POTTERY COLORING PAGE

2000-year-old evidence of the siege of Jerusalem

27 Jun 2013

Three complete cooking pots and a small ceramic oil lamp were uncovered inside a small cistern in a drainage channel that runs from the Shiloah Pool in the City of David to Robinson’s Arch, in archaeological excavations the Israel Antiquities Authority is conducting near the Western Wall.

 

Copyright: Vladimir Naykhin, courtesy Israel Antiquities Authority

(Communicated by the Israel Antiquities Authority)

Recently a small cistern belonging to a building was exposed in an archaeological excavation the Israel Antiquities Authority is conducting near the Western Wall, in the vicinity of Robinson’s Arch in the Jerusalem Archaeological Park. Inside the cistern were three intact cooking pots and a small ceramic oil lamp that date to the time of the Great Revolt.  The vessels were discovered inside the drainage channel that was exposed in its entirety from the Shiloah Pool in the City of David to the beginning of Robinson’s Arch.

According to Eli Shukron, excavation director on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, “This is the first time we are able to connect archaeological finds with the famine that occurred during the siege of Jerusalem at the time of the Great Revolt. The complete cooking pots and ceramic oil lamp indicate that the people went down into the cistern where they secretly ate the food that was contained in the pots, without anyone seeing them, and this is consistent with the account provided by Josephus”.

In his book The Jewish War Josephus describes the Roman siege of Jerusalem and in its wake the dire hunger that prevailed in the blockaded city.

In his dramatic description of the famine in Jerusalem he tells about the Jewish rebels who sought food in the homes of their fellow Jews in the city. These, Josephus said, concealed the food they possessed for fear it would be stolen by the rebels and they ate it in hidden places in their homes.

“As the famine grew worse, the frenzy of the partisans increased with it… For as nowhere was there corn to be seen, men broke into the houses and ransacked them. If they found some they maltreated the occupants for saying there was none; if they did not, they suspected them of having hidden it more carefully and tortured them.”
“Many secretly exchanged their possessions for one measure of corn-wheat if they happened to be rich, barley if they were poor. They shut themselves up in the darkest corners of the their houses, where some through extreme hunger ate their grain as it was, others made bread, necessity and fear being their only  guides. Nowhere was a table laid…” (Josephus The Jewish War. Translated by G.A. Williamson 1959.  P. 290).

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Shiloh

Gen_49:10. The Messianic interpretation is evaded by translated "until he (Judah) shall come to Shiloh," Judah leading in the march (Num_2:3-9; Num_10:14); and when Israel came to Shiloh they pitched the tabernacle there (Jos_18:1-10), and Judah's principality ceased. But the town Shiloh did not exist in Jacob's time, and Judah did not lose the preeminence there; nor indeed did Judah, but Moses and Aaron, lead Israel in the wilderness. Shiloh means "the Peacemaker", "the Prince of peace" (Isa_9:6), from shalah "to be at peace." Solomon ("peaceful") typically (Psalm 72), Messiah antitypically, fulfils the prophecy (Gesenius, Keil, etc.). The ancient versions, however, almost unanimously translated "He to whom, it belongs," "He whose right it is": Eze_21:27 (Septuagint, Aqu., Symm., Syriac, Saad., Onk., Targum Jer., all except Vulgate and Pseudo Jon.).
The letter Yod[h] ( י ) (the i in Shiloh) is made an objection to this latter translation, but many Hebrew manuscripts and all Samaritan manuscripts are without the yod[h], which probably did not appear until the tenth century. The reading without the yod[h] being the harder reading is the less likely to be spurious; the copyists would more probably insert than omit it. However, (as sh for the relative pronoun 'asher is unknown in the Pentateuch, and "it (huw') is due," namely, the sceptre, would be needed), "the Peacemaker" is best, and so our Hebrew text requires as it has the yod[h]. "Abraham rejoiced to see Messiah's day, he saw it and was glad" (Joh_8:56); Jacob naturally expresses the same sure anticipation.
The taxing (Luk_2:1-2) on the eve of Jesus' birth definitely marked the passing of the sceptre (the tribal authority and royal prominence) and of the lawgiver (the Sanhedrin expounders of the law, literally, the ruler's staff, mechoqeeq; Num_21:18) from Judah, which virtually had begun some time before, and which was consummated only at Jerusalem's overthrow by Rome. The Herods, though Rome's creatures, exercised a quasi-native sovereignty in Judah just before and after Jesus' birth. After Archelaus a Roman procurator for the first time was sent there. Keil's view however is probably preferable: "the sceptre shall not depart from Judah ... until Shiloh come," i.e. shall NEVER depart.
"Until" ('ad kiy) is not exclusive (Psa_110:1); "and (until) to Him shall the willing obedience (as of a son yiqhath; Pro_30:17) of the peoples be." Judah should bear the sceptre with "lion" courage until in the future Shiloh, sprung from Judah, the willing obedience of the nations came to Him, and His rule over the tribes was widened into the peaceful government of the world. Balaam refers to this prophecy of Jacob (Num_24:17; Isa_11:1-9; Zec_9:10; Eph_2:14; Rev_5:5). "From between his feet" is explained by the versions, "from his posterity." Rather it is the ruler's staff resting between his feet when he sat, and inclining toward himself. When he spoke in public assemblies he held it in his hand (Keil).

HORSE AND CHARIOT COLORING PAGE

Temple and sacred vessels from Biblical times discovered at Tel Motza 26 Dec 2012

Temple and sacred vessels from Biblical times discovered at Tel Motza

26 Dec 2012

The finds, dated to the early monarchic period and including pottery figurines of men and horses, provide rare testimony of a ritual cult in the Jerusalem region at the beginning of the period of the monarchy.

 

Figurines of a person (Photo: Clara Amit, courtesy Israel Antiquities Authority)

(Communicated by the Israel Antiquities Authority)
Rare evidence of the religious practices and rituals in the early days of the Kingdom of Judah has recently been discovered at Tel Motza, to the west of Jerusalem. In excavations the Israel Antiquities Authority is currently conducting at the Tel Motza archaeological site, prior to work being carried out on the new Highway 1 from Sha'ar HaGai to Jerusalem by the National Roads Company (previously the Public Works Department), a ritual building (a temple) and a cache of sacred vessels some 2,750 years old have been uncovered.

