#beth-shean

[bronzegods]

Mekal (or Mekar), the lord of Beth-Shean

I strongly hold that the Baal Cycle is not "Canaanite mythology." The Ugarites themselves identified Canaanites as "foreign people," and Mot, in particular, is strongly suspected to be a literary invention of Ilumilku, the scribe who wrote the Baal Cycle. To subsume the myths under the vague title of 'Canaanite mythology' is a disservice to Ugarit and its creativity, in my opinion.

So that naturally brought a question to mind: are there any Bronze Age deities who are distinctly Canaanite?

Enter Mekal/Mekar. A Fresh Look at the Mekal Stele (Levy 2018) introduces us to a deity who was attested in northern Palestine during the Bronze Age.

(Levy 2018: 361)

That "r" at the end of his name can be either an "r" or a Semitic "l", hence the Mekal/Mekar options for his name. And he's attested as the lord of Beth-Shean (or Bit-Shani, if you fancy the syllabic Akkadian transcription). How cool is that?

Some thoughts about this deity: his iconography is closely aligned with Baal's known iconography from the time period (which should make one wonder if there isn't some possible synchronization afoot, as if Seth-Baal wasn't strong enough evidence, lol), with one caveat: he has Resheph's headband. So some differences!

What I draw from that is Mekal/Mekar is a Baal-like deity but with some differences. In the Pantheon universe, thus, Mekal is primarily a vegetation god with some rain-bringing abilities, not a storm god proper. He doesn't have the weather manipulation capability that Baal does, but he's good at making flowers and helping agriculture grow!

Given the strong Egyptian influence here, Mekal strikes me as the type who really likes lotuses, too. Maybe he really looks forward to the few visits that Nefertem makes in the foreign northern lands? Well, assuming Sekhmet's willing to let him out...

Anyway, Beth-Shean is a major Egyptian administrative center in the Late Bronze Age, so Sutekh likely stops in Beth-Shean often before continuing onward to Gubla (Byblos), another Egyptian holding. Mekal, with his minimal attestation, seems like a very young god (and it's suspicious that he's not attested afterward). Perhaps he was educated in Kemet as a godling and then brought back to Beth-Shean to rule it, as the Egyptians were known for doing with foreign princes. Couldn't get him to get rid of the beard, though. Some cultural influences refuse to die.

Artwork commissioned from Eaglidots

[blueiskewl]

The 'Beth Shean' Marble Bust 2nd-3rd century AD H. 47.5 x w. 32 x d. 41 cm

A monumental marble janiform herm of marmo lunense marble depicting the heads of Bacchus and Ariadne. Bacchus wears a fillet across his forehead, the centrally parted hair dressed with a rich garland of ivy leaves with two frontal clusters of berries, vine leaves, and bunches of grapes hanging behind the ears. Ariadne has softer features and a fuller face, her wavy hair is also centrally parted and dressed with delicate ivy berries and leaves.

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

Issachar’s Descendants

1 Issachar’s four sons were Tola, Puah, Jashub, and Shimron. 2 Tola’s sons were Uzzi, Rephaiah, Jeriel, Jahmai, Ibsam, and Shemuel. These men were heads of the families of Tola. They were soldiers grouped according to their ancestry. In David’s day there were 22,600 of them. 3 The five descendants of Uzzi were Izrahiah and Izrahiah’s sons Michael, Obadiah, Joel, and Isshiah. All of them were heads of families. 4 They had many wives and children. So in addition to these men grouped according to their ancestry and families, there were 36,000 soldiers. 5 Their relatives (that is, all of Issachar’s families) were fighting men. A total of 87,000 of them was recorded in the genealogy.

Benjamin’s Descendants

6 Benjamin had three sons: Bela, Becher, and Jediael. 7 Bela’s five sons were Ezbon, Uzzi, Uzziel, Jerimoth, and Iri. They were heads of families and fighting men. In the genealogy 22,034 of them were recorded. 8 Becher’s sons were Zemirah, Joash, Eliezer, Elioenai, Omri, Jeremoth, Abijah, Anathoth, and Alemeth. These were all of Becher’s sons. 9 In the genealogy 22,200 of them were recorded according to their ancestry (the heads of their families and fighting men). 10 Jediael’s son was Bilhan. Bilhan’s sons were Jeush, Benjamin, Ehud, Chenaanah, Zethan, Tarshish, and Ahishahar. 11 All of these men were Jediael’s descendants. They headed families that produced 17,200 fighting men who could go to war. 12 The Shuppites and Huppites were Ir’s descendants. The Hushites were descendants of someone else.

