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The Ark of the Covenant

Will it be found again?

The Ark of the Covenant was undoubtedly the most holy piece of furniture ever made, if it can be referred to as such. It consisted of a rectangular chest made of shittim wood and covered over with gold. 

The word Ark, aron in Hebrew, means merely a chest and has been translated as ‘coffin’ in Gen. 50.26. God had commanded Moses to make the Ark of the Covenant (Exodus 25.10-22) and inside it, Moses placed the two tables of the law. Later, Aaron’s rod that budded was placed in it (Numbers 17.10), together with the golden pot that had the manna (Exodus 16.33; Hebrews 9.4). 

This is a model of the Ark of the Covenant (Exodus 25) as it stood in the Holy of Holies of the Tabernacle that was made in Sinai. The Ark was carried by two long staves that were placed through rings on the side of the Ark. The lid of the Ark or mercy seat was made of pure gold and had two cherubim crafted out of it.

The mercy seat was a kind of lid, which closed the chest from above. It was made of pure gold and was held in place by a golden ridge or crown. Beaten out of this mercy seat were two cherubim, which with their wings overshadowed the mercy seat. They were beaten out of the same piece of pure gold as the mercy seat. 

The Ark was made in Sinai by Bezaleel ben Uri, whose name appropriately means, “In the Shadow of El (God), the Son of my Light”. After the Ark of the Covenant was made, it was placed in the Tabernacle. After a long journey it was eventually placed in the Holy of Holies of Solomon’s Temple. 

The Tabernacle was surrounded by an open court, formed by 60 pillars with silver capitals and linen curtains in between (Exodus 27). The Tabernacle itself stood at the back of this court with the Laver and the Altar of Burnt Sacrifices in front of it.
In this drawing, we see the inside of the Tabernacle. Inside the Holy Place was the Lampstand (menorah), the Table of Shewbread and the Altar of Incense. The Ark of the Covenant stood in the Holy of Holies.

The question many people have tried to answer is where the Ark of the Covenant is now. Was the Ark destroyed by the Babylonians or perhaps hidden somewhere. It is almost unthinkable that such an important and unique object which represented the dwelling place of God himself would have been destroyed. 

From the Biblical record, it appears that the Ark remained in the Holy of Holies of Solomon’s Temple until the reign of King Manasseh, who set a wooden statue of the Asherah (goddess) which he had made in the Temple (2 Kings 21.7; 2 Chronicles 33.5). During the reign of Josiah, we read that the king commanded the Levites to “Put the holy ark in the house which Solomon the son of David, king of Israel built. It shall no longer be a burden on your shoulders” (2 Chronicles 35.3). This would imply that the Ark had been removed for safe keeping by the Levites, very likely because of the sacrilege of Josiah’s grandfather Manasseh. After Josiah had cleansed the Temple, we hear no more of the Ark. There is no mention of it in the list of Temple treasures carried off to Babylon when the city fell in 586 B.C. (2 Kings 25.13-17). Neither does it appear on the Arch of Titus in Rome, which depicts the triumphant procession of the Romans with the spoils of the Jerusalem Temple following its destruction in 70 A.D. 

In recent years, there has been a surge of interest in the location of the Ark of the Covenant. According to the Second Book of Maccabees (2.1-8), Jeremiah hid the Ark on Mount Nebo in Jordan, while many rabbis believe that it is still hidden somewhere under the Temple Mount. This belief is based mainly on 1 Kings 8:8: “And the poles extended so that the ends of the poles could be seen from the holy place, in front of the inner sanctuary; but they could not be seen from outside. So, they are there to this day”. The phrase “to this day” is supposed to be the key indicator that the Ark is still hidden somewhere under the Temple Mount. In 1981, workers of the Religious Affairs Ministry carried out a dig under the Temple Mount in search of the Ark. However, when this caused disturbances among the Arab population, the project was aborted. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church claims that the Ark is kept safe and secure in the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion in Axum. In the early years of the twentieth century, British Israelites carried out excavations at the Hill of Tara in Ireland, believing that the Ark was brought to Ireland by an Israelite princess. And there are many more suggestions which are difficult to prove.

British Israelites and the Ark of the Covenant

We had our own encounter with one of these supposed hiding places of the Ark of the Covenant. In 1998 Kathleen and I visited the Hill of Tara, an ancient ceremonial site which some claim to have been the seat of the High Kings of Ireland.  We were surprised to see that excavation squares had been opened and filled in again on the side of the hill.

Kathleen at the filled-in excavation squares at the Hill of Tara.

At that time, we were unaware of the connection between British Israelites and the Ark of the Covenant. We found out that between 1899 and 1902, members of the British-Israel Association of London travelled to County Meath, Ireland, in search of the Ark of the Covenant. British Israelites claim that the peoples of the British Isles (including the Anglo-Saxons) are the direct genetic and spiritual descendants of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel. 

These British Israelites believed that the Prophet Jeremiah had fled to Ireland with the daughters of King Zedekiah and that the Ark of the Covenant was buried at the Hill of Tara. They dug up and damaged parts of the historic site but after three years of digging, the Ark of the Covenant remained as elusive as ever. 

In the 1955, several notable discoveries were made at Tara, including an undisturbed passage grave. Apparently four historical phases dating from the middle-late Iron Age to 400 A.D. were discovered.

In 1997, some of the excavation squares were reopened and nothing of note was found, apart from an ancient industrial bowl furnace and iron slag to the disappointment of those who view the Hill of Tara as a ritual centre. We weren’t surprised that nothing was found. 

These above-mentioned theories, often based on legends, were soon dismissed. This shows that one must develop a methodology to get some indication of where the Ark of the Covenant might be. Unfortunately, there is no further information given in the Tanakh (Old Testament) regarding the location of the Ark after its last mention in 2 Chronicles. 35:3 where Josiah ordered the Levites to put the holy ark back in the Temple. After that the Ark disappeared from history. In this brief text of 2 Chronicles. 35:3, we have information that, combining biblical texts with archaeology and geography, may lift a small corner of the veil that hides its location.

This passage of 2 Chronicles 35.3 may be worth exploring as it contains several clues as to the whereabouts of the Ark. This passage elicits several questions. Firstly, Josiah commanded Levites to carry the Ark of the Covenant which begs the question which group of Levites were they? Secondly, why had the Ark to be carried on the shoulders ? Thirdly, from which hiding place did these Levites bring the Ark back and where did they live? Pondering these questions may be a fruitful avenue to follow. It may not point to the exact location of the Ark, but we may come very close to it.

