Blog

By Julie Stahl

“Observe the Festival of Weeks with the firstfruits of the wheat harvest, and the Festival of Ingathering at the turn of the agricultural year. Three times a year all your males are to appear before the Lord God, the God of Israel” (Exodus 34:22-23).

“When the day of Pentecost had arrived, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like that of a violent rushing wind came from heaven, and it filled the whole house where they were staying. And tongues, like flames of fire that were divided, appeared to them and rested on each one of them. Then they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different languages” (Acts 2:1-4).

What’s the connection between God giving the Law to Moses on Mount Sinai and pouring out His Holy Spirit in the Book of Acts? They are both celebrated on the biblical Festival of Weeks or Shavuot, known in the New Testament as Pentecost.

Fifty days or seven weeks after Passover, Jewish people celebrate Shavuot (“weeks” in Hebrew). At the same time, Christians celebrate Pentecost (“fifty days” in Greek).

According to Jewish tradition, God called Moses up to Mount Sinai and gave him the Law—the two tablets on which the Ten Commandments were written—as well as the entire Torah on Shavuot.

Rabbi Welton adds, “Some Jewish people feel that the Torah is like the wedding ring between them and God in the spirit of the verse, ‘I will make you my wife forever, showing you righteousness and justice, unfailing love and compassion. I will be faithful to you and make you mine, and you will finally know me as the LORD’” (Hosea 2:19-20). 

He adds, “Each year on Shavuot we renew our nuptial vows to our Beloved. Many people have the custom to stay up all night, engaged in studying Torah to reenact the great excitement and love one has on their wedding night.”

Boaz Michael, founder of First Fruits of Zion, comments: “There’re so many beautiful parallels that take place for Shavuot. Imagine Mount Sinai with the mountains above it, the covenant given to the people of Israel. This reminds us of a chuppah [“canopy”] over a bride and a groom. It tells us that God is making a covenant with His bride, Israel. There’s a marriage that takes place.”

“Shavuot is the culmination of a series of events,” Michael continues. “We’ve finally been freed from slavery in Egypt, we’ve wandered through the wilderness, and now we’ve come to Mount Sinai. It’s here that we enter into an intimate relationship with God, through the giving of His commandments and then the covenant that He gives to us, the Torah.”

He concludes: “So this event links us to Acts chapter one verse eight, where Jesus tells His disciples that they’re going to receive the Holy Spirit and take His message to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Three times a year, God commanded the Jewish people to come up to Jerusalem, and one of those times was Shavuot.

“All your males are to appear three times a year before the Lord your God in the place He chooses: at the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Weeks, and the Festival of Booths. No one is to appear before the Lord empty-handed” (Deuteronomy 16:16).

The New Testament records that Jews were gathered in Jerusalem from all over the world when the Holy Spirit was poured out on the day of Pentecost.

Many Jewish people stay up all night on Shavuot to study the Scriptures. The Ten Commandments are read, and in many Jewish communities, the Book of Ruth is also read. Before dawn, those in Jerusalem head to the Western Wall on foot where they pray and bless God.

Shavuot has become a time of eating dairy foods, chief among them cheesecake!

Julie Stahl is a correspondent for CBN News in the Middle East. A Hebrew speaker, she has been covering news in Israel full-time for more than 20 years. Julie’s life as a journalist has been intertwined with CBN—first as a graduate student in Journalism at Regent University; then as a journalist with Middle East Television (METV) when it was owned by CBN from 1989-91; and now with the Middle East Bureau of CBN News in Jerusalem since 2009. She is also an integral part of CBN News’ award-winning show, Jerusalem Dateline, a weekly news program providing a biblical and prophetic perspective to what is happening in Israel and the Middle East.

By Marc Turnage

Located in the modern Negev Desert on the spur of a mountain ridge, overlooking the plain around the canyon of En Avdat (the “Spring of Avdat”), sits the ancient ruins of the Nabatean city of Avdat. Avdat sits along the ancient caravan routes that crossed the barren lands from Elat (ancient Aila) on the Gulf of Aqaba, and Petra, the Nabatean capital in the Transjordan, to the Mediterranean coast and the port city of Gaza. 

