organization succeeded in the appointment of leaders, including Tal and Schwartz. Today, Aytzim representation includes Tal and Orr Karassin, in 2006 the GZA incorporated as a 5013 nonprofit. In late Sept.2014, the GZA acquired Jewcology, to better reflect the scope of the organizations work, the GZA rebranded itself as Aytzim, keeping the Green Zionist Alliance name both legally and for its Israel-focused work. Schwartz, Rabbi Marc Soloway, Rabbi Lawrence Troster, Rabbi Arthur Waskow, the organization has been criticized for its stance against hydrofracking, with the New York Post labeling the GZA as running against the tide of technology. Politically centrist individuals have criticized the GZA for its promotion of community gardens, since its founding as the Green Zionist Alliance, Aytzim has been a key factor in the greening of Israeli policy, both internally and in its interactions with other countries. S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in the “Our Children’s Trust” case, Aytzim, Ecological Judaism News Jerusalem Post, The Value of Voting for Aytzim Jerusalem Post, How many Zionists does it take to change a light bulb. Jerusalem Post, WZO to boost environmental practices The Jewish Daily Forward, Enter the Green Zionists J
33.
Hurvat Itri
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Hurvat Itri also known as the Itri Ruins, refers to a sprawling archaeological site that features the remains of a restored Jewish village which dates back to the Second Temple period. The Judean Hills were first settled by the Israelite tribe of Judah during 12th century BCE, at the time of the Great Revolt of the Jews against the Roman rulers the Romans took over the hills and destroyed many of the villages and towns. Despite the revolt Jewish people returned and rebuilt their villages, then came a second revolt also known as the Bar Kokhba Revolt which lasted from 132-135 CE. In which the Jews attacked the Romans using underground tunnels, in the end Jewish population was beaten and their villages and towns were destroyed. However, its numerous wine presses suggest that the inhabitants were engaged in viniculture. Archaeological artifacts and ruins have been found dating back to the Persian, Hellenistic, adullam Grove Nature Reserve Village Razed, Revel Beheaded - Biblical Archaeology Review Horbat Ethri, Final Report, by Boaz Zissu Ethri
34.
Mikveh
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Mikveh or mikvah is a bath used for the purpose of ritual immersion in Judaism. In the Hebrew Bible, the word is employed in its broader sense, several biblical regulations specify that full immersion in water is required to regain ritual purity after ritually impure incidents have occurred. A person was required to be pure in order to enter the Temple. Most forms of impurity can be nullified through immersion in any collection of water. However, some impurities, such as a zav, require living water, living water has the further advantage of being able to purify even while flowing, as opposed to rainwater which must be stationary in order to purify. The mikveh is designed to simplify this requirement, by providing a facility that remains in ritual contact with a natural source of water. In Orthodox Judaism, these regulations are adhered to and, consequently. Before the beginning of the first century BCE, neither written sources, mikvoth appear at the beginning of the first century BCE, and from then on ancient mikvoth can be found throughout the land of Israel as well as in historic communities of the Jewish diaspora. In modern times, mikvoth can be found in most communities in Orthodox Judaism, the traditional rules regarding the construction of a mikveh are based on those specified in classical rabbinical literature. According to these rules, a mikveh must be connected to a spring or well of naturally occurring water. A cistern filled by the rain is also permitted to act as a water supply. Similarly snow, ice and hail are allowed to act as the supply of water to a mikveh, a river that dries up on a regular basis cannot be used because it is presumed to be mainly rainwater, which cannot purify while flowing. Oceans for the most part have the status of natural springs.3 litres, to avoid issues with these rules in large cities, various methods are employed to establish a valid mikveh. One is that tap water is made to flow over the top of a kosher mikveh, a second method is to create a mikveh in a deep pool, place a floor with holes over that and then fill the upper pool with tap water. In this way, it is considered as if the person dipping is actually in the pool of rain water. Traditionally, the mikveh was used by men and women to regain ritual purity after various events, according to regulations laid down in the Torah. The Torah requires full immersion after Keri — normal emissions of semen, whether sexual activity. The latter case is known as tevilath Ezra after Zav/Zavah — abnormal discharges of body fluids after Tzaraath — certain skin condition and it also became customary for Kohanim to fully immerse themselves before Jewish holidays, and the laity of many communities subsequently adopted this practice
35.
Synagogue
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A synagogue, also spelled synagog, is a Jewish house of prayer. Synagogues have a hall for prayer, and may also have smaller rooms for study and sometimes a social hall. Some have a room for Torah study, called the beith midrash beis medrash —בית מדרש. Synagogues are consecrated spaces used for the purpose of prayer, Tanakh reading, study and assembly, halakha holds that communal Jewish worship can be carried out wherever ten Jews assemble. Worship can also be carried out alone or with fewer than ten people assembled together, however, halakha considers certain prayers as communal prayers and therefore they may be recited only by a minyan. The synagogue does not replace the long-since destroyed Temple in Jerusalem, israelis use the Hebrew term beyt knesset. Jews of Ashkenazi descent have traditionally used the Yiddish term shul in everyday speech, Sephardi Jews and Romaniote Jews generally use the term kal. Spanish Jews call the synagogue a sinagoga and Portuguese Jews call it an esnoga, persian Jews and some Karaite Jews also use the non-Hebrew term kenesa, which is derived from Aramaic, and some Arab Jews use kenis. Reform and some Conservative Jews use the word temple, the Greek word synagogue is used in English, to cover the preceding possibilities. The all-day Yom Kippur service, in fact, was an event in which the congregation both observed the movements of the kohen gadol as he offered the days sacrifices and prayed for his success. During the Babylonian captivity the Men of the Great Assembly formalized and standardized the language of the Jewish prayers, prior to that people prayed as they saw fit, with each individual praying in his or her own way, and there were no standard prayers that were recited. Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai, one of the leaders at the end of the Second Temple era and this contributed to the continuity of the Jewish people by maintaining a unique identity and a portable way of worship despite the destruction of the Temple, according to many historians. A synagogue dating from between 75 and 50 BCE has been uncovered at a Hasmonean-era winter palace near Jericho, more than a dozen Second Temple era synagogues have been identified by archaeologists. Any Jew or group of Jews can build a synagogue, there is no set blueprint for synagogues and the architectural shapes and interior designs of synagogues vary greatly. In fact, the influence from local religious buildings can often be seen in synagogue arches, domes. Historically, synagogues were built in the architectural style of their time. Thus, the synagogue in Kaifeng, China looked very like Chinese temples of that region and era, with its outer wall, the styles of the earliest synagogues resembled the temples of other sects of the eastern Roman Empire. The surviving synagogues of medieval Spain are embellished with mudéjar plasterwork, the surviving medieval synagogues in Budapest and Prague are typical Gothic structures
36.
Columbarium
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A columbarium is a place for the respectful and usually public storage of cinerary urns. The term comes from the Latin columba and originally referred to compartmentalized housing for doves, Roman columbaria were often built partly or completely underground. The Columbarium of Pomponius Hylas is an ancient Roman example, rich in frescoes, decorations, todays columbaria can be either free standing units, or part of a mausoleum or another building. Some manufacturers produce columbaria that are built entirely off-site and brought to the cemetery by a large truck, examples of these are the columbaria in Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris and Golders Green Crematorium in London. In other cases, columbaria are built into church structures, one example is the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, which houses a number of columbarium niches in the mausoleum built into the lower levels of the Cathedral. The construction of columbaria within churches is particularly widespread in the Czechoslovak Hussite Church, an example can be seen at the Church of St Nicolas in Old Town Square. In the Roman Catholic Church, although traditional burial is still preferred, as a result, columbaria can be found within some Catholic cemeteries. Columbaria are often similar in form to traditional Buddhist temples. In Buddhism, ashes of the deceased may be placed in a columbarium (in Chinese, a naguta, in Japanese, a nokotsudo and this practice allows for the family of the deceased to visit the temple for the conduct of traditional memorials and ancestor rites. In the Bet Guvrin area several series of caves dug into soft rock were found. There were several theories about their use, for ritual burial, for growing pigeons to be used for ritual sacrifice. One such cave had been covered by a close to the time of its original usage. This cave had no ashes found in it, but also no pigeon droppings, among the archaeologic finds on Masada, a columbarium tower foundation remains. Catacomb Cemetery Charnel house Crypt Grave Ossuary Reliquary Tomb Photographs and commentary on ancient Roman columbaria Columbarium
37.
