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The lingering economic damage caused by COVID-19 is significant. Israel’s government employment office predicts that unemployment will not return to pre-pandemic levels until 2025. And sadly, the people affected most are those who live on the periphery—including the elderly, immigrants, refugees, and poverty-stricken families.

The southern region of Israel in particular has seen a disproportionate level of unemployment. Thousands of people in these areas live below the poverty line and are at risk of food insecurity. To make matters worse, citizens of Israel’s south must also contend with the ongoing stress of living under the constant threat of rocket and other terror attacks from Gaza.

But thanks to compassionate friends like you, CBN Israel is linking arms with Israel’s national food bank to “rescue” fresh produce from fields and packing houses and deliver nutritious food packages to those who need them most in the Gaza border region. 

Trained staff and volunteers enter fields and orchards to pick surplus produce that farmers have not harvested and would otherwise go to waste, while trucks collect from packing houses excess produce that was slated for disposal. The rescued produce is returned to a logistics center for sorting and packaging and then redistributed to 300 nonprofit organizations, providing those at risk with a crucial source of nutrition. 

Through CBN Israel and our local partners, caring donors are providing food packages with fresh fruits and vegetables to needy communities across the Gaza border region. Abigal, a single mom, shares, “I have three children, and I need help to provide for them. Because of this special program, I am able to get the food and support I need. I am very thankful for all of your help.”  

In these challenging times, you can let so many in desperate situations know they are not forgotten—by offering food, clothing, housing, financial aid, and encouragement. 

Will you reach out in love and kindness to those in need?

GIVE TODAY

By Marc Turnage

The name Ein Gedi means “spring of the kid (young goat).” Ein Gedi, which is the largest oasis on the western shore of the Dead Sea, sits between two riverbeds (in Hebrew, nahal, in Arabic, wadi): Nahal David to the north and Nahal Arugot to the south. The oasis contains four springs, Ein David, Ein Arugot, Ein Shulamit, and Ein Gedi, that flow year-round supplying three million cubic meters of water annually. 

The springs have allowed habitation, which dates back to the Chalcolithic period (ca. 4000 B.C.). Its most continuous inhabitation goes from the beginning of the seventh century B.C. until the early Arab period as indicated by archaeological and literary evidence. The book of Joshua locates Ein Gedi within the tribal territory of Judah (15:62). Ein Gedi’s location within the tribal territory of Judah explains David’s use of the oasis when he hid from Saul (1 Samuel 23:29; 24). During the biblical period, a road from the southern end of the Dead Sea and the lands to the east, Moab and Edom, ascended from Ein Gedi into the central hill country towards Bethlehem. 

Although located along the arid shores of the Dead Sea, the fresh-water springs and temperate climate year-round allowed Ein Gedi to flourish as a place of agriculture. Date palms and perfume-producing plants became the primary crops of the oasis. The book of Ben Sira mentions the date palms of Ein Gedi. 

In the first century B.C., the arrival of hydraulic plaster from Italy in Judaea enabled the Jewish leaders, the Hasmoneans, to construct aqueducts at Ein Gedi, which allowed them to expand the agricultural production at Ein Gedi. During the first century B.C. and A.D., Ein Gedi produced a perfume, balsam, which served as the cash-crop of the kingdom of Herod the Great and Judaea. It was exported all throughout the Roman world. Herod the Great’s construction of the palace fortress of Masada, just south of Ein Gedi, served to protect the produce of the balsam.

The dates of Judaea also were exported to Italy. The site of Ein Gedi was destroyed during the First Jewish Revolt (A.D. 66-73) but rebuilt in the years after the revolt and served as a location of a Roman garrison as well as a military and administrative center for the Jewish rebels during the Bar Kochba Revolt (A.D. 132-136). The Romans conquered Ein Gedi at the end of this Jewish revolt. Remains of the Jewish rebels and their belongings were discovered in caves near the oasis of Ein Gedi in the twentieth century.

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

Do you ever feel overwhelmed by the world we live in? The daily grind, newscasts filled with bad news, an economic downturn, a frightening diagnosis, or simply the distractions of life? It’s easy to be overwhelmed. We can easily lose sight of God amidst the chaos. The world around us can make us feel numb and disconnected.

Life in the ancient world bore its own difficulties; it was a struggle to survive. In the midst of that ongoing struggle, the psalmist allowed himself a moment to let the grandeur and majesty of God to burst into his life.

“Oh Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth! … When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and stars, which You have ordained; what is man that You take thought of him?” (Psalm 8:1, 3-4 NASB).

The psalmist found himself overcome by the awesomeness of God evident in the power of His creation, as well as present in His attention to humanity. The greatness of creation emphasized the majesty of God and made the psalmist feel small, yet he was overcome by realizing that the God of creation placed us into this world He created.

