“To me this is like the days of Noah,
Isaiah 54:9-10
when I swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth.
So now I have sworn not to be angry with you,
never to rebuke you again.
Though the mountains be shaken
and the hills be removed,
yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken
nor my covenant of peace be removed,”
says the LORD, who has compassion on you.
Galilee is divided into two sub-regions: Upper and Lower Galilee. Upper is in the north, while lower is in the south. Their names come from the difference in elevation. The differences don’t stop at elevation. The north is more remote and less populated. After our time at Rosh Hanikra, we spent the rest of the evening at two locations in Upper Galilee. Our stops that evening would be more nature and geographically oriented than archaeological.
Heading east through the Nahal Betset (a valley), we turned off the road, switch-backing up the steep hillside. Reaching the top, we entered Adamit Forest. We began our hike, soon reaching the edge or a steep cliff overlooking the nahal we had just driven out of. Continuing along the path, we soon reached our main destination: Keshet Cave. Actually it used to be a cave, but it has long since collapsed, leaving only the arch of its entrance standing, keeping guard of the valley below. The Hebrew word “keshet” means bow (like a bow and arrow) and is also translated rainbow. After the flood God hung up his (rain) bow in the sky as a sign of making peace with the earth (Genesis 9:12-16).
Driving back into the valley, we continued further east to Goren Park. At its southern end is a great view of another valley, Nahal Kaziv. On the other side is Montfort Castle, prominently sticking out. The Teutonic Knights began its construction in 1226 during the Crusades. It was destroyed 40 years later and never resettled. With the sun dipping closer to the horizon, we decided to forgo the hike down the valley and back up (in each direction) and simply admire the castle and view from the park.
