A Lockdown Tour of Bible Lands

28/04/2020

People often wonder how the Essenes, the people living at Qumran, collected water. Well, here's the answer:

You can support my channel via https://amzn.to/2N64eD Israel, its places, people and more... I am a licensee Tour Guide in Israel, feel free to ask your ques...

28/04/2020

We leave the river Jordan and head south. It's not long before we reach the junction. We don't take the left turn eastward; we'd end up in a minefield long before arriving in Jordan. Instead we turn right, westward toward the long line of cliffs and steep drops from the Judean desert into the Dead Sea. The road bends south after a few minutes, and we pull into the carpark for Qumran.

This aerial drone footage is available for purchase on Pond5 and ShutterStock. Visit Jeffrey's website for more photos and info: http://www.JeffreyWorthingto...

25/04/2020

Qasr al-Yahud is a popular site for tourists and pilgrims; crowds come here to be baptised. As we head down to the water's edge we stumble across a coach load of them.

I'd like to think John the Baptist did a more dignified job of this than our baptising friend did with these Russians.

Google Maps location: https://goo.gl/maps/SdUWtg4EGgT99ETt9

This presentation is an extension of my printed new book, The Land of the Messiah. When you purchase my book https://amzn.to/2RTVTGz you are given the opport...

25/04/2020

Qasr al-Yahud is one of Christianity's most important sites. Here's the Epiphany ceremony taking place at the site - lots of ancient denominations represented here.

Qasr Al Yahud Epiphany Ceremony in the Jordan River - Every year at January 18, Some 20,000 pilgrims take part in the annual Epiphany Ceremony -- a the tradi...

25/04/2020

Well, Gilgal was fun. It's time to move on. A short distance from Gilgal in an easterly direction runs the river Jordan. We're very close to where the river runs into the Dead Sea after many miles of meandering through the lowest valley on earth. Even at its beginning at the Sea of Galilee it's already more than 200m below sea level - by the time it's reached the same latitude as Gilgal it's around 400m below sea level.

As we head east toward the river we spot a drone gathering footage of a place known today as Qasr al-Yahud, the traditional site of the crossing of the Jordan, the assumption of Elijah, and the baptismal site of John the Baptist.

Google Maps location: https://goo.gl/maps/1wSe7PrArKJGk5Aw8

Qasr al-yahud baptismal site קאסר אל-יהוד Qasr al-Yahud is the official name of a baptism site in the Jordan River Valley in the West Bank. After the Six-Day...

23/04/2020

We could spend much longer at Jericho, but the archaeology gets complicated. So, let's move on to the *least unlikely* location for Gilgal: Khirbet Mefjir.

There aren't any YouTube videos taken at Khirbet Mefjir, but evidently the Google Street View car has been there. Follow the link to stand on a wide plain at the north-eastern edge of Jericho - the immediate view you get is that from Gilgal looking toward the site of ancient Jericho.

This is where Joshua had 12 stones placed after taking them from the river Jordan.

This is the Israelite soldier's view as they set off to walk around the city each day for 7 days.

This is where the Israelite soldiers returned after their campaign through southern Canaan.

This is one of the stops on Samuel's circuit.

This is the site where Saul was proclaimed king.

This was one of the major sites of idolatry.

And yet, it's just bare ground on the edge of a desert. The site's biblical importance significantly outweighs the site's natural beauty. Particularly today.

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23/04/2020

Once again the trumpet sounds outside the walls of Jericho.

Jos 6:1–4 Now Jericho was shut up inside and out because of the Israelites; no one came out and no one went in. The LORD said to Joshua, “See, I have handed Jericho over to you, along with its king and soldiers. You shall march around the city, all the warriors circling the city once. Thus you shall do for six days, with seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark. On the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, the priests blowing the trumpets.

Zahi Shaked A tour guide in Israel and his camera [email protected] +972-54-6905522 tel סיור עם מורה הדרך ומדריך הטיולים צחי שקד 0546905522 My name is Zahi ...

23/04/2020

Now that we understand Jericho's topographical context, let's take a look at its walls.

Zahi Shaked A tour guide in Israel and his camera [email protected] +972-54-6905522 tel סיור עם מורה הדרך ומדריך הטיולים צחי שקד 0546905522 My name is Zahi ...

20/04/2020

We walk to the centre of the archaeological remains of ancient Jericho where our guide gives us not a tour of Jericho, but of the context in which it sits. We'll get to Jericho itself in the next video, but the sort of insight you get from knowing the geographical context of a site can be invaluable.

Zahi Shaked A tour guide in Israel and his camera [email protected] +972-54-6905522 tel סיור עם מורה הדרך ומדריך הטיולים צחי שקד 0546905522 My name is Zahi ...

20/04/2020

Having consumed more coffee with cardamom than is good for us, we complete our short walk and arrive at the entrance to the ancient city of Jericho. In front of us is a nicely done up water feature; "Elisha's Spring Fountain". The name is inspired by the following biblical passage:

2 Ki 2:19–22 Now the people of the city said to Elisha, “The location of this city is good, as my lord sees; but the water is bad, and the land is unfruitful.” 20 He said, “Bring me a new bowl, and put salt in it.” So they brought it to him. 21 Then he went to the spring of water and threw the salt into it, and said, “Thus says the LORD, I have made this water wholesome; from now on neither death nor miscarriage shall come from it.” 22 So the water has been wholesome to this day, according to the word that Elisha spoke.

The water is piped in from the spring a short distance away.

We pay our 10 shekels and enter the archaeological ruins.

Zahi Shaked A tour guide in Israel and his camera [email protected] 9726905522 tel סיור עם מורה הדרך ומדריך הטיולים צחי שקד 0546905522 My name is Zahi Shake...

20/04/2020

That's enough of the Mount of Temptation. We take the cable car back down, and begin the short walk to the archaeological remains of the ancient city of Jericho. On the way we stop for a chat with the locals.

A small taste of Jericho, which is considered one of the oldest cities in the world. Follow Me: https://twitter.com/silentbx https://www.facebook.com/Silentb...

20/04/2020

The caves, grottos, and churches are fascinating, but by far the best thing about the Mount of Temptation is the view. On a clear day you can see across the Plain of Jericho and over the river Jordan to the Plain of Moab, and then up to the hills of Moab and Mt Nebo.

This video - one I took almost a year ago - was taken from the Mount of Temptation on a remarkably clear day.

What we're looking at here is the setting for Joshua 1-7. Every point in that narrative is located somewhere in this view.

Joshua started off on the plain of Moab - far in the distance below the line of hills in the distance. From there the spies were sent out to Jericho - the long, thin mount that's directly in the centre of the video at 0:14. The children of Israel cross the Jordan and parked up at Gilgal, probably located in the long smudge of ground at the edge of the modern city that's exactly in the centre of the image at 0:08.

It was here where Jesus spoke to Zacchaeus in the sycamore tree, it was here where he healed the blind man, and it was from here that he set off back up the hill we drove down to begin his Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem.