Jericho from Galyn Wiemers on Vimeo.
Jericho
by Galyn Wiemers, Generation Word
Jericho in the Bible:
Nu.22:1;26:3;26:63;31:12,etc.Deut.32:49;34:1;34:3; Jericho used to locate Israel’s position;
Jos.2:1,2,3;3:16;4:13,19;5:10,13, Joshua approaches Jericho;
Joshua 6:1,2,25, Joshua destroys Jericho;
Jos.6:26, curses the man who rebuilds Jericho;
7:2, 8:2, Ai;
9:3, Gibeonites;
10:1,28,30, example;
2 Sam.10:5, David’s men wait here until beards grow;
1 Kg.16:34, Hiel build Jericho;
2 Kg. 2:4-5, Elisha told to stay; 2Kg.25:5;Jr.39:5;52:8, Zedekiah captured;
Ezr.2:34, 345 men of Jericho return;
Neh.3:2, build wall;
Mt.20:29;
Mk.10:46; Lk.18:35;19:1, Jesus walks through on way to Jerusalem, heals blind, eats with Zacchaeus;
Lk.10:30, Good Samaritan
Jericho is the lowest city on earth at 846 feet below sea level and the oldest whose occupation began in 10,000 BC. It is built around a powerful spring of water producing 1,000 gallons/ minute. This spring has always caused an oasis to grow in this desert/wilderness and the water still flows today being used to irrigate Jericho. Occupation ended in 586 BC.
Jericho became a private estate of the reigning ruler in Alexander’s day (336 BC). With no real city growth, the Syrians built it up as a defensive fort in 100’s BC. Herod leased it from Cleopatra who received it from Mark Antony. Octavian (Caesar Augustus) gave it to Herod the Great who built a palace, hippodrome/ theatre. Herod Archelaus built a village for his date plantation workers. Vespasian moved siege equipment up roads that Rome built to attack Jerusalem from Jericho. Byzantines settled Jericho. Muslims of the Umayyad dynasty built a luxury hunting palace there in 700 w/ mosaics still visible. Crusaders took Jericho but when they were defeated by Saladin in 1187 AD Jericho was abandoned and overrun by Bedouin raiders which left it a miserable village overrun by the desert. After WWI order was restored.
The wall that collapsed in Joshua day would have been built straight up on top of this angled retaining wall.
This retaining wall would have itself been higher than the remains show.
This is the outside wall.
There was another larger inside wall to the left of this photo.
The mud bricks on top of this wall fell down and infront of this retaining wall so that Joshua men would have used the rubble as steps to "go up into the city" and to go "straight in" to the city as Joshua 6:20 says.
In the picture below Galyn stands on the retaining wall that supported the protective wall around the outside of the city of Jericho.
This drawing is by Gene Fackler and labeled by Galyn Wiemers.
This could be Rahab's house in the city wall.
Excavation revealed that the city had been destroyed by fire but that the walls had fallen down first.
The city was filled with grain which indicates two things: 1) the city was not plundered since grain was very valuable as a trade commodity and would normally have been taken 2) the city did not under go a long siege which normally included months of being trapped in the city and starved. This city fell to its enemies suddenly.
There have been over 20 cities built on top of each over since 9000 BC at this location. This makes Jericho the oldest inhabited city on earth.
This tower stands 28 feet high today and is 25 feet wide.
I bought a fresh box of dates at a fruit stand here. Now I know I don't like dates, but they looked good.
Jericho Walls from Galyn Wiemers on Vimeo.
Visit Dr. Carl Rasmussen's site on Jericho
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