The Wall Did Fall

Day 5 - Jerusalem, Israel - Today was a big day. Our travels ranged from Gezer on the western side of Israel to Jericho on the eastern side, in the Jordan River valley. It was a great day. The highlight was a visit to the site of Old Testament Jericho. Of course we wanted to see the walls. Everyone wants to see the walls. This is one of the most famous stories in the Bible, after all. Undertstanding the site from an archaeological perspective is complicated. I will try to summarize. Archaeologists agree that there was a stone revetment (retaining) wall around the entire city. It was probably buried completely, if not almost completely, as part of its design. Think of it as a foundation that supported another wall on top of it. They agree that the sturcture that sat on top of the stone revetment wall was a mud brick city wall. They also agree that the mud brick wall fell outward and that the remins of that mud brick wall can be found at the base of the stone revetment wall. OK, you say, so what's the problem? The issue archaeologists disagree on is when that mud brick wall fell? To put it another way, did Joshua destroy the city, or had it already been destroyed by someone else by the time he got there? The best investigation, the one that considers all the evidence, has concluded that the city fell around 1400 B.C. Precisely the time we would expect. Joshua and the Israelites took this city! I finally got to see this wall up close (the revetment wall). It is impressive. I'll see many other impressive sites on this trip, but the drama of this story combined with the evidence for its authenticity are simply fascinating. Thanks for praying. We made it through all the check points with out any problem. Keep it up though. Tomorrow we head for Shiloh, Gerizim, and Bethlehem...once again in the West Bank.

Steve