After the Persian period the coinage of all the nations to whom the Jews became subject circulated in turn in Palestine. Foreign coins also found their way into the country. Many of these ultimately were lost and buried in the soil, so that many, many coins have been brought to light by archæological research. We have space here to mention only those that are of the greatest interest to students of the Bible.
Palestine passed under the sway of Alexander the Great in 332 B. C., and after his death in 323 it was attached to the territory of Ptolemy Lagi of Egypt and his successors. In 199 B. C. Antiochus III wrested it from the Ptolemies and the Jews passed under the sway of the Syrians. During this time the coins of these rulers circulated in the country and are still frequently dug up there, although they are not mentioned in the Bible. Samples of these coins are shown in Figs. 190, 195. Not until the Jews had gained their independence under Simon the Maccabee, in the year 143 B. C., did they issue any coinage of their own. Indeed, it now seems clear that no coins were issued by Simon until after the year 139-138 B. C., when the Syrian king by an especial grant accorded him that liberty. The coins then issued appear to have been made of bronze only.[193] A silver coinage formerly attributed to Simon the Maccabee is now regarded as belonging to the time of the Jewish revolt of 66-70 A. D.
(3) Maccabæan Coins.—The coins of Simon consist of bronze half-shekels and quarter-shekels all dated in the year four. Antiochus VII of Syria apparently prevented the issue of others during the reign of Simon. His coins bear on their face the picture of a citron between two bundles of twigs. Around the border runs the inscription in old Hebrew characters, “year four; one-half.” On the other side is a palm-tree with two bunches of fruit between two baskets filled with fruits, and around the border runs the inscription, “belonging to the redemption of Zion;” (see Fig. 192). The weights of these coins vary from 232.6 to 237 grains. The lighter ones are considerably worn.
The quarter-shekels have on one side two bundles of twigs, around which run the words, “year four; one-fourth.” On the other side is pictured a citron with the stalk upward, around which runs the inscription, “belonging to the redemption of Zion.” The weights of the known coins of this denomination vary from 113.7 to 192.3 grains. The form of the letters on these coins shows that they are older than other Jewish coins.
(4) Asmonæan Coins.—There are many coins from the reign of John Hyrcanus, the son and successor of Simon, but they are all of copper; (see Fig. 193). They bear on their face the inscription: “Johanan, the high priest and the congregation of the Jews”; on the reverse is a poppy head between two cornucopias. Similar coins were issued by the other Asmonæan princes.
(5) Herodian Coins.—As Herod the Great was a vassal of Rome, he was permitted to issue copper coins only. These exist in considerable variety. Figure 198 shows one, the face of which is stamped with the image of a vessel with a bell-shaped cover, above which are two palm-branches; on the reverse the words meaning “of King Herod” run around the edge, while a tripod occupies the center. At the left of the tripod is an abbreviation for “year 3”; at the right is a monogram. Several other patterns are known.
Coins of Archælaus, Antipas, Herod Philip (Matt. 14:3; Mark 6:17; Luke 3:19), and of Herod Agrippa I are known. One is shown in Fig. 200.
(6) Roman Coins.—The most common silver Roman coin was the denarius, rendered in the Authorized Version “penny” and in the Revised Version “shilling.” Its weight varied at different times. In the time of Christ it weighed about 61.3 grains Troy, and was worth 16⅔ cents of American money. As the ministry of Christ occurred in the reign of Tiberius, the tribute money shown to Christ (Matt. 22:19; Mark 12:15-17) was probably a denarius of Tiberius, such as is shown in Fig. 196. The denarius was so named because it originally was equivalent to ten asses or small copper coins, but the as was afterward reduced to 1⁄16 of the denarius. The as is mentioned in Matt. 10:29; Luke 12:6, where A. V. renders it “farthing” and R. V. “penny.” It was worth about a cent. The Roman coin quadrans, or the fourth part of an as, worth about ¼ of a cent, is mentioned in Matt. 5:26; Mark 12:42. It is translated “farthing”; (see Fig. 199).
