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By Marc Turnage

The city of Hebron played an important role, particularly within the Old Testament narratives. The city features prominently in the stories of the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as well as Joshua and Caleb, and, eventually, David, who reigned for his first seven years at Hebron. 

The prominence of Hebron within the Bible stems from its location along the major north-south road through the central hill country of Israel. Located 20 miles southwest of Jerusalem, Hebron sat at the juncture of two roadways that ascended from the basin of the biblical Negev. One came from Beersheva in the west, and the other came from Arad in the eastern Negev basin. These two roadways came together at Hebron, which sits at 3,050 feet above sea level, the highest point in the southern hill country, in the heart of the tribal territory of Judah. 

The hills and valleys around Hebron offer a fertile region with iron-rich soil that enables the growing of grape vineyards, olive trees, fruits, and terraced land for growing wheat and barley. Also, sheep and goats can be grazed in the surrounding region. 

The ancient site of Hebron (Tel Rumeideh) sits on roughly seven and a half acres. A spring on the lower east slope of the tel provided the water for the city. To the east of the biblical tel sits the ancient shrine of the Machpelah, or the Tomb of the Patriarchs. 

The building, whose basic structure dates to the first century B.C./A.D., is built over the cave that traditions ascribe that Abraham purchased to bury Sarah (Genesis 23). Tradition ascribes it as the burial location of Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, and Jacob and Leah. For this reason, the site has been revered since ancient times, and is a place of prayer for both Jews and Muslims. No significant excavations have taken place at the Machpelah. 

Hebron played an important role in the stories of Abraham, who lived at Hebron, pitching his tent at the “oaks of Mamre.” Sarah died at Hebron, and Abraham, who was a nomad, purchased land in order to bury her there. The Israelite spies spied out the land near Hebron (Numbers 13). 

The last reference to Hebron in the Bible is as the place of David’s initial reign as king of the tribe of Judah. When he was made king over all Israel, he moved from Hebron, where he had reigned for seven years, to Jerusalem where he ruled over the twelve tribes of Israel. David’s son Absalom instigated his rebellion against his father at Hebron (2 Samuel 15:7-10).

Marc Turnage is President/CEO of Biblical Expeditions. He is an authority on ancient Judaism and Christian origins. He has published widely for both academic and popular audiences. His most recent book, Windows into the Bible, was named by Outreach Magazine as one of its top 100 Christian living resources. Marc is a widely sought-after speaker and a gifted teacher. He has been guiding groups to the lands of the Bible—Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Greece, and Italy—for over twenty years.

Website: WITBUniversity.com
Facebook: @witbuniversity
Podcast: Windows into the Bible Podcast

“Teach me Your way, O LORD; I will walk in Your truth; unite my heart to fear Your name” (Psalm 86:11 NKJV).

Are you a lifelong learner? Do you desire daily to learn from the Lord? Walking with the Lord, walking in His truth, means that we seek to learn from Him, to be taught by Him.

The word for disciple in both Greek and Hebrew means “a student.” Being a disciple, then, requires us to daily seek to learn from God, knowing His way, and walking in His truth.

When Jesus commanded His disciples to go and raise up disciples, He expected that their efforts would produce a community of students eager to learn God’s way and walk in His truth. But in order for His disciples to create such a community, they first had to be that kind of disciple.

The actions of Ezra, the scribe, describe biblical discipleship: “For Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the LORD and to practice it, and to teach His statutes and ordinances in Israel” (Ezra 7:10 NASB)—to study, to do, and to teach others. This provides the process of biblical discipleship: Study leads to action, and both provide the foundation from which instruction to others can occur.

The second clause of the Psalm—“unite my heart to fear Your name”—indicates that one of a divided heart cannot truly fear (or revere) God’s name. In other words, a person cannot be truly devoted to God with a divided heart.

What is the connection between requesting to learn God’s way and receiving an undivided heart? Learning from God is not simply learning an algebraic equation or the history of the United States. Being taught by God requires a diligent obedience, which is what the Bible means by walking in His truth. One cannot obey God with a divided heart.

To learn from Him, we must passionately pursue Him with singularity. We must seek to study His word, then do it, and then we must instruct others in what we have learned.

