“That belongs in a museum.” Indiana Jones, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade The Israel Museum is one of my favorite museums, which I highly recommend if you enjoy archaeology. Besides all the amazing artifacts from throughout history found in Israel, there’s the Shrine of the Book (for the Dead Sea Scrolls) and the Second Temple Model. There are other wings devoted to art and other topics which I have not seen. Next to the Shrine of the Book is a 1:50 scale model of Jerusalem from the 1st century. It gives a great sense of what Jerusalem looked like […]
Author Archive: Brian Johnson
Moving Mountains
Our next excursion was to Herodian, the mountain that Herod the Great moved. He built it by chopping away at a nearby hill, looking like a volcano with its flat top. Visible from the Mount of Olives, it stands as a testament to the drive of Herod. Who builds a mountain? Because of difficulties of driving a rental car into the West Bank (our rental car company, like most, only cover driving on 2 main highways in the West Bank), we decided it would be easiest to get there via bus. The Egged bus system covers the country. We took […]
House Hill
“But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built! Yet give attention to your servant’s prayer and his plea for mercy, O LORD my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence this day. May your eyes be open toward this temple night and day, this place of which you said, ‘My Name shall be there,’ so that you will hear the prayer your servant prays toward this place. Hear the supplication of your servant and of your […]
City of the Great King
David then took up residence in the fortress and called it the City of David. He built up the area around it, from the supporting terraces inward. 2 Samuel 5:9 The City of David is located south of the modern walled city even though it was the original city core. This is the small town King David captured and made his capital. We visited the City of David National Park to see what has been found at this important Biblical site. Archaeological digs continue throughout the site. At the northern end of the park is a nice overlook. Doing a […]
Mount of Olives
To the east of the Old City of Jerusalem rises the Mount of Olives. When on top, you look down at the Old City, including the Temple Mount. The Temple was not built on the highest point in the area, interestingly enough. Separating Jerusalem from this hill is the Kidron Valley. Thousands of tombs are scattered around the hillside of the Mount of Olives. Tours often drop people off up top, but it isn’t too much of a walk up if you can handle the climb. Along the way, there’s some interesting places we stopped at. On the side of […]
Gated Community
Our feet are standing   in your gates, O Jerusalem. Psalm 122:2 Our trip began in Jerusalem. We exited our shared taxi and walked into the Old City. We were staying inside the city wall! Ancient cities were typically surrounded walls for defense. However, they still needed to allow everyday traffic to flow in and out of the city. Therefore they installed gates. Most cities or towns had a single gate. Larger cities had more. The Bible talks about the building of Jerusalem’s walls. The original city captured by David was tiny. Hezekiah did a substantial expansion, adding a wall to […]
Guided Tour Map
This is what the LORD says: “Stand at the crossroads and look;   ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it,   and you will find rest for your souls.   But you said, `We will not walk in it.’” Jeremiah 6:16 I’ve created a new map below of my latest trek around Israel. It’s easy to read the Bible and forget that these places are real. Going there a few times has opened my eyes to the geography of the country. How do different cities interact? How did people get from place to place? They […]
Not All at Once
Why is the Torah compared to a fig tree? Because most trees (olives, grapes, dates, pomegranates) have their fruit picked at one time, but the fig tree is picked gradually. And so it is with the Torah: one learns a little today and much on the morrow, for one cannot learn it in one or two years. Bamidbar Rabbah 12 Figs ripen from before Shavuot until Sukkot (the summer). This lengthy harvest season makes it difficult to commercially grow them because you have to keep slowly harvesting them, which isn’t efficient or cost effective. However, it provides a great object […]
Around the Lake
Let the sea resound, and everything in it,   the world, and all who live in it. Psalm 98:7 I’ve spent some time around the Sea of Galilee the last few days. It has allowed me to see the lake from several angles. The lake is about 700 feet below sea level, nestled in the Rift Valley with hills going up it on most sides. The Sea of Galilee is also a major source of Israel’s water supply today. Because of drought conditions, the lake has been dropping, but the last couple winters it has risen a couple meters! You can […]
Looking Up
When I consider your heavens,   the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars,   which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him,   the son of man that you care for him? Psalm 8:3-4 We spent the last two nights on the shore of the Dead Sea. The moon was just past full last night as we captured some nice tripod pictures out of our window. We’ve made our way to the Golan region just east of the Sea of Galilee. There is less light here, allowing us to see more stars.