Weekly Picture from Israel 171122

Pictures from Israel

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Israel’s Historical Landmarks –Qumran National Park

Qumran is an archaeological site dating back to the Iron Age. It is one of the many group of caves along the western shore of the Dead Sea, in which were found the Dead Sea Scrolls—an archaeological discovery of immense importance to scholars, historians, theologians and believers around the world. Historians determined that Qumran was a fortified structure, established in the eighth century BCE and probably accommodated about 200 people. It spans a history from the Babylonian invasion of Judea and the destruction of the First Temple in 586 BC, and resettled a couple of hundred years before the time of Messiah Yeshua.

During the time of Messiah, Qumran was inhabited by the Essences, a break-away Gnostic religious group who were largely responsible for writing and storing the Dead Sea Scrolls.  After the Romans destroyed the Second Temple in 70 AD, the Priesthood and the religious system was disbanded and fragmented, making it almost impossible to carry on any structured religious activity. Hence, it is unclear as to how long the Essenes continued to stay in Qumran and other caves. But the Scrolls remained hidden for 2000 years until a Bedouin shepherd Muhammed Edh-Dhib followed a goat into a cave near Qumran and emerged with 7 ancient scrolls in 1947. The reason for the poor condition and fragmentation of some of the original scrolls found is because the locals ripped off small pieces to sell to tourists and collectors. To date, 929 texts have been found.

The site of ancient Qumran is operated by the Qumran National Park, under the direction of Israel’s National Parks Authority and further history and other useful information can be found on their website.

Copyright exists in all the material on this website and is owned by Messianic Education Australia Ltd. unless otherwise explicitly stated. This copyright extends to the images, logos, layout and presentation styles as well as the text material.

Weekly Picture from Israel 171115

Pictures from Israel

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Israel-©-MEA-20171115-(C92)-Historical-Landmarks-Hezekiah’s-Tunnel

Historical Landmarks in Israel –Hezekiah’s Tunnel

Hezekiah’s Tunnel was also mentioned in last week’s historical information about the Pool of Siloam [‘Shelach’ in Hebrew], because it carried Jerusalem’s only fresh water from the Gihon Spring to the Pool of Siloam, a distance of 533 metres and could supply a population of 2,500. Historically, there are a number of differing opinions as to when the tunnel was first dug and what condition it was in when King Hezekiah made alterations. Whatever the case, the tunnel was dug through solid rock from two sides and had to eventually link up. This is the most famous Jerusalem tunnel and was discovered by a youth in 1880.

There are a number of Biblical references to Hezekiah’s Tunnel: In 1 Kings, Chapter 1, David’s son, Solomon, was anointed king at the Gihon Spring. 2 Chronicles 32:2-4 and 2 Kings 20:20 mentions the time King Hezekiah redirected this water into the City of David so the people could survive the Assyrian siege of Jerusalem in 701 BCE. “Hezekiah also plugged the upper watercourse of the Gihon waters and brought it straight down to the west side of the City of David. And Hezekiah prospered in all his works.” (2 Chronicles 32:30)

Copyright exists in all the material on this website and is owned by Messianic Education Australia Ltd. unless otherwise explicitly stated. This copyright extends to the images, logos, layout and presentation styles as well as the text material.