Biblical Tours – Page 4

The Red mountains of Edom

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When you drive down the Arava road toward Eilat, you can see the towering mountains of Edom. Those mountains are made of granite and are notably red.

When you read the Bible in Hebrew, it is no surprise that the mountains of Edom are red: the word Edom in Hebrew (אֱדוֹם) is derived from the word red (Adom: אדוֹם).

The Edomites, the ancient people who lived in Edom, were Esau’s descendants, Jacob’s brother.

And this is the genealogy of Esau the father of the Edomites in Mount Seir. (Genesis 36:9)

Here we see that there is another name for Edom, which is Seir. The names Edom and Seir are interchangeable in the Bible.

For example:

You shall be desolate, O Mount Seir, as well as all of Edom. (Ezekiel 35:15)

The Hairy and Red Esau

The name Seir in Hebrew means “hairy” (שֵׂעִיר). So the mountains of Edom have two names, each has an attribute: Edom – “red” and Seir – “hairy.”

The Bible describes Esau, Jacob’s elder twin brother, as “red” and “hairy” at birth. They say he was called Esau for being hairy.

And the first came out red. He was like a hairy garment all over; so they called his name Esau. (Genesis 25:25)

Those two characteristics of Esau, red and hairy, play critical roles in his life and his struggles with his twin brother Jacob.

As we remember, Jacob deceived Esau twice:

The first time, Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for a red stew:

And Esau said to Jacob, “Please feed me with that same red stew, for I am weary.” Therefore his name was called Edom. (Genesis 25:30)

The second time, Jacob steals the blessing of Esau. In order to do so, his mother put fur on his body, so Isaac, whose eyes were dim, would think that this was the “hairy” son – Esau:

And she put the skins of the kids of the goats on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck (Genesis 27:16)

Reconciliation

The story goes on, and after the double deception, Jacob has to run away from Esau to Aram. When they meet after many years, Jacob is still afraid that Esau will kill him.

But Esau is happy to meet him!

But Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept (Genesis 33:4)

The reconciliation between Israel (Jacob), who deceived his brother, and the deceived brother has special meaning in the future and restoration of Israel.

Who is this who comes from Edom,
With dyed garments from Bozrah,
This One who is glorious in His apparel,
Traveling in the greatness of His strength?—

“I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save.”

²Why is Your apparel red,
And Your garments like one who treads in the winepress?

³“I have trodden the winepress alone,
And from the peoples no one was with Me.
For I have trodden them in My anger,
And trampled them in My fury;
Their blood is sprinkled upon My garments,
And I have stained all My robes.
⁴For the day of vengeance is in My heart,
And the year of My redeemed has come.

(Isaiah 63:1-4)

This beautiful prophecy of Isaiah speaks about the year of redemption.

The redeemer will come from Edom (perhaps a symbol of a betrayed brother?) and will be red like one who treads in the winepress. But the red color is, in fact, blood!

Judea and Samaria – The heart of the land of Israel

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So the Lord gave to Israel all the land of which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they took possession of it and dwelt in it. (Joshua 21:43)

The book of Joshua tells us, in chapter 21, how the sons of Israel conquered the whole of the land of Canaan.

But then in chapter 23, Joshua says:

See, I have divided to you by lot these nations that remain, to be an inheritance for your tribes, from the Jordan, with all the nations that I have cut off, as far as the Great Sea westward. ⁵And the Lord your God will expel them from before you and drive them out of your sight. So you shall possess their land, as the Lord your God promised you. (Joshua 23:4-5)

This is not clear. Did Israel conquer the whole of Canaan, or are there still Canaanites in the land?

In the book of Judges, we get the picture: Although the whole of the land was divided between the tribes, there are still many big cities that remain to be conquered:

²⁷However, Manasseh did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth Shean and its villages, or Taanach and its villages, or the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, or the inhabitants of Ibleam and its villages, or the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages; for the Canaanites were determined to dwell in that land … ²⁹Nor did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites who dwelt in Gezer … ³⁰Nor did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron or the inhabitants of Nahalol … ³¹Nor did Asher drive out the inhabitants of Acco or the inhabitants of Sidon, or of Ahlab, Achzib, Helbah, Aphik, or Rehob… ³³Nor did Naphtali drive out the inhabitants of Beth Shemesh or the inhabitants of Beth Anath… (Joshua 1:27-36)

The map below shows the borders at the end of the book of Joshua.

