Jericho
Jericho is often referred to as the oldest city on earth, with a history of over ten thousand years. This ancient city is located in the region of Canaan at the lower end of the Jordan valley about eight miles north of the Dead (Salt) Sea. It lies 840 feet below sea level making it the lowest city in the world. Hunters were attracted to this location because of the abundant water sources nearby. Aqueducts and other irrigation systems were built early on, making the city an agricultural center. By 8000 BC, about 2,000 people had permanently settled near present-day Jericho (Metzger and Coogan, 1993).
Jericho was an important city in the Old Testament. The city was overtaken and devastated several times. However, it was always reoccupied -- sometimes quickly and other times very slowly. Herod the Great, Cleopatra, and Augustus are some of the mighty rulers that once took claim of some or all of Jericho. Many Galileans would travel through the Jordan valley and go by Jericho on their route to Jerusalem. By taking this course, they could avoid passing through Samaritan territory (Metzger and Coogan, 1993).
Jericho is perhaps most recognized, especially to youngsters, as the city where Joshua was victorious in battle. This story of marching and shouting and crumbling walls is unbelievable unless you attribute it to God's almighty power. The capture of Jericho is significant because it is the beginning of the war of conquest and the first time a ritual act, "herem," is implemented . "Herem" refers to God's judgment on the condemned and his preservation of those who remain faithful to him. In the story of the Fall of Jericho, Rahab and those in her house were the only residents of Jericho to survive Joshua's conquest. The true victory of the city belongs to the Lord as the city was attained through obedience to His commands (Coogan 2001).
The Fall of Jericho entails a great deal of symbolism. For seven days the Israelite kings and soldiers marched around the city walls. On the seventh day, they encircled it seven times while seven priests carried seven trumpets. The number seven recalls the seven days of creation in Genesis. This implies the creation of a new order and foreshadows the success that will follow the first major battle of the holy war.
They were set apart; they had no earthly king and their history was one filled with miracles and impossible victories. Yet Israel’s people were still human; their failures were nearly equal to their victories and their frequent disobedience towards God had cost them greatly. They were hardly a unified nation, and despite a history rich in God’s provision, they were rebellious.
The story of David and Goliath can be thought of as a timeless tale of
"The Old City of Jerusalem, Israel." Www.goisrael.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2014. (The Old City of Jerusalem, Israel)
Judaism is a religion with an excess of 13 million believers located mainly within the United States and Israel. Of all the religions practiced today, Judaism is one of the oldest. The roots of Judaism can be traced back over 3500 years to the Middle East with a lineage that descends from Abraham as a patriarch. With Abraham as a common ancestor, Judaism is considered one of the Abrahamic faiths alongside Christianity and Islam. The historical events within the Bible of Judaism’s past, all the way back to Abraham, have molded the beliefs and traditions practiced by Jewish adherents today.
Babylon was originally a small city by the name of "Semitic Akkadan" but was later founded around 2334 BCE by Sargon The Great who built temples during his reign from 2334-2279 BCE and gave it the name Babylon after the Akkadian language. The word Babylon meant 'Gate of Gods '. It was fertile land that was located right between the Euphrates and Tigris river. With Babylon being positioned right between two rivers it became a port town for the city-state. It was built on the Euphrates land but was split into two with steep embankments. The city was built with steep embankments because it was built to retain water from the rivers seasonal floods. Babylon was also a small kingdom opposed to larger neighboring kingdoms of Larsa, Assyria, Eshnunna,
Moses was given a message from the Lord through the burning bush (Leeming 249). He was told to return to Egypt and to free his people from captivity. Moses showed his uneasiness, but God pushed him and reassured him that he would be by his side. However, He continued on to say that He knew Pharaoh would not let the Israelites go and that He would "stretch out my hand, and smite Egypt will all my wonders" (Leeming 250). Moses did as the Lord told him and confronted Pharaoh, someone he considered family for many years. Moses pleaded with Pharaoh to release the slaves. But as the Lord predicted, Pharaoh did not listen and Egypt was now subject to the wrath of God. He watched as the plagues destroyed the vast Egyptian Empire and a sense of betrayal to his "family" swept over him, but he knew this was as it should be.