The Nabateans, a nomadic people, immigrated out of the Arabian Peninsula, and in the period of the New Testament, their kingdom stretched from southern Syria to the northern Hijaz in the Arabian Peninsula. Their capital was Petra, in the south of the modern Kingdom of Jordan. Although the land of their kingdom was vast, they had few urban centers. They controlled the trade and caravan routes through the Transjordan, including those that extended west to the Mediterranean coast. Their ability to travel through the dry desert regions, in part by using their caravansaries, like Avdat, enabled them to acquire a great degree of wealth. 

In the New Testament, Herod Antipas, who beheaded John the Baptist, was originally married to a Nabatean princess, the daughter of the Nabatean king Aretas IV. He divorced her in order to marry Herodias, the wife of his brother with whom he had an adulterous affair (Luke 3:19-20).

Avdat was originally settled at the end of the fourth or the beginning of the third century B.C. as a station on the caravan routes. By the end of the first century B.C. and into the first century A.D., Avdat had become a religious, military, and commercial center. Nabatean shrines were located at the site. 

The Roman annexation of the Nabatean kingdom into Provincia Arabia in A.D. 106 did not hurt Avdat. In fact, the second and third centuries A.D. saw the site flourish, as both agriculture and herding became part of the local economy. With the rise of Christianity in the fourth century A.D., two churches and a monastery were built on the site replacing the pagan shrines. Avdat relied upon the cultivation and production of a fine variety of grapes and wine during the Byzantine period. The site was abandoned in A.D. 636 with the Arab conquest. 

The earliest periods of settlement left little in terms of remains, especially a lack of architectural remains. Coins and imported pottery provide the main discoveries on the site from the fourth century B.C. to the early first century B.C. During the first century, public buildings were erected on the site including a shrine (temple) where the Nabatean pantheon were worshipped. 

Although not mentioned in the New Testament, Avdat and the Nabateans stood on the edge of the New Testament world. Herod the Great’s mother likely belonged to the Nabatean aristocracy, if not the royal family. We already mentioned the wife of Antipas. Throughout the first century, the Herodian lands came into conflict with Nabatean territory, which sets the backdrop for life in the region.

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

“Then our sons in their youth will be like well-nurtured plants, and our daughters will be like pillars carved to adorn a palace. Our barns will be filled with every kind of provision. Our sheep will increase by thousands, by tens of thousands in our fields; our oxen will draw heavy loads. There will be no breaching of walls, no going into captivity, no cry of distress in our streets. Blessed is the people of whom this is true; blessed is the people whose God is the LORD” (Psalm 144:12-15 NIV).

The Bible reflects the realities and desires of those who lived in its world and time. Here, the psalmist summarized the desires of the biblical person: sons and daughters, storehouses filled with all kinds of produce, flocks and cattle, and peace. He concluded the psalm stating that those who have such are blessed.

He equated those participating in such a blessing as those whose God is the Lord of Israel. In other words, God was the source of such blessing.

Within the Old Testament, God’s promises provided practical blessings: progeny, fruitful harvest and herds, long life, and peace. People in the Bible yearned for such an existence and saw God as the provider of such.

At the same time, God’s promises were tied to the obedience of the people. If they disobeyed His commandments, the consequences of their disobedience were the cutting off of their progeny, the heavens not giving rain—which meant distress on crops and herds—their lives being cut short, and absence of peace.

For this reason, the psalmist equated those who participate in such desired blessings as those whose God is the Lord. They obey God, who provides those things they desire and need. The biblical person saw God as intimately involved in his or her daily life. The sustenance and bounty of life came from God.

To participate in such blessings, they had to live in obedience to the Lord. Failure to do so meant consequences that impacted their daily lives as well.

As modern readers of the Bible, we often spiritualize things to such a degree that we fail to see God’s provision in our everyday, ordinary lives. We want spiritual ecstasy instead of seeing God as the source for the practical needs and desires of our life.