(7) The Widow’s Mite.—Another coin, translated “mite,” is in Greek lepton, “the small one” or the “bit.” It was two of these that the widow cast into the treasury, Mark 12:42,[194] where it is said that two of them equaled a quadrans. The “mite” was, then, of the value of ⅛ of a cent. It was doubtless the smallest coin in circulation, but it has not yet been identified with certainty with any coin that archæology has discovered.
(8) The Piece of Silver.—In Luke 15:8 the Greek drachma is mentioned. It is translated “piece of silver.” The drachma corresponded roughly in value to the denarius. Drachmas had been issued by many different cities and many different kings, and were still in circulation in Palestine in the time of Christ. One still sees in that country today coins of the first Napoleon, and of many other sovereigns who have been long dead, passing from hand to hand as media of value; (see Fig. 194).
(9) Coinage of the Revolt of 66-70 A. D.—Two silver coins, a shekel and a half-shekel (see Fig. 201), were formerly attributed to Simon the Maccabee. The shekels weigh 212.3 to 217.9 grains and bear on their face above a cup or chalice the legend “shekel of Israel” and a numeral. The numeral stands for the first year. Examples are known which carry the enumeration up to the year “five.” On the reverse a triple lily is pictured, and in similar Hebrew characters the words “Jerusalem, the holy” are inscribed. The half-shekel is smaller and has the same markings except that the legend on its face is simply “half-shekel.” On the coins issued after the first year a Hebrew sh precedes the number of the year. The sh is an abbreviation of the Hebrew word shana, year. For various reasons the consensus of expert opinion now is that these coins were issued during the Jewish war of 66-70 A. D., which, according to Jewish reckoning, extended into the fifth year.
Coins of the Roman Emperors, Augustus and Claudius, are shown in Figs. 195, 197.
CHAPTER XI
HIGH PLACES AND TEMPLES[195]
A Sanctuary of the Pre-Semitic Cave-dwellers. A Rock-altar at Megiddo. A Rock-altar at Jerusalem. High Place at Tell Es-Safi. High Place at Gezer: Choice of site. Child-sacrifice. Corrupt worship. At Taanach: Pillars. An altar of incense. High Places at Petra. A Supposed Philistine Temple. At Megiddo: A Hebrew temple. A palace chapel. Another chapel. The Temple to Augustus at Samaria.
1. A Sanctuary of the Pre-Semitic Cave-dwellers.—The oldest sanctuary which we can trace in Palestine appears to have been one of the caves at Gezer. This cave was 32 feet long, 20 feet broad, and 7 feet 11 inches at its maximum height. There were two entrances: one on the east, a tall, narrow doorway, was approached by a passage sloping downward; the other, on the west, was a low, narrow passage, just wide enough to admit a person. At the northern end there was a projection in the form of an apse, the floor of which was about 2 feet higher than that of the rest of the cave. In the roof of this apse there was an opening, about 1 foot wide at the bottom, leading to the upper air. The rock of the roof here was 3 feet 5½ inches thick. This opening was 2 feet 8 inches in diameter at the top, and a channel 4 feet 6 inches long cut in the surface of the rock was connected with it. On the surface of the rock above the cave and about this channel there were a number of “cup-marks” similar to those found near ancient sacred places. Some of these were, perhaps, intended for places to set jars, but some of them were connected with the channel which emptied into the opening in the roof of the cave[196]; (see Fig. 202).
The suggestion which the excavator, Prof. Macalister, makes is that this was a sanctuary of the cave-dwellers, that they killed their victims on the surface of the rock above, and let the blood run through the channel and the opening into the cave underneath, where their deity was supposed to dwell. They lived in caves themselves, and it was natural for them to think their deity did the same. This suggestion received some confirmation from the fact that on the floor of the apse under this opening there were found, upon removing a layer of earth, a number of pig bones. The presence of these might be accounted for on the supposition that they were offered in sacrifice by the cave-dwellers to their deity. Swine were unclean to all Semites, and, no doubt, the later Semitic inhabitants would have thrown the bones away, if they had ever cleaned out the cave sufficiently to discover them.