This is what Jesus envisioned when He commanded His disciples to raise up disciples. As students, they would raise up other students—all to live out His word and message.

PRAYER

Father, teach us Your way so that we may walk in Your truth. Give us an undivided heart, so that we may fear and revere Your name. Amen.

Jews stood out in the Greek and Roman worlds. In a world where uniqueness was appreciated only to a point, Jewish differences became a source of anti-Jewish rhetoric and violence. Jews stood out because of their faith. Their belief in one God, theirs, and their unique relationship to Him as His chosen people meant they lived differently. They did not accept many of the practices and beliefs which went along with Greek and Roman religion, which penetrated every aspect of the lives of Greeks and Romans. Had the Jews been willing to identify their God as Zeus, no one would have had a problem. But they couldn’t.

Prior to the second century B.C., however, Greek writers spoke about Jews and Judaism in positive terms. This shifted in the second century with the successful Jewish revolt against the Greek Seleucids. This led to the establishment of an independent Jewish State under a family of priest-kings known as the Hasmoneans. Judaism came to see part of God’s will for His people was their freedom in the land He promised to their fathers. This added a dimension of religious nationalism to Judaism. Jews began to define themselves against idolatrous non-Jews and sought to eradicate all non-Jewish idolatry from the land of Israel. From this point on, Greek and Roman authors began to criticize Jews and Judaism.

The anti-Judaism of Greek and Roman writers focused on four primary Jewish beliefs and behaviors:

1. Jewish monotheism and the Jewish God – The Jewish declaration of only one God, Israel’s God, struck Greeks and Romans as offensive. As polytheists, they would worship gods of other peoples, as long as other gods were recognized. Judaism would not do this. Therefore, Greeks and Romans accused the Jews of atheism and impiety. Greeks and Romans found the invisibility of the Jewish God equally strange. Every Greco-Roman temple had a statue of the god or goddess within it. The Temple in Jerusalem had no statue of its God.
2. Circumcision – God gave Abraham the covenant of male circumcision as a sign of His covenant with Abraham and his descendants (Genesis 17). Greeks and Romans believed a man’s created form was the ideal. To them, circumcision was mutilation.
3. Sabbaths – Greeks and Romans saw the Jewish practice of taking a day off during the week as laziness and idleness; thus, they criticized the Jews for observing the Sabbath.
4. Diet – The eating of pork was common throughout the Greco-Roman world. Most non-Jews did not distinguish among foods in their diet. The Jews did.

The Jewish revolts (A.D. 66-136) exacerbated anti-Judaism within the Roman world. The revolts brought about the destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple, as well as anti-Jewish legislation within the Roman world. These fermented anti-Jewish feelings among non-Jews, which also impacted the non-Jewish followers of Jesus.

When we look for the beginnings of Christian anti-Judaism, they lay in the Greco-Roman world. Christian anti-Judaism developed its own peculiarities. But the anti-Judaism of the Greco-Roman world certainly influenced its development.

Marc Turnage is President/CEO of Biblical Expeditions. He is an authority on ancient Judaism and Christian origins. He has published widely for both academic and popular audiences. His most recent book, Windows into the Bible, was named by Outreach Magazine as one of its top 100 Christian living resources. Marc is a widely sought-after speaker and a gifted teacher. He has been guiding groups to the lands of the Bible—Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Greece, and Italy—for over twenty years.

Website: WITBUniversity.com
Facebook: @witbuniversity
Podcast: Windows into the Bible Podcast

When the Russian invasion began, Victoria was 40 years old, and living in Ukraine with her husband and children. She believed the war would be short-lived, and that world leaders would stop it within days. She was wrong. Both of her sisters tried to convince her to flee.

Finally, she and her husband packed the car with the bare essentials, and left home with their three kids. Gasoline was scarce, and traffic was terrible with so many trying to escape. When the couple saw tanks outside of their city, they drove to another city to stay with relatives. However, there were already three other families staying there.

They eventually found another place to stay—yet they didn’t feel welcome there because they are Jewish. So, they decided to immigrate to Israel. They crossed into Moldova, and the Jewish Agency helped them secure safe passage to Israel, where they settled near Nazareth. As they started over in a new country with few possessions, they needed help. 