The pink areas were taken by the sons of Israel, and the green is the remaining land:

conqueredland3

Look carefully at the shape of the conquered land – Does this shape look familiar?

Now look at the map of Israel in the years between 1948 and 1967 and compare it to the map of the conquest:

The conquest of Joshua Borders of Israel between 1948 and 1967

compare conquests of joshua with israel

You will find, surprisingly, that the two maps are mirrors of each other!

In the time of Joshua, Judea and Samaria were the main land (in pink), while the rest (in green) was the remaining land.

But in modern Israel, the remaining land of Joshua is the state of Israel, and Judea and Samaria are the “remaining land”!

As much as Judea and Samaria are not considered part of Israel by most of the international community, it is in fact the heart of the land from which the sons of Israel started their conquest.

Anyone who supports the historical right of Israel and the Jews of their historical land, cannot take Judea and Samaria out of it as it is the “Heart of the Country”.

Roots of Antisemitism in The Bible

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The word Antisemitism is a modern word that literally means “Hostility to the Semite people”. But from its origin in the 19th century in Germany, the real meaning was “Hate and prejudice against the Jews”.

Although the word is modern, its roots are very old.

Wars and prejudice against people are not something special. In fact, this is something that is common to the entire human race throughout history and pre-history.

But with the Jews, there is something unique, and the fact that there is a special word that is known internationally shows that there is something different about hating the Jews.

What is so special? Historically, we can say that in the last 2000 years, Jews were persecuted everywhere they lived, while not having a land of their own (until 1948). This is a very ancient nation that suffers prejudice in every place it is found.

Is there a reason for that?

Let’s open our Bible and check what it says about it.

The suffering of the Jews was permitted by the Lord

Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to oppose him. ²And the Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?” (Zechariah 3:1-2)

This prophecy was given by Zechariah, according to the Bible scholars, around the year 520 BC (more than 2500 years ago).

Note that the Lord rebukes Satan and explains that He chose Jerusalem. Why does he need to rebuke?

We know that Satan cannot do anything without direct permission from the Lord. (See Job 1:12). So the Lord rebukes Satan for what he does to the Jews, but it was done with the Lord’s permission.

Prophecies about antisemitism

And it shall come to pass
That just as you were a curse among the nations,
O house of Judah and house of Israel... (Zechariah 8:13)

Zechariah says that Jews are “a curse among the nations”.

Therefore prophesy, and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Because they made you desolate and swallowed you up on every side, so that you became the possession of the rest of the nations, and you are taken up by the lips of talkers and slandered by the people”

‘Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I have spoken in My jealousy and My fury, because you have borne the shame of the nations.”

(Ezekiel 36:3, 6)

Judea and Israel are “the possession of the nations” and are “taken up by the lips and slanders” of those nations. They become “the shame of the nations“.

Those prophecies predict what we know today: Jews became scattered among all nations, and suffer from mocking, slander, and persecution.

Until when?

If the Lord chose Israel as his people, why does the nation need to suffer so much, and until when?

For the first question: why – all the Biblical prophets gave the answer: for neglecting the Lord and following the idolatry of the nations.

For the second question – until when – the Bible is very clear:

²²Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “I do not do this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My holy name’s sake, which you have profaned among the nations wherever you went. ²³And I will sanctify My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; and the nations shall know that I am the Lord,” says the Lord God, “when I am hallowed in you before their eyes. ²⁴For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. ²⁵Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. ²⁶I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. ²⁷I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. ²⁸Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God. (Ezekiel 36:22-28)

Ezekiel wrote more than 2500 years ago exactly what is going to happen:

After the people of Judea and Israel “profaned the name of the Lord” among the nations, The lord will restore them and will bring them back to their land. After that, He will cleanse them from their filthiness. He will then give them a new heart and a new spirit within them.

We can see the restoration of the people of Judea in the land of Israel.

Could this be the beginning of the fulfillment of the prophecy?

Today my son found a quail in school

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Today my son found an exhausted quail in the schoolyard. He took the bird in his hand. The bird was calm, then it spread its wings and flew away.

The quail is a bird from the family of the pheasants. It is wild migratory bird in our area. They migrate in the autumn from Africa to Europe, and the other way around in the spring. They fly at night, and because their wings are relatively small to carry their weight, they are very exhausted in the morning and are very easy to catch.

When the sons of Israel were in the desert, around 3200 years ago, a big flock of quails stopped near them and provided them some good meat.

