Jerash is yet another of the cities of the Greek Decapolis. The Biblical name is Gerasa, and it appears it was in the territory of Gerasa that Jesus ran into a demoniac with a Legion of demons. There is some textual uncertainty involved as the Greek may have originally read Gadarene demoniac (as in the city of Gadara near the south end of the Sea of Galilee). In any, Jerash is a major site of the Biblical period well worth... Read more

We are now heading into Jordan, and the first stop is Amman, the capital city itself. But actually this is a very ancient city named Philadelphia, the city of sisterly love, and it was one of the major Greek cities of the Decapolis. We will start with a visit to the Citadel, the ancient acropolis of the city, and to its museum. When you cross into Jordan near the Dead Sea, you notice how much the Dead Sea has shrunk,... Read more

By now, unless one has been in a coma since 1947, you have heard of the Dead Sea (or better Qumran) scrolls. The day we visited Qumran in May it was 120F…. and humid, as we are near the lowest point on earth— the Dead Sea. Here it is…. You can just see Jordan through the haze in the distance on the far shore. The Dead Sea is rapidly shrinking, mainly because its main source of in-flow is the Jordan,... Read more

On the back side of Bethlehem there are several important sites, shepherd’s fields for one, and the Herodium for another. They are both worth a visit. This time we did the usual things at shepherd’s field, but visit a new cave where there is clear evidence that shepherds and sheep sheltered. Bethlehem was providing lambs for the slaughter, literally, for the sacrifices in Jerusalem. It is ironic, but appropriate that the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of... Read more

The garden tomb is a nice site near the old city of Jerusalem to give one a visual image of the kind of tomb Jesus was likely buried in. It is a rock cut tomb with a rolling stone that fits the Gospel descriptions of what it would look like. Unfortunately it does not have an ancient pedigree, and there are many such tombs around Jerusalem. Yes, this tomb is outside the current old city walls, but they only date... Read more

Without question, one of the most visited sites in all of the Holy Land is the Church of the Nativity. In fact, one can wait hours in line to visit a spot claimed to be the very spot where the baby Jesus was born. But of course, we don’t really know where that is, other than in Bethlehem, and this church doesn’t date back before the fourth century A.D. Nevertheless, as a place to remember that Jesus was born somewhere... Read more

Bethlehem is sadly today a city surrounded by a wall erected by the Israelis. One of my favorite places to go in the city is to the Three Arches olive wood shop, run by Palestinian Christians (with another shop in San Diego, of all places). They give a nice demonstration of how the nativity scenes are made and the carvings done… The finished products are works of art. Here we have a recreation of first century Jerusalem in olive wood!... Read more

Once one emerges into the light again at the City of David dig, one sees a variety of things, including a lot of flowers! Directly across the way is the Palestinian village of Silwan, where the famous James ossuary was found…. There is a nice view of the Jewish cemetery on the Mt. of Olives, and of some of the ancient tombs in the Kidron valley….near the so-called tomb of Absalom. The pointed top tomb is from the Hellenistic period…... Read more

The City of David archaeological site has been developing in a rapid fashion, and now includes even an underground movie, access to Hezekiah’s tunnel from underground, a good view of Warren’s shaft, not to mention the reconstruction of various structures that were part of David’s original city on the Ophel, including perhaps a portion of David’s palace. And there is also an above the ground film added to this site as well. The movie about the city of David includes... Read more

One of my favorite sites, still under excavation is the ancient Pool of Siloam (not to be confused with the exit ramp from Hezekiah’s tunnel and the little pool there. Here are a couple of good shots from my friends at BAS….. Ronny Reich was the head excavator here, and I shot a scene for The Story of Jesus DVD here with him, which you should check out. The work is ongoing because they’ve found the secret stair way that... Read more