General view of the excavation site (Photo: Skyview, courtesy Israel Antiquities Authority)

According to Anna Eirikh, Dr. Hamoudi Khalaily and Shua Kisilevitz, directors of the excavation on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, "The ritual building at Tel Motza is an unusual and striking find, in light of the fact that there are hardly any remains of ritual buildings of the period in Judaea at the time of the First Temple. The uniqueness of the structure is even more remarkable because of the vicinity of the site's proximity to the capital city of Jerusalem, which acted as the Kingdom's main sacred center at the time." According to the archaeologists, "Among other finds, the site has yielded pottery figurines of men, one of them bearded, whose significance is still unknown."
Tel Motza and the surrounding region are renowned for their prime archaeological importance. Many finds have previously been uncovered at the site, from a variety of different periods. From the 1990's to the beginning of the present millennium, the site was excavated in preparation for the new route taken by Highway 1. At the time, the site's archaeologists proposed once more identifying the site with the Biblical settlement "Mozah" mentioned in the Book of Joshua - a town in the tribal lands of Benjamin bordering on Judaea (Joshua 18: 26). The proposal was based, among other things, on the discovery at the site of a public building, a large structure with storehouses, and a considerable number of silos. At the time, archaeologists identified the site as a storehouse, run by high-ranking officials, for Jerusalem's grain supplies.
The current excavations have revealed evidence that provides another aspect to our understanding of the site. According to archaeologists Eirikh, Dr. Khalaily and, Kisilevitz, the current excavation has revealed part of a large structure, from the early days of the monarchic period (Iron Age IIA). The walls of the structure are massive, and it includes a wide, east-facing entrance, conforming to the tradition of temple construction in the ancient Near East: the rays of the sun rising in the east would have illuminated the object placed inside the temple first, symbolizing the divine presence within. A square structure which was probably an altar was exposed in the temple courtyard, and the cache of sacred vessels was found near the structure.
The assemblage includes ritual pottery vessels, with fragments of chalices (bowls on a high base which were used in sacred rituals), decorated ritual pedestals, and a number of pottery figurines of two kinds: the first, small heads in human form (anthropomorphic) with a flat headdress and curling hair; the second, figurines of animals (zoomorphic) - mainly of harnessed animals. The archeologists stress that "the find of the sacred structure together with the accompanying cache of sacred vessels, and especially the significant coastal influence evident in the anthropomorphic figurines, still require extensive research."

Figurine of a horse (Photo: Clara Amit, courtesy Israel Antiquities Authority)

Ritual elements in the Kingdom of Judah are recorded in archaeological research, especially from the numerous finds of pottery figurines and other sacred objects found at many sites in Israel, and these are usually attributed to domestic rituals. However, the remains of ritual platforms and temples used for ritual ceremonies have only been found at a few sites of this period.
According to the site's directors, "The finds recently discovered at Tel Motza provide rare archaeological evidence for the existence of temples and ritual enclosures in the Kingdom of Judah in general, and in the Jerusalem region in particular, prior to the religious reforms throughout the kingdom at the end of the monarchic period (at the time of Hezekiah and Isaiah), which abolished all ritual sites, concentrating ritual practices solely at the Temple in Jerusalem."

History of the Christening Cake

The History

In 63 b.c.e. General Pompey (Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus) captured Jerusalem (some scholars indicate that he was invited in to settle a dispute between the crown princes), and the Kingdom of Judea became a client kingdom of the Roman Republic, with Hyrcanus, son of the Hasmonean Queen Alexandra, serving as prince, high priest, and puppet ruler for the Romans. Antipater became the first Roman procurator of Judea sometime around 49 b.c.e., but when he died in 44 b.c.e. his son Herod took over, becoming governor in 41 b.c.e. and ruler in 37 b.c.e. He would come to be known as Herod the Great, for he was a capable administrator who set about rebuilding Jerusalem, including the Temple complex; but he was also known for his cruelty and ruthlessness; he murdered many family members and rabbis in order to protect his power, to promote the Hellenic (Greek) way of life, and to remain in favor with Rome. Yet Judea prospered economically, for it was located on the important trade routes and was itself agriculturally fruitful, and the Romans did not much interfere in Herod's affairs. In fact, the Romans even exempted the Jews from observing the Roman religion; but for the privilege of being allowed to follow the Law, the Jews were made to pay a heavy tax. Nevertheless, Herod had put the Sadducees, a group of wealthy Jews who supported Roman rule, in charge of the Temple, appointed his own high priest, and hand-picked the members of the Sanhedrin, the rabbinical court. His actions caused resentment among the Pharisees, who resisted Hellenization and generally had the support of the common people of Judea. In addition, there were the Zealots and the Sicarii, who agitated for open revolution against the Romans, and dozens of other sects and factions. When Herod died in 4 or 2 b.c.e., the kingdom had become so fractious that it split into three pieces, each governed by one of Herod's sons: Herod Archelaus, Herod Antipas, and Herod Philip. Some time around 6 c.e. the Roman Emperor Caesar Augustus dismissed Archelaus for incompetence and combined Judea with Samaria and Edom (Idumea) into the Roman province of Iudaea ( Judea), administered by a prefect or procurator who reported directly to the emperor. This was the political climate into which John the Baptist and Jesus of Nazareth were born and raised.
In the 1st century c.e., Flavius Josephus, a Jewish historian, wrote a twenty-one-volume apologia called Antiquities of the Jews. Bringing his work to the public in 93 c.e., Josephus (as he is known today) intended to provide an explanation of Jewish history, laws, and customs in the wake of the destruction of the Temple in 70 c.e. and the expulsion of the Jews from Judea. By outlining the stories of the patriarchs, he was also arguing in support of the many contributions that the Jewish people had made to civilization.
This source is not without controversy. Josephus himself had fought in the rebellion against Rome but afterward had cooperated with Roman authorities to the extent that he had been made a Roman citizen and been given land in Judea and a pension. As a result, many scholars have branded Josephus a traitor and informer and have refused to consider Antiquities of the Jews as anything but propaganda and an attempt at historic self-rehabilitation, for he took pains to include a defense of his cooperation with Rome. Other scholars, however, argue that he was an important bridge-builder between cultures, himself remaining a Jew who observed the Law yet explaining for non-Jews how Jewish and Graeco-Roman philosophies could exist compatibly.
Antiquities of the Jews does include an account of the man known as John the Baptist:

Now some of the Jews thought that the destruction of Herod's army came from God, and that very justly, as a punishment of what he did against John, that was called the Baptist: for Herod slew him… .Now when [many] others came in crowds about him, for they were very greatly moved [or pleased] by hearing his words, Herod, who feared lest the great influence John had over the people might put it into his power and inclination to raise a rebellion, (for they seemed ready to do any thing he should advise), thought it best, by putting him to death, to prevent any mischief he might cause, and not bring himself into difficulties, by sparing a man who might make him repent of it when it would be too late. Accordingly he was sent a prisoner, out of Herod's suspicious temper, to Macherus, the castle I before mentioned, and was there put to death.¹

This account generally corresponds to the biblical story, though some of the details (such as the reason for John's assassination) differ. There is also a section of the work that offers an account of the life of Jesus:

Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man; for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles. He was [the] Christ. And when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him; for he appeared to them alive again the third day; as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him. And the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day.²

This section has come to be called the Testimonium Flavianum. Many scholars have difficulty accepting the authenticity of these sections that have a particularly Christian flavor. Extant copies seem to have been based on early Christian sources and not to have been transmitted accurately through history. The consensus among modern scholars is that Josephus did write something about John the Baptist and about Jesus of Nazareth but that the text has been corrupted to a significant degree by copyists' interpolations, additions, and errors. A minority of scholars continue to completely reject the authenticity of the Testimonium Flavianum and many other portions of Josephus' work.
Nevertheless, whether there is extrabiblical corroboration or not, the biblical stories of John the Baptist and, especially, of Jesus of Nazareth have changed the course of history and continue to influence the way many people live their lives.

More on the Christening Cake

The Text

1. While Jesus was living in the Galilean hills, John, called “the Baptizer,” was preaching in the desert country of Judea.
2. His message was simple and austere, like his desert surroundings: “Change your life. God's kingdom is here.”
3. John dressed in a camel-hair habit tied at the waist by a leather strap. He lived on a diet of locusts and wild field honey.
4. People poured out of Jerusalem, Judea and the Jordanian countryside to hear and see him in action.
5. There at the Jordan River those who came to confess their sins were baptized into a changed life.

Matthew 3:1–2; 4–6, The Message

A very common belief is that the “locust” of the biblical text refers not to the insect, but to the locust tree, the most dominant in all the terrain, planted and nurtured for its shade as well as for its very desirable fruit, the carob.

Biblical Passage Notes

Other than the parents of Jesus, John the Baptist,whom tradition names as the son of the Virgin Mary's cousin, Elizabeth, is perhaps the best-known member of Jesus' family in the scriptures. Like Jesus, he was a descendant of Aaron on both sides, a member of the priestly tribe known as the Levites. His name is derived from Hebrew and means “the Lord is gracious.” Tradition says that hewas born in the hill country of Judea, in a town known today as Ein Karem, in Israel.
The scriptures tell us next to nothing of his early life, and by the time he appears in the gospels as a grown man, he has taken on the mantle of a prophet, wandering in the wilderness, eating off the land, and uttering apocalyptic pronouncements that often place him at odds with the religious leaders of his day.
When he dares to criticize King Herod Antipas for an adulterous and incestuous marriage, he is sent to prison and eventually murdered in fulfillment of a cruel and vengeful promise (see Matthew 14:7–11).
In the passage cited above, we encounter John in the “desert country of Judea.” It was a barren, often brutally dry place, inhabited in biblical times by wild animals and nomads, some of whom, like John the Baptist, were ascetics searching for wisdom and solace away from the crowds of the larger cities and towns of southern Israel. It appears that John might have been Nazir, and like his ancestor, Samson, subjected by vow to certain abstinences. Nazirites are Jewish men who refrain from cutting their hair, abstain from wine and meat, have no contact with the dead, and are known to be celibate—vows taken usually for only a short time (see Numbers 6). These characteristics may help to explain John's appearance and diet. His clothing evoked visions of Elijah, another ancestor and Nazir. In fact, those who first encountered John asked if he were Elijah, as it was the expectation and hope of the day that Elijah himself would return and restore the fortunes of the Jewish people. In John the Baptizer—prophetically calling the people to repentance, acting like a hermit, living in the wilderness—many saw the realm of God, i.e., the end days when judgment would be laid upon those who did not believe in God, to be at hand. If John were neither Elijah nor the Messiah, he surely spoke as if he were. But John, prophet that he was, pushed all this aside, and is quoted as saying that there was yet one to come who would be even greater than he, whose sandal he would not even be worthy to untie. Just a few biblical verses after this proclamation, Jesus, his cousin, appears at the river to be baptized, and it becomes clear from then on that the mantle of Elijah, the ascetical camel-garb symbol that John wore with authority, would soon be passed to Jesus. Very quickly John's role in the story decreases, and as quickly, Jesus' ascendancy increases.

John the Baptist would have really enjoyed a good, hearty bread with many of the foodstuffs from the land he traveled, such as this loaf made with raisins, rosemary, and camel's milk yogurt. It's a great taste if you're tired of carob and honey!

The Preparation

There is much to learn in this cameo appearance of the great New Testament prophet. The mere fact that the Matthean text mentions the eating habits of John the Baptist should be a clue to us of their importance, both to history and to John's character; it is not merely passing commentary. The writer of the Gospel of Matthew informs us that “John lived on a diet of locusts and wild field honey.” The Greek word for locust, akris, is used four times in the New Testament and seems to refer to the class of insect known as Orthoptera, or “straight-winged.” By Mosaic law they were reckoned “clean,” so John could not have been accused of doing anything illegal by claiming them for food. And we do know that dried locusts were a rather common staple of many ancient Near Eastern communities, most particularly the Essenes, a religious sect of which many scholars believe John was a member. To this day, locusts are prepared as food in the Middle East and Africa in various ways: sometimes they are pounded and mixed with flour and water to be baked into cakes; other cooks boil, roast, or stew them in butter for eating. Dried and salted locusts have long been part of the diet of many nomadic tribes.
Still, biblical scholars, anthropologists, and other scientists have reached no consensus as to whether these foods could have sustained the Baptist in the wilderness. A very common belief, which we have adapted here for our purposes, is that the “locust” of the biblical text refers not to the insect, but to the locust tree (in Greek, keration), a plant species that is widespread in Israel. In many areas, including the Judean desert, the locust tree is the most dominant in all the terrain, planted and nurtured for its shade as well as for its very desirable fruit, the carob.
Given its ubiquity, and its connection to the Judean wilderness of the Baptist, it may be no surprise that the carob fruit is known throughout the Middle East as St. John's Bread. It has been dried and used as a food for cattle, people, and most especially swine (see the story of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15:16), and as many as eight hundred pounds of seed pods can be harvested yearly from a single tree.
Carob has a long and distinguished history dating back to the ancients who accorded it such high respect that the weight of its seeds are most likely the original measure for what is today a goldsmith's karat.
Supposing (for the sake of argument) that John the Baptist was dining on carob fruit, and not locusts, as the King James Version insists, what new understanding might this bring to the interpretation of the text? Because carob powder can be used in place of cocoa at levels up to 50 percent, and it has a natural sugar content of up to 48 percent, one might begin to understand the somewhat manic and strange appearance attributed to John in the iconography of biblical art. Eating a lot of carob as a regular diet could have your hair standing on end by sunset! And although John might not have been aware of all the benefits of carob, he probably had some idea that it provided a lot of nutrients, and it was a good, all-around substitute for whatever else was lacking in his daily food regimen. “Carob contains as much vitamin B1 as asparagus or strawberries, the same amount of niacin as lima beans, lentils or peas, and more vitamin A than eggplant, asparagus and beets. It is also high in vitamin B2, calcium, magnesium and iron.”³ All of which is to say that though scholars might not be able to agree on whether locusts could sustain the Baptist in the wilderness, surely locust tree fruit, aka “carob,” would do the trick!
And what of honey (in Greek, meli)? The word itself is used only four times in all of the New Testament, in contrast to the nearly fifty times we encounter it in the Hebrew scriptures (in Hebrew, debhash). The Promised Land where the Israelites finally settled was known as a land “flowing with milk and honey,” which gives us some idea of the high esteem it too was given by our biblical forebears. Yet it was rare enough to be considered somewhat of a luxury, typifying sumptuous dining and finery of preparation. In the translation used for this chapter, “wild field honey” is the type stored by bees in rocks or in trees. Particularly in the wilderness of Judea, honey bees were known to build their hives in the crevices of rocks and in rotting lumber. The honey, oozing from between the stone formations or out of a log, gave it the appearance of flowing (hence the coining of the phrase), and some biblical commentators think that this is what the wandering Israelites encountered in the desert, naming it manna, remarking how sticky and sweet it was, like “food of the gods.” John the Baptist undoubtedly came across lots of honey in his travels; and because it was an excellent source of nutrition and was a curative for many ailments (including stomach upset), it provided a good balance to his other dietary choices.
John's fashion sense—he was “dressed in a camel hair habit tied at the waist by a leather strap”—gives us some insight about the animals he came in contact with as he went preaching from one location to another. Obviously, he was aware of the generous uses for all parts of the camel: skin for clothing and liquid storage, milk for cheeses and other dairy needs, meat to complement vegetarian choices. Perhaps the leather was from the hide of a camel; or it might have been fashioned from the tough skin of some other domesticated animal (a steer, ox, lamb, or goat). Wherever his clothing products came from, it is clear that he was familiar with more than just the products of the land.
Keeping his appearance and his food opportunities in mind, we have included recipes that encompass a whole range of possibilities, including whatever fish John might have encountered at the Jordan River, baptizing and fishing for converts and all else his wide prophetic net might bring to shore.