Now a wind went out from the Lord, and it brought quail from the sea and left them fluttering near the camp, about a day’s journey on this side and about a day’s journey on the other side, all around the camp, and about two cubits above the surface of the ground. (Numbers 11, 31)

The almond Tree

¹¹Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Jeremiah, what do you see?” And I said, “I see a branch of an almond tree.” ¹²Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well, for I am ready to perform My word.” (Jeremiah 1, 11-12)

In the first chapter of Jeremiah, Jeremiah tells us about a vision in which he sees a branch of almond tree.

In Hebrew, the word is not just a ‘branch‘ (Anaf – עָנָף) as translated here, but a ‘dry branch’ (Makel -מַקֵּל).

The almond tree, during fall, has no leaves. In this season it is difficult to distinguish between a dry branch of an almond tree and a dry branch of any other tree.

Jeremiah can make the distinction. And therefore the Lord compliments him and says: “You have seen well”!

And the Lord continues: “for I am ready to perform My word”.

If you read it in Hebrew, there is a special meaning: “ready to perform my Word” or in better translation: be diligent to perform my Word.

Be diligent is: “shoqed” – שֹׁקֵד.

Almond in Hebrew is “shaqed” – שָׁקֵד.

So the vision of the almond – “shaqed” tells Jeremiah that the Lord is being diligent “shoqed” to perform his Word.

There are other verses in which the Lord uses the word “shoqed” with the same meaning. For example:

²⁸And it shall come to pass, that as I have watched over them to pluck up, to break down, to throw down, to destroy, and to afflict, so I will watch over them to build and to plant, says the Lord. (Jeremiah 31, 28)

Here again, the expression “watch over” that is used twice, is derived from the word “shoqed” in Hebrew.

jeremiah

Other almonds in the Bible

In the story of the rod of Aaron in the desert, the rod becomes a branch of an almond tree:

⁸Now it came to pass on the next day that Moses went into the tabernacle of witness, and behold, the rod of Aaron, of the house of Levi, had sprouted and put forth buds, had produced blossoms and yielded ripe almonds. (Numbers 17, 8)

The Menorah (lamp) in the tabernacle has also almond shapes in it:

³³Three bowls shall be made like almond blossoms on one branch, with an ornamental knob and a flower, and three bowls made like almond blossoms on the other branch, with an ornamental knob and a flower—and so for the six branches that come out of the lampstand. (Exodus 25, 33)

Literal meaning of ‘Almond’ in Hebrew

Why is the almond tree called ‘shaqed’? is it related to the verb ‘shoqed’?

A common explanation for the connection between almond (shaqed) and ‘being diligent’ (shoqed) is the special way that the almond tree blossoms.

During February, when most trees in the mountains of Israel are without leaves, the almond tree blossoms with beautiful white flowers. This is the first sign for the coming spring.

This magnificent blossom in the middle of the winter might have brought our fathers to call the tree ‘shaqed’ for its hard and diligent work.

almonds

Almond in the modern Israeli feast

In February, we celebrate in Israel the feast of “Tu-Bishvat”. This is also known as the “New year of the trees”. This feast is not mentioned in the Bible. Jews started to celebrate it not before 200 hundred years ago.

In the modern state of Israel, this is the day that is dedicated to planting new trees in the land. And the symbol of this day is the almond tree that blossoms in this time of the year.

almonds_jlm

The first Martyrs

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In the book of Judges, Gideon is called to defeat the Midianites. His army is too big for that, so he is told to send many soldiers home:

²And the Lord said to Gideon, “The people who are with you are too many for Me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel claim glory for itself against Me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’ ³Now therefore, proclaim in the hearing of the people, saying, ‘Whoever is fearful and afraid, let him turn and depart at once from Mount Gilead.’” And twenty-two thousand of the people returned, and ten thousand remained. (Judges 7, 2-3)

This event happened near the spring of Harod, in the Jezreel valey. This place is more than 25 KM (15 miles) from Mount Gilead.

But the origin in Hebrew says something a little different. It is said to the people that are afraid to ‘go and watch from Mount Gilead’. In Hebrew the verb is “Yitzpor” (יִצְפֹּר) which means to ‘watch as a bird’.

So the people that were afraid were instructed to watch the battle from the mountain. Going 15 miles away may be too far to watch.

Moreover, Mount Gilead is where the Midianites came from. It does not make sense to send the people that are afraid out of their land to the land of the enemy.

