AN N EA 10w 1/25/11 Lecture

After studying David and Solomon's rule in Jerusalem last week, we begin a study of Hezekiah's Jerusalem and learn about the civil war that ensued after Solomon died. After David and Solomon died, the "Golden Age" ended and Solomon's son, Rehoboam, takes control of the country. Instead of appeasing the Northern tribe who asked for lower taxes in trade for submission to the king, Rehoboam gives the northern tribes even higher taxes, saying that he is greater than his father Solomon. Insulted, the Northern tribes revolt and this causes a civil war. The Northern kingdom named themselves Israel, placed their capital at Samaria, and appointed Jereboam as their leader. The Southern kingdom named themselves Judah, placed their capital at Jerusalem, and declared Rehoboam as king. The northerners no longer were able to make pilgrimages to Jerusalem, so alternate shrines named Dan and Bethel were built so people could worship there instead of at Jerusalem.

During the 8th Century, the Assyrian Empire began to rise to power and they began to get involved with Jerusalem and its affairs. The Northern kingdom of Israel make a pact with Syria and wage war against the Southern kingdom of Judah. In response to this, Judah aligns itself with the massive Assyrian Empire. With the aide of the Assyrians, Judah is able to destroy much of the Northern kingdom. In 721 BCE, Israel falls when its capital is taken. Execution of enemies was natural in those times, and that is exactly what the Assyrians did. They executed, deported, and enslaved everyone in the Northern kingdom. This is called ethnic cleansing, and it is still done today but to a much lower degree.

As all of this happened, Jerusalem began to grow and expand as northerners immigrate to Jerusalem for refuge in its high walls. Afraid of being publically executed by the Assyrians, the northerners fled into cities that contained high walls. There was a 400% population increase in Jerusalem and the City of David expanded quickly. Once Jerusalem began increasing in size and becoming more powerful, Hezekiah prepared to rebel against Assyria. Large stock piles of food were stored, walls were being refortified, and tunnels were being built for quicker water transport. Hezekiah would soon lead Jerusalem in a war against their former protectors, the Assyrians.

AN N EA 10w 1/20/11 Lecture

For today's lecture, we dived into the history of Jerusalem after King David and shifted our focus to Solomon's reign in Jerusalem. King Solomon is known to be very wise and intelligent king, marking the Golden Age of Jerusalem. Solomon is also known to have built the first temple in Jerusalem, dedicated to God and for the placement of the Ark of the Covenant. There is very little architectural evidence of the temple because it was knocked down and all the remains were taken away. Instead of pushing all the waste into the center and rebuilding on top of that mount of waste, the remains of the first temple was totally cleared away. Without any remains of the temple Solomon built, some believe that the temple never even existed. Is this evidence that nothing even existed?

In 1 Kings 6-7, the temple that Solomon built is described in detail. In front of the great hall was supposed to be too columns, named Jachin and Boaz. This is a possible reference to God and His wife. The back of the temple was where the Ark of the Covenant was supposed to have resided. In an attempt to legitimize the existence of the temple, scholars have compared the literary description of Solomon's temple to other temples in the area. The descriptions are almost identical. However, there is still very little archeological evidence to prove that the temple ever existed. The Tel Ta'yinat and 'Ain Dara temples are similar temples compared to Solomon's temple. The gates were also similarly constructed.

AN N EA 10w 1/18/11 Lecture

We started off the lecture discussing Warren's Shaft and the original uses of this tunnel that connected the Gihon Spring to inside Jerusalem. Archaeologists are unsure if Warren's shaft was used to bring water from the Gihon Spring or if it is just a natural rift. There are many questions surrounding Warren's Shaft, such as whether it was man made or natural, whether it was used for transferring water, and if so how was the water transferred. There are possible references to this shaft in 2 Samuel 5:6-9 and 2 Chronicles 11:4-8, where it is said Joab climbed up a shaft into Jerusalem and fought the Jebusites. Closely related to Warren's Shaft is the Gihon Spring which is located right at the eastern edge of the City of David. The spring has a tradition of anointing new kings of Isreal. In 1 Kings 1:32-40, Solomon is appointed king and his coronation is done in the Gihon Spring. Solomon rides down to the spring on a mule or donkey, which is very significant. Prophecies in the Bible state that the King of the Jews will ride into Jerusalem on a colt or donkey. And this happened when Jesus Christ entered Jerusalem a week before His crucifixion on the back of a donkey. He also passed the Gihon Spring, showing that this was the coronation of the King.

The next topic was David and his tie with the Ark of the Covenant. After taking Jerusalem, David wants to build a temple for God where the Ark of the Covenant is to reside. The Ark of the Covenant was a physical object where God was suppose to reside. He would meet with high priests, Moses, and others at the Ark. On the Ark are cherubim, which are vicious creatures that usually guard a very important place or thing. The Ark of the Covenant is a portable axis mundi. For this reason, David wants to move it into the temple of Jerusalem. Once the Ark is in the temple, the temple would be the most important place. If everybody knew that God resided in Jerusalem, it would be known as a sacred and holy place, unmatched by any other place on Earth.

AN N EA 10w 1/13/11 Lecture

In today's lecture, we started off by going through Canaanite Jerusalem and what life was before the Israelites came in and conquered. Jerusalem existed before David settled there, and the settlement began next to the Gihon Spring. This is an obvious choice because without a fresh water source, the city would not be able to survive. The existence and history of Jerusalem is evident though things like execration texts and amarna letters/tablets. Execration texts were writings on clay figures that were supposed to be symbolic of their enemies. They would write a curse on the figurine and then smash it, similar to voodoo dolls. There is reference to Jerusalem before 1900 BCE. This shows that Jerusalem was big enough at the time to have enemies and was a relevant settlement in the area. Amarna letters, which are "plea" letters, basically made a deal between a small city and big city for protection in exchange for money. Letters from kings of Jerusalem once again reveals the relevance of Jerusalem during and the impact it had with other places like Egypt and the surrounding cities in the area.