Can we find the blessing in His provision of our daily needs? The care of our families? “Blessed is the people of whom this is true; blessed is the people whose God is the LORD.”

PRAYER

Father, may we daily walk in obedience to You. May our greatest joy be in Your daily provisions of the things we need. Amen.

There are a number of archaeological findings in Israel related to the New Testament, but there are several discoveries that are particularly worth mentioning here: (1) the Pilate Inscription; (2) the crucified anklebone; (3) the Caiaphas Ossuary; and (4) the Thanatos Inscription.

Pilate Inscription: Archaeological excavations at Herod the Great’s seaside harbor city, Caesarea, uncovered a limestone slab bearing an inscription concerning a Tiberium (a small temple to the Roman Emperor Tiberius) dedicated by Pontius Pilate the Prefect of Judea. Excavators found this stone in secondary use in the theater of Caesarea, but they suggest the Tiberium stood nearby.

This stone is remarkable—not because it bears the name of Pilate, but rather, because it provides a window into Pilate’s psychology. Roman citizens did not build temples to living emperors. Pilate’s Tiberium in Caesarea offers the only example. This speaks to the Prefect’s exaggerated devotion to the emperor, a devotion which surfaces in his condemnation of Jesus.

Crucified Anklebone: Excavations in a northern neighborhood of Jerusalem uncovered a tomb with an ossuary (a box for collecting the bones of the deceased). Inside this box, excavators discovered the anklebone of a man who was crucified. One of the nails remained embedded in the anklebone. The nail hit a knot in the wood causing it to hook, so when they sought to extract it from the man’s ankle, they could not.

This discovery enabled forensic archaeologists to reconstruct the anatomy of crucifixion. A piece of wood was placed on the outside of the ankles to increase the surface area of the nail. Two nails were then driven through both ankles while the crucified victim straddled the upright beam of the cross.

Caiaphas Ossuary: Archaeologists discovered the ossuary—bone box—of the high priest Caiaphas in a southern neighborhood of Jerusalem. Ossuaries were part of secondary burial used in Jewish burial practices from the first century B.C. into the second century A.D. The body of the deceased was laid into a tomb for twelve months for the flesh and organs to decay. After twelve months, friends or family members gathered the bones and placed them in an ossuary.

Many ossuaries have inscriptions bearing the name of the person buried inside. Caiaphas’ ossuary bears the name Yosef, Caipha—Joseph Caiaphas. When excavators discovered the ossuary, they found a skull inside; within the eye sockets, they found two coins, a practice usually attached to pagan burial.

Thanatos Inscription: Josephus, the Jewish historian, describes a small wall separating the outer court of the Temple, where non-Jews were permitted, from the inner, sacred area of the Temple, where only Jews who had been purified could go. Josephus relates that this wall bore signs written in Greek and Latin prohibiting non-Jews from passing beyond this point, under punishment of death (in Greek Thanatos). Two separate copies of this inscription were discovered in Jerusalem.

A complete inscription currently resides in the Archaeological Museum in Istanbul, Turkey. A broken fragmentary version of the inscription is housed in the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. The book of Acts records how Jews accused Paul of bringing non-Jews past this barrier, which caused a riot in the Temple precincts. Paul refers to this in Ephesians calling it the “middle wall of partition.”

Archaeological findings like the ones highlighted above shed light on the world of the Bible. They provide crucial information for us to understand the past. These and other archaeological discoveries add new evidence and information to help us reconstruct the biblical world.

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 Arlene Bridges Samuels

Among Israel’s friends—600 million evangelicals worldwide—good news surrounding Israel’s 75th anniversary is keeping pace with the bad: deadly rocket barrages from Iran’s terror proxies in Gaza. Among the good news is this: countless Christian-organized celebrations are taking place in Israel, the United States, and other locations across the globe to recognize the rebirth of Israel on May 14, 1948. 

Last night, I attended a gala in Washington, D.C., hosted by the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem’s U.S. branch, to celebrate Israel’s 75th anniversary. Fifty ministries joined in as sponsors, including CBN Israel. Hundreds of us enjoyed renewed longtime friendships built while networking together in the pro-Israel movement. Inspiring speakers and music motivated us to become even stronger advocates for the world’s only Jewish nation, our spiritual homeland.  

