Olive Press
Olives were about the most useful crop to ancient Israel, because their oil could be burned for light (Exodus 27:20), was used for anointing (Luke 7:46), medicine (Luke 10:34) and cooking, the pits (when crushed) had enough oil left in them to burn for heat, and the ashes after burning them could be used to make soap. This olive press was used to drain the oil out of the pits, after they were first crushed by this large stone wheel. The olives were put into those black bags stacked under the long wooden pole, and weights were added to the pole for additional pressure, to obtain more oil after the first pressing. The quality of the oil deteriorated with each additional pressing; the oil first obtained was “virgin olive oil.”
Man and Donkey
This man was dressed in Bible-times attire and working with this donkey in Nazareth Village, which was a place for tourists to envision what life was like in Bible times. I loved Nazareth Village!
Weavers Loom
This weaver’s loom has a wool garment partially made on it.
Well
Drawing water from the well was the woman’s job. Normally she wouldn’t leave the insula without her brother, father or husband, but going to the well was the only exception. Women could go to the well by themselves (John 4:7-26).
Jordan River
The Jordan Valley is wide and flat, so the Jordan River runs snake-like back and forth a lot, and expands quite wide and shallow in places. But it can also become quite narrow like in this picture, where there’s more steep embankment on both sides. And after the winter rains the amount of water that flows from north to south can substantially increase.
Canaanite Civilization from Abraham’s Time
These foundations were uncovered in the “tel” called Megiddo, which is a man-made hill. To understand a tel, think of a location where an ancient civilization lives for perhaps a few hundred years, then war, or a plague, or a bad fire, or a combination of sad events takes place, leaving the location as a ghost town, or perhaps as a bunch of mere foundations and dead bodies. After say, a hundred more years, enough dirt blows over to bury all of the foundations, but perhaps not all of the remaining structures. Then new peoples move in and appropriate some of what was left from before. But also, they go out to find more rocks to build on top. Then this cycle repeats again, over and over, which eventually creates a man-made hill.
Grain Silo
This grain silo was also found at Megiddo, which dates back to King Jeroboam in the 8th century BC. Since Megiddo was already becoming a hill from numerous civilizations beforehand, and since hills were good to build fortresses on, it seems at least by Solomon’s time that’s exactly what Megiddo became. And this grain silo would’ve fed King Jeroboam’s soldiers who also would’ve lived in this fortress. Fortresses stored the valuables of the nation (like grain and oil), and since their goods needed to be defended, that’s where the soldiers usually lived and practiced their warfare maneuvers. Also, the rich could afford to live within the walls, and the king’s men. But not the poor.
Valley of Armageddon
This valley is beside Megiddo and receives it’s name from Megiddo (“Har” means mount and “mageddon” refers to Megiddo). This valley is probably one of the main reasons civilizations kept coming back to live on top of the ghost towns of past civilizations. It’s fertile, and Megiddo also has a source of water, which is another reason. But since it was a desirable place, many felt it was worth fighting for, which is why the Valley of Armageddon was the scene of much blood shed throughout history. And that’s why in Revelation 16:16, the prophecy refers to this valley as being the place for the final battle at the end of time. Whether or not this is literally the place, the “Valley of Armageddon” was an appropriate name for this prophecy.
Nomadic Tent
The promise of God in Exodus 3:8, that God would bring the Israelites to a land “flowing with milk and honey,” speaks of two different lifestyles. In the north where there’s more rain, the Israelites would farm, produce pollen, and the bees would produce honey. In the south where there’s hardly any rain, there’s hardy, sparse weeds. The Israelites would continue their shepherding heritage and nomadic lifestyles there, that they inherited from their parents wandering in the wilderness. Their goats would produce lots of milk, making life so different in the north from the south.
This type of nomadic tent was also home to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who also lived as nomads.
Mount Sodom
Tradition indicates the remains of Sodom and Gomorrah were covered by the Dead Sea, which is in the background of this picture. This hill is a mineral and salt-rich mound which inherits the name “Sodom,” because of this tradition.
How a Goad is Used
Paul the Apostle was sharing his testimony years after he was saved, saying, “And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads'” (Acts 26:14). Are you kicking against the goads?
Hezekiah’s Wall
As Hezekiah prepared for battle with the Assyrians, “…he worked hard repairing all the broken sections of the wall and building towers on it. He built another wall outside that one and reinforced the terraces of the City of David. He also made large numbers of weapons and shields” (2 Chronicles 32:5).
See more pictures at: Lifestyles of Jesus’ Time and Stories About Jesus
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envisionbibleworld.com
Tour Israel by remote through my website with a Christian archaeologist. Find pictures, video clips and information to envision the Bible world better.
This stuff is great! Check it out, about half an hour but real interesting
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When this happens, it's usually because the owner only shared it with a small group of people, changed who can see it or it's been deleted. I read this book recently & enjoyed it as much as Joachim Jeremias, which says a lot :)
www.biblicalarchaeology.org/reviews/jesus-last-night-with-his-disciples/
www.biblicalarchaeology.org/reviews/jesus-last-night-with-his-disciples/
I like AI (Artificial Intelligence) improving my pictures in my blogs, although I hope in the future it can improve them more. AI is recent technology & usually the 1st versions of anything improves with time. I never liked pictures of Jesus for a few reasons (i.e. accuracy is only 1 reason), but would like them better if his face was mostly hidden by the angle &/or his clothing. Yet I felt I needed pictures to display what my blogs were about. So I look forward to improving this in time.
So it turned out to be too much this year for my student to get my recent research database available online, we went back to the demo from up-to 2016 research again. Perhaps if I get 1-2 real good student next year it may be within reach now, but I'm content with researching off-line & with hopes my programmer/friend will find time to do it eventually.
Check out my YouTube Account (www.youtube.com/@tourisrael). Just keep in mind the YouTube Account play lists are still under construction as of July 6, 2024, which will soon show all my documentary links. You may want to check out my trailer for the documentary, too:
Did you read your Bible lately?
Heather, May 2023