Firstly, there was one specific Levitical family that had been put in charge of the Ark of the Covenant, namely Elizaphan (Numbers 3:30), also known as Elzaphan (Exodus 6:22). When Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron offered strange incense, they were struck down. Moses then called Elzaphan and his brother Mishael to carry the corpses out of the camp of Israel (Leviticus 10:4,5). Elizaphan became the first leader of the Kohathite clan and was given an important task.

“The leader of the fathers’ house of the families of the Kohathites was Elizaphan the son of Uzziel. Their duty included the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the utensils of the sanctuary with which they ministered, the screen, and all the work relating to them” (Numbers 3:30,31)

So, the first person ever to have been put in charge of the Ark of the Covenant, was called Elizaphan ben Uzziel.  His name means “My El (God) has hidden” and he was the son of Uzziel, which means “My Strength is El (God)”. It is a comforting thought that if the Ark still exists and has a future role to play, then it must have been hidden with the knowledge of God himself and that it will be found when it will suit Him best. Nevertheless, we believe that it is important to continue our search.

Secondly, when the Tabernacle had to be transported, wagons were given to the Levites, two wagons and their oxen to the sons of Gershom and four to the sons of Merari. These wagons were used to transport the heavy parts of the tabernacle, such as the pillars, the curtains, the boards, etc. But to the sons of Kohath, Moses gave no wagons as they looked after the holy things of the Tabernacle, such as the Ark, the Table, the Menorah and the Veil, which they were told had to be carried on their shoulders (Numbers 7:2-9). The Kohathite family of Elizaphan continues to be mentioned in the Tanakh. In our next post we will try to find out how far Elizaphan’s family can be traced in the Scriptures.

The Crucifixion

Last year about this time, Daniel Smith produced a video on The Archaeology of Gethsemane.  

Now he has produced another video on his YouTube channel called Messages of Christ, this time on the method of crucifixion by first delving into the history and archaeology of what is known. He wrote that if we feel it would be of interest to our audience, we’d love to have it shared on your blog. Of course we would! Click on the image below to see the video:

An image of the crucifixion site

This is the text that introduces the video:

“Much of what we think we know about the crucifixion of Jesus on Golgotha is inaccurate. We set out to better understand the crucifixion. To more fully comprehend the suffering Christ endured. 

What did it really look like? Do we have any archaeological evidence? And what exactly happened on Good Friday? To find out, we consulted archaeologists, physicians, and historians — piecing together ancient texts with modern discovery, and modeling the entire story for the first time. 

Join us as we reveal what the crucifixion on Calvary actually looked like and what it meant for the cross, once a symbol of Roman terror, to become the ultimate symbol of hope found in the empty tomb.”

Enjoy watching!

The origin of Hanukkah

In the wake of the Bondi Beach massacre we ask what is Hanukkah?

The barbaric Bondi Beach massacre that happened on the 14th of December 2025 as the Jewish community was celebrating the first day of Hanukkah was universally condemned and rightly so. 15 people unfortunately lost their lives, including a child and many suffered gunshot wounds. For the Jews, Hanukkah was a feast of lights, but while discussing this with some people, very few knew what Hanukkah was all about and when this festival began to be celebrated? 

The Hebrew word Hanukkah means dedication. In Numbers 7:10, 84, 88 and 2 Chron. 7:9 this word is used for the dedication of the altar, first of the Tabernacle and then of the Temple. Psalm 30 is a song for the dedication of the house of David; and in the post-exilic period it is used for the dedication of the House of God (Ezra 6:16) and of the repaired city wall (Nehemiah 12:27). 

So, what is the origin of the Feast of Hanukkah and which dedication does it refer to? Most of the historical information comes from the intertestamental books of First and Second Maccabees. Historical documents from this time are known as the deuterocanonical literature. Six other books are accepted as deuterocanonical by some ancient churches: Tobit, Judith, Baruch, Ecclesiasticus, and Wisdom. Other sources are the Works of Flavius Josephus, History of the Jewish War, The Antiquities of the Jews, and Against Apion.

Josephus records in a somewhat fanciful manner (Ant. 11.325–339) a visit to the Temple by Alexander the Great after his capture of Gaza in 332 BCE. Here, the Jewish historian has him sacrificing in the Temple under the guidance of the High Priest. Although this may be mere legend, the story points to the perpetuation of the Temple services following their revival after the return from exile in Babylon.

Around the end of the third century BCE, restoration work was carried out on the Temple Mount by the High Priest Simon, son of Onias. According to the apocryphal work of Ben Sira called Ecclesiasticus (50.1–3), the work is described as follows: 

“It was the High Priest Simon son of Onias who repaired the Temple during his lifetime and in his day fortified the sanctuary. He laid the foundations of the double height, the high buttresses of the Temple precincts. In his day the water cistern was excavated, a reservoir as huge as the sea.”

It is clear from the text that the bulk of these works consisted of the repair and strengthening of existing structures.

Although no archaeological remains of these buttresses have been found, nevertheless they have been indicated on the drawing as a suggestion. The location of the cistern is also indicated.

After the death of Alexander the Great in 332 BCE, Judea came under Ptolemaic rule from 301-200 BCE. The Ptolemies were benevolent toward the Jews. Ptolemy Philadelphus II of Egypt (285-246 BCE) commissioned a translation of the Hebrew Bible in c. 250 BCE. A tradition (recorded in the Letter of Aristeas) says that scholars from Jerusalem translated the Torah, the five books of Moses, into Greek for Ptolemy’s library in Alexandria. The term Septuagint derives from the Latin for “seventy” (septuaginta) and refers to the seventy-two translators involved in this work. During the following century, the rest of the Hebrew Bible was translated into Greek, with the entire Greek version retaining this name.

During the 3rd century BCE, many battles took place between the Ptolemies in the south and the Seleucids in the north. In 200 BC, a final battle between the two forces took place in Panion (modern Banias) which was lost by the Ptolemies. The Seleucids then controlled the Holy Land. Whereas the Ptolemies were benevolent rulers, the Seleucids were the very opposite.

