Field study continues to blow me away. After five weeks in the land, I somehow imagined that I would start to get over the novelty of being in the land of the Bible. It has not happened yet. If anything, I find myself more enthralled the more I come to know and understand what is going on around me.
I gained a whole new perspective on the hill country today as we walked through the terraces at Sataf. I also really enjoyed getting to see a house built onto the front of a cave. I'm a very visual learner, so I often have a hard time really grasping something until I can see it and touch it. As we were just discussing dwellings in Cultural Backgrounds, the house really interested me. Beyond that, the Bible is filled with images of planting and fields and growing. So many passages and images make sense more clearly after walking down the terraces and realizing the livelihood they represent to the farmers.
Moving on to Beth-Shemesh, I watched the Samson story come alive. Certainly many unknowns remain, but the story plays out in the land in so many ways it cannot do outside of it. I never realized that each time Samson goes out he pushes farther into Philistine territory. I certainly never understood the story of his wife from Timnah and the way it escalates through the social levels from personal to tribal involvement. Looking at the plains and hills it also finally made sense why he would to out into the Philistine Plain and then retreat to cities in the Judean hill country.
The story of David and Goliath is a classic Sunday School story, so looking over the Elah Valley naturally held some appeal for me. In addition, last year for a historical geography exam I had to write an essay question on the importance of the David and Goliath battle. After studying things, it is always fascinating to be able to see the settings instead of just trying to imagine it. It is no wonder Jesse would send David to check on the battle when Bethlehem would be then next city on the Philistine route to Gibeah, Saul's capital.
Lachish was interesting on a number of levels. Dr. Barkay has talked about it several times in archaeology. While I understood that a tel has levels, it was very interesting for me to see the different levels and Lachish. I'm also amazed by what they were able to do in ancient times. It puzzles me how they could have possibly dug a one hundred foot well through bedrock. I'm seriously impressed.
Obviously, ending the day at Ashkelon did not hurt the overall experience. Beyond just the fun and excitement of hanging out on the beach at the Mediterranean, it also continued to expand my understanding of just how diverse the land is. From Judean hill country to the sandy beach of Ashkelon definitely constitutes a major change of terrain. All in all, it was a fascinating day of study, ending with a really fun couple hours of Mediterranean beach time and good friends.
No comments:
Post a Comment