Yodfat info sign, in Hebrew. The University of Rochester led in the excavation. Photo by Leon Mauldin.

On the site is a memorial to the defenders of Yodfat.

Onsite Memorial to Defenders of Yodfat. Photo by Leon Mauldin.

There were numerous caves at Yodfat. Inhabitants hid in locations such as these when the Romans advanced.

Natural Caves at Yodfat. Photo by Leon Mauldin.

The picture emerging at Yodfat is of a devout community that clung to Jewish observance despite its poverty and distance from the center of Jewish worship, the Temple in Jerusalem, says University of Rochester religion professor William Scott Green, educational director of the archaeological team (Bible and Spade Volume 10. 1997, p.66).

This is interesting in view of the fact that many of the Jewish Galilean cities were an admixture of Judaism and paganism.

Excavations have unearthed numerous stoneware pots and mikvaot, or ritual baths. Both items indicate that the Galilee Jews of Yodfat observed stringent laws regarding ritual purity, a dominant concern of Temple Judaism. Stoneware, unlike the more porous earthen pottery, was used by devout Jews for eating because they believed it did not transmit ritual impurity, notes Green. Ritual baths, while expensive and difficult to build, were constructed inside a number of Yodfat homes, even though the town was not particularly wealthy and other architectural embellishments were lacking.

The use of Jewish coins bereft of Roman idols, evident in the types of money unearthed at Yodfat, was another symbol of ordinary piety (ibid.67).

Site of ancient Yodfat. Photo by Leon Mauldin.

This site gave archaeologists what can be a rare opportunity; it was never resettled or built over after its destruction in AD 67.

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Sheepfold near Yodfat in Israel. Photo by Leon Mauldin.

Of course a door provides access. Inside is safety. Jesus is our access to the Father (John 14:6). In Him are all spiritual blessings (Eph. 1:3). The reference to going “in and out” is suggestive of going out for pasturage, and at the end of the day going in for rest. All of our spiritual needs are met in Christ.

With this in mind note John 10:1-9:

‘Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. 2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. 5 Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.’ 6 Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which He spoke to them. 7 Then Jesus said to them again, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly’ (NKJV).

Sheep within the sheepfold. Photo by Leon Mauldin.

These sheep within the sheepfold were photographed near Yodfat in Galilee. From this site one can see Cana in the distance.

Wikipedia has this info regarding 1st century Yodfat, a city referenced by the Jewish historian Josephus:

By the first century CE Yodfat had expanded to encompass an area of 50 dunams (13 acres). Its siege and subsequent destruction in 67 CE are described in Josephus Flavius’ The Wars of the Jews, his chronicle of the Great Jewish Revolt against the Romans. Led by future emperor Vespasian, three Roman legions — Legio V Macedonica, X Fretensis, and XV Apollinaris — besieged Yodfat, meeting strong Jewish resistance. After 47 days the city fell by treachery, and Josephus describes the death of 40,000 Jews and the enslavement of 1,200 women and children. Yodfat was razed and burnt on the first of the Hebrew month of Tammuz. While a few dozen remaining fighters committed suicide, Josephus managed to survive this pact and was captured by the Romans.

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Southern Pool of Bethesda. Setting of John 5. Photo by Leon Mauldin.

These pools date back to about 200 BC, and furnished water for the temple. As noted yesterday, this is the setting of the miracle of John 5, when Jesus healed the man who had been lame for 38 years.

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It is possible to see the pools of Bethesda today in the NE section of the Old City in the Muslim Quarter (comprised of 76 acres). St. Anne’s church is located there, dating back to AD 1138. Jerome Murphy-O’Conner describes it as the “loveliest church in the city” (The Holy Land: An Oxford Archaeological Guide from Earliest Times to 1700).

In 2011 my group went inside St. Anne’s and sang spiritual songs, such as “Amazing Grace,” “Alleluia,” and many others. The acoustics are marvelous.