Christening (Baptismal) Cake

Christening (Baptismal) Cake

Meal: A Meal in the Wilderness

Christening (Baptismal) Cake

• ¾ lb. butter
• 4 cups sugar
• 8 eggs, separated
• 4 cups flour
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• 2 tsp. nutmeg
• 1 tsp. allspice
• 1 cup rum
• 1 cup pecans, chopped
• ½ lb. raisins
• ½ tsp. cream of tartar

Preheat oven to 300°F.
Cream the butter and sugar together until the texture is a smooth paste. Separate the eggs and beat the yolks until a very light color, then fold into the butter/sugar mixture and blend thoroughly. Sift the dry ingredients (except the cream of tartar) together and add alternately with the rum. Stir the pecans and raisins in by hand.
Beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar until stiff; then add to the cake mixture. Pour into a well-greased cake pan and bake for 4 (yes, 4!) hours.
Yield: 8–10 servings

CAROB TREE

POMEGRANATE COLORING PAGE

POMEGRANATE

IVORY POMEGRANATE FROM JERUSALEM

Pomegranate
pom´gran-ā́t, pom-gran´ā́t, pum´gran-ā́t (רמּון, rimmōn (tree and fruit); the Hebrew name is similar to the Arabic, Aramaic and Ethiopic; ῥόα, rhóa):

1. A Tree Characteristic of Palestine:
One of the most attractive and most characteristic of the fruit trees of Syria, probably indigenous to Persia, Afghanistan and the neighborhood of the Caucasus, but introduced to Palestine in very ancient times. The spies brought specimens of figs and pomegranates, along with grapes, from the Vale of Eshcol (Num_13:23). Vines, figs and pomegranates are mentioned (Num_20:5) as fruits the Israelites missed in the wilderness; the promised land was to be one “of wheat and barley, and vines and fig-trees and pomegranates” (Deu_8:8), a promise renewed in Hag_2:19. In the lamentation in Joe_1:11, Joe_1:12 we have the pomegranate, the palm tree and the apple tree represented as withered, “for joy is withered away from the sons of men.”

2. The Fruit:
The pomegranate tree, Punica granatum (Natural Order, Granateae) occurs usually as a shrub or small tree 10-15 ft. high, and is distinguished by its fresh green, oval leaves, which fall in winter, and its brilliant scarlet blossoms (compare Son_7:12). The beauty of an orchard of pomegranates is referred to in Son_4:13. The fruit which is ripe about September is apple-shaped, yellow-brown with a blush of red, and is surmounted by a crown-like hard calyx; on breaking the hard rind, the white or pinkish, translucent fruits are seen tightly packed together inside. The juicy seeds are sometimes sweet and sometimes somewhat acid, and need sugar for eating. The juice expressed from the seeds is made into a kind of syrup for flavoring drinks, and in ancient days was made into wine: “I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine, of the juice (margin “sweet wine”) of my pomegranate” (Son_8:2). The beauty of a cut section of pomegranate - or one burst open naturally, when fully ripe - may have given rise to the comparison in Son_4:3; Son_6:7 : “Thy temples are like a piece of a pomegranate.” The rind of the pomegranate contains a very high percentage of tannic acid, and is employed both as a medicine and for tanning, particularly in making genuine morocco leather.
Whether the pomegranate tree in Migron under which Saul is said (1Sa_14:2) to have abode with his 600 men was really a tree or a place, Rimmon, is doubtful. See RIMMON.

3. The Pomegranate in Art:
A large number of references to the pomegranate are to the use of the form of the fruit in ornamentation, in which respect it appears among the Hebrews to have something of the position of the lotus bud as a decorative motive in Egypt. It was embroidered in many colors on the skirts of Aaron's garments, together with golden bells (Exo_28:33 f; Exo_39:24-26; compare Ecclesiasticus 45:9). Hiram of Tyre introduced the pomegranate into his brass work ornamentation in the temple: “So he made the pillars; and there were two rows round about upon the one network, to cover the capitals that were upon the top of the pillars” (margin “So the Syriac The Hebrew has 'pomegranates'“) (1Ki_7:18). “And the pomegranates were two hundred, in rows round about upon the other capital” (1Ki_7:20; compare also 1Ki_7:42; 2Ki_25:17; 2Ch_3:16; 2Ch_4:13).

NEHEMIAH

NEHEMIAH REBUILDS THE WALLS

Jewish temple at Elephantine

Jewish temple at Elephantine

A letter from the Elephantine Papyri, requesting the rebuilding of a Jewish temple at Elephantine.

The Jews had their own temple to Yahweh which functioned alongside that of the local ram-headed deity, Khnum The "Petition to Bagoas" (Sayce-Cowley collection) is a letter written in 407 BCE to Bagoas, the Persian governor of Judea, appealing for assistance in rebuilding the Jewish temple in Elephantine, which had recently been badly damaged by an anti-Semitic rampage on the part of a segment of the Elephantine community
In the course of this appeal, the Jewish inhabitants of Elephantine speak of the antiquity of the damaged temple:

'Now our forefathers built this temple in the fortress of Elephantine back in the days of the kingdom of Egypt, and when Cambyses came to Egypt he found it built. They (the Persians) knocked down all the temples of the gods of Egypt, but no one did any damage to this temple."

The community also appealed for aid to Sanballat I, a Samaritan potentate, and his sons Delaiah and Shelemiah, as well as Johanan ben Eliashib. Both Sanballat and Johanan are mentioned in the Book of Nehemiah, 2:19, 12:23.
There was a response of both governors (Bagoas and Delaiah) which gave the permission to rebuild the temple written in the form of a memorandum: "Memorandum of what Bagohi and Delaiah said to me, saying: Memorandum: You may say in Egypt ...to (re)build it on its site as it was formerly...".
By the middle of the 4th century BCE, the temple at Elephantine had ceased to function. There is evidence from excavations that the rebuilding and enlargement of the Khnum temple under Nectanebo II (360-343) took the place of the former temple of YHWH.
In 2004, the Brooklyn Museum of Art created a display entitled "Jewish Life in Ancient Egypt: A Family Archive From the Nile Valley," which featured the interfaith couple of Ananiah, an official at the temple of Yahou (a.k.a. Yahweh), and his wife, Tamut, who was previously an Egyptian slave owned by a Jewish master, Meshullam. Some related exhibition didactics of 2002 included comments about significant structural similarities between Judaism and the ancient Egyptian religion and how they easily coexisted and blended at Elephantine.^]

Anat-Yahu

The papyri suggest that, "Even in exile and beyond, the veneration of a female deity endured. The texts were written by a group of Jews living at Elephantine near the Nubian border, whose religion has been described as "nearly identical to Iron Age II Judahite religion". The papyri describe the Jews as worshiping Anat-Yahu (or AnatYahu). Anat-Yahu is described as either the wife (or paredra, sacred consort) of Yahweh or as a hypostatized aspect of Yahweh.