How can we explain this?

The Hebrew meaning of Gilead

The Hebrew language in the Biblical times did not have vowel points. The vowel points were introduced into Hebrew only during the middle ages.

So if we take the Hebrew word ‘גלעד’ – Gil’ad, we can also pronounce it Gal’ed.

Both of those appear in the Bible with different meanings: Gil’ad is the name of the mountain ridge east to the Jordan river, whereas Gal’ed means a heap of stones.

Up on mount Gilboa – this is the mountain beneath which Spring of Harod flows – up on the mountain was found an ancient heap of stones – Gal’ed. Can this be the place where the people who were afraid were sent to watch? It is quite probable…

pile-of-stones

Another heap of stones

The word Gal’ed means a heap of stones, but literally it means a “heap of stones as witness”. ‘Gal’ is a heap of stones, ‘Ed’ is a witness.

This word is used in the bible when Jacob and Laban set a covenant:

^{44 “}Now therefore, come, let us make a covenant, you and I, and let it be a witness between you and me”. ⁴⁵So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar. ⁴⁶Then Jacob said to his brethren, “Gather stones.” And they took stones and made a heap, and they ate there on the heap. ⁴⁷Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha, but Jacob called it Gal’ed. ⁴⁸And Laban said, “This heap is a witness between you and me this day.” Therefore its name was called Gal’ed, ⁴⁹also Mizpah, because he said, “May the Lord watch between you and me when we are absent one from another. (Genesis 31, 44-49)

Let’s read these verses carefully:

Laban and Jacob want to make a covenant. They need to make some physical witness for their covenant. What do they do?

So first they put a pillar from a stone.
Then they gather stones and build a heap of them
Then they eat on the heap.
Laban calls the heap: “Jegar Sahadutha” and Jacob calls it: “Gal’ed“.
They proclaim that the heap is a witness between them
They give it another name “Mizpah“, which means a point of watching.

One interesting point here is that the heap of stones is used as a witness for covenant, but also a place for watching. This is very much like our story with Gideon: The people that were afraid were sent to the place of watching which is also the witness heap of stones.

jacob_and_labans_covenant_1168-11

What is Jegar Sahadutha ?

Laban and Jacob call the heap the same name but each in his language. Jacob use Hebrew, therefore he calls it Gal’ed. Laban is Aramaic, and uses the Aramaic Language. Jegar Sahadutha in Aramaic is the same as Gal’ed in Hebrew: Jegar: heap of stones, Sahadutha – witness.

The Aramaic Language is very close to the Hebrew Language. Some parts in the Bible are written in Aramaic (chapters in Daniel and Ezra) and for the Hebrew reader are not very difficult to understand. Those two languages are Semitic languages.

Arabic is also a Semitic Language, but in a way not as close to Aramaic as Hebrew.

Still here, we find a word that is common to Aramaic and Arabic but not to Hebrew:

The word is ‘Sahaduta‘.

In Islam, the Arabic word Shahada is the testimony of a believer in his belief, that is said by each Muslim every day. From it was derived the word ‘Shahid‘ which means a person that manifests his belief. Today, Shahid means a person that kills himself with heretics to manifest his belief, but this is not the original meaning.

This concept is probably taken from Christianity, where the term Martyr, a Greek word that means the same thing, was used by the first christian believers much before Islam was founded.

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Summary

We saw here that the physical witness – a heap of stones – was very important in the ancient Biblical times.

The Arabic word Shahid, is close to the word Sahadutha from the Bible and has the same meaning: Witness. The concept of Shahid was not invented by Islam but existed in early Christianity as Martyr.

Many ideas that we see in Islam, were originated from the Bible and from Christianity, But Islam gave them some twist.

How Arab villages in Israel affirm the correctness of the Bible

Throughout history, Bible scholars were looking for evidence of the Bible stories in the land of Israel. Many were looking for names of places that appear in the Bible and trying to identify where they are.

The modern archaeology in Israel and modern Bible research are very serious in the way they examine the evidences. In very few places there were findings that had the name of the city written on a piece of clay. One famous example is the city of Gezer: Close to the site that is known as Tel Gezer, was found a stone on which it was engraved in ancient Hebrew: “Boundary of Gezer”:

boundary_of_gezer_inscription

So in all other archaeological sites, how can we be sure whether the site represents an ancient Biblical site?