2. A Rock-altar at Megiddo.—Another rock-altar of high antiquity was discovered on the slope of the mound of Tell el-Mutesellim, the ancient Megiddo.[197] It was situated on the slope of the tell, about half-way down. Its surface was covered with “cup-marks,” like those on the altar at Gezer, and an opening about 2½ feet wide at the top and 1½ feet wide at the bottom made it possible for blood to trickle down through 3 feet of rock into a cave below. This cave contained several rooms, the largest of which was about 18 feet 6 inches long, 7 feet 8 inches wide, and 8 feet 6 inches high. In the most northerly of the rooms were found various implements of black flint, potsherds, coals of a wood-fire, the bones of sheep and goats, olive-stones, and ashes. In the midst of the central room there lay a heap of human bones, the skulls of which were badly destroyed. These human bones show that after the cave had been used as a sanctuary it was employed as a sepulcher. The same thing happened at Gezer and elsewhere; (see Fig. 205).
3. A Rock-altar at Jerusalem.—We are told in Gen. 22:2 that Abraham went to the land of Moriah to offer up Isaac, and in 2 Chron. 3:1, ff. that Solomon built the temple on Mount Moriah on the threshing floor which David acquired from Ornan (Araunah) the Jebusite. Just to the east of the site of Solomon’s temple in the open court where the altar of burnt-offering stood, there was a rock surface similar to the two rock-altars described above. It is still visible in Jerusalem and is now enclosed in the Mosque of Omar. The Mohammedans regard it as a sacred rock. One can still trace on it the channels which conducted the blood to an opening which in turn conducted it to a cave underneath. This cave is still regarded by the Mohammedans as sacred. There is little doubt that the sacrificial victims offered in the temples of Solomon and Herod were slain on this stone, and that that part of the blood not used in sprinkling drained into the cave underneath. This rock-altar is on the hill to which we are told Abraham came for the sacrifice of Isaac[198]; (see Fig. 208).
4. High Place of Tell es-Safi.—In the Old Testament the “high place” is frequently mentioned as a place of worship. (See 1 Sam. 9:12, f.; 1 Kings 3:2; 2 Kings 23:5, 8, etc.) It follows from 2 Kings 23:14 that these high places contained “pillars” and “asherim.” The pillars were made of stone, and the asherim of wood.
Recent exploration has brought to light a number of these high places, and the revelations made by these discoveries greatly illuminate the Old Testament narrative. The first of these was discovered by Bliss and Macalister at Tell es-Safi.[199] The high place was enclosed by walls, but, as the upper courses of these had been destroyed, the original height of the walls could not be determined. Within the largest enclosure stood three monoliths or “pillars.” These rested on bases of stone. The pillars themselves were, respectively, 5 feet 10 inches, 6 feet 5 inches, and 7 feet 1 inch high. One of them was pointed, and one of them almost flat on the top. No tool-mark was discernible on any of them. All showed signs of having been rubbed. The fat and the blood of sacrifices were smeared over such stones, and the rubbing was probably produced by this. The walls enclosing these pillars formed an approximate square 30 feet from east to west and 32 feet from north to south. On the north a fairly large room was walled in, as shown in Fig. 212, and on the south three smaller rooms. In the wall to the north of the three pillars was a semicircular apse. Facing this apse was a low semicircle of stones 3 feet 7 inches in diameter, which is situated much nearer the “pillars.” The purpose of this semicircle is unknown. In the east wall of the court of the high place there was a “skewed” opening, or an opening which ran diagonally through the wall. The purpose of this is obscure. It has been suggested by Prof. Macalister that it was made to permit the rising sun to shine on a certain spot of the interior on a certain day of the year, but of this there is no proof.
5. High Place of Gezer.—The foundations of this high place were in the second stratum below that which contained Israelitish pottery. It was one of the high places of the Canaanites, therefore, or of one of the tribes that were in Palestine before the coming of Israel. This is the most interesting of the high places which have been discovered in Palestine.[200] It contained ten monoliths or upright “pillars,” the tallest of which was 10 feet 9 inches in height, and the shortest 5 feet 5 inches. These pillars ran in a curved line the general direction of which was from north to south. This was in striking contrast to the high place of Tell es-Safi, where the line of pillars ran from east to west. The center of the curved line of the pillars of Gezer was toward the east. All of these pillars except one were of the kind of stone abundant about Gezer. They had been found near by. None of them bore the mark of a tool. They had not been shaped by working. One of them (the one that was the sacred stone, as the smooth spots on it showed) was a different kind of stone—the kind found at Jerusalem and elsewhere, but not near Gezer. There were on it traces of an indentation, as though a rope for dragging it might have been fitted around it; (Fig. 206). As Mesha, King of Moab, tells us twice in his inscription that he dragged altar-hearths of other deities away from their original locations into the presence of his god Chemosh,[201] it seems likely that this stone was dragged to Gezer from some other sanctuary—possibly from Jerusalem. Perhaps it was its capture that first suggested to the inhabitants of Gezer the establishment of this high place. The other stones of the series were erected to keep this one company and to do it honor. These were probably not all set up at once. They were added from time to time by different rulers of Gezer, and we have no means of knowing when the latest of the pillars was erected; (see Fig. 204).
(1) Choice of Site.—Judging from the scarabs found about the foundations of the high place, its beginnings date from 2000 B. C. or earlier, and it continued in use down to the Babylonian Exile. Curiously enough, this high place is not situated on the highest part of the hill. The land is higher both to the east and to the west of it. It is situated in a sort of saddle to the east of the middle of the mound. Why was this spot chosen for it? Two considerations, perhaps, led to the choice of the site. A great ramifying cave on a higher part of the hill had already been appropriated by Semites as a sepulcher, and was, therefore, unclean. The cave which the earlier inhabitants had used as a crematorium was for the same reason unacceptable. Why the high place was not built near the cave that the cave-dwellers had used as a temple, we cannot now conjecture. Perhaps in some way the memory that that had been a sacred spot had faded from men’s minds. Macalister thinks that the choice of the site was determined by the presence at this point of the two caves shown in Fig. 203. These caves had been dwellings of cave-men in the pre-Semitic time. They were now connected by a narrow, crooked passage, so that they could be utilized for the giving of oracles. Macalister conjectures that a priest or priestess would go into one, while the devotee who wished to inquire of the god was sent into the other, and that the inquirer would hear his oracle through this passage. This theory is plausible, though incapable of full proof.
Just back of one of the pillars a square stone was found with a deep hole cut in its upper side; (see Fig. 209). Several theories as to the use of this have been put forward; the most probable one is that it was a laver.
The area of the high place seems to have been approximately 150 feet from north to south and 120 feet from east to west. Some few walls were found of the same date as the high place, but it was impossible to tell their purpose. There seem to have been no buildings that could be regarded as a part of the sanctuary. It seems to have been entirely open to the air. Two circular structures, one at the north and the other to the south of the sacred stones, were found. The one at the south was badly ruined; that to the north was in a good state of preservation. This structure had a pavement of stones on a level with the bottom of the sacred pillars. It was entirely surrounded by a wall 2 feet thick at the bottom and 1 foot 6 inches thick at the top and 6 feet high. There was no doorway. The wall leaned outward. The diameter of the structure was 13 feet 8 inches at the bottom and 16 feet 6 inches at the top; (see Fig. 207). On the pavement in this enclosure were the fragments of many clay bowls, of a type found in Cyprus, but common at Gezer from 1400-800 B. C., and among these fragments a brazen serpent, evidently the model of a cobra. This discovery suggests the possibility that the structure may have been a pen in which sacred serpents were kept. The practice of venerating serpents as sacred is found in many parts of the world.[202] This brazen serpent reminds one of Nehushtan, the brazen serpent worshiped by the Judæans until it was destroyed by King Hezekiah. (See 2 Kings 18:4, and Fig. 219a.)
(2) Child-sacrifice.—The whole area of the high place was found to be a cemetery of new-born infants. These were in all probability first-born children who had been sacrificed to the deity of the high place. Two of them displayed marks of fire, but most of them had been simply enclosed in large jars. The body was usually put in head first. Two or three smaller vessels were put in with them. These generally included a bowl and a jug. They were usually inside the jar between the body and the jar’s mouth; sometimes they were outside near the mouth of the jar. That these were sacrifices is shown by the fact that they were children. It was not, therefore, a general place of burial. Indeed, had these children not been sacrificial, they could not have been buried in the sanctuary, as dead bodies were unclean.