Seveneh
sḗ-ven´e, se-vē´ne (סונה, ṣewēnēh): For the King James Version “the tower of Syene,” in Eze_29:10; Eze_30:6, the Revised Version (British and American) reads, “the tower of Seveneh,” with a marginal note, “or, from Migdol to Syene.” Seveneh is the town at the First Cataract in Egypt, now known as Assuan. Fresh interest has recently been given to it by the Elephantine discoveries bearing on the ancient Jewish colony and temple of Yahweh in that place in the 5th century BC. See ARAMAIC; EGYPT; PAPYRI; SANCTUARY, 4, etc.
Cambyses
Cambyses
kam-bı̄´sēz (Aram., כנבנזי; Persian, Kambujiya; Assyrian, Kambuzia; Egyptian, Kambythet; Susian, Kanpuziya): The older son of Cyrus, king of Persia. Some have thought that he is the Ahasuerus of Ezr_4:6. This seems to be most improbable, inasmuch as the Hebrew form of Ahasuerus is the exact equivalent of the Old Persian form of Xerxes, and we have no evidence that Cambyses was ever called Xerxes.
Ancient authorities differ as to who was the mother of Cambyses. It is variously said that she was Cassandane, a Persian princess, Amytis, a Median princess, or Nititis, a daughter of Apries king of Egypt. He had one brother, Bardes or Smerdes, whom he put to death secretly shortly after his accession, probably because of an attempted rebellion. Cambyses organized an expedition for the conquest of Egypt, which was rendered successful by internal treachery and by the aid of the Phoenician, Cyprian and Greek fleets. During this campaign Cambyses seems to have acted with good generalship and with clemency toward the conquered. After the subjugation of Egypt, Cyrene and Barca, the modern Tripoli, submitted to his sway. He then desired to undertake the conquest of Carthage, but was compelled to give it up, because his Phoenician allies, without whose ships it was impossible for him to conduct his army in safety, refused to join in an attack upon a country that had been colonized by them. He is said to have sent an army of 50,000 men against the oasis of Jupiter Ammon. This army is said to have perished in the sands. A little less unsuccessful expedition was made against Ethiopia. After some initial successes, Cambyses was forced to return to Egypt with the shattered remains of his army. He found that the Egyptians were in revolt, led by their king Psammetichus III, whose life he had formerly spared. This revolt was put down with great harshness, the Egyptian king being taken and executed, and many of the temples being destroyed. Shortly after this, Cambyses heard that a certain Magian, who claimed to be his brother Smerdes whom he had secretly put to death, had set himself up as king of Persia, and that almost the whole of his Asiatic dominions had acknowledged him as king. With the fragments of his army he started toward Persia to attack the usurper, but on the way was killed by a wound inflicted by himself, it is uncertain whether by accident or with intention. His general and cousin, Darius Hystaspis, soon put down the false Smerdis and reigned in his stead.
For two or more years Cambyses was king of Babylon, while his father was king of the lands. The son was a drunkard and subject to fits of unbridled passion, but seems to have been of good capacity as a general and as an administrator. Many of the tales that have been told against him were doubtless invented by his enemies, and he has left us no records of his own. That he married his own sisters is probable; but it must be remembered that this was the custom of the Egyptian kings of that time and may have been of the Persian kings as well. As to his conduct in Egypt, the only contemporary Egyptian authority says that he worshipped before the holiness of Neit as all the pious kings had done, that he ordered that the temple of Neit should be purified, and that its revenues should be restored as they had been before they had been confiscated by Akhmes for his Greek troops. He adds also that not merely were the strangers who had taken up their abode in the temple of Neit ejected from her sanctuary, but that their goods were taken away and their houses destroyed. Darius Hystaspis, the only other contemporary source of information, says of him simply that he was the son of Cyrus, of the same father and mother as Bardes, whom he slew secretly at some time before he set out on his Egyptian campaign; and that he died by suicide shortly after he had heard of the rebellion of Persia, Media and the other provinces against him, and of the establishment of Gaumata the Magian as king under the claim that he was “Barzia, the son of Cyrus and brother of Cambyses.”
The name of Cambyses is found in three of the Elephantine papyri recently published (September, 1911) by Professor Sachau of Berlin. The fragment numbered 59 1 is so broken that it is impossible to make out the connection or the sense. In papyrus I, we are told that when Cambyses came to Egypt he found in the fortress of Yeb (Elephantine) a temple or synagogue ('agōra'), which had been built in the days of the Egyptian kings; and that although he had torn down the temples of the Egyptian gods, he had allowed no harm to be done to that of Yahweh. The third papyrus is so interesting, because of its mention of Bagoas, the Persian governor of Jerusalem in 407 bc, who had hitherto been known only from Josephus, and of Dalayah the son of the Sanballat who opposed the rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem in the time of Ezra-Nehemiah, that we shall now give a translation of it in full: “A memorial of that which Bagoas and Dalayah said to me: Thou shalt say in Egypt unto Arsames with regard to the house of the altar of the God of heaven that was built in the fortress of Yeb before the time of Cambyses and which the accursed(?) Waidrang destroyed in the 14th year of Darius the king, that it shall be built again upon its place as it was before, and that meal-offerings and incense-offerings shall be offered upon that altar as they used to be.”

KIDS COLORING PAGE

Jerusalem Cheese and Honey Pie

Meal: Jesus Dines with the Pharisee

Jerusalem Cheese and Honey Pie

• 1 lb. creamy sheep's or goat's milk cheese (at room temperature)
• ¼up honey, slightly warmed
• 6 Tbsp. sugar
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• ground cinnamon 1 9″ pie crust
• powdered sugar topping
• fresh berries of the season

Top off this honey cheese pie with blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, peaches, cherries, or any other seasonal fruit.

Combine cheese with honey and mix well. Add the sugar, eggs, and vanilla, and toss in a bit of cinnamon. Bake in a pie crust (frozen or fresh) for 30–35 minutes. Best served warm.
Just prior to serving, sprinkle with a touch of cinnamon mixed with powdered sugar. Top with berries of the season.
Yield: 8 servings

