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Posts Tagged ‘Josephus’

The Puzzle of Jerusalem, Part 3, The Temple

Posted in Tellit On The Mountain, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on April 1, 2023|

Muband/Wikimedia Commons

For those who love puzzles, the last piece to fit in is victory, completion, rest. And at the end of this section, Part 3, my case will rest. Fortunately the puzzle of Jerusalem is of little consequence in the grand scheme of things, for after all, we can’t all be right! Of far more significance is the coming Kingdom of God that Jesus alluded to when he said My kingdom is not of this world. (John 18:36)

If we have chosen him, above all others, and above all else, we are his  subjects now, but he was speaking of a kingdom in the future, which we know very little about. Most of us can’t see into the future, but we do have the privilege of looking back, through the eyes of those who lived before us, and wrote it down. What a treasure are the ancient holy books; and not only those, but the priceless secular writings that over and over again support and confirm the veracity of scripture.

Once more we look at Jerusalem of old, the first settlement, on the southeast hill. That summit is still long and narrow, though today the northern section is substantially wider, having been filled in and added to a number of times over the years. The Jewish historian Josephus who lived in Jerusalem during the first century wrote that when Solomon built the first temple, “the plain at the top was hardly sufficient for the holy house and the altar . . . but when King Solomon had built a wall to it on its east side, there was then added one cloister founded on a bank cast up for it . . . in future ages the people added new banks, and the hill became a larger plain.” (The Wars of the Jews, Book 5, Chapter 5, Section 1, Paragraph 184-185)

It is here that Josephus’ translator, Whiston, who lived one thousand and seven hundred years after the fact of the temple, totally discredits Josephus, a Jew who saw the temple with his own eyes and lived contemporary with Jews whose business it was to hold sacred and safe the record of their heritage as the people of God! Whiston dares not alter the translation, but he casts aspersions on Josephus with a footnote, arguing that the wide and spacious Temple Mount is the correct location, and that Josephus is just plain wrong!

And how many historians, scientists, and religious leaders of today who are happy to take Josephus’ word on practically everything else want to find fault with him here . . . refusing to accept that the “plain” upon which the temple was built was very skimpy, so much that a bank had to be cast up for a cloister? Josephus had no axe to grind, no reason to make such a statement were it not so. I am convinced the words of Josephus settle the issue as to the non-location of the temple.

Unknown Artist’s Rendering of the Temple
Public Domain

Solomon was seven years building the first temple. At its dedication the Bible tells us that the fire of God fell from heaven and consumed the sacrifice and a dense cloud of glory filled the temple (First Kings 8:10) insomuch that the priests were unable to carry on their functions. And when Solomon had made an end of praying the fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the Lord filled the house. And the priests could not enter into the house of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord had filled the Lord’s house. (Second Chronicles 7:1-2) These words seem far fetched and fantastic to lots of people, but for folks who have felt the unseen but very real presence of the Spirit of God, they are easy to believe.

Eventually, forgetting the Lord’s supernatural acts, many of the Jews turned away from God and his temple. Sometimes the ruling class, the kings and their officers and associates were the worst offenders. Even Solomon, when he was old, was lured away from the Lord by his many pagan wives, whom he sought to please. As the years passed intrigue developed; the northern tribes split off from Judah and Benjamin and began to worship golden calves. The rulers of the northern kingdom were basically apostates. Nor were the kings of Judah much better. However God continued to raise up prophets to whom people could turn for advice and direction. Some of the kings of Judah sought the Lord’s direction, obeyed his commandments, and obtained divine assistance in desperate times. One of these was Hezekiah, who lived about the eighth century BC. And he (Hezekiah) did what was right in the sight of the Lord. (Second Kings 18:3)

Hezekiah came to the throne of Judea at the age of twenty-five. His predecessor King Ahaz had worshiped heathen gods, even sacrificed his children to them, and had done very wickedly in his reign. As a result Judah had been invaded repeatedly, and a number of its citizens carried away captive by the neighboring countries. When Hezekiah came to the throne he found the house of the Lord (the temple) neglected and in disarray, dirty and filled with rubbish. Right away, in the first month of his reign, he assembled the Levites And said to them, hear me ye Levites, sanctify yourselves and sanctify the house of the Lord God of your fathers, and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place. For our fathers have trespassed and done that which was evil in the eyes of the Lord and have forsaken him and have turned away their faces from the habitation of the Lord and turned their back . . . Wherefore the wrath of the Lord was upon Judah and Jerusalem and he hath delivered them to trouble . . . Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with the Lord God of Israel that his fierce wrath may turn from us . . . And the priests went into the inner part of the house of the Lord to cleanse it, and brought out all the uncleanness that they found in the temple of the Lord into the court of the house of the Lord. And the Levites took it, to carry it out abroad into the brook Kidron. It took the priests and eighteen Levites and their brethren of which we have no number, eight days to clean and sanctify the temple. For shame! (Second Chronicles 29:5-17)