Each anniversary is a miracle engineered by the promise-keeping God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Jesus. Recognizing Israel’s modern independence, followed by Jerusalem Day on May 18 in Israel’s united capital, is a flag-waving signal to Israel’s enemies and critics that Israel is not alone. It’s also a signal that Israel, on the 75th anniversary of its modern founding, stands strong.

Another sign of strength is tourism. I am relieved that mass cancellations of Christian tours are not happening, at least for the time being. Rev. Dr. Tony Crisp remarked that thus far no one has canceled on any of his TLC Holy Land Tours. He added, “It seems tourists understand the risks/rewards and are making deliberate choices to go.” They choose walking in Jesus’ footsteps, an unforgettable experience in the small country that is only 290 miles long and a scant 85 miles at its widest point. Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics reports that between January and April of this year, 1.35 million foreign visitors entered Israel. Some tourists are understandably nervous, especially first timers, yet a recent study ranks Israel as the fifth-safest country in the world, safer than the UK, U.S., and most European countries.

Today’s ongoing tourism amid coalescing enemy attacks and mounting Jew hatred is a welcome contrast to the 2000–2005 Second Intifada (uprising). Instigated by Palestinian terrorists, the intifada resulted in Christians and Jews canceling numerous tours. A few of us kept our Christian tour schedules and hoped our Jewish friends were aware of our friendship and support when they saw us walking on the streets, eating in closely guarded restaurant entrances, and visiting Holocaust survivors. We remained vigilant yet felt safe. However, Israelis suffered dreadful losses during the Second Intifada, with more than 1,000 Jews murdered.

Likewise, tour cancellations during the Second Lebanon War in 2006 left the streets of Israel practically empty, with millions of citizens tucked away in bomb shelters and safe rooms. Nevertheless, some Christian tours took place anyway. Forty of us organized a tour in a week’s time—a process that involved passports for several of our travelers being renewed within a few days! We agreed with Israel Always founder Earl Cox, who was compelled to launch the trip.

Cox, appointed by Prime Minister Netanyahu as his Israel Goodwill Ambassador to Jews and Christians, declared, “Friends stand by friends in times of trouble.” The staff of Jerusalem’s Red Cross (Magen David Adom) expressed surprise when about 30 of us showed up to donate blood. Some in our group prayed on and off for hours at the Western Wall, while others traveled up to the Israel-Lebanon border to give out small American flags to the IDF soldiers. They were astonished but encouraged to see American Christians visiting them while rockets fell.  

That modern Israel even exists is an act of God as foretold by the prophet in Isaiah 43:5-6 (NIV): “Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west. I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’ Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth.” 

For 2,000 years, during the Jewish dispersion worldwide, the Hebrew language did not completely die out. It survived in its scholarly and liturgical form until Eliezer Ben-Yehuda immigrated to Israel in 1881 from the former Russian empire. He devoted himself to fashioning Hebrew into an everyday language. Ben-Yehuda’s restoration of Hebrew, and the Jewish immigration (Aliyah) to their ancestral homeland, began in the late 1800s. It signifies Israel’s unique destiny as the world’s only ancient land and language to be restored in modern times. 

It is important to emphasize good news while the mainstream media reports its own barrages of bad news. Israelis go on with their lives as best they can. For example, an estimated 40,000 Israelis attended a May 11 outdoor rock concert at HaYarkon Park near Tel Aviv. The IDF allowed it to go on and sent text messages to ticket holders with these instructions if the rocket alarms sounded: “Do not run (dangerous in a large crowd) but drop to the ground and protect your heads with your hands for 10 minutes.” Israel’s countrywide alarm system with military innovations like the Iron Dome anti-missile defense system helps Israelis to feel safer. Another innovation, David’s Sling, was recently used successfully for the first time to shoot down rockets fired from 62 to 124 miles away. Israel’s cyber security expertise also saves lives in every conflict. 

May we remember the words of Micah 5:8 (NLT) as God promises, “The remnant left in Israel will take their place among the nations.” Let us make sure we remain part of the Christian remnant praying and actively advocating for Israel. 

Please join CBN Israel in praying for Israel and her people this week: 

• Pray with thanks for the valuable Christian tourism to Israel.
• Pray for wise decisions by Israel’s leaders to halt Iran’s influence. 
• Pray for more Christians to spread facts about Israel by forwarding and posting trustworthy sources like CBN Israel News. 
• Pray for Israeli security’s safety as they protect their country. 
• Pray for Israel to remain unified as they face existential challenges.

Arlene Bridges Samuels pioneered Christian outreach for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). After nine years on AIPAC’s staff, International Christian Embassy Jerusalem USA engaged her part-time as Outreach Director for their project, American Christian Leaders for Israel. Arlene is an author at The Blogs-Times of Israel, guest columnist at All Israel News, and has frequently traveled to Israel since 1990. She co-edited The Auschwitz Album Revisited and is a board member for Violins of Hope South Carolina. Arlene attends Israel’s Government Press Office Christian Media Summit and hosts her devotionals, The Eclectic Evangelical, on Facebook.

The immediate aftermath of a terror attack presents enormous challenges for the victims and their families. These can include an urgent need for childcare while a family member is hospitalized, having to take leave from work, and the pressure to replace essential belongings destroyed by rockets and other weapons of terror.

Fortunately, through CBN Israel and our local partners, compassionate friends like you are there with immediate relief to help meet the urgent critical needs of Israelis whose lives have been torn apart by terror, violence, and post-traumatic stress. 

What’s more, through our special partnership with The Jewish Agency for Israel, caring donors are making it possible for survivors to receive the ongoing care they need to recover from trauma and rebuild their lives—care that includes psychological counseling, job retraining, and more. Within 48 hours of an event, a representative visits the victims and provides comfort and emergency financial aid. 

Danielle Mor, who is with the Jewish Agency, describes just how critical CBN Israel’s support is for victims of terror: “According to studies in recovery and resiliency, people who have suffered terrorist attacks often succumb to the feeling that the world is a cruel place and their trust in people is shattered. The experience often tests a person’s faith.”

Mor goes on to explain, “As Jews, they expect to receive support from their people and government. But when support and kindness is extended from an unexpected source—and in this context, a gift from Christians—it helps to shift the scale to having their faith reaffirmed.”

Because of you, we can counter these vicious attacks with tangible expressions of love and compassion. You can make it possible to respond quickly as new threats arise, protecting the vulnerable and aiding the victims.

Please help us reach out and make a difference! 

GIVE TODAY

By Marc Turnage

Located on the southern part of the rock cliff that marks the hill of the City of David (in Jerusalem), near the southern end of the Tyropoean Valley sits the Pool of Siloam. The pool was accidentally discovered in 2004 by workmen laying a new sewage line in the southern part of the City of David. The Gihon Spring, Jerusalem’s primary water source, supplied water to the pool in antiquity via the so-called Hezekiah’s Tunnel. 

Archaeologists uncovered two flights of five narrow steps separated by a wide landing that descend into the pool. This enabled people to descend to different levels based upon the fluctuation of the water level due to either the rainy or dry seasons within the land of Israel. Although the archaeologists only uncovered one side of the steps of the pool, it seems that such an arrangement of steps surrounded the pool on four sides. The pool covered roughly an acre of land. Coins and pottery date the construction of the stepped pool to the mid first century B.C.

To the north of the pool, archaeologists uncovered a fine pavement of stones that resemble the first century street that runs to the west of the Western Wall of the Temple Mount. Discovery of column drums and column bases protruding from the pavement suggests that a colonnade ran along the pavement. 