Take a moment. Stop running through life and look at the created world around you. Get beyond yourself and circumstances—the bad news, the endless to-dos, the distractions, and daily grind—and look to the heavens. Not with a passing glance. Recognize that the God who made heaven and earth is mindful of you. Allow a moment for awe. Let the grandeur of creation overwhelm you with God’s majesty.

We tend to use words like “awesome” so frivolously today. It’s become so common that we do not fully allow ourselves to be captured by that which is truly awesome.

The cure for our societal numbness and the feeling of being disconnected is to connect with God, to see Him as He is. Not as the solution to our problems, nor as one who waits upon our needs. He created the entire universe and everything in it. He sustains all of existence and rules over it, even when we don’t see Him.

To encounter true awe, we must go beyond ourselves and come face-to-face with His majesty: “Oh Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth!”

Create moments of awe in your day. Allow yourself a break from the chaos and distractions of life to capture a new perspective of God, His majesty, and His care for you.

PRAYER
“Oh Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth! … When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and stars, which You have ordained; what is man that You take thought of him?” Amen.

The best resources for Bible study are those which help one understand the physical, historical, and cultural contexts of the biblical world. To understand the words of the Bible, we must understand the world of the Bible. The world of the Bible provides the contexts to its words.

To study the physical settings of the Bible, one needs good maps of the lands of the Bible, maps which show the topography and ancient roadways. Locations often have significance within the Bible due to their proximity to roadways; therefore, when looking at a map, it is not simply the locations, but their connection to roads which make them significant. So too, good Bible atlases offer geographic information, including regional dynamics, and maps, as well as geographic realities at specific periods of time. This enables us to understand the evolving geo-political realities of the world of the Bible which often stand in the background of the biblical narratives and prophecies.

In addition to maps and atlases, Bible dictionaries are important. These help you look up terms, places, people, flora, fauna, and other details about the biblical world. This provides background and contextual information enabling us to interpret the Bible better. Bible dictionaries often provide information on the spatial, historical, and cultural world of the Bible, as well as bibliographies for further and deeper study.

Recently several publishers have issued study Bibles focused on the cultural world of the Bible. These Bibles provide notes on passages from the aspect of the cultural contexts of the Bible. To study the cultural world of the Bible, one needs to consider the ancient written sources, contemporary with the Bible, yet outside of the Bible, and the material culture uncovered through archaeological excavations. Like with any study Bible, the value of the notes depends upon the ability and knowledge of the commentator responsible for compiling the notes.

It is important to keep in mind: the Bible is inspired, but our interpretations of the Bible are not. This also extends to the interpretations of Bible teachers and scholars. That said, as we gain greater ability to study the Bible within its physical, historical, and cultural settings, we gain a better sense of what the Bible meant within its world, and this helps us understand what it should mean in ours. It also means that we should approach our study excited by the journey and willing to learn new things as we enter the world of the Bible, and the humility to correct, change, and grow from ideas and interpretations we previously held dear.

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

Four years ago, Irina’s sister immigrated to Israel from Ukraine, and Irina kept debating about joining her. Then, as the threat of war in Ukraine suddenly loomed large, Irina and her husband took their young family of four and fled to Israel—just days before the Russian attacks. 

Living in Kiriat Yam in northern Israel, Irina reflects, “Adapting has been hard, because our thoughts are constantly back in Ukraine. Watching the destruction is impossible—I call my friends, and they don’t answer. It’s scary…” Even more stressful, Irina’s parents weren’t able to leave Ukraine, and they reside near an area intensely affected by the bombings. 

Like many immigrants who arrive with just a backpack, Irina’s family needed help surviving in a new country. Thankfully, friends like you were there through CBN Israel. Donors provided food and essentials to assist them in getting established. Irina marveled, “All I can say about Israel is, ‘knock and it will be opened!’ …We were given appliances and furniture—everything we need!”  

She is happy to see so much support and opportunities for her children. Meanwhile, she is training to be a real estate agent, while her husband works in a manual labor job. It has been a big adjustment for the whole family, but Irina takes comfort in knowing, “You are not alone.” 

And your gift to CBN Israel can help so many know they are not alone. You can be there for there for refugees, Holocaust survivors, terror victims, and more. Many living in the Holy Land are in crisis situations, and need our help. 

Your support can bring them nutritious groceries, safe housing, and financial assistance—as well as hope and encouragement. 

Please join us in making a difference!