Note that the rubbish was not taken far off, but to the brook Kidron. I can’t help wondering if the temple had been situated where the Dome of the Rock now stands, would they have bothered to carry the trash all the way to the brook Kidron — round trip to the spillway and return, what, a mile or more?

If you read my first post on the Puzzle of Jerusalem, you may recall a paragraph mentioning Hezekiah’s tunnel. Yes, this is the same Hezekiah who around 700 BC ordered the building of the underground water channel diverting the runoff of the Gihon spring from its exit in the Kidron valley to a pool within he city walls. Hezekiah did this in response to a forewarning of invasion by Sennacherib, king of Assyria. In addition to the rerouting of the water supply, the massive city walls were repaired and strengthened; shields and weapons were made and soldiers organized for war.

Hezekiah laid out the message before the Lord.
The Art Bible/Wikimedia Commons

And then: sure enough, before long the Assyrians were at the door. The king of Assyria dispatched a servant with a message to Hezekiah and the people of Judah. Here King Sennacherib made a fatal mistake in that his message spoke against the Almighty. The king’s message read: Let not thy God in whom thou trustest deceive thee, saying Jerusalem shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria. Behold thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, by destroying them utterly: and shalt thou be delivered? (Second Kings 19:20-21) When Hezekiah received this message from the Assyrian king’s servant he went immediately to the temple and laid it out before the Lord, praying earnestly for deliverance from the Assyrians. In a little while Hezekiah received word from the prophet Isaiah that God had heard his prayer and that God himself would prevent the Assyrians from harming Jerusalem.

The angel of the Lord smites the Assyrians
Rubens/Wikimedia Commons

And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the Lord went out and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred, four score and five thousand; and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses. So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed. (Second Kings 19:35-36) Oh! How marvelous are his works! He is the same today as he was in the days of Hezekiah. Pray that you will live to witness the things he will do in our time.

A hundred years more or less after this remarkable deliverance from the Assyrians, in the year 605, we find Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon has come to Judah, plundered the treasury, and taken certain of the nobility captive. This should not have surprised anyone and should have been a wake up, since the prophet Jeremiah had been warning them for more than twenty years that if they did not mend their ways they would find themselves ousted from their land and would spend seventy years in servitude to the Babylonians (Jeremiah 25:1-11) Jeremiah continued preaching, but his message fell on deaf ears. Then, in the winter of 598 BC Nebuchadnezzar laid siege to Jerusalem and by spring had conquered the city. Many thousands of Jews were exiled to Babylon at that time. Later, in 588 BC the Babylonians again laid siege to the city of Jerusalem. The city was better fortified this time, but it was unable to outlast the Babylonians, who pounded away at them. Two and a half years later, starving and weakened to exhaustion, the city fell. The walls were breached, the temple was destroyed and the city lay in ruins. Those remaining citizens who had escaped with their lives were deported to Babylon. The prophet Micah had spoken truly. Be in pain, and labor to bring forth,  like a woman in travail: for now shalt thou go forth out of the city, and thou shalt dwell in the field, and thou shalt go even to Babylon; there shalt thou be delivered; there the Lord shall redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies. (Micah 4:10)

Over and over have we seen how God in his mercy sends prophets to his people. We would do well to heed them even in this day. Surely the Lord will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret to his servants the prophets. (Amos 3:7)