The most infamous of the Seleucid rulers, Antiochus Epiphanes (1 Maccabees 1:10; 2 Maccabees 4:7), tried to impose Hellenistic culture on the Jewish people, forbidding worship on the Temple Mount. In 169 BCE, Antiochus Epiphanes went to Jerusalem, where he plundered the Temple and took all the furniture and treasures away to Antioch (1 Maccabees 1:21-23; 2 Maccabees 5:11-20). The altar was defiled by sacrificing a pig, and the Temple was dedicated to Olympian Zeus. The Jews were forbidden to practice their religion, including rituals such as sacrificing and circumcision, the observance of the Sabbath, and were compelled to accept the new pagan rituals. Some renegade Jews, under leadership of Jason the high priest, accepted the new religion.

The next year, in 168 BCE, a strong fortress, the Seleucid Akra, was built to the south of the Temple Mount and east of the Huldah Gates. These were the main gates that were used by people that went up from the Lower City to the Temple. The garrison that was stationed inside the fortress, could easily control access to the Temple Mount, and the Book of Maccabees 1:38 documented that it became an ambush for the sanctuary much resented by the Jews.

The Seleucid Akra was built against the southern wall of the Temple Mount
The Seleucid Akra was built to the immediate east of the Huldah Gates so that they could control the people who lived to the south in the City of David going to the Temple Mount. This fortress was built in 168 BCE and finally destroyed 25 years later in 141 BCE.

The desecration of the Jerusalem Temple and the construction of the Akra Fortress eventually led to the Maccabean revolt which lasted from 167 to 160 BCE. In 164 BCE, Judas defeated the Seleucid forces at the battle of Bethzur. Five years earlier, the Temple had been defiled by Antiochus IV Epiphanes, but now Judas the Maccabee and his men could go up to Jerusalem to purify and dedicate the sanctuary. When they found the Temple in a shocking state of neglect and its buildings in ruin, they mourned and prayed to God.

While cleaning the Temple, a small jug with olive oil was found under the seal of the High priest that was used to fill the lamps of the Lampstand (Menorah). There was only oil sufficient for one day, but, miraculously it lasted for eight days. That is where the idea of the Hanukkiah comes from.

This menorah graffito was found in between two floors of a Herodian building that stood above the Broad Wall. This depiction of the Lampstand (menorah) probably decorated one of the walls of a priestly family home in Jerusalem. Apart from the Lampstand, it shows the Table of Shewbread (bottom right), the Altar of Incense (top right) and the three-stepped stone (bottom left) which the priest would stand on to light the lamps of the Lampstand in the Temple.
The Temple Menorah had seven branches, while the Hanukkiah used at Hanukkah has eight branches representing the eight nights that oil miraculously burned in the Temple. The ninth oil lamp on the central stem is called the shamash and was used to light the others.
Reconstruction drawing of a Hanukkiah

Priests were selected to remove the defiled altar stones which were kept in a special place until they knew what to do with them (1Maccabees 4:45,46). They were eventually placed in a special room in the Chamber of the Hearth in Herod’s Temple.

This is a plan of the Temple and its surrounding courts and buildings.
A flight of twelve steps according to Middot 2.3. led up to a terrace known as the Hel, which bordered the Temple on the south and west. The Sanctuary itself consisted of three courts, each higher than the former, and beyond them, the Temple with the Holy and Most Holy Places. One could enter via the Eastern Gate, first into the Court of the Women or Treasury.
From the Court of the Women, men could advance through the Nicanor Gate into the Court of the Israelites and priest were allowed into the Court of the Priests. Three gate buildings were located on both the north and south side of the Temple. The Chamber of the Hearth was in the northwest corner of the Temple Court and the Chamber of Hewn Stone in the southeast. A small chamber in the northeast corner of the Chamber of the Hearth was used to place the altar stones that were defiled by the Seleucids.

A new altar was built from unhewn stones, the Temple was cleaned, new furniture brought in, and the Lampstand was lit. The Temple and altar were dedicated and there was great rejoicing. It was then decided to make a law that the keeping of this feast of dedication (Hanukkah) would be kept every year for eight days (1Maccabees 4:36-61; 2 Maccabees 10:1-8).

The Gospel of John records that Jesus too kept the Feast of Hanukkah (John 10:22). But where on the Temple Mount was Jesus? There are some unique locations in the Land of the Bible where you really get a sense of place. One  of these is inside the Eastern Wall of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Here the record of Jesus’ visit to the Temple precincts in John 10.22-39 comes to vibrant life. We are told:

And it was the feast of the dedication at Jerusalem: it was winter; and Jesus was walking in the Temple in Solomon’s Porch (John 10:22,23).

Jesus had come to keep Hanukkah, the Feast of Lights. This feast commemorates the dedication of the Temple in 164 BC, after it had been defiled by Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who, three years earlier, had ordered a pig to be sacrificed on the Temple altar.

But why does this place evoke the Gospel story so powerfully? It is surely because this side of the Temple Mount is closest to the original, with minimal additional construction. The Eastern Wall of the Temple Mount was the only one that was not moved by King Herod the Great when he carried out his monumental expansion of the Temple Mount in the first century.

At present there are no porticoes along the Eastern and Southern Walls of the Temple Mount. In the Herodian period, however, there were porticoes on all sides. The eastern stoa pre-dated the others and was already colonnaded in the Hasmonean period. This Porch, or stoa, stood directly over the wall of the earlier square Temple Mount and at the time of Herod the Great, was known as Solomon’s Porch.

Walking on the Temple Mount along the inside of the Eastern Wall, looking north.
Standing here on the inside of the Eastern Wall (looking south), we can imagine Jesus speaking with his disciples, while around them in the Temple precincts, the people celebrated God’s intervention in their place of worship.
An overall view of a model of the Temple Mount looking from the northwest. In the foreground is the Antonia Fortress, while the Temple with its surrounding buildings stood close to the centre of the Temple Mount. The lower portico above the Eastern Wall (upper centre) was known as Solomon’s Porch, mentioned in John 10.23 and Acts 3.11; 5.12.

This does not necessarily mean that this porch was built by this famous king, but certainly by Herod’s predecessors. Offering welcome shelter from sun, wind and rain, it was obviously used as a place of congregation. Josephus provides us with an evocative description:

The porticoes, all in double rows, were supported by columns five and twenty cubits high—each a single block of the purest white marble—and ceiled with panels of cedar. The natural magnificence of these columns, their excellent polish and fine adjustment presented a striking spectacle (War 5.190–192).

While Jesus was walking in the Porch of Solomon, the eastern portico of the Temple Mount, he was asked if he was the Messiah. Despite the works that God had given Jesus to do, he was met with unbelief and was almost stoned to death one wintry day during the feast of Hanukkah (John 10.31). Acts 3.11 and 5.12 also provide us with images of the time when the disciples used to congregate and teach here after the death of their master. Peter and James healed the man who was lame at the Beautiful Gate after which he went to Solomon’s Porch.

A reconstruction drawing of the underground passageway of the Double Gate of Herod’s Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Most of the elements in this drawing have been preserved, including the domes inside the double passageway. We have proposed that this beautifully decorated gateway was the Beautiful Gate of the Temple, where the lame man was healed by Peter and John.
In the reconstruction drawing, people are entering the tunnel on the right side and exiting on the left. The best place for a lame beggar to get the attention of the worshipers would be if he was placed between the two entrances.

Sadly, anti-semitism is still with us today. However, we are waiting for a new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells (2 Peter 3:13). Soon Christmas will be celebrated and we remember that the angel Gabriel said to Mary that her son Jesus shall be great and shall be called the Son of the highest and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David .. and of his kingdom there shall be no end (Luke 1:32,33).

The Archaeology of Gethsemane

Daniel Smith is a scriptural history enthusiast whose dream in life is to help visually teach others about the scriptures. He started producing videos on YouTube because he saw so little content that was visually engaging, educational, and uplifting. His YouTube channel called Messages of Christ now has 63 million views and 500k subscribers. It has been a pleasure to have worked with him on several projects.

This time of the year, many people celebrate Passover/Pesach/Easter in remembrance of the Passover meal that Jesus held with his disciples before going to Gethsemane where he was betrayed by Judas and arrested by the Temple guards.

As Daniel explains in this video, it is most likely that Jesus and his disciples stayed overnight in this cave and he draws parallels between the processes of producing olive oil and the suffering of Christ.

Gethsemane is usually associated with the garden next to the Church of All Nations at the foot of the Mount of Olives which has many ancient olive trees. However, a few decades ago a cave was discovered next to the Church of the Virgin Mary that originally held an olive press. After excavations were completed, this site has been developed as a chapel.

The Church of the Virgin Mary
The Entrance to the Gethsemane Grotto
The chapel built in the original olive press cave

Apart from the suffering of Christ, it is possible to make a connection with a prior event that took place here. There may be an interesting parallel with what happened to David when he fled from Absalom.

We read in 2 Sam 15:23 that after leaving Jerusalem, David crossed the Kidron Valley and would have passed by the place that was later called the Garden of Gethsemane. It is interesting that David said in 2 Sam 15:26, “Let [the LORD] do to me what seems good to Him”. And despite the difficult situation he found himself in, he put his trust in the LORD. In his extremity Jesus said something similar, “not my will but Thine be done”.

On his return to Jerusalem, David said to Abishai in 2Sam. 19:22, “… do not I know that I am this day king over Israel?” This occasion was the second time that David came to Jerusalem as king. Reading these words must would been a powerful comfort to Jesus, and indeed also for us as we similarly await his return.

Christmas and the Origin of Hanukkah

Jesus kept the Feast of Hanukkah

Every year on the 25th of December, most Christians celebrate Christmas, but in this year of 2024, Jews keep the Feast of Hanukkah on the very same day. This happens only occasionally. Because of the lunisolar system of the Jewish year, the exact date of Hanukkah changes every year, but it usually falls between late November and late December in the Gregorian calendar. 

In a previous post, we talked about the archaeology of Xmas and explained what a stable where Jesus was born might have looked like.

This drawing shows a typical stable block. The animals were kept behind the fenestrated wall (a wall with windows), while animal fodder and other provender was kept on this side of the wall. Fodder was put in mangers, or wooden feeding troughs, which were placed in the windows, so that animals could eat. Mary and Joseph (pictured here) would have put baby Jesus to sleep in such a manger.

This Hebrew word Hanukkah means dedication. In Numbers 7:10, 84, 88 and 2 Chron. 7:9 this word is used for the dedication of the altar, first of the Tabernacle and then of the Temple. Psalm 30 is a song for the dedication of the house of David; and in the post-exilic period it is used for the dedication of the House of God (Ezra 6:16) and of the repaired city wall (Nehemiah 12:27). 

So, what is the origin of the Feast of Hanukkah and which dedication does it refer to? Most of the historical information comes from the intertestamental books of First and Second Maccabees. Historical documents from this time are known as the deuterocanonical literature. Six other books are accepted as deuterocanonical by some ancient churches: Tobit, Judith, Baruch, Ecclesiasticus, and Wisdom. Other sources are the Works of Flavius Josephus, History of the Jewish War, The Antiquities of the Jews, and Against Apion.

Josephus records in a somewhat fanciful manner (Ant. 11.325–339) a visit to the Temple by Alexander the Great after his capture of Gaza in 332 BCE. Here, the Jewish historian has him sacrificing in the Temple under the guidance of the High Priest. Although this may be mere legend, the story points to the perpetuation of the Temple services following their revival after the return from exile in Babylon.

Around the end of the third century BCE, restoration work was carried out on the Temple Mount by the High Priest Simon, son of Onias. According to the apocryphal work of Ben Sira called Ecclesiasticus (50.1–3), the work is described as follows: 

“It was the High Priest Simon son of Onias who repaired the Temple during his lifetime and in his day fortified the sanctuary. He laid the foundations of the double height, the high buttresses of the Temple precincts. In his day the water cistern was excavated, a reservoir as huge as the sea.”

It is clear from the text that the bulk of these works consisted of the repair and strengthening of existing structures.

Although no archaeological remains of these buttresses have been found, nevertheless they have been indicated on the drawing as a suggestion. The location of the cistern is also indicated.

After the death of Alexander the Great in 332 BCE, Judea came under Ptolemaic rule from 301-200 BCE. The Ptolemies were benevolent toward the Jews. Ptolemy Philadelphus II of Egypt (285-246 BCE) commissioned a translation of the Hebrew Bible in c. 250 BCE. A tradition (recorded in the Letter of Aristeas) says that scholars from Jerusalem translated the Torah, the five books of Moses, into Greek for Ptolemy’s library in Alexandria. The term Septuagint derives from the Latin for “seventy” (septuaginta) and refers to the seventy-two translators involved in this work. During the following century, the rest of the Hebrew Bible was translated into Greek, with the entire Greek version retaining this name.

During the 3rd century BCE, many battles took place between the Ptolemies in the south and the Seleucids in the north. In 200 BC, a final battle between the two forces took place in Panion (modern Banias) which was lost by the Ptolemies. The Seleucids then controlled the Holy Land. Whereas the Ptolemies were benevolent rulers, the Seleucids were the very opposite.

The most infamous of the Seleucid rulers, Antiochus Epiphanes (1 Maccabees 1:10; 2 Maccabees 4:7), tried to impose Hellenistic culture on the Jewish people, forbidding worship on the Temple Mount. In 169 BCE, Antiochus Epiphanes went to Jerusalem, where he plundered the Temple and took all the furniture and treasures away to Antioch (1 Maccabees 1:21-23; 2 Maccabees 5:11-20). The altar was defiled by sacrificing a pig, and the Temple was dedicated to Olympian Zeus. The Jews were forbidden to practice their religion, including rituals such as sacrificing and circumcision, the observance of the Sabbath, and were compelled to accept the new pagan rituals. Some renegade Jews, under leadership of Jason the high priest, accepted the new religion.

The next year, in 168 BCE, a strong fortress, the Seleucid Akra, was built to the south of the Temple Mount and east of the Huldah Gates. These were the main gates that were used by people that went up from the Lower City to the Temple. The garrison that was stationed inside the fortress, could easily control access to the Temple Mount, and the Book of Maccabees 1:38 documented that it became an ambush for the sanctuary much resented by the Jews.

The Seleucid Akra was built against the southern wall of the Temple Mount
The Seleucid Akra was built to the immediate east of the Huldah Gates so that they could control the people who lived to the south in the City of David going to the Temple Mount. This fortress was built in 168 BCE and finally destroyed 25 years later in 141 BCE.

The desecration of the Jerusalem Temple and the construction of the Akra Fortress eventually led to the Maccabean revolt which lasted from 167 to 160 BCE. In 164 BCE, Judas defeated the Seleucid forces at the battle of Bethzur. Five years earlier, the Temple had been defiled by Antiochus IV Epiphanes, but now Judas the Maccabee and his men could go up to Jerusalem to purify and dedicate the sanctuary. When they found the Temple in a shocking state of neglect and its buildings in ruin, they mourned and prayed to God.

While cleaning the Temple, a small jug with olive oil was found under the seal of the High priest that was used to fill the lamps of the Lampstand (Menorah). There was only oil sufficient for one day, but, miraculously it lasted for eight days. That is where the idea of the Hanukkiah comes from.

This menorah graffito was found in between two floors of a Herodian building that stood above the Broad Wall. This depiction of the Lampstand (menorah) probably decorated one of the walls of a priestly family home in Jerusalem. Apart from the Lampstand, it shows the Table of Shewbread (bottom right), the Altar of Incense (top right) and the three-stepped stone (bottom left) which the priest would stand on to light the lamps of the Lampstand in the Temple.
One of the duties of the priests in the Temple was looking after and trimming the seven lamps of the Lampstand. According to ancient sources, a priest stood on a block of stone with three steps cut out of it, so that he could reach the lamps.

The Temple Menorah had seven branches, while the Hanukkiah used at Hanukkah has eight branches representing the eight nights that oil miraculously burned in the Temple. The ninth oil lamp on the central stem is called the shamash and was used to light the others.

Priests were selected to remove the defiled altar stones which were kept in a special place until they knew what to do with them (1Maccabees 4:45,46). They were eventually placed in a special room in the Chamber of the Hearth in Herod’s Temple.

This is a plan of the Temple and its surrounding courts and buildings.
A flight of twelve steps according to Middot 2.3. led up to a terrace known as the Hel, which bordered the Temple on the south and west. The Sanctuary itself consisted of three courts, each higher than the former, and beyond them, the Temple with the Holy and Most Holy Places. One could enter via the Eastern Gate, first into the Court of the Women or Treasury.
From the Court of the Women, men could advance through the Nicanor Gate into the Court of the Israelites and priest were allowed into the Court of the Priests. Three gate buildings were located on both the north and south side of the Temple. The Chamber of the Hearth was in the northwest corner of the Temple Court and the Chamber of Hewn Stone in the southeast. A small chamber in the northeast corner of the Chamber of the Hearth was used to place the altar stones that were defiled by the Seleucids.

A new altar was built from unhewn stones, the Temple was cleaned, new furniture brought in, and the Lampstand was lit. The Temple and altar were dedicated and there was great rejoicing. It was then decided to make a law that the keeping of this feast of dedication (Hanukkah) would be kept every year for eight days (1Maccabees 4:36-61; 2 Maccabees 10:1-8).

The Gospel of John records that Jesus too visited the Temple Mount in Jerusalem to keep the Feast of Hanukkah (John 10:22). While he was walking in the Porch of Solomon, the eastern portico of the Temple Mount, he was asked if he was the Messiah. Despite the works that God had given him to do, he was met with unbelief.

Jerusalem’s Temple Mount

Building the Most Detailed Depiction of Herod’s Temple

Daniel Smith is a 3D model team leader based in Salt Lake City, Utah. We have been in contact many times in order to help visualise in 3D the Temples of Jerusalem. He recently developed a video of “Jerusalem’s Temple: Building the Most Detailed Depiction of Herod’s Temple.”

His newly released 3D presentation is described as follows:

“King Herod’s Temple stood in Jerusalem as a masterpiece of ancient architecture, symbolizing the faith and devotion of its time. Understanding the significance of its location, history, and intricate design can deepen one’s reverence for this sacred site”

This is truly a masterful video that aims to bring together the extensive research that began at the Temple Mount Excavations in Jerusalem in 1968, directed by the late Professor Benjamin Mazar. Many scholars have analysed the result of this and other excavations in Jerusalem to get a full picture of what Herod’s Magnum opus may have looked like. We understand that this 3D video is the first of a series designed to help people better understand this sacred structure.

Fifty years ago our team was surveying by hand the archaeological remains of Herod’s Temple Mount and making accurate survey and reconstruction drawings of the architectural remains of the Temple Mount walls and other remaing structures, including the surviving architectural elements. We could not have imagined then that technology would advance so much as to enable people to virtually visit the Temple Mount in such a spectacular way. Daniel and his dedicated team are to be congratulated on this magnificent result of two years of hard work!

One of the reconstructed views of the Temple see from the Royal Stoa.

Who opened the sealed tomb of Jesus?

How was the tomb sealed?

This is a question that is frequently asked at this time of the year. We are told that after his crucifixion on Golgotha, the body of Jesus was laid in a new tomb, but he was raised from the dead three days later.

Golgotha in the foreground with the Temple Mount looking east

The new tomb in which Jesus was laid before the stone was moved to close the opening.

The resurrection of Christ was an important event that gives hope to many Christian believers, including ourselves. 

However, from an archaeological point of view, I am interested to know how the tomb of Jesus was sealed. We know the story as recorded in the Gospels:

Matt. 27:62-66 On the next day, which followed the Day of Preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees gathered together to Pilate, saying, “Sir, we remember, while He was still alive, how that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise.’ Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest His disciples come by night and steal Him away, and say to the people, “He has risen from the dead.’ So, the last deception will be worse than the first.” Pilate said to them, “You have a guard; go your way, make it as secure as you know how.” So, they went and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone and setting the guard. (NKJV)

There are images on the internet that show ropes around the rolling stone or metal bars, but nothing would be strong enough to prevent such a large and heavy stone from being moved by a few strong men.

As I was researching this topic, I came across an image that shows the seal securing the entrance to a shrine of gilded wood that belonged to the Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamun. The handles of the two doors were secured together by a rope and a seal.

On the right handle was a clay seal featuring Anubis , the Egyptian god of funerary rites and protector of the gates to the underworld. 

Again, such a piece of rope would not have prevented anybody from entering the tomb chamber. After more than three millennia, the seal was finally broken by Egyptologist Howard Carter in the early 1920’s.

The important thing about this sealing rope is not the rope itself, but the clay seal that is attached to the door handle on the right. This shows the authority of the person who had ordered the sealing, and anybody trying to break that seal would be accountable and suffer the consequences.

In this image, the stone has been rolled in front of the opening to the new tomb. A seal was then attached between the stone and the front of the tomb.

The tomb of Jesus was sealed on the authority of the High Priest which was either Annas or Caiaphas. The tomb was sealed using two patches of wax connected with a piece of rope. People knew that anybody breaking that seal would be held accountable to the High Priest.  From a factual point of view, the string was ineffective, but the authority of the High Priest would have been respected. However, angels are not subject to this authority. Their only desire is to do the will of God. The earthquake that is described in Matthew 28:2 was brought about by the angel of the Lord who had descended from heaven. He would have been the one who broke the seal and rolled back the stone from the door.

At the same time Jesus was raised from the dead in fulfilment of Psalm 16:10-11:

“For You will not leave my soul in the grave, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

Jesus never sinned during his life on earth and was rewarded with immortality. Let us then follow Christ who suffered for us, leaving us an example, that we should follow His steps.

The Pool of Siloam

Where is the true Pool of Siloam?

The Pool of Siloam is best known from the New Testament where Jesus sent the blind man to wash and be healed (John 9:7-11). In the Hebrew Bible this pool is mentioned as the “waters of Shiloah that flow softly” (Isaiah 8:6). The waters originated from the Gihon Spring, but that was apparently forgotten in the 1st century as Josephus calls this pool a fountain. In the last couple of decades it was thought that the Pool of Siloam was the stepped pool that has become a major tourist attraction in Jerusalem.

However, my friend Dr. David E. Graves alerted me to a recent article by Nathan Steinmeyer in Biblical Archaeological Society’s Bible History Daily called “Rethinking the Pool of Siloam.” 

“Where is the Pool of Siloam? If you visit the City of David Archaeological Park in Jerusalem, you would easily think it is the large pool formerly known as Birkat el-Hamra, that has been excavated since 2004 near the southern end of the ridge. However, Israel Antiquities Authority archaeologist Nahshon Szanton believes this identification is almost certainly incorrect. Publishing in the journal ‘Atiqot, Szanton instead identifies the true Pool of Siloam with the more traditional Pool of Silwan, which is located only a few hundred feet to the north of Birkat el-Ḥamra.”

Szanton suggests that the square colonnaded pool that was excavated by Bliss and Dickie in 1896, should be identified as the Pool of Siloam mentioned by Josephus in War 5.140 as the “fountain of sweet and abundant water”, and that the water reservoir was Solomon’s Pool mentioned by Josephus in War 5.145.

In the context of my work at the Temple Mount Excavations, I visited the Pool of Siloam many times and studied the plans made by Bliss and Dickie, and those of Charles Warren. One of the ancient walls of this pool is still visible today.

In the centre of the photo is an ancient ashlar wall topped by a moulding. Photo taken during my first visit in 1973.

We have argued for a long time that the excavated remains of a square colonnaded pool discovered by Bliss and Dickie in 1896 had a ritual function, and that the stepped pool was a water reservoir. The Pool of Siloam was built near the exit of Hezekiah’s Tunnel. This tunnel was dug at the time of King Hezekiah to bring water to the western side of the city. He also created a huge water reservoir by building a city wall at the end of the Tyropoeon or Central Valley that also funtioned as a dam. This, in turn, made it possible for the city to extend to the west. By building a city wall round the Western Hill and securing its water supply, it became possible for the city to more than double its size. 

This reconstruction drawing of the Pool of Siloam, dating from the first century, is based on the excavations of Bliss and Dickie . According to their plan, the almost square pool had a double entrance that indicates a ritual function. The double entrance gave access to a colonnaded porch that was built round a pool. It received water from Hezekiah’s Tunnel. This, I believe, was the building in which the blind man washed and was healed by Jesus.

Many mikvaot – Hebrew for ritual baths, mikveh in the singular, – have been excavated in Jerusalem and elsewhere in Israel. A mikveh usually takes the form of a stepped pool carved out of the rock with a small dividing wall built on the upper steps. The more elaborate mikvaot had double entrances. The purpose of this was to allow users of the mikveh to descend on one side and, after immersion, ascend on the other side, thus preventing contact with those who were not yet purified.

Washing and bathing are important parts of Jewish ritual and are referred to in the Gospels, e.g. Matthew 15.2 and John 9.7.

Here we see the water reservoir in the foreground and the Pool of Siloam higher up.

Although we had incorporated the excavated steps all along the three walls of Birkat el-Ḥamra in our reconstruction drawings, only the steps on the east (right in the drawing) have been excavated. Since last year the whole of the area at the lower end of the Tyropoeon Valley has been excavated, but none of the proposed steps on the west have been found.

A stepped pool was discovered at the mouth of the Central or Tyropoeon Valley, which is located between the Western and Eastern Hills of Jerusalem. This large pool served as one of the water reservoirs of Jerusalem. The building with the double entrance at the top of the drawing had a religious function.

The absence of steps on the west strengthens our idea of a water reservoir with steps on one side only. Other water reservoirs in Jerusalem, such as the Pools of Bethesda and the Pool of Israel could be accesses from one side only.

Strabo wrote that Jerusalem was a “city well-watered within, but desert outside” (Geography 16:2:40). The history of Jerusalem can be presented in many ways, but the most critical factor in understanding the development of the city is based on the capacity of the ancients to provide its inhabitants with water. Water was the central resource that shaped the fortunes of the city. Jerusalem began around the Gihon Spring, after which many new water systems were created throughout the ages in order to keep pace with the growing population of the city. 

These large twin pools formed the Pools of Bethesda in Jerusalem, mentioned in John 5:2. Each of the pools had steps on one side only. Next to these large water reservoirs was a temple dedicated to Asclepius, the Roman snake god of healing. Around this small building were five sacred baths where sick people hoped to be healed. Jesus healed the paralytic man in this complex (John 5.2).

I don’t agree with Nahshon Szanton that this water reservoir could have been used as a swimming pool. Swimming was more likely used as a method of crossing rivers for example rather than for recreational purposes.

The sanctity of the Pool of Siloam was recognised in the Byzantine period by the building of a church next to the pool. The same happened at the conclusion of the excavations by Bliss and Dickie when a mosque was built over it.

In the Byzantine period, a church was erected above the Pool of Siloam. The pool could be reached from a door inside the church.

The construction of water reservoirs was necessary for making life in Jerusalem possible. No wonder that in Scripture, water is referred to as the water of life (Revelation 21:6; 22:1; 22:17).

The Gaza Strip

The Archaeology of the Way of the Land of the Philistines

The war that Israel is waging against the Hamas terrorist organisation in the Gaza Strip has resulted in casualties of many innocent civilians on both sides of the conflict. We hope that this deplorable situation will end soon.

We do believe, however, that eventually there will be peace in the Middle East when the rod from the stem of Jesse shall come forth and a branch shall grow out of its roots and the Spirit of Yahweh shall rest upon the greater son of David, namely Jesus who shall judge the poor with righteousness as Isaiah says in Ch. 11.

Isaiah 11:11 “It shall come to pass in that day that the Lord shall set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people who are left, from Assyria and Egypt, from Pathros and Cush, from Elam and Shinar, from Hamath and the islands of the sea.” And then Isaiah 11:16 “There will be a highway for the remnant of His people who will be left from Assyria, as it was for Israel in the day that he came up from the land of Egypt.”

At present it is impossible to imagine that there will be a highway from Assyria to Egypt, from Baghdad to Cairo, but in the Kingdom of God, these things will come to pass. That means that the international coastal highway between Africa and Mesopotamia, which is the topic of this blog, will be opened again.

But back to the present. The Gaza Strip has been off bounds to Israelis since they evacuated the area in 2005. The situation was different when after the 1967 Six Day War, I worked as a volunteer in Kibbutz Yad Mordechai, which is near the northern border of the Gaza Strip.

Working in the greenhouses of Yad Mordechai where roses were grown for export to the Netherlands and Switzerland

There were no border controls at that time, and it took me less than an hour to walk to the centre of Gaza. Soon afterward, however, the entire Gaza Strip became off-limits to civilians.

Israeli soldiers and two half-tracks in front of Nasir Hotel in Gaza. Photo: Leen Ritmeyer

The Gaza Strip is rich in archaeological remains. The reason for this is that the great international coastal highway between Africa and Asia ran through this area. This great trunk road connected Egypt in the south with Syria and Mesopotamia in the north. It is one of the oldest roads in the world and is called the Way of Horus by the ancient Egyptians, and in the Bible, it is known as the Way of the Land of the Philistines (Ex. 13:17). 

Map of the Way of the Land of the Philistines in the Gaza Strip. ©Leen Ritmeyer

Numerous towns, fortresses and caravanserais were built along this road that runs a few miles inland due to the wide strip of sand dunes that lines the Mediterranean coast. Ancient armies, traders, caravans, and travellers moved along this road. Many biblical characters, such as Joseph, Jacob, and infant Jesus with Mary and Joseph, travelled along this road too.

When the Israelites under leadership of Moses left Egypt, they were warned in Ex. 13:17 not to follow the “Way of the Land of the Philistines”, lest the people “change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt.” Archaeological discoveries have shown that they would have had to fight the Egyptian garrisons that were guarding this route. This road, known to the Egyptians as the “Way of Horus”, was the military road between Egypt and Land of Canaan as it was called then. Gaza was the capital of Canaan in the time of the New Kingdom in Egypt (1550–1077 BCE). This road appears in graphic form on the northern wall of the hypostyle hall at Karnak. It shows that strong fortifications were built along this road, a fact that has been verified by archaeological excavations. Prof. James Hoffmeier excavated the Migdol fortress in Egypt that was built at the beginning of this road, and I was involved in the excavations of one of the more northern fortresses, namely at Deir el-Balah in the Gaza Strip. This road was fortified by Seti I (1294-1279 BCE) and continued in use until the middle of the reign of Ramses II (1279-1213 BCE). The fact that the Israelites were told to avoid this road is a point in favour for the late date of the Exodus.

Places that we hear of in the news, such as Rafah (ancient Raphiah), Khan Yunis and Gaza are located on this ancient road. Ten years after my first visit to Gaza, I joined an archaeological tour and visited Gaza, Tel Katifa, Deir el-Balah, and Khan Yunis. 

Sketch of the Muwassi agriculture made in 1977. ©Leen Ritmeyer

We were impressed by the muwassi hydroponic agriculture that we saw near Tel Katifa. The land in this area sits on an aquifer of sweet water. Bulldozers had been used to remove the sand dunes down to the original soil. As the sweet water floats to the surface above the heavier sea water, a fertile area was created where vegetables and other crops could be grown.

We then travelled south to Khan Yunis where I made a quick sketch of the Barquq caravanserai. 

Barquq Caravanserai in 1977. ©Leen Ritmeyer

I was pleasantly surprised to see in a recent blog post by Brandon Marlon for the Times of Israel that the building still exists today.

The Barquq Caravanserai today

On our way back, we visited the excavations of Deir el-Balah. Prof. Trude Dothan of the Hebrew University carried out excavations of the site between 1972 and 1982. Remains of clay coffins were found and kilns in which anthropoid lids were fired. Additionally, the remains of a large fortress that measured 20m (66 feet) square were found and an adjacent lake or reservoir.