Sokho
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Sokho, alternate spellings, Sokhoh, Sochoh, Soco, Sokoh, Hebrew, שוכה, שוכו, שכה, is the name given to two ancient towns in the territorial domain of Judah, the remains of both having been identified. Both towns were given the name Shuweikah in Arabic, one is located to the south of Hebron and has been identified with the twin ruins known as Khirbet Shuwaikah Fauka and Tahta,6 km southwest of Eshtamoa in the Hebron Hills district. The other ruin is the popular of the two, situated on a hilltop overlooking the Elah Valley between Adullam and Azekah. It was visited by Claude Conder in 1881, who writes that it was already a ruin in his days, a third town by this name, Shuwaykah, was located in the Hefer region, north of Tulkarm. Although listed in Joshua 15,35 as being a city in the plain, it is partly in the hill country. The Philistines encamped between Sokho and Azekah in the Elah Valley before Goliaths historic encounter with David, the son of Jesse, David slew the Philistine giant with a stone slung from a shepherds sling. It was one of the cities occupied temporarily by the Philistines in the time of Ahaz, the word Sokho appears on certain LMLK seals during the Judean monarchy, believed by many scholars to be one of four cities that acted in some administrative capacity. The Mishnaic Rabbi Antigonus of Sokho, mentioned in Ethics of the Fathers, Rabbi Levi Sukia, of the first generation of Amoraim, also came from Sokho. In Byzantine times, Eusebius described Sokho as a village at the ninth milestone between Eleutheropolis and Jerusalem, which would correspond to the Elah Valley location. The 6th-century Madaba Map also depicts Sokho, the hill of Tel Sokho is now known as Givat HaTurmosim, or Hill of the Lupines. In late March, the hill is covered with wild blue Mountain lupines and becomes a popular outing destination for Israeli families. The hill is surrounded by slopes on its north side. Trails ascend the mountain on its side and southeastern sides. The Elah Valley runs in a direction on its north side. On the elevated plateau, one can see the foundations of ancient dwellings carved into the bedrock with individual chambers divided by broken stone protuberances, caves and grottos dot the landscape, and cisterns are carved deep into the rock. Oak trees, fig trees and terebinths grow on the mountainside and piles of large boulders, covered with lichen. According to the narrative, when Joshua captured the city from the Canaanites. Excavations at the foot of the northern slope exposed a Byzantine building from the fifth–sixth centuries, remains from Iron Age II were uncovered in another dig at the foot of the northern slope, and walls dating to the Middle Bronze Age were discovered in probe trenches
38.
Archaeology of Israel
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The archaeology of Israel is the study of the archaeology of the present-day Israel, stretching from prehistory through three millennia of documented history. The ancient Land of Israel was a bridge between the political and cultural centers of Mesopotamia and Egypt. Despite the importance of the country to three major religions, serious archaeological research began in the 15th century. The first major work on the antiquities of Israel was Adrian Relands Palestina ex monumentis veteribus, edward Robinson, an American theologian who visited the country in 1838, published the first topographical studies. A Frenchman, Louis Felicien de Saucy, embarked on the first modern excavations in 1850, the Neolithic period appears to have begun when the peoples of the Natufian culture, which spread across present-day Syria, Israel and Lebanon, began to practice agriculture. This Neolithic Revolution has been linked to the period known as the Younger Dryas. This agriculture in the Levant is the earliest known to have been practiced, the Neolithic period in this region is dated 8500–4300 BCE and the Chalcolithic 4300–3300 BCE. Natufian sites in Israel include Ain Mallaha, el-Wad, Ein Gev, Hayonim cave, Nahal Oren, the Bronze Age is the period 3300–1200 BCE when objects made of bronze were in use. Many writers have linked the history of the Levant from the Bronze Age onwards to events described in the Bible, the Bronze Age and Iron Age together are sometimes called the Biblical period. The Amarna Letters are an example of a period during the Late Bronze Age when the vassal kings of the Levant corresponded with their overlords in Egypt. The Iron Age in the Levant begins in about 1200 BCE when iron tools came into use and it is also known as the Israelite period. The Israelite period is characterized by numbers of urban dwellings. The rich and diverse archaeological findings attest to strong international links, the abundance of writings found indicate a broad distribution of knowledge among common people of ancient Israel and not just scribes, a unique phenomenon in the ancient world. In this period both the evidence and the narrative evidence from the Bible become richer and much writing has attempted to make links between them. Israel Finkelstein suggests that the empire of David and Solomon never existed, finklestein accepts the existence of King David and Solomon but doubts their chronology, significance and influence as described in the Bible. Without claiming that everything in the Bible is historically accurate, some story elements appear to correspond with physical artifacts. Inscriptions such as the Tel Dan Stele and the Mesha Stele can be traced to a cultural origin. The Roman period covers the dates 63 BCE to 330 CE, therefore, the late Roman period is also called the Yavne Period
39.