Nehemiah Surveys the Ruined Walls of Jerusalem
Dore/Wikimedia Commons

The day of the Jews’ redemption finally came. Nebuchadnezzar and his sons were no longer in power, having been defeated by the Persians. King Artaxerxes issued the decree: the Jews were free to go home. Zerubbabel led the first group of exiles back to Jerusalem; the year was 536 BC. But wouldn’t you know, there was opposition, there were delays;  the rebuilding of the temple would not be complete until twenty years later. Though a number of the Jews were eager to return to their mother country, many remained in Babylon. One of these was Nehemiah, the king’s cup bearer. Some time around 444 BC Nehemiah learned from a fellow Jew Haniah, who had been to Jerusalem and was just returning, that Jerusalem was still in a sad state of affairs. The people were in great affliction and reproach, Haniah said, and the city walls and gates which had been destroyed by the Babylonians a full century earlier still lay in ruins. (Nehemiah 1:2-3) Nehemiah was so moved by this report that he petitioned the king for permission to go to Jerusalem to rebuild. Soon afterwards we find Nehemiah riding a “beast” (probably a donkey), at night, surveying the ruins of Jerusalem and considering what to do first.

A Section of Hezekiah’s Wall Ian Scott/Wikimedia Commons

You will recall from the discussion of Hezekiah above that in preparation for a possible invasion by the Assyrians, the ancient city walls were repaired and strengthened. These were the original mid-slope Jebusite walls. They were very strong, being several feet thick. Nevertheless large sections of them had been toppled by the Babylonians. These were the walls that Nehemiah repaired. Sections of these massive walls are extant today. The Bible says it took fifty two days to repair the wall. (Nehemiah 6:15) During the whole of that time the other inhabitants of the land hindered the work at every opportunity and made plans to attack the workers. When Nehemiah heard of this he divided the men and the work continued, with half the people working on the wall and the other half standing guard with shields, spears, and bows. (Nehemiah 4:16)

When the repairs to the wall were done a great dedication processional was held, complete with musicians and singers, and with much pomp, ceremony and celebration. Jewish officials, the “princes” of Judah, priests and Levites and many others gathered in two great companies of them that gave thanks. (Nehemiah 12:31) Walking on top of the wall, these two companies of celebrants began on the west side of the city, one group going south and the other group going northward, with loud rejoicing and blowing of trumpets and much jubilation. The first group heading south passed the Dung gate, and then the Fountain gate and ended up on the east at the Water gate. That great archaeologist Benjamin Mazar identified the Water gate as that one nearest the Gihon spring. http://www.biblicalarchaeologytruth.com/the-water-gate.html The northbound group passed their several gates and ended at the Guard or Prison gate on the east. From there the two companies continued into the house of God. Also that day they offered great sacrifices and rejoiced: for God had made them to rejoice with great joy: the wives also and the children rejoiced: so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard even afar off. (See Nehemiah 12:31-43.)

This celebration at the dedication of the wall took place four hundred and some years before the birth of Christ. Except for Malachi’s prophecies, which date to this same era, the Old Testament section of the Bible — the sixty-six-book canon we are accustomed to — ends here.

We have covered many years in this three part series, touching on much of the history of Jerusalem in this puzzle we have been working on. And still have not solved, I might add! The compelling saga of this city and the land of Israel can not be true, and yet it is! To quote a modern saying, “You just can’t make this stuff up!”

My desire, when I began writing this treatise was to set forth in an easily understood format my opinion as to the location of Jerusalem’s temple(s). I think I have accomplished that. I hope in the process I have piqued someone’s curiosity about that One, greater than the temple that John wrote about, Jesus of Nazareth, the suffering Savior and the coming King.

end

 

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The Puzzle of Jerusalem, Part 2, The Akra

Posted in Tellit On The Mountain, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 1, 2023|

Excavated Jebusite Wall
Darko Tepert/Donatus
Wikimedia Commons

Continuing with our puzzle of a thousand pieces — ancient Jerusalem — we are going to look at the citadel or fortification inside the walled settlement of Jebus, that is Salem or Jerusalem. When King David attacked and took that city the Jebusites occupied roughly twelve acres atop a crescent shaped ridge, surrounded on three sides by steep ravines and hemmed entirely in by massive stone walls. So secure was their position the men of the city taunted David, boasting that their blind and lame individuals would prevent his forces from penetrating their wall.

Nevertheless, as the historian Joesphus  in the Whiston translation tells us, David took the lower city. But the citadel “held out still.” Here David issued a challenge to his men: the first to go up by way of the “tsinor” and smite the Jebusites would be captain, and here it was that Joab won that position for himself. The “tsinor” (also understood as gutter or pipe) spoken of by David could have been the covered aqueduct from that era that channeled waters from the Gihon spring. (See Second Samuel Chapter 5.)

