When moving from the Mediterranean coast into the hills of Judah (places like Jerusalem and Bethlehem), travelers had several parallel routes to choose from. They were dominated by several valleys in a region called the Shephelah. I want to focus on the three most prominent today. The first, in the north, is the Aijalon Valley, dominated by the cities of Aijalon and Gezer. There was a road from here that led east up to lower and upper Beth Horon, to Gibeon and beyond. This route is mentioned a couple times with the Israelites routing their enemies westward (Joshua 10:12, 1 […]
Tag Archives: Beth Shemesh
The Wheat Harvest
He grants peace to your borders   and satisfies you with the finest of wheat. Psalm 147:14 As I continue to travel around Israel, one of the blessings of visiting at this time of year is it’s the time of the wheat harvest. Last time I mentioned that Shavuot (Pentecost) marks the beginning of the wheat harvest. As we’ve gone around, I’ve noticed the wheat fields and many of them have been harvested already. As we stood on top of Tel Azekah, we saw a combine harvesting the wheat fields below us. The Bible mentions several stories happening at the time […]
From Mountains to Plains
The LORD our God said to us at Horeb, “You have stayed long enough at this mountain. Break camp and advance into the hill country of the Amorites; go to all the neighboring peoples in the Arabah, in the mountains, in the western foothills, in the Negev and along the coast, to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon, as far as the great river, the Euphrates. See, I have given you this land. Go in and take possession of the land that the LORD swore he would give to your fathers–to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob–and to their descendants […]