GIVE TODAY

By Marc Turnage

The Golden Dome of the Rock provides one of the most iconic and recognizable images of any city’s skyline within the world. The Islamic shrine completed in A.D. 692 by the Umayyad Caliph Abd al-Malik stands upon the platform of the Temple Mount, which was constructed during the first centuries B.C. and A.D. The Temple Mount refers to the platform and complex upon which stood the Temple constructed by Herod the Great. This was the Temple known to Jesus, Mary, Joseph, Peter, and Paul. It stood on the northern end of the eastern hill of Jerusalem, what the Bible calls Mount Zion. 

Around 1000 B.C., David conquered the Jebusite city of Jerusalem and the stronghold of Zion, which sat on the eastern hill. He made this the capital of his united kingdom, Israel. When his son, Solomon, succeeded his father as king, he extended the city to the northern height of the eastern hill where he built his palace, administrative buildings, and the House of the God of Israel, the First Temple. This building remained situated on the height of the eastern hill until the Babylonians, under Nebuchadnezzar, destroyed it in 586 B.C. The Babylonians carried the Judeans into exile. When they returned to the land around Jerusalem, they rebuilt the Temple, under Zerubbabel. This building underwent renovations and additions in the subsequent centuries; however, our knowledge of this is limited due to the absence of clear descriptions within ancient sources and a lack of archaeological excavation in the area of the Temple Mount.

In the eighteenth year of Herod the Great’s reign as king of Judea, he began a massive remodeling and reconstruction of the Temple area, which ultimately resulted in the construction of the Temple Mount. The construction, which continued into the first century A.D., after Herod’s death in 4 B.C., created a series of four retaining walls that supported the platform, which covered the high point of the eastern hill turning it into the largest enclosed sacred space within the Roman world. The main portion of construction took nine-and-a-half years. Herod apparently oversaw the building of the Temple building, which stood twice the height of the golden Dome of the Rock, and the remodeling of the sacred precincts, an area of five hundred cubits square, during his lifetime. 

The heart of the Temple Mount was the Temple building and the surrounding sacred complex, which including the Court of the Women, the Court of the Israelites, the Chambers of Wood, Oil, Lepers, and Nazirites. Inside the Temple building was the Holy Place, which housed the golden lampstand (the menorah), the Table of Shewbread, and the altar of incense. Beyond the Holy Place was the Holies of Holies, which was entered only by the high priest once a year on the Day of Atonement.

The construction of the Temple Mount continued into the first century as the southern and northern portions of the platform expanded. The four retaining walls of the Temple Mount contained gates that offered access onto the Temple Mount platform. The northern retaining wall contained the Tadi Gate, which rabbinic sources claim was not used at all. The Shushan Gate stood on the eastern wall of the Temple Mount, of which portions seem to predate Herod, and it was lower than the other walls that surrounded the Temple Mount. 

The present eastern gate, known as the Golden Gate (or in Arabic, the Mercy Gate) was built much later than the first century. It was sealed, like most of the gates onto the Temple Mount by the Crusader, Knights Templar, who made the Temple Mount their headquarters. The western retaining wall had four gates. Two were upper and two lower, and they alternated lower and upper. The northernmost gate opened onto a street that ran alongside the western retaining wall. Today it is known as Warren’s Gate (named after the British explorer, Charles Warren, who found the gate). 

In the first century an arched bridge spanned from the western hill to the western wall of the Temple Mount. This bridge conveyed an aqueduct that provided water for the Temple worship. The bridge and the arched gateway that provided access onto the Temple Mount were identified by Charles Wilson in the nineteenth century and bear his name today. Today a portion of the western retaining wall serves as the prayer plaza of the Western Wall, a functioning synagogue, a site holy for Jews. In the women’s section of the Western Wall remains of a third gate can be seen. This gate, known as Barclay’s gate, after the American missionary, James Barclay, who discovered it, also provided access to the street that ran along the western wall. 

The fourth and final gate also offered another elevated access onto the Temple Mount platform. It was supported by a large arch with steps that ascended the southwestern corner of the Temple Mount. The arch, which was the largest arch in the Roman world at the time of its construction, is known as Robinson’s Arch, bearing the name of the American Edward Robinson who identified the spring of the arch, which is all that remains. The southern entrances of the Temple Mount served the majority of Jewish pilgrims who came to Jerusalem for the festivals of Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. Two large double gates stood at the top of stairs providing access up a ramp onto the Temple Mount platform. Pilgrims entered on the right of the two gates and exited through the left two gates unless they were in mourning. If they were in mourning, they went the opposite direction in order to receive comfort from their fellow worshipers. 

The western and southern retaining walls were built in the first century A.D. Their construction enlarged the Temple Mount platform to the south, which created a large court outside of the sacred precincts. They also supported a large colonnaded structure that stood on the southern end of the Temple Mount known as the Royal Stoa. 