After David and his men conquered the Jebusites David took up residence in Salem (Jerusalem). The record tells us he erected buildings from the Millo (a filled area perhaps) and inward, “round about the lower city; he also joined the citadel to it,” (See Psalm 22, verse 3) and named Jerusalem The City of David. (The Antiquities of the Jews, Book 7, Chapter 3, Sections 1 and 2) (See also Second Samuel Chapter 5.) It’s too bad we don’t have a little map to show us Just where the Millo and the citadel and the lower city lay.

But we do have in the words of Josephus an excellent clue as to where the citadel was with respect to the rest of Jerusalem. The lower city mentioned here is that part of the city that was lower in elevation to the citadel, which would have been the entire remainder of the city. Remember, these were the first days, the beginning of David’s Jerusalem. If we look at ancient Jerusalem today, the twelve acre crescent shaped southeast ridge and the section known today as The City of David, there is no evidence of an elevation significantly higher than the rest of the ridge. However, we know the citadel was higher than its surroundings. Josephus plainly states this later on in The Antiquities. Further, we find scriptures in First Maccabees that support this conclusion. So? Eventually we are going to find the hill that supported the citadel/Akra in the ancient city was leveled by the citizens of Jerusalem under the Hasmonean king/priest Simon. Leveled, taken down, and carried away.

We do not find the word Akra in the Old Testament, or the New, for that matter. It is a derivative of the Greek word acropolis and denotes a fortress or citadel, and would not have come into common use until the Hellenistic period of Jewish history. Well before that however, we find another clue as to the Akra’s location. About 444 BC, when the Jews, who had earlier been taken captive to Babylon, were allowed to return to Jerusalem, the Jewish leader Nehemich asked King Artaxerxes for timber to make gates for the citadel by the temple and for the city wall. (Nehemiah 2:8) Note the narrative indicates the citadel was by (beside) the temple. The fortress (citadel) is mentioned again where one Hananiah is identified as commander of the fortress (Nehemiah 7:2)

Tomb of Mattithias, Father and Leader of Maccabees
Ariel Palmon/Wikipedia

We find more about the Akra in the later non-canonical books of First and Second Maccabees. These books (and others) were taken from most Bibles in the 1800’s, but are still available from booksellers in the collection known as the Apocrypha. The Maccabean Revolt took place in the interim between the recordings of the Old Testament and the Gospels of the New Testament. The story of the Maccabees and their leadership in the struggle for Jewish independence during that time is quite inspiring.

At the conclusion of the Babylonian exile, when the Jews were allowed to return to Israel they remained under the nominal control of the Persians and their successors the Greeks — the Ptolemys and the Selucids. But in 175 BC, with the advent of the new Selucid ruler Antiochus IV of Syria, conditions began to change. Seeking to Hellenize the Jews, Antiochus imposed grievous laws and harsh punishments upon them. On pain of death he forbade reading of the Torah, observance of the Sabbath, and circumcision of boys. These Greeks cared naught for the God of Israel. They were pagans, worshipers of Zeus and a host of other false gods. Determined to do way with the Jewish religion, Antiochus devastated the city of Jerusalem in 163 BC, and among other heinous acts, sacrificed a pig on the altar of the temple, thus defiling it and causing temple worship to cease.

Mattathias the priest leads the Maccabean Revolt Danger/Wikimedia Commons

Not long afterwards, at Modein, a nearby village, one of Antiochus’  officers attempted to coerce Mattathias the priest into sacrificing swine to the Greek god Zeus. When Mattathias refused, a turncoat Jew that was present offered to do the sacrifice, whereupon Mattathias killed both him and the Greek officer and his attendants. Thus began the Maccabean Revolt, led by Mattathias who was quite elderly at that time. Mattathias died about two years later in 166 BC after which, one by one, his sons took up leadership, beginning with Judas. Judas became known as Judas Maccabeas, maccabeas being an Aramaic word meaning hammer, which though not a surname was altogether a fitting title for this valiant family of Jewish believers, better known as the Hasmoneans.https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/history-and-overview-of-the-maccabees

The struggle between the Selucids/Greeks and the Jews lasted for years, but Judas and his men won a decisive victory in 164 BC. After routing their enemies at Beth Zur the Jews were able to take control of their temple and to cleanse and rededicate it. That dedication — the first Jewish Festival of Lights or Hanukkah — continues to be celebrated every year. Here it must be understood that Judas led a resistance movement, not a large army. Always outnumbered, their success was due in large part to the brilliance and ingenuity of their leaders, and the favor of God.

As Judas was well aware after the victory at Beth Zur, they had won the battle, but the war was not over. For one thing, a number of Greeks and sympathetic Jews, fleeing from Judas and his forces upon their triumphal entry into Jerusalem, had taken refuge in the citadel, newly constructed (or perhaps reconstructed) by Antiochus — The Akra in the Greek language — where they remained. About this time a reprieve was granted the Jews and they were allowed to return to their customary worship and traditions. But the Selucid forces remained in power and continued to occupy the Akra. the Hellenists in the Akra, from their advantageous position overlooking the temple courtyard did not hesitate to harass and even kill Jewish temple worshipers. Meanwhile Judas and his warriors were occupied elsewhere.

Though the Maccabees and their forces were a thorn in the side of their Syrian oppressors and their Hellenist sympathizers in Judea for many years, it was not until 142 BC that Simon, the last of the Maccabee sons, high priest and ruler of Judea attacked and starved out the Selucid forces from the Akra.

After that Josephus tells us in his Antiquities, the Hasmoneans (Maccabees) filled the Tyropean (Cheesemongers) valley with earth they took from the Acra (that is the entire hill) making it of less elevation than before, that the temple might be superior to it. (Wars of the Jews, Book 5, Chapter 4, Section 1, Paragraph 137.) Reinforcing that statement he gives more detail: “Simon, (high priest of Jerusalem, of the Hasmonean family above) took the citadel of Jerusalem by seige (Which was then occupied by Hellenistic Syrians/Greeks and apostate Jews, and cast it down to the ground, that it might not be any more a place of refuge to their enemies . . . and when he had done this he thought it . . . for their advantage to level the very mountain upon which the citadel happened to stand so the temple might be higher than it. And indeed when he had called the multitude to an assembly he persuaded them to have it so demolished, . . . so they all set themselves to the work, and leveled the mountain, and in that work spent both day and night without intermission, which cost them three whole years before it was removed, and brought to an entire level with the plain of the rest of the city. After which the temple was the highest of the buildings. (Antiquities of the Jews, Book 13, Chapter 6, Section 7, Paragraphs 215-217)

Dr. Ernest Martin in his book The Temples That Jerusalem Forgot suggested the Akra structure was built on a tel, and likely it was, which is a disconcerting thought when one considers that many priceless artifacts from that place could now be lying way down deep under the dust of the ages.

Givati Parking Lot dig
Israel Antiquities Authority/Wikipedia/Author name in Hebrew

Around 2015 archaeologists excavating the Givati parking lot just south of the temple mount discovered that they believe are the remains of the Akra. Artifacts recovered tend to confirm this conjecture. It is interesting that one archaeologist believes the Givati parking lot structures pertain not to the Akra, but to the northernmost defensive walls of the City of David. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Givati_Parking_Lot_dig. This is an amazing idea, and perhaps he is right, since Josephus in the Antiquities tells us David joined his citadel to the lower city and made it one body. (See the third paragraph of this post.) Antiochus had practically destroyed Jerusalem earlier, and then “built up the City of David with a high strong wall and strong towers and it became their citadel.” (First Maccabees 1:33) Would not that complex have included the former Jewish citadel? Hmmm. . .

Even more amazing is the cognitive dissonance educated people are experiencing as they puzzle over the finds of the Givati site, attempting to reconcile (1) the obvious fact that before the leveling of the Akra (regardless of where it was located) that structure was significantly higher in elevation than the temple, with (2) their ironclad tradition that the temple was located up on the Muslim hill of Moriah. For those who re wondering just what was up on that hill, here is a very scholarly article: https://www.cob-net.org/inspire/Fortress-or-Temple.pdf

Regardless of that, we all have a little blind spot somewhere, maybe a log in our eye as Jesus said, and we don’t see clearly. Reminds me of how He quoted the words of Isaiah: Therefore speak I to them in parables, because they seeing see not, and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, by hearing you shall hear, and shall not understand, and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive. For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their eyes they have closed, lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted and I should heal them. (Matthew 13:13-15)

When all that we know is being questioned and our certainties are gone, He is still the same. Maybe in the past you refused to see or hear. His invitation still stands. Come unto me . . . and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28) One day even time will have an end, and these stones that today we take such pleasure in (Psalm 102:14) will lack their luster when our Savior walks among us again.