The Pool of Siloam appears twice within the New Testament (Luke 13:4; and John 9:7). In John, Jesus instructed the blind man to wash the mud from his eyes in the pool to be healed. It served the water needs of ancient Jerusalem (along with other pools in the city), and it also served as the largest ritual immersion pool within the city. Jewish pilgrims, who needed to be ritually pure before entering the sacred precincts of the Temple (see Acts 21:26), could use the Pool of Siloam for ritual immersion. Its size and proximity to the Temple makes it a suitable location for the baptism of the three thousand who responded to Peter’s sermon on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2). 

Archaeologists have suggested that the holes found on the steps leading into the pool might have supported screens made of wood or mats to provide privacy for those ritually immersing in the pool. Jewish ritual immersion, like what we find in the New Testament, required privacy as the person immersing did so in the nude, nothing can come between the bather and the water. 

During the first century, on the last night of the festival of Sukkot (Tabernacles), water was drawn from the Pool of Siloam and brought to the altar of the Temple and poured out as a libation. The festival occurs at the end of the summer (around October), and the water libation requested rains from God (see John 7:37). This ceremony, known as the Beth HaShoeva, occurred at night. Jewish sources describe how pilgrims lined the route from the pool to the Temple carrying torches.

The first century Pool of Siloam likely covers the same pool mentioned in Nehemiah (3:15). Then, at a later time, the pool was enlarged and constructed in the manner of a Jewish ritual immersion bath. 

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

“And God spoke all these words, saying: ‘I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me’” (Exodus 20:1-3 NKJV).

Why did God begin the Ten Commandments by stating, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage”? Before He uttered one command or statute, He reminded the people of what He had done for them.

He brought them out of Egypt, out of slavery; therefore, He had the right to demand their loyalty and give them His commands.

God’s law began with a statement of what He already did for His people. Based upon that, they were called upon to obey His commands and live according to His ways. 

No other god saved the children of Israel. The Lord delivered them; therefore, they could not have any other gods in His place. He demanded their commitment and devotion.

God’s law is not punishment or harshness. Rather, it forms the covenant between Him and Israel and allows them to call Him their God. The covenant forms the essence of God’s relationship with Israel.

You may even say the covenant is God’s relationship with Israel. His covenant stood upon His act in delivering them from Egyptian slavery. In other words, His mercy in redeeming Israel laid the foundation for the covenant He gave them.

Seen in this light, God’s law with His people is the culmination of an act of love, for it established the covenantal relationship between God and Israel.

The redemption from Egypt freed the Israelites so that He could formulate the covenant with Israel. However, commitment and devotion stood at the heart of this relationship.

We often want relationship without any obligation whatsoever. Freedom without servanthood. Grace without law. But that’s not how it works in the Bible. “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me.”

Relationship demands commitment and devotion. We are freed in order to live for God and to be a blessing to others.

PRAYER

Father, when we consider all that You have done for us, may we commit to living our lives for You and being a blessing to the world around us.

There are a number of archaeological findings in Israel connected to the Old Testament, but three specific examples are especially worth highlighting here: (1) the Ketef Hinnom Scrolls; (2) the Tel Dan Inscription; and (3) the Mesha Stele.

Ketef Hinnom Scrolls: Archaeologists excavating a tomb complex from the seventh to sixth century B.C. discovered two small silver scrolls. Both contain the earliest biblical text discovered anywhere. One preserves a portion of the Aaronic blessing from Numbers 6:24-26, although with slight differences. The other shares language parallel to several passages within the Old Testament. These scrolls served as amulets worn around the neck of the deceased. Archaeologists dated them to the sixth century B.C. They reside in the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.

Tel Dan Inscription: Excavations at the ancient site of Dan uncovered three fragments of a stele dating to the ninth century B.C. Dan sits in northern Israel on the largest of the three headwaters of the Jordan River, the Dan Spring. The site received its name from the Tribe of Dan, who was forced to relocate from their allotted land in the Judean Shephelah and conquer the city of Laish, renaming it Dan. The inscription was in Aramaic and was likely erected by Hazael the king of Aram-Damascus who defeated the kings of Israel and Judah.