And friends like you came to their rescue. Through CBN Israel, donors brought them furniture—along with groceries and essentials. Victoria shared, “We now tell everyone about CBN Israel, and how you helped us. Your support has brought such hope and comfort to our family!” 

Your gifts to CBN Israel can deliver hope and comfort to even more people in need, by offering nutritious food, housing, furniture, and financial aid. Today in the Holy Land, growing numbers of people are hurting, and need assistance to survive. 

Your support can reach out to Holocaust survivors, new immigrants, victims of terrorism, and single mothers. Please consider a gift to help others today!

GIVE TODAY

By Marc Turnage

The first seven and a half years that David reigned, he reigned in Hebron, which sat in the heart of the tribal territory of Judah, David’s tribe (2 Samuel 5:5). As he expanded his rule to all of Israel, he decided to conquer the city of Jerusalem, which until this time was ruled by the Jebusites (2 Samuel 5:6-10). Why did David select this city? 

Geographically it sat off the major north-south route through the central hill country; it did not have natural roads leading east or west from it. He selected it, however, due to its location. The city, on its southern end, was bounded by the Hinnom Valley, which formed the boundary between the tribal territory of Benjamin (Saul’s tribe) and Judah (David’s tribe). Also, by virtue of it not being captured by the Israelites, no tribe could lay exclusive claim to the city. It offered a place where he could consolidate the political and religious center of his kingdom.

The city of Jerusalem that David conquered covered about eleven acres. It sat on what is known as the eastern hill. To its east, stood the Mount of Olives, which is separated from the eastern hill by the Kidron Valley. To its west stands the western hill, which is separated from the eastern hill by a valley known as the Tyrpoean Valley. To its south lies the Hinnom Valley. To its north lay the upper heights of the eastern hill, where Solomon built his palace and the Temple. 

The Bible identifies the eastern hill, specifically the northern portions, as Mount Zion. This can be confusing for modern visitors to Jerusalem because in the Byzantine period (4^th-6^th centuries A.D.) the western hill was mistakenly identified as Mount Zion, and that nomenclature has stuck. In the Bible, however, the eastern hill, especially its northern area, where the Temple came to be built, was referred to as Mount Zion.

Today, the eastern hill sits outside of the Old City walls, even though it is the oldest part of Jerusalem. It is referred to as the City of David. As we hear in Psalm 125, the mountains surround Jerusalem; while the psalm brings to our minds the beautiful image of God surrounding his people, strategically, this was to Jerusalem’s detriment. On all sides of the eastern hill, hills higher than it surround it. So why was the city built here? Because of its water source, the Gihon Spring. This karstic spring continues to flow even today. Recent excavations have uncovered a large fortification built around the spring to protect it. 

Excavations of the City of David have uncovered remains dating back over four thousand years. The excavations of the City of David reflect the history of the city; its role as the capital of the kingdom of Judah; its destruction by the Babylonians; its smaller size in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah. Its water systems. Structures from the first century, and evidence of its destruction by the Romans in A.D. 70. It was here that the exiles remembered when they were dispersed and longed to return (Psalm 137).

Marc Turnage is President/CEO of Biblical Expeditions. He is an authority on ancient Judaism and Christian origins. He has published widely for both academic and popular audiences. His most recent book, Windows into the Bible, was named by Outreach Magazine as one of its top 100 Christian living resources. Marc is a widely sought-after speaker and a gifted teacher. He has been guiding groups to the lands of the Bible—Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Greece, and Italy—for over twenty years.

Website: WITBUniversity.com
Facebook: @witbuniversity
Podcast: Windows into the Bible Podcast

“Today you repented and did what pleased Me, each of you proclaiming freedom for his neighbor. You made a covenant before Me at the temple called by My name. But you have changed your minds and profaned My name. Each has taken back his male and female slaves who had been freed to go wherever they wanted, and you have again subjugated them to be your slaves” (Jeremiah 34:15-16).

We sometimes think that God takes more seriously the sins we commit against Him than those we commit against others. It’s not that we think we should sin against others, but we tend to allow ourselves a bit more freedom and grace for these sins. What does the Bible say about this?