Tourism in Israel
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Tourism in Israel is one of Israels major sources of income, with a record 3.54 million tourist arrivals in 2013. Israel offers a plethora of historical and religious sites, beach resorts, archaeological tourism, Israel has the highest number of museums per capita in the world. In 2009, the two most visited sites were the Western Wall and the grave of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, the most visited city is Jerusalem and the most visited site was the Western Wall. Jerusalem is the city with 3.5 million tourist arrivals annually. One of the oldest cities in the world, it is the capital and largest city of Israel, if the area. It is a city to the three major Abrahamic religions-Judaism, Christianity and Islam, and hosts a myriad of historical, archaeological, religious. West Jerusalem was built mainly after the creation of Israel in 1948, selected tourist attractions within this area are, The German Colony, a Temple Society settlement, with a colorful mix of architectural styles. Mea Shearim, established in the century and inhabited largely by ultra-Orthodox Haredi Jews. Ein Karem, the birthplace of John the Baptist, is one of the four most visited Christian pilgrimage sites in Israel. Mt. Zion, the resting place of King David. Mt. Scopus, site of the Hebrew University and standing at 2710 feet above sea level, both the Temple Mount and the Dead Sea are visible from this location. East Jerusalem was captured by Israel in the 1967 Six-day War and considered by the community as being under Israeli occupation. It is the location of, The Old City of Jerusalem, traditionally divided into four quarters, Armenian Quarter, Christian Quarter, Muslim Quarter and Jewish Quarter. Most importantly, the Temple Mount, site of the ancient Temple in Jerusalem with only the Western Wall at its foot remaining, various locations have been proposed as the Tomb of Jesus, traditionally identified as where the Church of the Holy Sepulchre stands. Nor has Golgotha, the hill where he was crucified been located. Immediately south of the Jewish Quarter lies the City of David with archaeological digs including the Siloam Tunnel, the unfinalized status of East Jerusalem has caused issues when attempting to market Jerusalem to international tourists. Israel rejected the ruling, with the Ministry of Tourism releasing a statement that said the ad provided basic, the ruling from 2009 also included criticism about Gaza, the West Bank and the Golan Heights being shown as part of Israel. With 2.3 million tourist visits in 2013, Tel Aviv is Israels second-largest city, the citys greater area is the largest with 3 million inhabitants
40.
International Standard Book Number
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The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
41.