One year before the end of the excavations, in 1981, Trude asked me to make reconstruction drawings of the site for her final publication. These were later used by artist Lloyd Townsend of the National Geographic to illustrate Trude’s article “Gaza Sands Yield Lost Outpost of the Egyptian Empire” in the 1982 December issue. I recently digitised these drawings and colored them in.

The excavations of Deir el-Balah in 1975. The dunes were bulldozed in a muwassi style operation and revealed the remains of a fortress

In the foreground are the excavated foundations of a fortress next to a pool or reservoir. ©Leen Ritmeyer

Relief on the northern exterior wall of the Karnak Hypostyle Hall showing Seti returning from his first campaign of victory on the Way of Horus. At the bottom of this image I have colored in the fortresses and the adjacent lakes. Trees are shown near some of the reservoirs

A representation of one of the many fortresses that were built along the Way of Horus. ©Leen Ritmeyer

Reconstruction drawing of the Egyptian fortress and adjoining lake at Deir el-Balah. ©Leen Ritmeyer

In 1967, Trude Dothan saw many clay lids of anthropoid coffins that appeared in the antiquities shops in the Old City of Jerusalem. She noticed that fine grains of sand were embedded in the clay. This gave her the idea that they may have originated from the Gaza Strip or the Sinai desert. This was confirmed by Moshe Dayan who was defense minister at the time. Eventually she was allowed to conduct archaeological excavations at this site.

Anthropoid Coffin from Deir al-Balah, Late Bronze Age exhibited in the Hecht Museum in Haifa. The clay lid showing a face and arms was fired separately in kilns. Source: Wikipedia
Reconstruction of two kilns next to two anthropoid coffins and a separate lid. © Leen Ritmeyer

Lloyd Townsend’s artistic impression, showing the kiln, a clay lid in the foreground and an antropoid coffin. (National Geographic, December 1982)

This cross section shows the firing of the clay lids. The clay lid was placed on a shelf, and under
the arch dung patties were placed for firing. The ash pit in front of the kiln was used to extract the ashes after the process of firing was finished. © Leen Ritmeyer

Cross section of a kiln showing the firing of a coffin lid. © Leen Ritmeyer

We hope that the present suffering will end soon, and that the “times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago.” (Acts 3:20,21).

The Golden Gate interior

Discovery of previously unknown Hebrew inscriptions

Arnon Segal, a journalist-friend from Jerusalem, sent me a link to a most interesting article he wrote for the Makor Rishon newspaper (Hebrew).

“A Muslim acquaintance from abroad, a lover of Israel and a devout Zionist named M.A. [name withheld for obvious reasons], visited the Temple Mount in recent years and photographed up close a series of sites that are not accessible to Jews there, and the Gate of Mercy in particular [The Golden Gate is called  Sha’ar haRachamim, “The Gate of Mercy” in Hebrew]. He provided rare photos from there, including a sensational discovery that will be described below.”

Arnon and I met in Jerusalem, and he published articles about my work on the Temple Mount in this newspaper. In this present article he writes:

“The gate complex became a mosque almost five years ago, and since then changes have been made to it that pose a great danger to the antiquities located there. The Gate of Mercy, as it is called today, dates to the seventh century AD. However, researchers such as archaeologist Leen Ritmeyer are convinced that a gate has stood in this place since the days of the First Temple, in the seventh century BC, the days of Hezekiah. Ritmeyer suggests that the Mercy Gate is the gate known in the Mishnah as “the Shushan Gate”, through which the scapegoat went out into the desert, and from there the Red Heifer was taken to the Mount of Olives.”

The inscriptions that probably date back to the 9-11th century prove that Jews went up to the Temple Mount on, what must have been for some, a once-in-a-lifetime pilgrimage. 

In the 19th century, Félicien, or Félix de Saulcy, a French archaeologist, discovered an inscription in the underground Double Gate passageway. Jonah and Shavtia his wife, who had travelled from Sicily, wrote their names on the inside wall, with the addition of “strong in life”, meaning that they had prayed for a long life. Unfortunately, this inscription has recently almost been erased by a layer of new plaster. 

In 1908, a well-known Jewish researcher discovered another Hebrew inscription on the southern wall of the Golden Gate, mentioning Abraham son of Loles, followed by the same formula “I will be strong”. This phrase means “getting stronger” and shows that Jews went up to the Temple Mount to give thanks for recovery of an illness.

“Benjamin of Tudela, who visited the Holy Land in the 12th century, mentioned this custom in the underground structure of Solomon’s Stables in the south of the mountain: “And there in Jerusalem, by the house where Solomon had horse stables built… the Jews who come there write their names on the wall.” “All of these appeared in the researchers’ articles in the last 170 years. Photographs provided by M”A from the Gate of Mercy structure recently prove that there are other ancient Hebrew inscriptions in the place, which the archaeological research has not caught up with yet .” 

Photographs of the newly discovered inscriptions can be seen in the article, especially those written on the first column inside the gate.

“The archaeologist Tzachi Dvira believes that he was able, after seeing the photos taken at the site, to decipher some words from the inscriptions on the column. He reads there, among other things, the words “I have overcome”, and then a blurred word that may include the letters “for Bacher”. Next to these, the name “Reuben son of Machir” and the word “Degel- flag” were engraved on the column. Below them appears the name “Yosef (Joseph) son of …”, with his father’s name that is possibly Aryeh. It seems that another inscription appears beneath it in which the name “Yosef” is mentioned a second time, as well as other names, which are more difficult to identify.” 

In 1975, I stood by this pillar (at right), unaware of the barely visible inscriptions right next to me. The red circle indicates the location where these inscriptions were found.

The letters are written in the so-called square Hebrew script that has been in use for many centuries. Even a pupil at a modern Hebrew school can easily read them. However, as Jews were allowed on the Temple Mount during the Early Muslim period from 838-1099 AD, but not afterwards, it is assumed that these newly discovered inscriptions date from that period. 

Segal concludes his article with these words:

“So, in the heart of very sad days in our history, we received greetings from Jews who a thousand years ago went up to the Temple Mount freely. They engraved their names in the Gate of Mercy for eternal remembrance in the Temple of God.

“They roamed the place undisturbed, under the auspices of the very kind Muslim government of the 11th century, while we – the 21st century citizens of supposedly free Israel – are not allowed to go there.

“How did we come to terms with a reality where an address located in the heart of the free capital of Israel, not in Tehran or Baghdad, needs a Muslim to come here from abroad to reveal it to the world for the first time?”