. . . . .

Next: The Puzzle of Jerusalem, Part 3, The Temple

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Where Was the Land of Moriah? The Mount of Jehovah-jireh

Posted in Tellit On The Mountain, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 29, 2022|

Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh — the Lord will provide

Count the stars. From an old woodcut. Wikipedia

Most of us have heard the story of Abraham’s near sacrifice of his son Isaac — near, because it nearly happened! If you have read the book of Genesis, or the articles preceding this one, you know Abraham and his wife Sarah had a son in their old age, Isaac, the first of a vast multitude of descendants, the Hebrew nation, the Israelites. Look now toward heaven, God said to Abraham, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them, . . . so shall thy seed be. (Genesis 15:4-5)

God had promised this son years earlier, but as time drew on and Sarah did not conceive, she gave her handmaiden Hagar to Abraham as a wife. Here is what she said, Go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. (Genesis 16:2) We don’t know why she did this. Was she trying to help God fulfill his promise? Was she trying to diminish the reproach of her barrenness? We don’t know. But, we do know Hagar gave birth to a son, Ishmael.

Thirteen years later the Lord spoke to Abraham and told him that Sarah would have a son the next year. When Abraham voiced some concern for Ishmael at this point, God was quick to tell him what he had already promised Hagar, that he would make Ishmael fruitful, and . . . multiply him exceedingly; . . . and . . . make him a great nation. (Genesis 17:20)

God further stated: But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year. Though long in coming, this was God’s plan. May we be patient to wait for his plan. There had been conflict between Hagar and Sarah already, and now Ishmael is causing distress in the family. In Galatians is a comment by Paul that indicates Ishmael “persecuted” Isaac, who was much younger than him. (Galatians 4:28-29) Then Sarah said to her husband, Cast out this bondwoman and her son; for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son. (Genesis 21:10) The Bible says Abraham was grieved about this, but God told him, Let it not be grevious in thy sight . . . in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called. (Genesis 21:12) So Abraham sent Hagar and Ishmael away, and the angel of the Lord took care of them. After that Hagar and Ishmael lived in Paran. (See Genesis 21.)

Now, can you imagine what consternation Abraham experienced later on when God spoke to him saying, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one the mountains which I will tell thee of. (Genesis 22:2) By then Isaac was a youth, old enough to understand that an animal was necessary for a burnt offering. He questioned his father as they were on their way to the land of Moriah, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? In answer Abraham told his son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering. (Genesis 22:7-8)

Rembrandt painting
Abraham and Isaac

Here we need more revelation than Genesis provides. Let’s go to Hebrews Chapter 11 where the writer is talking about faith. By faith Abraham, when he was tested (that is, while the testing of his faith was still in progress), offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises (of God) was ready to sacrifice his only son (of promise); to whom it was said “IN ISAAC SHALL YOUR DESCENDANTS BE CALLED.” for he considered (it reasonable to believe) that God was able to raise Isaac, even from among the dead. (Hebrews 11:17-19 Amplified Bible)

When they came to the place God showed him, Abraham made an altar, laid the wood on it, bound his son and laid him upon the wood. Oh my! And as he took up the knife to kill his son the angel of the Lord stopped him. And he said, lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything to him, for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. (Genesis 22:12) At that point Abraham saw a ram caught by his horns in a thicket. And Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh. (Genesis 22:13) And it is said to this day, On the mount of the Lord it will be provided. (Genesis 22:14 Amplified Bible) Isaac’s life was spared by God, who provided the lamb for the burnt offering. What a wonderful picture of Jesus, the Lamb who died in our place!

After the sacrifice of the ram Abraham and Isaac came down from the mountain and joined their two traveling companions who were waiting for them, and together they left the land of Moriah and returned home to Beersheba. Where had they been? Just where is the land of Moriah? There is only one other mention in scripture of the word Moriah and that is: Then Solomon began to build the house of the Lord at Jerusalem in mount Moriah, where the Lord appeared unto David his father, in the place that David had prepared in the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. (Second Chronicles 3:1) Here is a mount Moriah which is synonymous with the temple and another  place — the threshing floor of Ornan.  Now that puts the temple, the threshing floor, and Mount Moriah all in one place. Who can argue with that!

