june 3: galilee field study

None of today’s sites were entirely exciting to me—by that I mean that they did not have immediate biblical context. What I’m trying to say is that I’ve never heard of them before, and this severely impacted my attention span. For instance, our first stop was at Hazor, and all I can remember discussing is the typical 4-room house and the Solomonic 6-chamber gate.

The next site we visited was located in Dan, north of the Sea of Galilee. The walk up to the tel was actually quite nice: full of trees, along the stream (which came from the largest spring in the country). I felt like I was at home in Pennsylvania, hiking along the path at a local natural park of some sort. Eventually we arrived at the tel, and Dr. Wright commented about the oldest intact arch made of mud brick. I, however, was distracted by Mount Hermon in the distance, looming in the distance. The mountains we had seen the previous days I would not even consider to be mountains, but rather large hills. However, Mount Hermon certainly appeared tall and striking in the distance from this vantage point. On the way back to the parking area for lunch, we took a route that led towards “Paradise,” or so the signpost told us.

After lunch, we stopped at Caesarea Philippi and Pan’s temple, about which we received a brief introduction. I’m not sure that I understood the site, but the carvings in the rock face were impressive. We then took a hike to a waterfall on the Mt. Hermon spring. The hike itself was enjoyable—along a shaded path, beside the stream. Finally, after having been able to hear the rushing of the waterfall for a few hundred yards, we approached the falls. The mist coming off the water felt good on our hot and sweaty faces, and the deep colors were such a stark contrast from the dry, dusty browns and tans we’re used to. Again I was reminded of Psalm 42: “Deep calls out to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have washed over me.” And just a few moments later, a fellow student was reciting these lines.

The last stop for the day was some sort of military base that overlooks Lebanon, Syria, and Israel, all from the same high point. I was not so interested in the history or the military actions here, but instead in the behavior of the young army boys in front of us, patrolling the hilltop.