The answer is not so simple. In many cases there is a context of the findings that resembles the site. For example a palace or administrative building. Sometimes the geographical description in the bible appears the same as we see the place today.

But in the land of Israel, there is a spacial aid that comes from an unexpected source.

The Arab names

In Israel there are many Arab towns and villages that preserve the names of cities from the time of the Bible. This is a phenomenon that is very unique to Israel: Although this land was conquered so many times during history, and each conqueror wanted to leave his mark on the land, miraculously, many of the Biblical names still exist today. And they were preserved by the Arabs!

In the modern Biblical geography research, the Arab names play a crucial role as an evidence for the correctness of the Bible. There are hundreds of them and we will bring just a few examples.

The Border of Ephraim and Manasseh

¹The lot fell to the children of Joseph from the Jordan(1), by Jericho(2), to the waters of Jericho(2) on the east, to the wilderness that goes up from Jericho(2) through the mountains to Bethel(3), ²then went out from Bethel(3) to Luz(4), passed along to the border of the Archites at Ataroth(5), ³and went down westward to the boundary of the Japhletites, as far as the boundary of Lower Beth Horon(6) to Gezer(7); and it ended at the sea. (Joshua 16, 1-3)

The verses above describe the southern border of Ephraim (referred here as Joseph). Let’s look at each of the places marked with numbers 1 to 7 and see what is the Arab parallel:

Jordan river. Hebrew – יָּרְדֵּן. In Arabic: Urdun (الأردن)
Jericho. Hebrew – יְרִיחוֹ. The citi is called in Arabic: ‘ariha (أريحا )
Bethel. Hebrew – בֵּית אֵל. The meaning of this name is “House of God”. “Beth” is house. Archaeologists identify the place with the Arab Village Biatin (بيتين). It is interesting to note that there was another “Bethel” in the inheritance of Ephraim, where Deborah would sit: And she would sit under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the mountains of Ephraim (Judges 4, 5). There is an Arab village today called Beitillu (بيتللو) that is identified with this other Bethel.
Luz. Hebrew – לוּז. This is the previous name of Bethel. Jacob changed its name: And he called the name of that place Bethel; but the name of that city had been Luz previously (Genesis 28, 19).
Ataroth. Hebrew – עַטְרוֹת. An Arab village there is called: ‘Atara (عطارة)
Lower Beth Horon. Hebrew – בֵּית חוֹרוֹן תַּחְתּוֹן. In Arabic: Beit Ur alttahta (بيت عور التحتى). “alttahta” in Arabic means “lower”. So the name of the village is literally “Lower Beth Ur”. The sound of Horon is close to Ur and the whole meaning is similar.
Gezer. Hebrew – גזר. The hill (“Tel”) on which the ancient city was found, is called by the Arabs: “Tel Jazar”. “Tel” is hill in both Hebrew and Arabic. Jazar and Gezer are similar as the ‘G’ in Hebrew is replaceable with ‘J’ in Arabic.

Based on the above we can now draw the border of Ephraim. Similarly we can draw most of the borders between the tribes.

The Beloved Friend and the Judge

Even more fascinating than the above example, is the fact that some names were preserved not by their phonetic sound but by their meaning.

For example, the city of Jerusalem is called by the Arabs “Al-Quds” (القدس) which means “The Holy”. In the Arab books from the Middle Ages the city is often called “bayt almuqaddas” (بيت المقدس) which is translated to “The Temple”.

So Arabs in the Middle Ages acknowledged that Jerusalem is the place of the Jewish Temple!

But there was never any doubt about the identification of Jerusalem, as this is a city that Jews almost always inhabited.

Another one is Hebron. The Arabs calls it Al-Khalil (الْخَلِيل‎‎). And its meaning is “The beloved friend”. The beloved friend refers to Abraham as he is a friend of God and is buried in Hebron. It is interesting in this regard, that the word Hebron comes from the Hebrew root H.B.R. which means “friend”.

But the most surprising one is the city of Dan. Let’s read from the Bible:

And they called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father, who was born to Israel. However, the name of the city formerly was Laish (Judges 18, 29)

The archaeological site of Tel Dan is a hill (Tel) near the spring of Dan which is the biggest spring in Israel. very interesting stuff was found in the excavations there. The most important findings are the Canaanite gate, The massive Israelite wall and the Tel Dan Stele on which the House of David the king is mentioned.

But the name of the Tel in Arabic does not sound like Dan. It is “tal alqadi” ( تل القاضي).