After learning about Canaanite Jerusalem, we turned to the conquest of the Israelites and the taking of Jerusalem. The history of this can be found in the chapters Joshua and Judges in the Bible, known as the conquest narratives. The most popular story from the conquest is David vs. Goliath. There is debate on whether the "conquest" story actually existed. There are three stances on the conquest of the Canaanites. The first view that what the Bible says about the conquest is true, and that the Israelites destroyed and slaughtered all the Canaanites under God's command. The second view is the "immigration" view, which is that the Israelites slowly immigrated into Israel and told heroic stories of how they got there. The third view is the "mixed ethic origins", which believes that the Israelites were originally Canaanites and had an internal revolt of some sort. Some believe that there are contradictions in the Bible, so therefore we should throw it out altogether. On the other hand, some believe that the Bible is absolutely true and is God-breathed, therefore it is perfect and inerrant. These different beliefs are what create the different views of the conquest of the Canaanites.

Towards the end of class, we talked about David's Jerusalem, which was around 1000 BCE (Iron Age). Some scholars deny that David and his son Solomon ever existed because there are no concrete evidence to prove they did except the Bible. There were no texts of any sort that talked about David and his reign in Jerusalem. An inscription, known as the Tel Dan inscription, is known to be the first extra biblical reference to David. The inscription, which lists the names of people the author conquered, includes the house of David. Still, there is are no records of whether a kingdom ruled by David ever existed. I was surprised to hear that records of David have never been found, which put into question the existence of David's Jerusalem. However, those who believe the Bible know for a fact that David and his stories are true. I have begun to realize how important one's view on the inerrancy of scripture is. Belief in the legitimacy of the Bible has massive implications. For example, whether or not you believe that a king David ever existed depends on whether or not you think the Bible is true or not.

AN N EA 10w 1/11/11 Lecture

After learning about the geography of Jerusalem and the importance of it to the three main faiths, we looked at how Jerusalem begins to attract different stories, helping it to become more "sacred". For example, in Genesis 14, King Melchizedek of Salem was both a priest and a king, something that wasn't allowed in Jewish tradition. King Melchizedek was from Salem, which people began to associate with Jerusalem because of the similarities of the name. Jerusalem started to attract these stories from the Hebrew Bible because of its importance in religion. This helps Jerusalem to seem more sacred and holy because of these historical events and people assimilated into the name of Jerusalem. Also in Genesis 22, Abraham is told to go to Mt. Moriah, which is supposed to be in the middle of no where, to sacrifice his son Isaac. This story, which is theologically vital to all three religions, becomes associated with Jerusalem in 1 Chronicles, where it says that Jerusalem IS Mt. Moriah. Once again, we see Jerusalem pulling these stories into it that may or may not be associated with it. Nonetheless, this makes Jerusalem even more of a focal point in Judaism, Islam, and Christianity.

We also learned that time can also be sacred too. In the Hebrew Bible, God tells His people to honor the Sabbath, which is holy. A direct order from the supernatural is given to honor this "time", which makes it holy and sacred. Not only is Jerusalem sacred, but its often referred to as axis mundi, the center of the world. Throughout scripture, such as in Exodus 24:1-13 and 1 Chronicles 21:18-28, Jerusalem is seen as a cosmic pillar connecting the three cosmic spheres, heavens, natural, and underworld.

This lecture was very interesting because I never realized that Jerusalem pulls stories and historical icons to its city, making Jerusalem even more important. Also, hearing about how the western valley could be an image of "hell" said in the bible was very interesting. I also thought it was pretty hilarious that they named a gate the "Dung Gate" because they use to throw garbage into the valley and was basically a dump.

AN N E 10w 1/6/11 Lecture

During our first lecture of the quarter, the class focused on what makes Jerusalem a great city and how is it a sacred place. A few things that make a place "sacred" would be a place where someone important was born, something happened there (usually supernatural), or a location connected by major trade routes. The Via Maris (Great Trunk Road) and The King's Highway (Transjordan) are two major trade routes thart are located around Jerusalem. The geography of Jerusalem is very interesting and unique. It is separated by three valleys: Kidron Valley in the East, Hinnom Valley in the West, and the Turopean Valley in the center. The fact that Jerusalem is on a hill is super significant theologically and tactically. Invasion of Jerusalem is difficult because of the hills the invaders would have to climb in order to reach the city. Theologically, Jerusalem is supposed to be the center of the world, and being at a higher level shows its superiority.

Jerusalem is separated into 4 sects or quarters: Christianity, Islam, Jewish, and Armenian. Some consider the Temple Mount to be the 5th quarter of Jerusalem. Inside Jerusalem is also the "Western Wall" which is on the west wall of the Temple Mount. It is the holiest site in Judaism. Outside the walls of the Old City is the City of David, where the area was first civilized. On the edge of the City of David is the Gihon Spring. This was extremely important because it is a crucial water source to keep the city running. Being bordered by the desert, a water source was vital to the establishment of the city. This spring is mentioned in the Bible to be a river that was in the Garden of Eden. This leads people to believe that Jerusalem, being within the Garden of Eden, is sacred land.

Learning about the geography and layout of Jerusalem was very interesting and helpful in understanding the importance of the location of the city. Knowing where the Mount of Olives and different rivers are key in understanding biblical literature and other texts. I was especially interested when I learned that the Gihon Spring is mentioned in the Bible. I never knew that the Garden of Eden could have been possibly that big and cover so much land. I'm excited to see what next lecture has to offer.