Naphtali’s Descendants

13 Naphtali’s sons were Jahziel, Guni, Jezer, and Shallum. They were Bilhah’s grandsons.

Manasseh’s Descendants Who Lived West of the Jordan River

14 Manasseh’s sons were Asriel and Machir. Their mother was Manasseh’s Aramean concubine. Machir was the first to settle Gilead. 15 He married a wife from the Huppites and Shuppites. His wife’s name was Maacah. The name of his second son was Zelophehad. Zelophehad had only daughters. 16 Maacah, Machir’s wife, had a son, and she named him Peresh. His brother’s name was Sheresh, whose sons were Ulam and Rakem. 17 Ulam’s son was Bedan. These were the people of Gilead, descendants of Machir (son of Manasseh). 18 Bedan’s sister Hammolecheth gave birth to Ishhod, Abiezer, and Mahlah. 19 Shemida’s sons were Ahian, Shechem, Likhi, and Aniam.

Ephraim’s Descendants

20 Ephraim’s son was Shuthelah. Shuthelah’s son was Bered. Bered’s son was Tahath. Tahath’s son was Eleadah. Eleadah’s son was Tahath. 21 Tahath’s son was Zabad. Zabad’s son was Shuthelah.

Ephraim’s sons Ezer and Elead were killed by the men of Gath when they came to take their livestock. 22 Their father Ephraim mourned a long time, even though his brothers tried to comfort him. 23 Then he slept with his wife, and she became pregnant. She gave birth to a son, and Ephraim named him Beriah [Tragedy], because tragedy had come to his home. 24 Beriah’s daughter was Sheerah, who built Upper and Lower Beth Horon and Uzzen Sheerah. 25 Beriah’s son was Rephah. Rephah’s son was Resheph. Resheph’s son was Telah. Telah’s son was Tahan. 26 Tahan’s son was Ladan. Ladan’s son was Ammihud. Ammihud’s son was Elishama. 27 Elishama’s son was Nun. Nun’s son was Joshua.

28 The land and homes of Ephraim’s descendants were in Bethel and its villages, Naaran to the east, Gezer with its villages to the west, Shechem and its villages, and as far as Gaza and its villages. 29 Next to Manasseh were Beth Shean and its villages, Taanach and its villages, Megiddo and its villages, and Dor and its villages. The descendants of Joseph, son of Israel, live in these cities.

Asher’s Descendants

30 Asher’s sons were Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, and Beriah. Their sister was Serah. 31 Beriah’s sons were Heber and Malchiel, who first settled Birzaith. 32 Heber was the father of Japhlet, Shomer, Hotham, and their sister Shua. 33 Japhlet’s sons were Pasach, Bimhal, and Ashvath. These were Japhlet’s sons. 34 The sons of his brother Shomer were Rohgah, Jehubbah, and Aram. 35 His brother Helem’s sons were Zophah, Imna, Shelesh, and Amal. 36 Zophah’s sons were Suah, Harnepher, Shual, Beri, Imrah, 37 Bezer, Hod, Shamma, Shilsha, Ithran, and Beera. 38 Jether’s sons were Jephunneh, Pispa, and Ara. 39 Ulla’s sons were Arah, Hanniel, and Rizia. 40 All of these men were Asher’s descendants—heads of their families, outstanding men, soldiers, and distinguished leaders. Their military roster had 26,000 recorded in it. — 1 Chronicles 7 | Names of God Bible (NOG) The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group. Cross References: Genesis 22:24; Genesis 25:20; Genesis 46:13; Genesis 46:17; Genesis 46:21; Genesis 46:24; Genesis 50:23; Exodus 17:9; Exodus 24:13; Numbers 1:10; Numbers 26:35-36; Numbers 26:48-49; Numbers 31:38; Joshua 16:2-3; Joshua 16:5; Judges 1:22; Judges 20:15; 2 Samuel 24:1; 1 Kings 22:11; 1 Chronicles 5:24; 1 Chronicles 8:1; John 11:19

[dearearlyarchaeologists]

JEZREEL VALLEY REGIONAL PROJECT

Excavation WebSite Ratings 1/?

https://www.jezreelvalleyregionalproject.com/

MANAGEABILITY: 10/10

This was the first website I pulled up that had a current excavation, and its genuinely easy explore.

