Sightseeing and Playing in the Mud

Synagogue at Capernaum

Capernaum was the central point of Jesus' ministry. Tradition says that He lived at Peter's house. This picture is of the synagogue that came after the time of Jesus. However, some of the pillars are from Jesus' time, and the edge of the foundation of the synagogue during Jesus' time, the foundation of the synagogue before, and the one after can all be seen on the outside of this site to the left of this picture.

Capernaum is a beautiful city, and according to what we were told, the restoration has been carefully and accurately done. It was a wealthy town, and the tops of some pillars are gorgeous.  This isn't a real clear picture, but it is a statue of Peter on the village square. 

Tel Dan is next. It is at the far north corner of Israel. A long drive, but worth it!

River at Dan, an archaeological site and nature preserve! A beautiful place to walk.                                                            

Altar that Jeroboam built for worship of the golden calf at Dan.

No loud piano playing today, so I can actually figure out how to do pictures that John sent me to share with you!  These are pictures from Dan. I gave you the scripture reference yesterday - I guess as a teacher, I'm still giving out homework! Tonight, I'll tell you a cool thing. One of the kings of Dan (don't know which one) killed the kings of the Northern and Southern Kingdom (Israel and Judah when they were divided). When he returned to Dan, he had a plaque made commemorating the death of the kings "from the house of David." This is the only extra-biblical account of King David. Up until the discovery of this plaque in Dan, skeptics denied that David had ever existed, much less be a mighty king. This discovery confirmed scripture's account - imagine that!

There still is no extra-biblical reference to Solomon that has been discovered, but it is just a matter of time.

This is the "high place" to the right of the altar. This is where the golden calf was placed so the people could worship it.

Today, we worked the way we were hoping we would be able to. We were a bit short-handed, but it all worked out well. We have found some phenomenal pottery. It's hard to believe that we are looking at pottery that was probably used at the time of the Patriarchs. Unbelievable!

We went to dinner at Elvis Restaurant. Great cheeseburgers - run by an Arab man - and lots of Elvis memorabilia and music. Definitely better than Neve Shalom's kitchen fare. Even though tomorrow is Friday, and we don't usually work on Friday, we need to make up for the day off yesterday so will work until around noon. More touring on Saturday, but it involves a lot of walking and climbing so I'll be staying home, sleeping in, and hand washing some "necessary items."  I may even take a nap!

God bless you this day and always.

M.