Herod’s Temple and the surround complexes were destroyed by the Romans in A.D. 70. During the second and third centuries a pagan shrine stood on the Temple Mount. During the period of the Christian Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire, a couple of churches stood on the Temple Mount. With the coming of Islam in the seventh century, the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque were constructed. These two buildings stand on top of the Temple Mount until today.

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

“How blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord. How blessed are those who observe His testimonies, who seek Him with all their heart” (Psalm 119:1-2 NASB).

The writers of the Bible, especially the psalmists and prophets, often used parallelism in their writing. It enabled them to state something, then either restate it, expand it, or state its opposite. This literary device is common within Hebrew writing.

In Psalm 119, the psalmist begins with such parallelism: “How blessed are those whose way is blameless.” The second clause explains whose way is blameless—those who walk according to the law of the Lord, i.e., obeying His instruction. 

Blamelessness, then, for the psalmist, doesn’t mean completely living without error; it means walking in the instruction of the Lord. This is how a person’s way can be blameless. When one bases his or her life on pursuing God’s ways, then they are truly blessed.

He continues His blessings by identifying “those who observe His testimonies” as those who “seek Him with all their heart.” So, seeking God with all of one’s heart means pursuing His ways, and the person who lives like this will be blessed.

Studying the Bible means that we have to read it as its authors intended, which requires us to learn how the biblical texts were written. Doing so adds so much value to how we read and understand Scripture and its message.

Embedded within these redundant and expanded clauses in this passage lie valuable insights into how the biblical authors described God and His people. We often find that they view their world, even their relationship with God, so much differently than we do today.

The psalmist gives us incredible insight into how God expects His people to live their lives. If you want your way to be blameless, walk according to His law and instruction. Seek Him with all of your heart by aligning your life with His ways. When you live like this, you will be blessed.

PRAYER

Father, today may we walk in accordance with Your law and instruction, so that our way may truly be blameless. Let us seek you with all our heart by pursuing Your ways. Amen.

The Galilee refers to the region in northern Israel, north of the Jezreel Valley, east of the Mediterranean coast, and west of the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan River. The Jewish historian Josephus described Galilee as divided into two regions—Upper Galilee, the high mountains north of the Beth Haccarem Valley, and Lower Galilee, the lower rolling hills between the Beth Haccarem Valley and the Jezreel Valley.

The New Testament and Jewish sources depict the Galilee as inhabited by devout Jews, who gathered in synagogues to study the Torah and listen to teachers expound on it. They concerned themselves with ritual purity and observing the Sabbath. The sources describe the Galileans as making pilgrimage to Jerusalem for the Jewish festivals. Sages wandered the Galilee gathering disciples and teaching people. Although separated from Jerusalem, the Galileans displayed a devotion to the Temple, the Torah, and the God of Israel.

The last forty years have enabled us to compare the presentation of the Galilee within the ancient written sources with the material culture of the people uncovered in archaeological excavations. Excavations throughout the Galilee have uncovered Jewish ritual immersion baths in both cities and villages. Their presence indicates the Galileans took ritual purity serious in their everyday lives. So too, archaeologists have discovered limestone vessels at Galilean sites. Jewish purity law permitted limestone to be repurified, where pottery had to be discarded. The discovery of ritual purity baths and limestone vessels at sites throughout the Galilee demonstrates the Galileans adhered to Jewish purity laws within their communities and homes.

Excavations in the Galilee have uncovered a special type of oil lamp which was manufactured in Jerusalem. These lamps appear at first century sites throughout the Galilee. They attest to Galileans journeying to Jerusalem, most likely for pilgrimage. The choice to bring back a lamp as a souvenir of their journey connected with their experience in the Temple where the seven-branched candelabra, the Menorah resided. Bringing the lamp home was bringing a bit of the holy light from Jerusalem into their Galilean homes.

Evidence from excavations shows Galileans avoidance of pigs in their diet. Archaeologists have discovered cow, sheep, and fish bones at sites, but very few pig bones, which differs from the excavations at non-Jewish sites surrounding the Galilee in which pig bones appear regularly. The Galilean avoidance of pigs shows their strict adherence to Jewish dietary laws.

Archaeologists have also uncovered synagogues at Galilean sites. These buildings consist of a main hall with benches surrounding the wall, making the focal point of the room the center. A Sage stood in the center of the hall to read the Scriptures and sat down to expound on them.

When we compare the archaeological evidence from the Galilee with the written sources, we find the Galilee of Jesus was a devoutly Jewish region. Jewish sources relate how Galileans were often stricter in their observance than the Jews in the south of the country. The study of the sources and the archaeological discoveries enable us to imagine the Galilee of Jesus.

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