Tal alqadi in Arabic means: The hill of the Judge. And who is the Judge? “Dan” is the name of the son of Jacob, and the tribe. But the meaning of the word Dan in Hebrew is “Judge”.

So we see here that the meaning of the name was translated to Arabic and this is the new name of the place.

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Tel Dan Stele

Summary

There are many more examples that include names of cities or mountains and valleys. Not all the examples are from the Bible. There are Arab names that preserve more recent names that appear first in the New Testament or in the Talmud.

What is important is that the local Arabs of Israel help us a lot in the research of Biblical Geography.

A Mustard Seed

“…The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.“

(Mathew 13, 31-32)

Seeds of mustard and a mustard flower: mustard-seeds

Many people that read the verse above from Mathew, tend to think that the mustard is a big tree.

Well, this is not the case. In Israel the mustard is a very common wild weed that grows almost everywhere except for the desert. It has yellow flowers and a strong odor of mustard. During the spring it paints the fields with a strong color.

Wild Mustard field in Golan heights: 18127405

The mustard is very known in Israel as a herb and a medicine. People used in the time of Yeshua, and until today it is used by the local people as a vegetable and as a medicine.

Mustard condiment is made from the seeds. 20091007-mustard-yellows

So why does Yeshua uses the mustard in his parable?

The reason is that the mustard weed grows very fast: It sprouts in the beginning of the winter, and by the end of the spring it gets to be higher than the height of a person. In the summer the weed dries and becomes a thorn bush.

Small birds use the mustard weed to build their nests.

A bird (bunting) on a dry mustard in Golan Heights in the autumn: גבתון עפרוני

A mustard stem is used for a crown:

The base of the Menorah

“You shall also make a lampstand (menorah) of pure gold; the lampstand shall be of hammered work. Its shaft, its branches, its bowls, its ornamental knobs, and flowers shall be of one piece…”

(Exodus 25, 31)

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The description of the Menorah in Exodus 25 is very detailed. but try now the following exercise: read the description – Exodus 25, 31-40. Now try to draw the Menorah in your mind just from the writing. You will very soon see that the written description is not enough. The many details that we see in the Menorah as we know it from eye sight is not completely covered in this description.

But we know that Bezalel the son of Uri made the Menorah after Moses’s instructions (Exodus 38,22).

The original Menorah from the second temple was lost in Rome after the destruction of the temple in 70 A.D.

People in modern Israel tried to draw and remake the Menorah from the model that they had in mind. What was the model that they used?

The most common and famous model is on the arch of Titus in ancient Rome.

menorah-titus

The interesting part of it is the base. In the arch of Titus, there is a base that looks like an hexagonal box of two parts – a smaller part on top of a bigger part, and is decorated with drawings.

Menorah drawings in ancient synagogues

The Menorah was found in some mosaics on floors of several ancient synagogues.

Synagogue of Maon: 7d585800-8cbc-4002-a521-df3f0b41ea0c_big

Synagogue in Hamat Tiberias: %d7%a4%d7%a1%d7%99%d7%a4%d7%a1-%d7%9e%d7%a0%d7%95%d7%a8%d7%94-%d7%97%d7%9e%d7%aa-%d7%98%d7%91%d7%a8%d7%99%d7%94-%d7%a6%d7%99%d7%9c%d7%9d-%d7%a9%d7%99-%d7%90%d7%a9%d7%9b%d7%a0%d7%96%d7%99-jpg5

Note that those Menoras have three lion legs and not the hexagonal boxes!

Menorah on coins

A coin from the time of the Maccabee kings, 37 BC, show a different base. A round wide base.

This image also appears on the 10 Agorot of modern Israel today.

The Maccabees coin: coin_issued_by_mattathias_antigonus_c_40bce

The 10 Agorot: israel_10_agorot_1985_edge_obverse__reverse

So how did the base of the Menorah look like?

A few years ago, an important stone was found in the synagogue of Magdala near the Sea of Galilee.

On that stone, there is a carving of the Menorah:

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This carving is not very sophisticated, but resembles the base that is seen on the coin from the Maccabees. A round wide base. No lion legs and no hexagon boxes.

The importance of this stone, is that it was made in the first century A.D. in the time of Yeshua and of Mary Magdalene who came from the village of Magdala.

So this carving was done by an artist that saw the Menorah in the Temple before it was destructed.

We can be quite sure that this is how the Menorah looked like.

