The Great Wilderness east of Jerusalem.Everyone ready for a history lesson? Alright... on Monday we traveled on our fourth field study day and this particular trip highlighted the land of the Tribe of Benjamin and it's political and religious significance. It is located between the tribes of Ephraim and Judah and bordered on the West by the tribe of Dan. Located along the Patriachal Highway (which follows the natural watershed) from South to North the land of Benjamin contains the cities of Jerusalem, Gibeon, Ramah and Bethel. From the watershed to Jericho there are three main passes which were pivotal to controlling the land of Benjamin... Jerusalem to Jericho (the Ascent of Adumim), Ramah to Jericho (the Way of the Wilderness), and Bethel to Jericho (the Taiybe Ridge Route). To the West, the land of Benjamin is connected to Gezer on the Philistine Coast via the city of Gibeon (which is a hill in the middle of the Benjamin Plateau... the most fertile area in the land of Benjamin. Jericho and Gezer are so very important because they connect the rough hill country of Judah to the two main highways (the King's Highway in Transjordan and the Coastal Highway following the Mediteranean). The king who can control Bethel in the north and Jerusalem in the South, along with Jericho in the east and Gezer in the west will naturally become an important player in the greater Middle East and indeed we see this trend in what the Hebrew Bible purports about certain Kings. In 1 Kings 9:15 we read that Solomon fortified Hazor, Meggido and Gezer... and indeed, we have archaeological finds at all three sites which date roughly to the Solomonic time period. Maximalists teach us that these structures are Gates distinct to Solomon while minimalists argue that these date to a later Phoenician period. Nonetheless, here is the 'Solomonic Gate' at Gezer.
Solomonic Gate.
From Herod's palace at Jericho looking up at the formidable wilderness.
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