JERUSALEM CONT FOR TODAY RECIPE

The History

The most successful military commander of the ancient world was Alexander the Great (Alexander III of Macedonia). After unifying the Greek city-states under Macedonian control, he took his armies forth and conquered a vast region stretching from Greece in the north, Egypt in the west, and Persia and the Punjab in the east. However, when he died in 323 b.c.e., he left no recognized heir, and the empire he had forged began to disintegrate. In 312 b.c.e. Seleucus, one of Alexander's generals, established control over the eastern reaches of Alexander's holdings from Babylon, the center of power, to the Mediterranean coast. This was the foundation of the Seleucid Empire, which brought Hellenistic influences to Persians, Medes, Jews, and Indians alike.
But the empire proved to be too large, and the people resisted Hellenization; it was not long before the outer reaches began to break away. By the time of King Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who reigned from 175 to 163 b.c.e., aggressive efforts to de-Judaize the Jewish populace of the empire led to a breaking point. In about 167 b.c.e. Mattathias (of the tribe of Levi) and his sons Judah “Maccabee” (the Hammer), Eleazar, Yohanan, Yonaton, and Shimon led a successful uprising against the Seleucid overlords in Judea. Though fighting would continue for twenty-five years, in about 164 b.c.e. the Maccabees (for so they became known) were able to retake Jerusalem; they cleansed the Temple of foreign influences (including the sacrificing of pigs) and reestablished Jewish worship there. In 139 b.c.e. Shimon (the only surviving son) became both High Priest and Leader, establishing the Hasmonean line of succession in Judea. The memory of the purification of the Temple gave rise to the Jewish festival of Hanukkah (Chanukah).
At the end of the conflict with the Seleucids, the Jews had become divided into three different parties. The first were the Essenes, a group of ascetical mystics who lived in isolation in the desert. The second were the Sadducees, the priests and Jewish aristocracy; though they were religiously conservative, following a strict and inflexible interpretation of the written Torah, they were socially liberal, having embraced Hellenistic cultural practices. The Temple was the center of worship for the Sadducees; indeed, it was the only place where true worship could occur. The third group were the Pharisees, who believed in both a written and an oral Torah, both of which Jews were bound to follow and both of which the rabbis were empowered to interpret. In general, the Pharisees highly valued education but were opposed to Hellenism and to the Hasmonean usurpation of the Priesthood. These party divisions persisted even after Rome conquered Judea, though Roman conquest led to the rise of the Zealots and Sicarii, revolutionaries whose sole goal was the overthrow of Roman imperialism.
From the beginnings of the Hasmonean Empire until the Roman destruction of the Second Temple in 70 c.e., the Pharisees and the Sadducees bitterly opposed each other. The conflicts were manifold: the Sadducees promoted the interests of the wealthy and tended to favor hierarchy, while the Pharisees showed concern for the common people and tended to favor more participatory religious practices; the Sadducees followed Greek social customs, while the Pharisees attempted to preserve Jewish traditions; the Sadducees put the Temple first and tended to restrict religion to the Temple grounds, while the Pharisees put the word of God before everything and tended to sanctify the everyday world; and the Sadducees adhered to the letter of the Law, while the Pharisees believed that the Law was a living, changing force. The Pharisees also believed in the importance of ritual washing before all meals and in the resurrection of the dead at the end of time.
The New Testament scriptures present a very critical picture of the Pharisees and Sadducees. The new Jewish sect known as “Christians” emphasized God's love and forgiveness for all people, including society's outcasts. The Sadducees were presented as people of privilege who hoarded everything, including God's grace, for their own select group; and the Pharisees were presented as being obsessed with purification rites, to the exclusion of anyone who did not correctly perform their rituals. On the other hand, some scholars have posited that Jesus was himself a Pharisee, and that his efforts to include all persons in God's beloved community echoed the Pharisees' emphasis of participatory religion. Indeed, many of the teachings of Jesus as related in the gospels are consistent with the philosophies of the Pharisees of his day, including one of the most well known, whose name was Paul.

JERUSALEM AND CHEESE PIE CONTUINED

The Text

1. As he spake, a certain Pharisee besought him to dine with him: and he went in, and sat down to meat.
2. And when the Pharisee saw it, he marveled that he had not first washed before dinner.
3. And the Lord said unto him, Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter; but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness.
4. Ye fools, did not he that made that which is without make that which is within also?
5. But rather give alms of such things as ye have; and behold, all things are clean unto you.
6. But woe unto you, Pharisees! For ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

Luke 11:37–42, King James Version

(37) And as he spake, a certain Pharisee besought him to dine with him. And he went in, and sat down to meat. (38) And when the Pharisee saw it, he marvelled that he had not first washed before dinner. (39) And the Lord said unto him, Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter; but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness. (40) Ye fools, did not he that made that which is without, make that which is within also? (41) But rather give alms of such things as ye have; and, behold, all things are clean unto you.

We had an account of Jesus eating with a Pharisee, Luk_7:36, which see. And here is the relation of another. Our Lord took all occasions to manifest the object for which he came on earth. And certainly we have abundant reason to bless our gracious Lord for this condescension; for this dinner party, as well as the former visit to the Pharisee’s house, afford some very sweet and profitable instructions. Our Lord’s shewing in what real uncleanness consists, is a rich sermon taught us at this Pharisee’s table.

“But woe unto you, Pharisees! For ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs.”

Biblical Passage Notes

Throughout the New Testament gospel writings, Jesus is often in a war of words and deeds with the Pharisees, a group of religious Jews that had their own interpretation of how to live a life that was true to the practice of Judaism, to which they were utterly devoted. They embraced a lifestyle that placed great emphasis on, among other things, Sabbath observances and food tithes (a tithe is a tenth of what one earns). To some, and most certainly to the gospel writers, they were hardnosed and stubborn legalists; to many of their fellow Jews, they were men greatly to be admired, as they were learned in Jewish law and often hailed from some of the finest families in Jerusalem that were politically connected to both the most revered of religious authorities and, often, to Rome itself.
In this passage, Jesus has been invited to dine with one of the Pharisees, an amazing offer considering that the Pharisees rarely, if ever, would have thought to dine with someone outside their own circle. To have received such an esteemed invitation, either Jesus was a Pharisee himself (a view held by many scholars today), or he impressed them so by his knowledge of the scriptures and his interpretation of the Law that curiosity allowed internal rules to be set aside for at least one meal.
Jesus had barely entered the house when he is admonished for not having washed his hands, for it was a common practice of observant Jews to purify their hands prior to eating. The thought process was that impure hands made food impure; eating impure food made the body impure; eating a meal (a sacred act before God) with an impure body was an insult to God.
Undoubtedly, those who first heard this story would have responded with an “Oh, no!” thanking God, no doubt, that such a guest had not been invited to their home! Why? Because the interaction between Jesus and the Pharisee presented an uncomfortable conundrum. True, Jesus did not wash; but the lack of hospitality on the part of his host, who had apparently not offered a towel or water, was an incredible social faux pas. And in a further breach of manners, the host had the bad sense to insult his guest by pointing out the error; even worse, he made the observation after Jesus had already reclined to dine.
Jesus' previous experience with the Pharisees and their rituals fueled his anger at the host; having been dealt with impolitely, Jesus takes off the kid gloves and charges into the fight, calling the Pharisee and all his brothers in the faith (in essence) miserable hypocrites. Then Jesus goes on to tell them the how and the why. First, he imputes, they are more concerned with the outward appearances of inanimate objects than they are with the inner feelings of the people around them. Second, they fail to see that God made all things, and it is wrong, therefore, to give a greater importance to one thing over another, as all things are of God. And finally, Jesus criticizes the Pharisees for putting aside a portion of what they have earned as a sacrifice in honor of God, yet all the while being judgmental of others in a way that dishonors God. It is a strong condemnation, and it could not have made for a very pleasant meal!
It appears that the host was either even more intrigued by the dressing down or totally embarrassed; in either case, Jesus apparently stays for the meal, to which other Pharisees and scribes have also been invited. From this moment, perhaps between bites (?), Jesus denounces the practices of the religious elite, to the point that when he finally leaves, they press him more, hoping that he will say something by which they can charge him with speaking blasphemously.
Despite the rancor, this is not his last invitation to sit down with the Pharisees. In chapter 14 (v. 1ff.), Jesus accepts the invitation to sup with the Chief Pharisee; and as others begin once again to criticize Jesus' actions during the meal, the author of Luke finally lays down what was understood to be the rules of a good host (v. 12ff.); he tells them the parable of the Great Banquet, a metaphor for his understanding of how life would be if we all comprehended the love of God.

