From Tell es-Safi to Tiberius

Tomorrow, Wednesday, we continue our exploration of northern Israel. However, before we pack up and move on from the Eden Hotel in Tiberias beside Lake Kinneret (Sea of Galilee), Vonnie and I want to share a few photos. (one photo is from our window overlooking Tiberias and the lake.)

There’s another photo of our dig site (Area E) under the awning. Just wanted not to forget our four weeks there. And there are two photos of me having the privilege of slinging a stone over the Elah Valley where David met Goliath.

In review, we enjoyed our Sabbath morning at Advent House, Jerusalem, where I was invited to preach. We visited the Shrine of the Book, dedicated to the Dead Sea Scrolls, that afternoon. And the next morning, we packed our little car with luggage for three and two additional people!

Lotte and Joshua toured with us to modern and ancient Jericho, Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were used and then hidden, and then up the Jordan River Valley to Lake Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) and the main town there, Tiberias. Both Lotte and Joshua had dug with us at Tell es-Safi, and both went on that same evening: Lotte to Haifa and more education; Joshua back to Jerusalem, and soon on to the USA. Dear, treasured people. We miss them already. (photos will follow later.)

One adventure on the road was when we came to the Israeli checkpoint as we left the West Bank, occupied in 1967, and entered northern Israel, carved out during the war of independence in 1948. Something about this quartet made the guards uneasy, so they had us park the car for inspection, get out ourselves and all our carefully packed luggage. Then everything went through x-ray or metal-detection machines, including us. All this while they looked in every nook and cranny in and under the car. It was a thorough inspection indeed, although I’ve read of far worse. (no photos here!)

On Monday we explored both Cana and Nazareth, neighboring cities. When we finally located the YMCA, we made appointments to return this morning for the Nazareth Village tour. (One of our photos is of modern Nazareth, and four are from the Village recreation.)

This afternoon, we drove completely around Lake Kinneret / Sea of Galilee. Now I’m wondering how closely this sea and Lake Tahoe in California compare in surface area. I’m thinking this is larger.

We stumbled on a wonderful archaeological dig and recreation area near the mouth of the River Jordan as it comes into Lake Kinneret. The site is identified as Bethsaida, where Jesus healed a blind man. And it was also the home of several disciples. John 1:44 “Now Philip was from Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and Peter.” We truly enjoyed our time, alone on the dig-site with time to meditate and pray. (Several photos are from here.)

Then we went down to the Jordan River and discovered a quiet place to sit and doze off in the shade. It is obviously a favorite spot for hundreds of families. Some holidays or weekends, it must seem like a city of 5,000, hungry for bread and fish! Our time there was extremely slow and therefore delightful. (some photos here, too.)

Our final stop before supper was to a Greek Orthodox church from the 1920s, dedicated to the memory of the paralyzed man let down through the roof to be healed by Jesus. It turned out to be a wonderfully maintained and green few acres on the shore of Galilee, just yards away from ancient Capernaum. The Greek priest spoke good English and welcomed us into his church. He told us of his doubts that the “Bethsaida” we visited was the one Jesus knew. He believes another site, now in private ownership, is much closer to the lake shore and much more likely to have been the real place. So the arguments go! It was a very special stop. (this is the last photo.)