Singing at St. Anne’s Church near Pool of Bethesda in Jerusalem. Photo by Leon Mauldin.

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On Steps of Siloam. Mauldin Group 2011

All manner of pressure was brought to bear upon him by Jewish authorities to renounce Jesus as a sinner, but he refused to cave in. “One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see” (John 9:25).

This is one of Jesus’ seven miraculous signs recorded in the gospel of John:

Now Jesus performed many other miraculous signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not recorded in this book.  But these are recorded so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name (John 20:30-31).

There is great value in on-site biblical study.

I previously posted on the Hezekiah’s tunnel which emptied into the pool of Siloam here and here.

My friend Ferrell Jenkins has recently return from conducting a tour in Israel, and then staying on several days to take more photos. I’m looking to seeing those in the near future here.

That same day Pharaoh commanded the slave masters and foremen who were over the people: 7 “You must no longer give straw to the people for making bricks as before. Let them go and collect straw for themselves. 8 But you must require of them the same quota of bricks that they were making before. Do not reduce it, for they are slackers. That is why they are crying, ‘Let us go sacrifice to our God.’ 9 Make the work harder for the men so they will keep at it and pay no attention to lying words!” (Ex. 5:6-9). 

That put me in mind of some bricks I saw in Egypt at Luxor. In these mud bricks you could clearly see light-colored bits of straw.

Bricks made of mud mixed with straw in Luxor, Egypt. Photo by Leon Mauldin.

W. C. Kaiser writes, “Chopped straw was mixed in with the clay to make the bricks more pliable and stronger by first binding the clay together and then by decaying and releasing a humic acid similar to glutamic or gallotanic acid” (The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 2, p. 337).

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At the end of the year Word Press furnishes statistics for bloggers regarding their sites. For 2012 Leon’s Message Board had 84,000 views from 167 countries.

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

19,000 people fit into the new Barclays Center to see Jay-Z perform. This blog was viewed about 84,000 times in 2012. If it were a concert at the Barclays Center, it would take about 4 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

On another note, we want to encourage Bible reading with a Bible Reading Schedule: I personally use and highly recommend the Bible Reading Schedule by Mark Roberts. It is free. Go here and then under “Quick Links” click on “5 Day Bible Reading Schedule. Print off a copy, fold it, and place it in your Bible.

The landscape of Cappadocia is fascinating. Ancient volcanic matter covered the area. When wind and rain eroded away the softer elements, the harder material was left behind, causing some really unusual formations.

Formations characteristic of Cappadocia. Photo by Leon Mauldin.

So when you pick up your New Testament to read the epistles of Peter, remember that some of his readers lived in this area.

Cappadocia. In NT times, a Roman Province. Currently in Turkey. BibleAtlas.com

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Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.

Chorazin was located just to the north of the Sea of Galilee. Note that it is spelled Korazin on our map:

Location of Chorazin, city condemned by Jesus. BibleAtlas.Org.

One fascinating aspect of Jesus’ denunciation of Chorazin is that this was one of the Galilean cities in which he had done most of His mighty (miraculous) works. As the previous verse words it,

Then He began to rebuke the cities in which most of His mighty works had been done, because they did not repent: (Matt. 11:20).

While we read of many miracles Jesus did in Capernaum, and only one in Bethsaida (the two other cities cited and condemned in our context), we read of none being done in Chorazin. This does not mean something in lacking in the Bible; to the contrary, we have all we need. But it does show there was divine selectivity in that which was recorded (cf. John 20:30-31 for this same principle as stated in regard to the Gospel of John).

The site identified as Chorazin is located 2 miles north of the Sea of Galilee. The ruins that are seen post-date the time of Jesus.

Entrance Sign at Chorazin. Photo by Leon Mauldin.

Here are the remains of the basalt synagogue at Chorazin,

Basalt synagogue at Capernaum. Photo by Leon Mauldin.

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