CURRENCY: 7/10

There is an excavation form available for this summer and its easy to find. They also have an automatically updating news page! However, there are parts of the website that still have the wrong dates and group names. 

AESTHETICS: 9/10

A beautiful design. The only hiccup is some of the photos of the staff are blurry and the news outlet colors make the contrast too hard to read. However, the backdrop and the title page are beautiful. I could watch the drone footage on loop for hours.

CREATIVITY: 8/10

The introduction video to the dig on the volunteer page is very well shot and moving! :D (although I am unsure of why a random photo of Beth Shean was inserted in there lol). However, there is no content available on the “blog” section of the site, and there could definitely be a place to access photos. It just doesn’t WOW me.

SINCERITY: 10/10

The videos made it really clear that there is a lot of hard physical labor in excavation as well as early hours. It takes up a lot of brain and muscle power, but its enthralling! They’re able to be honest and still show how people like me keep at it. ROMANTICIZATION AT ITS FINEST

FINAL SCORE: 9/10!

They wanna teach volunteers and students and lead people to uncovering some awesome ancient stuff, we love to see it!

WOULD I GO? - Of course!! The Jezreel Valley is a beautiful place, and this excavation looks modest but still enthralling... I would be proud to work alongside them.

[appuntisugerusalemme]

OnSite: Beth Shean

[hexjulia]

ok yeah fine. i did spend literal hours going down a rabbithole about depictions of beribboned parrots in the 6th century levant (antioch and also what's currently beth shean) and i AM somewhat disappointed that it seems to be imagery borrowed from the Sassanids and not likely indicative of ancient pet fashions. you have noo idea how many unlabeled stupid gd pictures i googled lensed and/or guessed the location of based on similarity to properly labeled images and well i simply hoped for something more exciting than this. not sure what but yeah.

[christophe76460]

N'acceptez rien de moins que le meilleur de Dieu

Manassé ne chassa pas les habitants de Beth-Shean, Thaanac, Dor, Jibleam, Meguiddo et des villes qui en dépendaient. Les Cananéens voulurent rester dans ce pays.

Juges 1.27

Les Israélites avaient traversé le Jourdain pour entrer en Terre promise. Avant cela, chaque tribu avait reçu un territoire à posséder. Certaines avaient établi un contrôle ferme, mais plusieurs tribus n'ont pas réussi à conquérir leurs terres. Ainsi, elles n'ont jamais connu la pleine victoire que Dieu avait prévue pour elles.

Dieu avait averti les Israélites qu'ils devaient chasser les habitants du pays, sinon ils seraient "un filet et un piège". Bien que Dieu leur ait déjà donné le pays (Josué 23.13), ces Israélites n'avaient ni la foi ni la détermination nécessaires pour croire en la victoire divine.

De nombreux chrétiens sont comme ces Israélites. Dieu leur a donné sa Parole, pleine de puissance et de sagesse. Il a envoyé Jésus mourir pour eux et leur donner l'autorité sur l'ennemi. Il a envoyé son Esprit pour être leur conseiller. Pourtant, beaucoup ne parviennent pas à connaître la victoire, se contentant d'accepter une vie pleine de compromis, pris au piège des choses de ce monde.

Aujourd'hui, souvenez-vous que Dieu vous a déjà donné tout ce dont vous avez besoin pour remporter la victoire dans tous les domaines de votre vie ; mais il vous donne aussi la possibilité de décider comment réagir.

Ne négligez pas la victoire qu'il a préparée pour vous ! Confiez-lui votre vie : chaque situation, chaque besoin, chaque problème. Étudiez sa Parole et mettez-la en pratique. Ayez la foi et croyez en sa protection, sa puissance, sa direction et sa sagesse.

Ne laissez pas le monde être un piège et n'acceptez rien de moins que le meilleur de Dieu. Il vous a déjà donné la victoire. Avancez avec assurance !