THE MENU

Onion Board (Pletzels)
Pickled Herring
Tuna Baked in Pistachios and Dill
Minted Veal with Yellow Summer Squash
Cucumbers and Onions with Rue and Mustard Dressing
Jerusalem Cheese and Honey Pie
Fruit Platter of Fresh Grapes, Dried Dates, and Figs
Nicodemus' Anise Cookies Red Wine

THE PREPARATION

It is apparent that Jesus did a lot of his teaching at mealtime, particularly if it were one of the main meals of the day. Just what was a meal with the Pharisees like? What did they dine on?
The Pharisees bought food only from those who tithed; they also tithed the food they bought. The Lucan biblical text reports that the Pharisees were tithers of mint (in Greek, heduosmon), rue (in Greek, peganon), and all types of garden herbs (in Greek, lachanon), so these must have been in their kitchens and storerooms, and used often in their cooking. The parallel text in the Gospel of Matthew substitutes anise (in Greek, anethon) in place of rue, and other translations of the same text claim that dill was tithed, which in effect was the more likely scenario. In this instance we can get just a glimpse of how greatly translations of the Bible vary!
According to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), people in 1st-century Palestine ate a fairly straightforward diet of cereals, gruel, olives, dates, and figs. In addition, lots of wine was consumed.¹
Verse 37 states that “he sat down to meat,” a strange phrase in Greek (ana-pipto), used only here and nowhere else in the Bible. To sit down to meat apparently means to fall back or down, but has nothing to do with meat as such. The phrase implies that he reclined to eat his meal, which was the cultural norm for men at meals in that era.
If not meat, then what? Probably fish, as they were near the sea, and it would not be difficult to see how Jesus might have come to know some of the Pharisees through the business dealings of his disciples, many of whom were fishermen.
It is likely that this meal was not the principal meal of the day, but one of the earlier meals. We infer this because of the guests that were present: being the Sabbath, certainly the lawyers and other religious leaders would have been at their own homes if it were the time of day for the main meal (“dinner”) of a holy day.
In that one of the favorite foods of Palestinian Jews of Jesus' day was “young meat,” the menu for the Pharisee's meal would likely have included goat, lamb, or veal.² (Neither beef nor fowl were cooked very often.) And certainly there was bread, and lots of it. Due to the belief that it was the staff of life, no religious man would dare to have entertained guests without it.
Marian Maeve O'Brien, in The Bible Cookbook, claims “that actual meals served in biblical times have been preserved for us,” ³ and she goes so far as to present an outline of the typical midday meal for a middle-class family in Jerusalem in the 1st century. It includes, among other things, locusts, onions, and grapes.⁴ She does not cite her source, but it would not be unreasonable to assume that at least part of the menu has historical merit. Another food author, Kitty Morse, in A Biblical Feast: Foods from the Holy Land,⁵ writes that she believes a 1st-century supper usually started with something pickled in brine or vinegar, which would have stimulated the appetite. This was followed by a stew or some pottage that been thickened by grain and enhanced with lots of garden vegetables and herbs.⁶ To this menu, other scholars would add a milk dish into which people dipped their bread, and honey, eggs, cheeses, cucumbers, lentils, beans, and peas.⁷
Perhaps we'll never be sure just what was served at the meal Jesus shared with the Pharisee. But we can be certain of one thing: it was prepared with care, according to cleanliness rituals as understood by the Pharisees. So, it was probably a well-presented meal with frugal portions, yet not overly stingy so as to not appear inhospitable.

NOTES

1.	See the article at www.bbc.co.uk/religion/programmes/mary/evidence/8.shtml
2.	See the commentary at http://truthinheart.com/EarlyOberlinCD/CD/edersheim/IV.CHAPTERXIITH.htm
3.	Marian Maeve O'Brien, The Bible Cookbook (St. Louis: Bethany Press, 1958), 25.
4.	Marian Maeve O'Brien, The Bible Cookbook (St. Louis: Bethany Press, 1958),25.
5.	Kitty Morse, A Biblical Feast: Foods from the Holy Land (Berkeley, Calif.: Ten Speed Press, 1998), 8.
6.	Kitty Morse, A Biblical Feast: Foods from the Holy Land (Berkeley, Calif.: Ten Speed Press, 1998), 8.
7.	Cf. http://truthinheart.com/EarlyOberlinCD/CD/edersheim/IV.CHAPTERXIITH.htm

INCREASE IN PROSPERITY CONTINUED

STRENGTH

Act 9:31  Then had the churches rest throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied. 

Acts 9:31

Flourishing state of the Church in Palestine at this time.
Then had all the churches rest — rather, “the Church,” according to the best manuscripts and versions. But this rest was owing not so much to the conversion of Saul, as probably to the Jews being engrossed with the emperor Caligula’s attempt to have his own image set up in the temple of Jerusalem [Josephus, Antiquities, 18.8.1, etc.].
throughout all Judea, and Galilee, and Samaria — This incidental notice of distinct churches already dotting all the regions which were the chief scenes of our Lord’s ministry, and that were best able to test the facts on which the whole preaching of the apostles was based, is extremely interesting. “The fear of the Lord” expresses their holy walk; “the comfort of the Holy Ghost,” their “peace and joy in believing,” under the silent operation of the blessed Comforter.

Acts 9:23-31

When we enter into the way of God, we must look for trials; but the Lord knows how to deliver the godly, and will, with the temptation, also make a way to escape. Though Saul's conversion was and is a proof of the truth of Christianity, yet it could not, of itself, convert one soul at enmity with the truth; for nothing can produce true faith, but that power which new-creates the heart. Believers are apt to be too suspicious of those against whom they have prejudices. The world is full of deceit, and it is necessary to be cautious, but we must exercise charity, 1Co_13:5. The Lord will clear up the characters of true believers; and he will bring them to his people, and often gives them opportunities of bearing testimony to his truth, before those who once witnessed their hatred to it. Christ now appeared to Saul, and ordered him to go quickly out of Jerusalem, for he must be sent to the Gentiles: see Act_22:21. Christ's witnesses cannot be slain till they have finished their testimony. The persecutions were stayed. The professors of the gospel walked uprightly, and enjoyed much comfort from the Holy Ghost, in the hope and peace of the gospel, and others were won over to them. They lived upon the comfort of the Holy Ghost, not only in the days of trouble and affliction, but in days of rest and prosperity. Those are most likely to walk cheerfully, who walk circumspectly.

LET MY PEOPLE GO COLORING PAGE

LET MY PEOPLE GO, THAT THEY MAY SERVE ME

  Ex.8:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, Go unto Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Let my people go, that they may serve me.

