Benjamin Field Study

Wilderness- Benjamin Deut. 1:19, Jer. 2:4, Hosea 2:1-3
Today we stood on the ridge looking into the Wilderness. We could hear birds and the breeze for miles. Reading Psalm 139, one would be able to relate well to it coming from this land. “The wings of the Dawn” refer to the rays of the sun coming out and going over the land. I really like this place. However, if not careful, it could be very dangerous. David spent a lot of time in the desert. We can see this through many of the Psalms that he wrote. The Israelites wandered in the desert for 40 years. It is here that you can see God is a part of the trinity with people and the land. The three are woven together.
I found the following incredibly interesting: Moses writes Genesis explaining creation and the land. The land was “To-Vu-Va-Vo-Hu”- a Howling wasteland of wilderness. He then writes Deuteronomy to the people and explains how they should live in the land. In Deuteronomy it gives an illustration of being the apple of one’s eye. We could take this to mean a term of endearment, or if you look closely into someone’s eye you can see your reflection. If God were to look into our pupil, we would reflect him. This relates directly back to Genesis when it states that we were made in God’s own image.

Jericho New Testament- Herod’s place Lk. 18-19
Herod built another magnificent palace here at this crossroad, which bring three major highways together (Ascent of Adumim, Way to the Wilderness, and Taibe River Ridge route). This was a place for Herod to go in the winter where it would be warm. We stood directly in the baths that he built with a hot room, cold room, sauna, etc. all of which would be supplied by an aqueduct that would have brought water in from the Dead Sea. It was from here that he was able to control all of the mice of the land and place taxes upon anyone who wanted to pass through. He could then craftily persuade people to Rome. The palace was built with Opus Reticulatim, which were building blocks stacked one on top of the other like bricks. The red plaster that covered over it was called “Fresco.” Ahud Netzer excavated here and found Opus Sigulata (tile) on the floor. There was also a Paris style court, which was also uncovered.


So who would live here? This would be a great place for travelers, tax collectors working for the Roman Government, and beggars. The location allowed Herod to control access to the Eastern frontier, and trade routes. Balsam was made here which produced medicine, vinegar, perfume- all of which Herod controlled. Jesus would have come through here as well and seen Zacchaeus, the tax collector in the tree.

Tel Jericho- Old Testament Jer. 17:5-8
Jericho is referred to as an Oasis. Water comes out of the land below underneath the limestone. This city is known as the oldest city on earth because carbon 14 dating and Pottery date it back to 8,000 BC. Jericho would be a great place for people to live because there is a huge water supply, which allowed for irrigation and crops to grow. It is also a gateway to the High Hill Country. The Dead Sea brought pitch and salt to the people, which would have been helpful for sealing up boats, buckets, and preserving food. By ruling Jericho, one would be able to rule the three routes as well. When Joshua conquered the land he gained options to attack in the hills, water and irrigation, protection, a gateway, and salt.


Katherine Kenyon, who was the first archeologist to excavate with balks and squares, came along after John Garstang had excavated the Tell and claimed that the dates were wrong. She said that he missed it by 1,000 years. She did not find anything from the time of Joshua. She even claims that nobody was up here when Joshua was here (which is interesting because she found tombs up there). She says that since there is no destruction layer, the entire story of Joshua is false. What does one choose to do with that? We could either throw the Joshua story out, like Kenyon. We could question if she was digging in the correct place. Perhaps she did not dig enough of Tell Jericho to see. Kenyon could have dated the coins and/or pottery wrong. Last but not least, maybe the dates in the bible are wrong. Jericho in the text is referred to as a “large city.” Well, back then anything would have seemed as a large city compared to what was previously there. Just because we don’t find something it does not mean that it didn’t exist. In order for this to hold any sort of depth to society, we need to be able to back that thought up.


We should find places that we know were settled due to textual information that is not religiously charged, and is accepted by scholars as a reliable source but has never physically been uncovered and use this as a starting point. The texts of Amarna were documents written from the Egyptian Pharaohs to Canaanite kings that talked about numerous cities including Biblos. It was large and flourishing. However, there have been no findings of this city even though conservatives say that the city existed. An 8,000-year-old tower and walls have been uncovered, but as far as dating them to Joshua- we will have to stay tuned.

Benjamin Plateau 1Kings 15:16
Benjamin has been a place that has been fought over continuously throughout history. It holds the best access north and South through the country. It also has the best connecting highways west and east. The Watershed ridge goes directly through Benjamin. The heart land of Benjamin binds the central hill country together. If you control the ridge route, then you control the route. If one city falls from the Watershed Ridge Route the rest get nervous. Mitzpah, Gibeon, Ramah, and Gibea are cities that define the plateau. It holds the hill country together. There are two main highways going out west to the coast and three main ones going east to Jericho.

Tel Gezer 1 Kings 9:15
The Gezer calendar was discovered here on a piece of limestone written in Canaanite. The Tel is surrounded by a wide green valley (Alijan Valley) that was useful for farmers and water irrigation. This land belonged to the Cats throughout history. The valley empties into Bait Horon Ridge Route. Jerusalem would want to control Gezer because of the broad valley that connects the two main routes and gives people access to the Mediterranean Sea. Gezer was given to Solomon’s wife as a dowry, which united Egypt and Israel.
Standing Stones were also discovered at Tel Gezer, which represented a permanent memorial or covenant. Stones were erected to remember a significant agreement or occasion. It could also be a boundary for where land ends or begins. Standing stones could be a testimony that people left to their God.
Solomon’s gate was also excavated. We were able to see the entrance where people would have gathered to socialize, transfer property, rest, or meet someone.