What about the other bases that were found?

The bases that look like lion legs are all from mosaics in synagogues from the Byzantine period. They are dated to the third to sixth centuries. The artists that made them did not see the original Menorah and therefore they are not authentic.

It is possible that this is the idea that the people had about the Menorah in the Byzantine time, as they could not see it.

And what about the base seen in the arch in Rome?

The carving on the arch of Titus if very precise. But there is a real problem about it. There are drawings on the base that look like pagan drawings.

Some researchers suggest that the base that appears in this image was made by the Romans when they took it to Rome. The original base is either hidden inside this box or was broken and replaced by the box.

What is the Color of the Tsitsit

“Speak to the children of Israel, and bid them make fringes in the corners of their garments throughout their generations, putting upon the fringe of each corner a thread of blue. And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that you may look upon it and remember all the commandments of the Lord, and do them.”

(Numbers 15, 38-39)

Orthodox Jews, use Talit – prayer shawl – in their prayer, that has fringes – tsitsit.

They also wear Talit Katan – small prayer shawl below their shirts. this Talit Katan also has four fringes – tsitsit.

Those two customs are taken from the law as appears in Numbers 15, 38-39. See above.

In the English translation we read that there is supposed to be a thread of blue in the tsitsit. Is this right?

ancient-tekhelet

The color blue in the bible

The translation of the word blue comes from the Hebrew word “Tekhelet” (תְכֵלֶת). This word appears in the bible 48 times. Most of the times in the description of the tabernacle as given by Moses.

In 26 of those cases we see three colors mentioned together: blue, purple and scarlet. In Hebrew: Tekhelet, Argaman and Tola’at-Shani (וּתְכֵלֶת וְאַרְגָּמָן וְתוֹלַעַת שָׁנִי)

“Moreover thou shalt make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet: with cherubims of cunning work shalt thou make them”

(Exodus 26,1)

In other 6 occasions, only blue and purple without scarlet:

“Silver spread into plates is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the workman, and of the hands of the founder: blue and purple is their clothing: they are all the work of cunning men.”

(Jeremiah 10, 9)

But according to bible scholars, those blue, purple and scarlet are not colors, but rather materials.

In fact, the words blue, purple and scarlet never appear in the bible as a colors, but always as a materials that are used in cloths.

Because blue and purple appear so many times together, we may get to the conclusion that they are in fact the same material or two variants of one material.

But what is this material and what was its color? And why do we translate it to what we know today as blue, purple and scarlet?

Some more light on our question

As mentioned above, the bible does not give a hint to what the color of the material “Tekhelet” is.

In the Talmud, that was written between the third and fifth centuries AD, we read that there are white and blue (Tekhelet) threads in the tsitsit. It tells us that the “Tekhelet is like the sea, and the sea is like the skies, and the skies are like the Throne” (Masekhet Minkhot 43, Beit)

We can conclude then, that the color is really blue.

Can we? not really…

In another place in the Talmud it is written that the “Tekhelet is like the sea, and the sea is like the grass, and the grass is like the Throne”. (Berakhot 7, Beit)

So according to this quote, the Tekhelet is green!

Fortunately, we got another quote from the Talmud that teaches us some more facts about the Tekhelet:

“This snale, its body is like the ocean …. and with its blood the Tekelet is dyed, and therefore its blood is very expensive” (Menakhot 44, Alef)

So the Tekhelet is a pigment that was created from a snail!

And indeed, we know that the Phoenicians had an industry of manufacturing dye color from marine snails. Evidences for that industry were found in some of the antique Phoenician cities in Israel.

There are two species of marine snails from which the dye was produced:

Hexaplex trunculus

Murex brandaris

The colors produced from those snails were dark blue or scarlet.

The knowledge of how to produce the color from snails disappeared in the seventh century after the Muslim conquest of the Middle East.

What is used today as Tekhelet?

It is written in the Talmud:

“Tekhelet is not Kosher unless from the snail. If not from the snail it is disallowed” (Menakhot, 89)

Therefore, until today, Haredi orthodox Jews do not use the Tekhelet in the tsitsit but only white threads.

bs-tzitzit-tallit

However, in Israel today, the production of Tekhelet from the marine snails was renewed and you can get real “Kosher” Tekhelet threads. Many religious Jews these days are starting to wear Talit with Tsitsit that has blue threads in it.

More information about the production of the Tekhelet in this site.

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