Within the inscription, the Aramean king boasts of his defeat of the king of Israel and the king of Judah, which he refers to as the king of the House of David. This part of the inscription is important for a couple of reasons. First, it shows that the kings of Judah traced their dynastic lineage back to a figure named David. Second, the Old Testament refers to the royal house of Judah as the House of David on many occasions. Within the biblical story, this language derives from God’s promise to David in 2 Samuel 7, to give him a “house” meaning a dynasty to sit on the throne in Jerusalem.

Mesha Stele: Also known as the Moabite Stone, this stele dates to the time of Jehoahz (c. 810-805 B.C). Written in Moabite, a Canaanite language akin to Hebrew, Mesha, king of Moab, tells how Chemosh, his god, helped him throw off the yoke the king of Israel and recover Moabite lands. Mesha references the end of the House of Omri, the dynasty of the northern kingdom of Israel to which Ahab belonged and was overthrown in the coup of Jehu. Mesha also liberated his lands from the House of David.

The Mesha inscription refers to the ruling dynasty of Judah as the House of David, like the Tel Dan Stele. It was discovered at Dhiban, Jordan (biblical Dibon). Researchers made a squeeze of the inscription, which is housed in the Louvre in Paris. Shortly after the squeeze was made, Bedouin destroyed the stele. While many of the pieces were recovered and are also housed in the Louvre, it affected the ability of researchers to read the inscription from the stone itself.

Archaeological discoveries like the ones mentioned above shed light on the world of the Bible. They provide crucial information for us to understand the past. These and other archaeological findings add new evidence and information to help us reconstruct the biblical world.

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 Arlene Bridges Samuels

In the current era of lawlessness, inflation, soaring mental illness, and appalling number of fentanyl deaths, it is easy for Americans to overlook news about world-altering events. However, an event on May 4 is worth noting. Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi flew into Syria for a two-day meeting with Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. This may not sound momentous, yet when Raisi deplaned he stepped onto a red carpet and was welcomed by al-Assad. 

That official, deadly handshake marking the Islamic regime’s total takeover of Syria occurred right there on Israel’s northeastern border. The expanded reality bodes ill for Israel, called the “little satan” by Iran, which has dubbed the United States the “big satan.” I now call Syria “little Iran.” Most mainstream media overlooked or downplayed the gravity of Raisi’s visit.

Bashar al-Assad is a dictator whose cruel policies have shredded his country for 12 years. The results of this tyrant’s autocratic leadership are staggering. A horrific personal toll has been exacted since the civil war began in 2011. Upwards of 400,000 civilians are dead, 12.3 million have fled to other countries, and of the Syrians remaining in the country, 90 percent live in poverty.

Iranians call Raisi “Ayatollah Mass Murder.” As a judge in the 1980s, Raisi willingly oversaw the executions of some 3,000 political prisoners following fake trials. He remains a monster to more than 88 million Iranians, many who have bravely revolted against their oppressors in the “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests. The ayatollahs and their enforcers in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) wield the tools of unjust murder and imprisonment against millions in their own population who crave freedom. 

Not only is Iran’s elite IRGC embedded in Iran, but these military units are also entrenched in Syria and beyond. For years, the regime has shipped strategic weaponry and troops into “little Iran,” resulting in an ever-more-dangerous country next door to Israel. Raisi and the Supreme Ayatollah are Hitler-like in their hatred for the Jews.

However, times have changed since the birth of the modern State of Israel. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob has kept His promises to His chosen people to reestablish their ancient Holy Land into a modern Jewish nation 75 years ago on May 14, 1948. 

Zechariah 9:16 (NIV) reminds us: “The LORD their God will save His people on that day as a shepherd saves his flock. They will sparkle in His land like jewels in a crown.”

Israel is not helpless. The Israel Defense Forces are among the world’s best. No one should question Israel’s repeated attacks on Iranian weapons convoys and depots in Syria. The Islamic regime frequently announces its goal to destroy Israel. Jews absolutely understand the hateful mentality of genocide after the unending tragedy of the Holocaust.

Many Americans hear about Iran, Israel, and the Middle East—a complex region that changes sometimes by the hour. However, there are aspects of the Iranian threat that directly affect the United States of America in three ways. 