Well, the Samaritans will. Their land was the land of Moreh, the place where God first spoke to Abraham, promising his descendants the land on which he stood. Their city was Shechem of old, and their mountain, Gerazim, the Mount of Blessing, where Joshua convened all of Israel upon their entrance into their promised land. The Samaritans believe their mountain to be the sacred mountain, where God provided his own sacrifice, the ram caught in the bushes. The Samaritans number less than a thousand today, yet those few cling tenaciously to their beliefs and customs, as witnessed by their annual celebration of Passover. https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/samaritans-perform-sacrificial-passover-ritual-452001

Samaritan ruins at Sebastia

These people are a remnant of those Jews in the northern kingdom of Israel of whom nearly all were taken captive by the Assyrians and resettled along the Euphrates River and beyond.  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25079122/ Those Jews that were taken captive are now considered “lost tribes” since they never returned to Israel. The northern tribes of Israel had separated from their southern brothers shortly after the death of Solomon and in time established the city of Samaria as their capital. The northern kingdom lasted over 200 years, but finally fell in 722 BC after a three year siege by the Assyrians. Many years later Samaria became a Roman possession and the Emperor Augustus gave Samaria to King Herod; he renamed it Sebaste. Today, the ruins of ancient Samaria can be seen near the modern town of Sebastia.

Returning now to our subject — concerning the words the land of Moriah, Robert Harris, a professor of ancient languages in an excellent web publication from 2006 tells us that the translation is actually the land of THE Moriah. He also gives us the medieval interpreter Rashbam’s opinion that God was sending Abraham to the Amorites. Professor Harris does not claim to give us any clear facts, which is understandable (since there aren’t any) but he does give a short discussion of Moriah from an important (and very old) Jewish commentary. https://www.jtsa.edu/torah/examining-the-word-moriah/

So, what do we have now? We know the threshing floor of Ornan (or Araunah, see First Chronicles) was named Mount Moriah according to Ezra the writer of Second Chronicles, and that Solomon built the temple there. We have the traditional narrative (repeated by Josephus in the first century AD) that the temple was built on the site of Abraham’s intended sacrifice of Isaac. Then, we know the Samaritans claim their land to be the land of Moriah and their mountain of Gerazim to be the sacrificial site. Further, we have the translation (in the foregoing paragraph) that speaks of the land of THE Moriah.

Proximity of Temple Mount to City of David. Temple Mt. at top; City of David on hill east of paved street. Avram Graicer/Wikimedia Commons

Now, some folks hold fiercely to a tradition that the Temple Mount was the place Abraham brought his son Isaac intending to sacrifice him to the Lord. But, we need to consider that we still don’t know for certain where the land of Moriah was, let alone the mountain where it all took place. Further, and more importantly, we need to consider that the Temple Mount is a mere one third of a mile (or less) from the City of David, which at the time of Abraham’s sacrifice was an inhabited settlement, the walled city of Salem. We know Abraham had been there before and was already acquainted with Melchizedek, king and priest of that city. Melchizedek had come down out of Salem bringing bread and wine to Abraham in the valley of Shaveh as he was returning from the battle of Siddim. (Genesis 14:18-20) The Temple Mount location, so near the city of Salem, within shouting distance even, seems very unlikely.

So where is that mountain that Abraham saw afar off?  Obviously the answer can not be found in the Bible. Is there a preponderance of extrabiblical evidence that gives a clear answer to that question? Not that I have found. But I have found some scholarly folk who admit not knowing where it was the Lord sent Abraham. Regardless of that, by the first century AD certain suppositions about this event were already beginning to solidify. Josephus, the Jewish historian from that era wrote that the temple was  built on the site of Abraham’s near sacrifice of his son. (The Antiquities of The Jews, Book 1, Chapter 13, Section 2, Paragraph 226)  Josephus can be counted a reliable source reporting the events he actually saw and lived through; but, can he be expected to give a first hand account of an event 2,000 years before his time. Of course not.

But, there are certain things people want to believe. It sounds right. It seems right. Grandma said it. It must be so. It is here we come up against an immovable stone — the rock of tradition — can we ever chip it all away?

 

 

 

 

 

 

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