John Roos

[yourantiquarian]

Roman funerary bust of a man

ITEM Funerary bust of a man MATERIAL Limestone CULTURE Roman, Beth-Shean / Sebaste PERIOD 3rd Century A.D DIMENSIONS 325 mm x 280 mm x 153 mm CONDITION Good condition PROVENANCE Ex American private collection, David Hendin. Ex Shraga Qedar, Jerusalem (1988) PARALLEL THE ISRAEL MUSEUM, JERUSALEM, Accession number: 69.20.581, 69.20.584, 69.20.583 Stone funerary busts (protomae) of men and women of various ages appeared in Eretz-Israel during the Late Roman era (2nd-3rd centuries CE). In most cases the depiction is schematic, although in some there has been an attempt to create a likeness. Some of these works also carry names, of Greek, Latin, or Semitic origin, and even the age of the deceased. However, this does not reveal the ethnic identity of the dead because, at that time, it was the general custom to give Greek or Latin names. These carved likenesses of the dead, including their clothing and hairstyles, display the styles that prevailed mainly in the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire. After the conquest of Eretz-Israel by Alexander of Macedon in 332 BCE, Graeco-oriental (Hellenistic) styles became customary among the population, particularly in the Hellenistic cities. Men and women alike are usually depicted wearing tunics, often with a covering garment. The women's hair is dressed in a variety of styles, sometimes embellished with jewellery. The men's hair is simpler, short or full, sometimes with a beard and/or a moustache. Read the full article

[learningnewways]

Israel - Day 4

It’s day 4 of our Israel tour and I’m so glad I’ve been keeping a blog every day, because so much happens it’s easy to forget what happened even this morning! Our days are jam-packed from 7:30am until 6pm, then add breakfast and dinner outside of those hours, and it leaves little time for anything else! I’ve been staying up late writing these blog posts each night, sacrificing much needed sleep, however in the long run I know it’ll be worth it to capture everything that’s happened here.

We always start with Scripture reading, prayer and a song on the bus which is always a great start to the day. It’s been so hectic that I haven’t managed to have any private devotional myself which is unfortunate. But it’s great to have Scripture read at most sites, as well as prayer and reflection time at some sites. This morning John read from Matthew 5-7 and talked about how the reign of God in our lives should extend to every area of our life. I’m trying! But it is very scary.

Today was spent in Samaria, also known as the West Bank, which used to be part of Jordan until 1967. Before we crossed into the West Bank, we visited a large site called Beth Shean which has only been excavated in the past 20-30 years. It’s remarkable that they are still discovering new sites even today! I guess it is partially because Israel’s land has changed hands so many times, so a lot has been left undiscovered until recent years. The land Israel has currently was only defined in 1967 after the 6 day war, although parts like the Gaza Strip are still disputed.

We were actually the first group to visit Beth Shean this morning, arriving at 8:15am, meaning that John got to unlock the gates! How cool! This city dates back to at least 2,500BC and remained in different forms and under different rulers, including the Egyptians, until an earthquake in 749AD destroyed it. The city was very important as it is strategically located on a hill that guards the entry to the Jezerel Valley in the East, the Sea of Galilee in the North, and Jericho and the Dead Sea in the South. 

The old city was impressive to walk around and you could imagine how amazing it would have looked in it’s prime. It’s what I imagine walking around Athens would be like. We got to see what an old school public toilet would have been like, the photo is for my dad... There was a theatre that was similar to the one we saw in Caesarea on day 1, except it was more intact in its original form and was smaller. One of the girls from our group, Emily, stood at the bottom and sung, which was amazing to hear echoed all the way to the top of the back seats! Some of us walked up the little hill for a better view, which was definitely worth it.

Beth Shean existed in the time of the judges and Joshua would have been here too. It is here that the Philistine’s took King Saul’s body after he killed himself on nearby Mt Gilboa. Saul had been hiding in caves around the area, which is easy to understand after seeing the scenery nearby. It was stunning! Lots of caves to choose from! Reminded me again of Banks Peninsular in Christchurch, just with lots of caves!

We then entered the West Bank and headed to Jericho. Yes, Jericho where Joshua and his army marched around the walls seven times and the walls came tumbling down! Wow! The city was actually very small, much much smaller than I had imagined. John said it would only take around 1.5hrs to walk around it seven times, so only like 12 minutes each time. It was incredibly hot, unbearable almost, so I could see how walking around it seven times could be difficult! Elisha did come to Jericho and purify the water, so maybe they had nearby water to drink from, although I’d imagine they would’ve kept the water source within the city walls...

Jericho is the oldest city in Israel, with the oldest level of excavation dating back to 3,500BC... Woah... Joshua would’ve been there around 1500-1200BC. It’s pretty cool to think that this is where the Israelites went after 40yrs wandering the desert. The fact that they blew their trumpets and shouted and everything inside Jericho was completely destroyed is awesome. I mean, there would have been sooooo many Israelites at this point, so maybe the noise alone would’ve done it! But obviously God had something to do with it too... We even saw the archeology of the burn site where Joshua and the people burned the city... Crazy stuff! We only really got to see the walls and not much else, but that was still pretty cool.

We quickly visited a Hebron Glass shop where they sell hand blown glass that is mixed with rocks and materials found nearby. The pieces were beautiful but too pricey for me. I was looking at a cute camel ornament when I accidentally dropped it on the floor! Ooooops! Luckily nothing broke but after that I stayed away!

Then we went to one of the most spectacular sites ever, Qumran, where they found the Dead Sea Scrolls. This was absolutely stunning, beautiful, awe-inspiring, breathtaking, unbelievable... All the words! The only thing that comes slightly close is the Clay Cliffs in the South Island and the Grand Canyon in the USA... I’ve been to both and this outshined both by far! Photos cannot do it justice! Beautiful orange cliffs with massive drop offs underneath, and caves everywhere. Wow! Good hiding spot for the scrolls for sure! 

We hiked briefly to the bottom of one of the caves, which they first started discovering had fragments of Scripture hidden in them in 1947, which was a massive discovery. It meant huge progress for the accuracy and preservation of God’s word, as some of the texts are from the 3rd century BC and pre-date the Hebrew Bible. They even found some additional Psalms in the Dead Sea Scrolls, just in case 150 wasn’t enough!

It was in the 40’s temperature-wise when we were on our walk and I drank my whole 750ml water bottle in the maybe 30mins we were there. It was the hottest our trip has been so far and everyone was feeling it! Luckily John is great at finding us shady spots to sit under. I can’t reiterate enough just how stunning this scenery was. It was incomprehensible even while I was sitting right in front of it! Wow! Top view so far on the trip! Mt Arbel yesterday was incredible too, but I’m a different way. Hard to compare the two really... Israel is pretty stunning.

Our final spot for the day was the Dead Sea, where we got to swim, or should I say, float! It’s called the Dead Sea because it’s 426 metres below sea level, the lowest land point in the world, and it is 33% minerals and salt, meaning no living organism can survive in it. You have to be super careful not to get your face in the water, as it is dangerous! The ocean is 7% minerals and salt, so picture that but almost 5x as salty! It was crazy how easily we floated! The water was very warm, too warm to stay in for too long. Plus it was 41 degrees on the lake shore... Quite different from New Zealand where roads are being shut because of slips and snow! Apparently the Dead Sea is actually shrinking about 1 metre per year as it gets evaporated but not refilled... I didn’t know that...

We arrived at our accomodation with the stunning backdrop of Masada, which we will check out tomorrow. We are truly in the desert with this scenery! There’s an optional sunrise hike to the top of Masada tomorrow morning which I will not be taking... Haha. I’m just so tired! I think I’m also missing the normal routine of life. I miss listening to my music. I used to listen to probably 5hrs of music every day back in New Zealand, but there’s just no time here. Even on the bus, there’s never enough time and if there is, then John or Shlomo are always talking about something relevant to our next site or the scenery over the microphone! Overall it was a great day and it seemed to be our most relaxed so far, which was nice.

[bagdemagus]

Byzantine lion and zebra mosaics at the site of Beth She’an.

[dbaydenny]

II Samuel 21:12

The streets of Beth-Shan

decorated with Saul's bones

accursed their designers.

D W Eldred

[studyeliza]

hello!

Sorry I haven’t been active in the past several weeks, I’ve been in Israel as part of an archaeology field school in Huqoq and the internet connection is terrible. I’ll be back home by early July so I promise to post when I get back!