First, I daresay most Americans are unaware that the U.S. deployed our soldiers to northeast Syria in 2015 as part of the fight against ISIS. Some 900 American troops are still there, working with Kurdish forces that control this part of Syria. U.S. officials report that Iran has launched “80 attacks against U.S. forces and locations in Iraq and Syria since January 2021,” mostly in Syria. President Biden responded, ordering retaliatory air strikes and saying he will “forcefully” protect our soldiers. An Iranian drone killed a U.S. contractor and injured five U.S. troops and another contractor on March 23. 

In addition to the despotic rule in Iran and Syria, Venezuela is ruled by dictator Nicolás Maduro. He has carried out the destructive policies of the former tyrant, Hugo Chavez, leading to the ruination of this once- prosperous country. Maduro’s policies have brought Venezuelans to their knees in a food and jobs crisis, and 5 million have fled their country since 2015. Maduro and the Islamic Ayatollahs are closely aligned. IRGC’s elite military personnel are posted in Venezuela, and Iranian embassies are scattered throughout South America to help promote Iran’s plan to create another caliphate, this time worldwide. The Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a U.S. research group, confirms in a report that the Latin American branch of Iran’s al-Mustafa International University is Iran’s main institution for recruiting, indoctrinating and training foreign converts to Shi’ite Islam. 

Indeed, of grave concern on our open southern border, rivers of illegals are flooding in from more than 100 nations. Not all of the illegals are friendly, and thousands of Venezuelans are among them. Many would be considered refugees because they are targets of their dictatorship. Nevertheless, a bigger problem exists for Americans. The overwhelmed U.S. Border Patrol cannot adequately determine who is an Iranian or Iranian-trained Venezuelan terrorist. 

Accomplices to dictatorships are not confined to one region. Iranian, Syrian, and Venezuelan leaders are bent on no good toward their own populations. An accomplice “actively participates in a crime, even if they take no part in the actual criminal offense.” Accomplices, for instance, like the European Union, have increasing trade with Iran—€5.23 billion in 2022, a 7.95 percent rise over the previous year that helps fund their IRGC. The U.S. administration is still attempting to revive the failed Iran deal from the Obama/ Biden administration in 2015. If enacted, it would result in aiding Iran’s nuclear weapons quest.

During the last 44 years, the Islamic regime has vaulted itself into the position of being the world’s worst terror-subsidizing country. When Raisi visited Syria, he met with leaders of both Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. In April 2023, IRGC commander Hossein Salami said, “Invisible hands [Tehran’s clerical regime] have armed the West Bank, and you [now] see modern automatic rifles and automatic weapons in the hands of the Palestinians.” With Iran’s regime now installed in the West Bank (Israel’s biblical heartland), it is clearer than ever why Israel is forced to defend itself against Palestinian terrorists plus Hamas, Hezbollah, and Syria. 

Tremendous prayer and advocacy for Israel among the World’s 600 million evangelicals is broadcast by CBN Israel and other ministries to gather one million believers for the Isaiah 62 Global 21-Days of Prayer and Fasting (May 7-28, 2023). We invite you to join us! 

Prayer Points:

• Pray for the both the U.S. and Israel during the 21-day call to prayer. 
• Pray for our American soldiers stationed in northeast Syria.
• Pray for citizens in Iran, Syria, and Venezuela who are suffering oppression.
• Pray for wise decisions from leaders in the U.S. and European Union about how to stop Islamic hegemony. 
• Pray for Israeli security and unity.

Arlene Bridges Samuels pioneered Christian outreach for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). After nine years on AIPAC’s staff, International Christian Embassy Jerusalem USA engaged her part-time as Outreach Director for their project, American Christian Leaders for Israel. Arlene is an author at The Blogs-Times of Israel, guest columnist at All Israel News, and has frequently traveled to Israel since 1990. She co-edited The Auschwitz Album Revisited and is a board member for Violins of Hope South Carolina. Arlene attends Israel’s Government Press Office Christian Media Summit and hosts her devotionals, The Eclectic Evangelical, on Facebook.