Second fun fact! We went to the Negev for this field trip. It means the south (or the desert) So, in the bible when it says they traveled through the south it is usually referring to the Negev. This means they could actually be going north from wherever they are, they just have to travel through the "south" or Negev to get to wherever they are going.
Our trip got off to a great start! We were supposed to go to a shop where Bedouin women make and dye yarn in the traditional way. They then sell their products to earn money for their families. It is part of an effort to teach Bedouin women trades that can help them contribute. Many are not educated and have a difficult time transitioning to urban life (Bedouins are traditionally nomadic.) Unfortunately, due to some events that week, the tensions were high in the area and so we were not able to go.
Instead, we went to Beersheba. This is where Abraham would take his flocks and live during the winters. There is a well there that is remembered as Abraham's Well. Most likely it's not the one he dug but it would look the same and it's in the same town so what's the difference right? Well, only one of our teachers had been there before and that was 5 years ago. So after driving around the city slightly lost we finally found it! ...covered by a building. Apparently they decided to make a little off of it. But not from us! With a group of 90 you had to make an appointment, not to mention that they didn't want to pay for 90 of us to go to it. So instead we went across the street to a nice little park and talked about Abraham there. I did snap a picture really fast so you can see where Abraham used to fly south for the winter.
Graffiti is so cool sometimes. I just couldn't help but get a quick picture
Merrick is really sad we didn't get to see the well.
Tel Arad
After our failures we were ready to get our day started! My bus headed to Tel Arad first. This was a city from the Israelite time. It is really neat because there is a really well kept temple. In fact, it was almost too perfect. The incense alters outside of the Holy of Holies were laid down in place and just covered with dirt. They believe this may have been during the reign of King Hezekiah when he retired all the temples outside of Jerusalem.
Not going to lie. I felt right at home! Maybe Grandpa was right, I don't need to leave Burley to see where Jesus walked.
Tel Arad was originally a military and government settlement. These were the sleeping quarters.
On the left are the 2 big columns on either side of the entrance. Right behind them (to the right) are rooms with benches in them. This is where the people would come to be taxed and judged by their king. It's so interesting to learn about all the history and cultural connotations that are behind different lessons in the bible. I wonder if the "Gates of Heaven" had a completely different meaning to the Israelites then it does to us?
Temple of Arad
The Holy of Holies. The two columns on the side are for burning incense. The rounded stone in the back actually represents God. One way to tell if the temple fell to pagan worship is if they would have multiple stones in the Holy of Holies.
I'm kind of a big deal. I got to go into the Holy of Holies
The outer courtyard of the temple
Tel Arad from off the hill
A super deep well just down the hill
To give you a perspective of the size
Walking down to their water system. Can you imagine having to haul water up that everyday. So glad I'm not a slave!
Tel Sheva
On to our next stop! Tel Sheva is one of the few cities that has actually been completely excavated. It was really neat to see how the whole town was set up. You could see houses and store rooms and lots of other stuff! This site is also famous because a horned altar was found there. This gave us a really good idea of what altars would have looked like in ancient temples.
These sites can be dangerous places.
It looks like I'm in paradise. I know palm trees aren't exciting to some people, but they are to me!
The horned altar. That's my teacher, Dr. Strathearn.
Tel Sheva has its well outside the city gates. We had the opportunity to raise a rope from the bottom. You would be amazed at how deep it is. In fact, it's 120 feet! It took forever and we didn't even have a water bucket attached to it. This gave me such a different perspective on Rebecca watering all of Eliezer's camels who could drink 30-40 gallons each (he had 10 of them) (Gen. 24)
See that concrete line running through wall. Everything below that is original, everything above is reconstructed.
The entry to the city
An overview of the city
Storerooms where they would keep grain or animals that were collected as taxes
The stairs down to their water system
Mom, it's the biggest Hens and Chicks you've ever seen!
Yowza! That is a big plant! Those steps look like a cross fit workout. And you just gave me an idea for an object lesson with watering the camels. Good on ya!
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Um...too much to comment on. But I am struck at how small everything is. If we had a building where every citizen had to come and be taxed and sit before the king it would be a huge building; and they had a little room. And you can take a picture of the whole city in one frame. It takes us 20 minutes in a car to drive across our cities. A different time when things were simple, places were small, and people knew each other. So interesting. I love seeing how different people lived so long ago.
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