Talmud
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The Talmud is a central text of Rabbinic Judaism. It is also referred to as Shas, a Hebrew abbreviation of shisha sedarim, the six orders. Talmud translates literally as instruction in Hebrew, and the term may refer to either the Gemara alone, or the Mishnah, the entire Talmud consists of 63 tractates, and in standard print is over 6,200 pages long. The Talmud is the basis for all codes of Jewish law, Rabbis expounded and debated the Torah and discussed the Tanakh without the benefit of written works, though some may have made private notes, for example of court decisions. It is during this period that rabbinic discourse began to be recorded in writing, the earliest recorded oral Torah may have been of the midrashic form, in which halakhic discussion is structured as exegetical commentary on the Pentateuch. But an alternative form, organized by subject matter instead of by biblical verse, became dominant about the year 200 CE, the Oral Torah was far from monolithic, rather, it varied among various schools. The most famous two were the School of Shammai and the School of Hillel, in general, all valid opinions, even the non-normative ones, were recorded in the Talmud. The oldest full manuscript of the Talmud, known as the Munich Talmud, each tractate is divided into chapters,517 in total, that are both numbered according to the Hebrew alphabet and given names, usually using the first one or two words in the first mishnah. A perek may continue over several pages, each perek will contain several mishnayot with their accompanying exchanges that form the building-blocks of the Gemara, the name for a passage of gemara is a sugya. A sugya, including baraita or tosefta, will comprise a detailed proof-based elaboration of a Mishnaic statement. A sugya may, and often does, range widely off the subject of the mishnah, in a given sugya, scriptural, Tannaic and Amoraic statements are cited to support the various opinions. In so doing, the Gemara will highlight semantic disagreements between Tannaim and Amoraim, and compare the Mishnaic views with passages from the Baraita. Rarely are debates formally closed, in instances, the final word determines the practical law. There is a literature on the procedural principles to be used in settling the practical law when disagreements exist, see under #Logic. The Mishnah is a compilation of legal opinions and debates, statements in the Mishnah are typically terse, recording brief opinions of the rabbis debating a subject, or recording only an unattributed ruling, apparently representing a consensus view. The rabbis recorded in the Mishnah are known as the Tannaim, the Mishnahs topical organization thus became the framework of the Talmud as a whole. But not every tractate in the Mishnah has a corresponding Gemara, also, the order of the tractates in the Talmud differs in some cases from that in the Mishnah. In addition to the Mishnah, other tannaitic teachings were current at about the time or shortly thereafter
42.
Jerome
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Jerome was a priest, confessor, theologian and historian. He was the son of Eusebius, born at Stridon, a village near Emona on the border of Dalmatia and Pannonia and he is best known for his translation of most of the Bible into Latin, and his commentaries on the Gospels. His list of writings is extensive, the protégé of Pope Damasus I, who died in December of 384, Jerome was known for his teachings on Christian moral life, especially to those living in cosmopolitan centers such as Rome. In many cases, he focused his attention to the lives of women and this focus stemmed from his close patron relationships with several prominent female ascetics who were members of affluent senatorial families. He is recognised as a Saint and Doctor of the Church by the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Lutheran Church, and his feast day is 30 September. Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus was born at Stridon around 347 A. D and he was of Illyrian ancestry and his native tongue was the Illyrian dialect. He was not baptized until about 360–366 A. D. when he had gone to Rome with his friend Bonosus to pursue rhetorical and philosophical studies and he studied under the grammarian Aelius Donatus. There Jerome learned Latin and at least some Greek, though not the familiarity with Greek literature he would later claim to have acquired as a schoolboy. As a student in Rome, he engaged in the superficial escapades and wanton behaviour of students there, to appease his conscience, he would visit on Sundays the sepulchres of the martyrs and the Apostles in the catacombs. Here and there the light, not entering in through windows, but again, as soon as you found yourself cautiously moving forward, the black night closed around and there came to my mind the line of Vergil, Horror ubique animos, simul ipsa silentia terrent. Jerome used a quote from Virgil—On all sides round horror spread wide, although initially skeptical of Christianity, he was eventually converted. Next came a stay of at least several months, or possibly years, with Rufinus at Aquileia, some of these accompanied him when he set out about 373 on a journey through Thrace and Asia Minor into northern Syria. At Antioch, where he stayed the longest, two of his companions died and he himself was seriously ill more than once, during one of these illnesses, he had a vision that led him to lay aside his secular studies and devote himself to God. Seized with a desire for a life of penance, he went for a time to the desert of Chalcis, to the southeast of Antioch, known as the Syrian Thebaid. During this period, he seems to have time for studying and writing. He made his first attempt to learn Hebrew under the guidance of a converted Jew, Jerome translated parts of this Hebrew Gospel into Greek. Returning to Antioch in 378 or 379, he was ordained by Bishop Paulinus, apparently unwillingly, soon afterward, he went to Constantinople to pursue a study of Scripture under Gregory Nazianzen. He seems to have spent two years there, then left, and the three he was in Rome again, as secretary to Pope Damasus I and the leading Roman Christians
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