In the mean time, here’s some photos from our trip to Beth Shean yesterday:

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

Solomon's Officials

1 Now King Solomon was king over all Israel. 2 And these were the officials with him: Azariah the son of Zadok, the priest; 3 Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha, scribes; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud, the recorder; 4 And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the army; and Zadok and Abiathar were high priests; 5 And Azariah the son of Nathan was over the superintendents; and Zabud the son of Nathan was the principal officer, the king’s friend; 6 And Ahishar was over the household; and Adoniram the son of Abda was over the forced labor. 7 And Solomon had twelve superintendents over all Israel, who provided food for the king and his house; each month of the year one had to provide food. 8 And these are their names: Ben-hur, in the hill country of Ephraim; 9 Ben-deker, in Makaz and in Shaalbim and Beth-shemesh and Elon-beth-hanan; 10 Ben-hesed, in Arubboth (to him pertained Socoh and all the land of Hepher); 11 Ben-abinadab, in all the highland of Dor (he had Taphath the daughter of Solomon as his wife); 12 Baana the son of Ahilud, in Taanach and Megiddo and all Beth-shean, which is beside Zarethan, beneath Jezreel, from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah, as far as beyond Jokmeam; 13 Ben-geber, in Ramoth-gilead (to him pertained the villages of Jair the son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead; and to him pertained the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, sixty great cities with walls and bronze bars); 14 Ahinadab the son of Iddo, in Mahanaim; 15 Ahimaaz, in Naphtali (he also took Basemath the daughter of Solomon as his wife); 16 Baana the son of Hushai, in Asher and Bealoth; 17 Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, in Issachar; 18 Shimei the son of Ela, in Benjamin; 19 Geber the son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, the land of Sihon the king of the Amorites and Og the king of Bashan (and there was only one superintendent in that land). 20 Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand that is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking and rejoicing. 21 And Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the River to the land of the Philistines and unto the border of Egypt; they brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life. 22 And Solomon’s provisions for one day were thirty cors of fine flour and sixty cors of meal, 23 Ten fattened oxen and twenty pastured oxen and a hundred sheep, besides deer and gazelles and roebucks and fattened fowl. 24 For he had dominion over all the area west of the River, from Tiphsah to Gaza, over all the kings west of the River; and he had peace on all sides around him. 25 And Judah and Israel dwelt securely, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan to Beer-sheba, throughout all Solomon’s days. 26 And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots and twelve thousand horsemen. 27 And those superintendents provided food for King Solomon and for all who came to King Solomon’s table, each in his month; they left nothing lacking. 28 And they also brought to the place where it should be, barley and straw for the horses and steeds, each according to his charge. 29 And God gave Solomon wisdom and very much understanding and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the seashore. 30 And Solomon’s wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the children of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt. 31 For he became wiser than all men, wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Calcol and Darda, the sons of Mahol. And his fame was among all the surrounding nations. 32 And he spoke three thousand proverbs, and his songs numbered a thousand and five. 33 And he discoursed about trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon to the hyssop that shoots forth out of the wall; he also discoursed about animals and about birds and about creeping things and about fish. 34 And they came from all the peoples to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom. — 1 Kings 4 | Recovery Version (REC) The Recovery Version of the Holy Bible © 2009 Living Stream Ministry. All rights reserved. Cross References: Genesis 15:18; Genesis 22:17; Genesis 26:34; Genesis 32:2; Numbers 21:33; Numbers 32:41; Leviticus 14:51; Deuteronomy 17:16; Joshua 3:16; Joshua 11:1-2; Joshua 15:10; Joshua 15:35; Joshua 24:33; 1 Samuel 14:3; 2 Samuel 8:18; 2 Samuel 15:32; 1 Kings 3:28; 1 Kings 1:8; 1 Kings 3:12; 1 Kings 5:13; 1 Kings 12:4; 1 Chronicles 6:10; 1 Chronicles 22:9; 2 Chronicles 9:23; 2 Chronicles 9:26; Nehemiah 5:18; Psalm 119:32; Proverbs 1:1; Ecclesiastes 2:7; Micah 1:13; Acts 7:22

[lionofchaeronea]

Homeric Hymn 11, "To Athena"

Of Pallas Athena, city-protector, I commence to sing – A dread goddess, who, along with Ares, Concerns herself with works of war, With cities sacked, with battle-cries and clashes: When the host goes forth And when they return, she guards them. Hail, goddess; give us luck and happiness. Παλλάδ᾽ Ἀθηναίην ἐρυσίπτολιν ἄρχομ᾽ ἀείδειν, δεινήν, ᾗ σὺν Ἄρηι μέλει πολεμήια ἔργα περθόμεναί τε πόληες ἀϋτή τε πτόλεμοί τε, καί τ᾽ ἐρρύσατο λαὸν ἰόντα τε νισσόμενόν τε. χαῖρε, θεά, δὸς δ᾽ ἄμμι τύχην εὐδαιμονίην τε.

