Valley of Elah

This is last weeks SS lesson. It was about the strategic value of why the fight was in the Elah Valley.

The first battle that Saul had with the Philistines was in Michmash. The site has not been excavated, but it's identification is reasonably sure. After Saul chased the Philistines to Aijalon, the Philistines didn't see that same valley as a positive place to stage another attack. The Elah Valley is a good place to start a campaign against the hill country of Judea. But, the Philistines were a little wary of going into the mountains (its a good place for an ambush), and the Israelites were very intimidated by the Philistine forces. That explains the locations of their camps.

The panorama shows what would have been the view from the Philistine camp.

Khirbet Qeiyafa is an important site, and is making a lot of headlines recently. I think they are sensationalizing the site a bit, but it is still a great Early Iron Age site (from the time of Saul and David), that shows the beginnings of a monarchic administration. Though if you look at the inscription, it is very crudely drawn. Notice all the different ways the "A" can look (this is the Paelo-Hebrew script letter 'aleph').

The final group of pictures shows that Jerusalem is the natural capitol of the hill country of both Judea and Sameria. It was the case even in the Late Bronze Age as the letters from Amarna attest.

The Journey of the Ark

This is the second week of Sunday School. In this Lesson, Shawn focused on certain archaeological features of the different sites mentioned in 1 Sam 4:1-7:2.

Geography of Israel

Here is a Prezi on the Geography of Israel. Shawn is teaching a Sunday School Class on this.