old testament jerusalem walk

sites visited: city of david, warren's shaft, hezekiah's tunnel, pool of siloam

This afternoon, our walk of Old Testament sites in the Old City focused mainly on the east hill section of the City of David. From a point overlooking the valley and the site of the City of David, one of our fellow students read Psalm 121 (“I lift my eyes to the hills, where does my help come from?...). Let me tell you, it was entirely exciting to read that psalm in the geographical context where it was originally written.

I don’t know much about the City of David or of David’s feats (only the most basic knowledge—I’ve spent so long studying the New Testament this past semester that I almost forgot about the Old!). However, I deeply appreciate the opportunity to visualize the area while I’m studying here. My mom will quickly tell you that I am a visual learner, and when I can see things, I am able to remember so much more. When I come across these texts and sites in the future, I will be sure to check my maps, photos, and journal to see what I can remember and apply to the situation.

I’m also starting to realize the gargantuan architectural feats of the ancient city. Consider for example Hezekiah’s tunnel. Just like the construction Egyptian pyramids, I can’t imagine the labor involved in hacking out the bedrock to create a 1600-foot-long tunnel—in the dark, no less! The thought of laborers moving and cutting large stones and boulders to build palaces, the Temple, homes, etc. boggles my mind. (Sidenote: walking Hezekiah’s tunnel was such a fun experience! At first, I didn’t want to walk the 30 minutes hunched over in the dark, wet, and narrow tunnel, but all of a sudden, we came upon the entrance, and I didn’t have much of a choice. I guess you could call it a bonding experience for the group—we were stuck in a dark tunnel together, and eventually the people behind me began to sing.)

I think something began to sink in while we were sitting at the Pool of Siloam. While waiting for others to depart the site, I realized that I was sitting on the steps of a 2000-year-old pool. And not only that—but this was the site where Jesus told some blind man to wash and he was healed! Recalling these mental images has already been helpful for me to interpret and understand Old Testament and New Testament stories.