The prophet Jeremiah announced to the leaders and people of Judah that God would judge them, with the destruction of Jerusalem and the kingdom, because they broke the covenant that they established to honor the year of release (in Hebrew the shmittah). The law of the shmittah required that every seventh year everyone set free his Hebrew slaves, both male and female, and settle all debts.

The people of Judah made a covenant to honor this commandment of God, but then they went back on it. After setting the slaves free, they forced them into slavery again. And God was furious.

Jeremiah declared that God had been pleased with the initial action of the people because their fathers had ignored the shmittah, but now, by turning back, they actually profaned God’s name.

Do we recognize that the way we treat those around us may profane the name of God? God’s name is at stake in how we choose to behave in our relationships with others.

As a result of their action, God proclaimed destruction to the leaders and people of Judah by the sword, pestilence, and famine—making them a horror to all the earth. He would fill their land with their dead carcasses, and the city of Jerusalem and Judah would be destroyed because they violated the shmittah by sinning against their fellow human.

The Bible clearly demonstrates that God takes very seriously our treatment and behavior toward others, and that violating those relationships carries divine consequences. The way we treat others can profane God’s name and arouse His anger.

We often look at the brokenness within our world today, and we want to blame it on others, especially those we deem godless. Some of us may even long for God’s justice and vengeance against them.

But do we recognize His anger at how we treat others? Do we see that perhaps some of the devastation in our world comes as a result of us not following His commands about human relationships? Perhaps it’s our actions toward others that is the source of His name being profaned in our world.

PRAYER

Father, forgive us for not taking as seriously as You do our behavior toward those around us. Lord, we acknowledge that we cannot truly love You and serve You if we do not love and care for those around us. Help us to love and serve people as You do. Amen.

The non-Jewish followers of Jesus established themselves as a “third race” towards the end of the first century and in the early second century A.D. By this, they distinguished themselves from both the Jews and those who worshipped idols. They sought to identify themselves as the “true Israel” and disassociate from the Jewish people and Judaism. In their view, Judaism rejected Jesus and was, therefore, erroneous. Jews, moreover, murdered Jesus. Or so these Christians claimed.

They redefined the original “Jewishness” of Jesus’ movement to show Christianity as the only true religion. As such, it needed to be “Law free” and separated from any Judaizing. The Church Fathers struggled for supremacy and distinction from Judaism. To do this, they claimed the Jewish Law was no longer necessary, they removed the God of the New Testament’s ethnic, Jewish identity, and they prohibited interaction between Christians and Judaism.

Christian leaders declared the Jewish Law (Torah) as obsolete, devoid of any practical value. Ignatius of Antioch declared the practice of Jewish Law forbidden to Christians. Jews had to stop living as Jews when they became Christians (Letter to the Magnesians 8:1; 9:1; 10:3; see Letter to the Philadelphians 6:1). Justin Martyr permitted Jews to continue practicing Jewish observances, but he forbade them from suggesting that non-Jews should obey the Law of Moses (Dialogue with Trypho a Jew 47).

Official cannon law prohibited Christian participation in Jewish rituals at the Councils of Antioch (A.D. 341) and Laodicea (c. A.D. 360). The imperial orthodoxy of the Byzantine Empire opposed non-Jews practicing Jewish customs and criminalized conversion to Judaism. Jews became increasingly marginalized within late Roman society and became the subject of outbursts of violence fueled by the rhetoric of bishops and the theology of the Church Fathers. Within the Byzantine Empire, few Christians knew that Jesus and the Apostles were Jews.

Asia Minor became a particular location of tensions between Christians and Jews in the second century A.D. This already appears in the letters John wrote to Smyrna and Philadelphia (Revelation 2:8-11; 3:7-13). The Martyrdom of Polycarp tells of the Roman execution of Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, in which the Jews played a catalytic role. This work styles its story on the death of Jesus in the Gospels and Stephen in Acts; thus, we may question the degree of the Jewish involvement.

Of particular importance is the homily, On the Passion (Peri Pascha), by Melito of Sardis. Melito lived in Sardis, located in Asia Minor, in the second century A.D. His homily accused Jews of deicide, killing God, for the first time. Meilito falsely claimed that the Jews scourged and crucified Jesus. Conveniently, Pilate and the Romans remain absent from Melito’s homily. The Jews killed Jesus; the Jews killed their Lord. This became a common refrain of Christian anti-Judaism.