The plague of Frogs, or the second plague, also proceeded from the Nile, and had its natural origin in the putridity of the slimy Nile water, whereby the marsh waters especially became filled with thousands of frogs. צְפַרְדֵּעַ is the small Nile frog, the Dofda of the Egyptians, called rana Mosaica or Nilotica by Seetzen, which appears in large numbers as soon as the waters recede. These frogs (הַצְּפַרְדֵּעַ in Exo_8:6, used collectively) became a penal miracle from the fact that they came out of the water in unparalleled numbers, in consequence of the stretching out of Aaron's staff over the waters of the Nile, as had been foretold to the king, and that they not only penetrated into the houses and inner rooms (“bed-chamber”), and crept into the domestic utensils, the beds (מִטָּה), the ovens, and the kneading-troughs (not the “dough” as Luther renders it), but even got upon the men themselves

Exo 8:20  And the LORD said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh; lo, he cometh forth to the water; and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Let my people go, that they may serve me. 

Exodus 8:20-32

As the Egyptian magicians saw nothing more than the finger of God in the miracle which they could not imitate, that is to say, the work of some deity, possibly one of the gods of the Egyptians, and not the hand of Jehovah the God of the Hebrews, who had demanded the release of Israel, a distinction was made in the plagues which followed between the Israelites and the Egyptians, and the former were exempted from the plagues: a fact which was sufficient to prove to any one that they came from the God of Israel. To make this the more obvious, the fourth and fifth plagues were merely announced by Moses to the king. They were not brought on through the mediation of either himself or Aaron, but were sent by Jehovah at the appointed time; no doubt for the simple purpose of precluding the king and his wise men from the excuse which unbelief might still suggest, viz., that they were produced by the powerful incantations of Moses and Aaron

Exo9:1 Then the LORD said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh, and tell him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me. 

The fifth plague consisted of a severe Murrain, which carried off the cattle (מִקְנֶה, the living property) of the Egyptians, that were in the field. To show how Pharaoh was accumulating guilt by his obstinate resistance, in the announcement of this plague the expression, “If thou refuse to let them go” (cf. Exo_8:2), is followed by the words, “and wilt hold them (the Israelites) still” (עֹוד still further, even after Jehovah has so emphatically declared His will)

Exo 9:13  And the LORD said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me. 

As the plagues had thus far entirely failed to bend the unyielding heart of Pharaoh under the will of the Almighty God, the terrors of that judgment, which would infallibly come upon him, were set before him in three more plagues, which were far more terrible than any that had preceded them. That these were to be preparatory to the last decisive blow, is proved by the great solemnity with which they were announced to the hardened king (Exo_9:13-16). This time Jehovah was about to “send all His strokes at the heart of Pharaoh, and against his servants and his people” (Exo_9:14). אֶל־לִבְּךְ does not signify “against thy person,” for לֵב is not used for נֶפֶשׁ, and even the latter is not a periphrasis for “person;” but the strokes were to go to the king's heart, “It announces that they will be plagues that will not only strike the head and arms, but penetrate the very heart, and inflict a mortal wound” (Calvin). From the plural “strokes,” it is evident that this threat referred not only to the seventh plague, viz., the hail, but to all the other plagues, through which Jehovah was about to make known to the king that “there was none like Him in all the earth,;” i.e., that not one of the gods whom the heathen worshipped was like Him, the only true God. For, in order to show this, Jehovah had not smitten Pharaoh and his people at once with pestilence and cut them off from the earth, but had set him up to make him see, i.e., discern or feel His power, and to glorify His name in all the earth (Exo_9:15, Exo_9:16). In Exo_9:15 וגו שָׁלַחְתִּי (I have stretched out, etc.) is to be taken as the conditional clause: “If I had now stretched out My hand and smitten thee...thou wouldest have been cut off.” הֶעֱמַדְתִּיךְ forms the antithesis to תִּכָּהֵד, and means to cause to stand or continue, as in 1Ki_15:4; 2Ch_9:8 (διετηρήθης lxx). Causing to stand presupposes setting up. In this first sense the Apostle Paul has rendered it ἐξήγειρα in Rom_9:17, in accordance with the purport of his argument, because “God thereby appeared still more decidedly as absolutely determining all that was done by Pharaoh” (Philippi on Rom_9:17). The reason why God had not destroyed Pharaoh at once was twofold: (1) that Pharaoh himself might experience (הַרְאֹת to cause to see, i.e., to experience) the might of Jehovah, by which he was compelled more than once to give glory to Jehovah (Exo_9:27; Exo_10:16-17; Exo_12:31); and (2) that the name of Jehovah might be declared throughout all the earth. As both the rebellion of the natural man against the word and will of God, and the hostility of the world-power to the Lord and His people, were concentrated in Pharaoh, so there were manifested in the judgments suspended over him the patience and grace of the living God, quite as much as His holiness, justice, and omnipotence, as a warning to impenitent sinners, and a support to the faith of the godly, in a manner that should by typical for all times and circumstances of the kingdom of God in conflict with the ungodly world. The report of this glorious manifestation of Jehovah spread at once among all the surrounding nations (cf. Exo_15:14.), and travelled not only to the Arabians, but to the Greeks and Romans also, and eventually with the Gospel of Christ to all the nations of the earth (vid., Tholuck on Rom_9:17).

Exo 10:3  And Moses and Aaron came in unto Pharaoh, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, How long wilt thou refuse to humble thyself before me? let my people go, that they may serve me. 

As Pharaoh had acknowledged, when the previous plague was sent, that Jehovah was righteous (Exo_9:27), his crime was placed still more strongly before him: “How long wilt thou refuse to humble thyself before Me?” (לֵעָנֹת for לְהֵעָנֹת, as in Exo_34:24).

Exo 10:4  Else, if thou refuse to let my people go, behold, to morrow will I bring the locusts into thy coast: 

to-morrow will I bring the locusts — Moses was commissioned to renew the request, so often made and denied, with an assurance that an unfavorable answer would be followed on the morrow by an invasion of locusts. This species of insect resembles a large, spotted, red and black, double-winged grasshopper, about three inches or less in length, with the two hind legs working like hinged springs of immense strength and elasticity. Perhaps no more terrible scourge was ever brought on a land than those voracious insects, which fly in such countless numbers as to darken the land which they infest; and on whatever place they alight, they convert it into a waste and barren desert, stripping the ground of its verdure, the trees of their leaves and bark, and producing in a few hours a degree of desolation which it requires the lapse of years to repair.

            

  1,000 year old Exodus Verses Found.

Nov. 9, 2007 news of a man who had a 1,000 year old manuscript fragment of the Hebrew Bible! For 60 years he thought of it as his good luck charm.

"...is believed to be part of the most authoritative manuscript of the Hebrew Bible, the Aleppo Codex", said Michael Glatzer, academic secretary of the Yad Ben Zvi institute. It contains verses from the Book of Exodus describing the plagues in Egypt, including the words of Moses to Pharaoh, "Let my people go, that they may serve me."

Sam Sabbagh, then a 17-year-old Syrian, picked up this piece off the floor of a synagogue in Aleppo, Syria in 1947. It had been burned the previous day in riots that followed the decision by the United Nations to partition Palestine, a step to creation of the Jewish state of Israel.

"We have only about 60 percent of the codex -- more than a third is still missing," said Aron Dotan, professor of Hebrew and Semitic languages at Tel Aviv University. The missing part includes most of the Torah, or Pentateuch, he said. The codex comprised the books of the Old Testament..."

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