Athena. Head from a statue (Thasian marble) by an unknown artist, probably 2nd cent. CE. Found at Tel Naharon (modern Beth Shean), Israel; now in the Israel Museum, Jerusalem. Photo credit: Carole Raddato.

[mikaltom53]

1 Kings 4

Solomon’s Officials

[1] King Solomon was king over all Israel, [2] and these were his high officials: Azariah the son of Zadok was the priest; [3] Elihoreph and Ahijah the sons of Shisha were secretaries; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder; [4] Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was in command of the army; Zadok and Abiathar were priests; [5] Azariah the son of Nathan was over the officers; Zabud the son of Nathan was priest and king’s friend; [6] Ahishar was in charge of the palace; and Adoniram the son of Abda was in charge of the forced labor.

[7] Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel, who provided food for the king and his household. Each man had to make provision for one month in the year. [8] These were their names: Ben-hur, in the hill country of Ephraim; [9] Ben-deker, in Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth-shemesh, and Elonbeth-hanan; [10] Ben-hesed, in Arubboth (to him belonged Socoh and all the land of Hepher); [11] Ben-abinadab, in all Naphath-dor (he had Taphath the daughter of Solomon as his wife); [12] Baana the son of Ahilud, in Taanach, Megiddo, and all Beth-shean that is beside Zarethan below Jezreel, and from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah, as far as the other side of Jokmeam; [13] Ben-geber, in Ramoth-gilead (he had the villages of Jair the son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead, and he had the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, sixty great cities with walls and bronze bars); [14] Ahinadab the son of Iddo, in Mahanaim; [15] Ahimaaz, in Naphtali (he had taken Basemath the daughter of Solomon as his wife); [16] Baana the son of Hushai, in Asher and Bealoth; [17] Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, in Issachar; [18] Shimei the son of Ela, in Benjamin; [19] Geber the son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, the country of Sihon king of the Amorites and of Og king of Bashan. And there was one governor who was over the land.

Solomon’s Wealth and Wisdom

[20] Judah and Israel were as many as the sand by the sea. They ate and drank and were happy. [21] Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates to the land of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt. They brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.

[22] Solomon’s provision for one day was thirty cors of fine flour and sixty cors of meal, [23] ten fat oxen, and twenty pasture-fed cattle, a hundred sheep, besides deer, gazelles, roebucks, and fattened fowl. [24] For he had dominion over all the region west of the Euphrates from Tiphsah to Gaza, over all the kings west of the Euphrates. And he had peace on all sides around him. [25] And Judah and Israel lived in safety, from Dan even to Beersheba, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, all the days of Solomon. [26] Solomon also had 40,000 stalls of horses for his chariots, and 12,000 horsemen. [27] And those officers supplied provisions for King Solomon, and for all who came to King Solomon’s table, each one in his month. They let nothing be lacking. [28] Barley also and straw for the horses and swift steeds they brought to the place where it was required, each according to his duty.

[29] And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding beyond measure, and breadth of mind like the sand on the seashore, [30] so that Solomon’s wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the people of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt. [31] For he was wiser than all other men, wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol, and his fame was in all the surrounding nations. [32] He also spoke 3,000 proverbs, and his songs were 1,005. [33] He spoke of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of the wall. He spoke also of beasts, and of birds, and of reptiles, and of fish. [34] And people of all nations came to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and from all the kings of the earth, who had heard of his wisdom.

[archaeologicalnews]

Were These 3,500-Year-Old Carvings of Nude Women Used As Ancient Fertility Drug?

An inscribed ancient Egyptian scarab and five clay tablets with carvings of naked women have been found in Rehob, a 3,500-year-old city in Israel.

The carvings likely depict ancient fertility goddesses, such as Asherah or Ashtarte, Amihai Mazar, an archaeology professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, told Live Science. "[They] were used at home, as part of popular domestic religious practice in the domestic sphere, mainly related to fertility of women," Mazar said in an email, noting that similar carvings have been found at other archaeological sites in the region.

The excavation showed that Rehob (known today as Tel Rehov) was founded about 3,500 years ago, and the city flourished at a time when Egypt controlled much of the region. Rehob was constructed near Beth Shean, a town protected by an Egyptian garrison, Mazar and Davidovich wrote in the journal article.  Read more.