Today, it is essential that we understand the dangers of these distorted beliefs. For centuries, sermons and writings have claimed that the Jewish people—as a whole—rejected Jesus, and therefore God rejected them. But this is not an accurate reading of the Scriptures and nor is it an accurate portrayal of the historical accounts and events. 

The New Testament makes no such claim that gentile Christians replaced the Jews as God’s chosen people or covenant community. Rather, it presents the good news that gentiles have been given the gracious privilege of being grafted into the covenant and family of faith, which had been established by God with Abraham and his descendants.

Marc Turnage is President/CEO of Biblical Expeditions. He is an authority on ancient Judaism and Christian origins. He has published widely for both academic and popular audiences. His most recent book, Windows into the Bible, was named by Outreach Magazine as one of its top 100 Christian living resources. Marc is a widely sought-after speaker and a gifted teacher. He has been guiding groups to the lands of the Bible—Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Greece, and Italy—for over twenty years.

Website: WITBUniversity.com
Facebook: @witbuniversity
Podcast: Windows into the Bible Podcast

By Marc Turnage

Located at the intersection of two significant roads that crossed the land of Israel from west to east, through the Jezreel and Harod Valleys towards the land east of the Jordan River, and north to south, through the Jordan River Valley, Beth Shean’s prominence came due to its location. The importance of its location is underscored by being inhabited from the late Neolithic period until the Middle Ages.

Egyptian sources mention Beth Shean, and it served as an Egyptian administrative center during the 16^th-13^th centuries B.C., when Egypt controlled the region. Beth Shean appears often within the sources during the Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine periods where the city is known as Scythopolis (“city of the Scythians”) or Nysa Scythopolis. 

The tribal allotment of land gave Beth Shean to the tribe of Manasseh (Joshua 17:11), but the Israelites were unable to dislodge the people of Beth Shean (Judges 1:27), in part, due to the people of Beth Shean having “chariots of iron” (meaning an iron axel; Joshua 17:16), which gave them a military advantage in the plain.

After the death of Saul and his sons on nearby Mount Gilboa, the Philistines hung their bodies on the walls of Beth Shean (1 Samuel 31:10). The men of Jabesh Gilead, in the Transjordan, later retrieved their bodies burning them and burying them in Jabesh Gilead (1 Samuel 31:12). Like Megiddo, Beth Shean served an important role along significant international roadways, which means that it rarely came under the control of the kingdom of Israel. 

The Gospels do not mention Jesus in Beth Shean, Scythopolis, as he avoided non-Jewish villages and cities. Yet, Luke mentions that on his way from Galilee to Jerusalem he passed between Galilee and Samaria (17:11). Luke’s precise geographic language reflects the geopolitical reality of the first century in which Beth Shean, the Harod Valley, and even the Jezreel Valley lay neither in Galilee, nor in Samaria.

Thus, Jesus passed through this way towards the Jordan River, where he crossed the river, south of Beth Shean, proceeding south along the east bank of the Jordan River, which was inhabited by Jews, until he came opposite Jericho, where he crossed the river again and ascended to Jerusalem.

Visitors to the site of Beth Shean today see primarily the Roman-Byzantine city. The biblical period site resides on the high tel that overlooks the lower Roman-Byzantine city. On the tel, archaeologists have excavated five different temples from the Bronze Age to the early Iron Age. Also, on the top of the tel, excavations have revealed Egyptian and Canaanite presence.

The lower city, most of which dates to the late Roman and Byzantine periods, preserves remains of two large bath houses, with public toilets, a large theater, with portions of the backdrop still intact (reconstruction work has added more to this), a public market, nymphaeum (a public fountain), a public market, and shops. 

Marc Turnage is President/CEO of Biblical Expeditions. He is an authority on ancient Judaism and Christian origins. He has published widely for both academic and popular audiences. His most recent book, Windows into the Bible, was named by Outreach Magazine as one of its top 100 Christian living resources. Marc is a widely sought-after speaker and a gifted teacher. He has been guiding groups to the lands of the Bible—Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Greece, and Italy—for over twenty years.

Website: WITBUniversity.com
Facebook: @witbuniversity
Podcast: Windows into the Bible Podcast