"And Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said unto them, Get you up this way southward, and go up into the mountain: And see the land, what it is, and the people that dwelleth therein, whether they be strong or weak,, few or many; And what the land is that they dwell in, whether it be good or bad" (Numbers, Ch. 13, Lines 17-19)
The Exodus of the Israelites is the equivalent to our present day Fourth of July or Bastille Day to the French. Israelite writers discuss the Exodus the most out of any other event in history. The story of the Exodus is one of the most famous stories of the Old Testament. Three of the most significant aspects of the story of Exodus are the call of Moses, the use of plagues as miracles, and the Passover.
When Jerusalem fell to the conquering Babylonians in 587 BC, most of what was important to the Hebrew people was gone. They lost their holy city, the Temple was destroyed, and the Davidic monarchy ended (Beasley 221). Following the destruction of Jerusalem, the Babylonian king, Nebuchadrezzar, deported most of the population to other cities, including Babylon. These exiles remained there for about fifty years until the Persian forces, under king Cyrus, took the city of Babylon in 539 BC. The Persian policies concerning captured and exiled peoples were quite different than those of the Babylonians, and because of this King Cyrus allowed the exiles to return to Jerusalem in 538 BC to rebuild the city and the Temple.
Damascus may be the oldest continuously occupied city in the world. It is mentioned first in Genesis 14:15 and Genesis 15:2. Also, Abanah and Pharpar, the two rivers that Naaman said contained better water than the Jordan, are near Damascus. (II Kings 5:12)
The name Babylon means “Gate of God”. The location of the ancient city was along the Euphrates River and today is marked by a long stretch of ruins east of the river. Which is ninety kilometres south of Baghdad, Iraq. This was one of the main trading points of the ancient world because of its central location.
The Hebrews moved to Mitsrayim (Egypt) because of the patriarch Joseph. Seventy souls came to Goshen in the middle delta of Mitsrayim. Which is known to have been occupied by the famous pharaoh Rameses II. No Egyptian etymology for the name "Goshen" (Ḳosem) has been found, which seems to be of Semitic origin. While there they became a nation within a nation, multiplying increasingly. After Joseph had died in Mitsrayim, a new Pharaoh who did not know Joseph, rose and was intimidated by the Hebrews because of their vast numbers in the land of Goshen. So the Egyptians decided to afflict the Hebrews, forcing them to construct storage cities Pithom and Raamses. The site of Pithom, is to the east of the Wady Tumilat, south-west of Ismailia. Raameses
During the destruction of Jerusalem, God is still with the people of Israel who were exile into Babylon, which is shown through the prophet Jeremiah. While delivering the words of God, Jeremiah was put through multiples rough situations. In the time of sorrow and grief, Jeremiah cried out to God in the place of exile in Babylon. The use of harsh language to blame the wrongdoing against God is a driving factor into comparing the similarity of the predestined birth of Jeremiah and Israel yet their faith to God at the end is completely different.
... people. It also shows the dependence of people on God. Moses was a man of courage who sought to see the face of the God. He received the laws of the lord and made sacrifices for them when they sinned. Moses acted as a mediator between Yahweh and his people (Woolfe).
...s Gate are likely connected to the development and expansion of the city to the western hill during the 8th to 7th centuries BCE (Finkelstein & Mazar 2007; Mazar 1976). In this period, the cemetery in the Tyropoeon Valley most probably fell into disuse, while in the necropolis in Siloam Village only a few dozen ornate tombs serving the upper decors of the city’s population were constructed. The city-wall discovered in the excavations in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City does not indicate the exact extent of the city during this period, since remains of sparse, scattered settlement reach the Valley of Hinnom in the west, and the present-day Muristan in the north. Apparently, at this stage the region to the west and north of these settled areas was transformed into the main burial zone of Jerusalem until the destruction of the city by the Babylonians (Mazar 1976).