The Semites generally believed that the first-born were sacred to deity and must be sacrificed to it. This sort of human sacrifice persisted for a long time among the Phœnicians. It was said that God called Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, and that he then permitted him to offer a ram instead (Gen. 22). The law provided for the redemption of Hebrew first-born by the sacrifice of a lamb (Exod. 34:20), but in the time of King Manasseh the old custom was revived and men “made their children pass through the fire.” (See 2 Kings 21:6; 23:10; Jer. 7:31; 32:35.) The gruesome discoveries of this high place have made very real these horrible practices and the inhuman fate from which Isaac and other Hebrew children were delivered.
With the exception of a little unhewn stone about 18 inches square, found in one of the caves connected with the high place, and which might possibly have served as an altar, no altar was found. Possibly none was needed in the rites practised there, but it is more likely that the altar was simply a mound of earth such as is prescribed in Exod. 20:24—a mound which could not be distinguished, in excavating, from the common earth.
(3) Corrupt Worship.—Of the nature of some of the services that went on in this high place in the name of Ashtoreth eloquent testimony was borne by unnumbered Ashtoreth-plaques that had been presented as votive offerings by the worshipers. These varied in form and in artistic merit, but were all designed to foster in the worshiper that type of debasing service described in Isa. 57:3, ff., as Fig. 214 shows. Symbols of this nature were abundant during all the period while the high place was in use. No one who was not, like the writer, at Gezer during the excavation, can realize how demoralizing the whole atmosphere of such worship must have been. Archæology has here revealed to us in a most vivid way the tremendous power of those corrupting religious influences which the Hebrew prophets so vigorously denounced. These practices were deeply rooted in the customs of the Canaanites; they were sanctified by a supposed divine sanction of immemorial antiquity, and they made an all-powerful appeal to the animal instincts in human nature. We can realize now as never before the social and religious task which confronted the prophets. That Israel was by prophetic teaching purged of this cult is due to the power of God!
6. At Taanach.
(1) Pillars.—Sellin[203] discovered two monoliths which he believed to be the pillars of a high place. These stones had, however, been hewn, which does not accord with the general Semitic requirement that no tool should be lifted up upon such stones; (see Fig. 211). However, the indentation in one of the sacred stones of Gezer, apparently made to keep a rope from slipping, shows that exceptions to the rule against cutting a sacred stone were allowed. The two pillars at Taanach were situated over a cave and figures of Ashtoreth were found in connection with them, so that they probably constituted another high place. The stratum in which this was found proves that it belongs to the same period as the high place at Gezer. In connection with this high place an interesting libation bowl was found which is shown in Fig. 213.
(2) An Altar of Incense.—In another part of the mound at Taanach Sellin discovered a remarkable incense altar of terra-cotta, 3 feet in height, and 18 inches in diameter at the base, adorned with protruding animal heads, which remind one of shortened gargoyles. On one side of it was the figure of a palm-tree, with two ibexes descending a mountain. Part of an Ashtoreth figure and fragments of another altar were found near. Sellin thought that the building that contained these was a private house, and, if so, we have in these objects some of the implements of private worship employed by Israelites; (see Fig. 210).
7. High Places at Petra.—One of the most interesting high places is cut out of the solid rock at Petra. Petra may possibly be the Sela of 2 Kings 14:7, since Sela means “crag” or “rock” in Hebrew, and Petra has the same meaning in Greek. The identity of Petra with Sela is not, however, certain. Petra lies in the southeastern part of ancient Edom, and was, before the end of the fourth century B. C., occupied by the Nabathæans, a Semitic tribe. These Nabathæans established a kingdom which continued until 106 A. D. One of its kings, Haretat IV, is called Aretas in 2 Cor. 11:32.[204] When the Roman Emperor Trajan overthrew this kingdom he organized its territory into the Province of Arabia, and the beautiful buildings, the remains of which make Petra such an interesting ruin today, date mostly from the Roman period of its history. During the Nabathæan period of Petra they constructed three high places, which are high places indeed, since they are perched on ledges of rock above the ancient town. The largest of these high places is still in an excellent state of preservation. It is a little to the north of the citadel on a ledge which rises about 700 feet above the town. The ledge is 520 feet long by 90 feet wide; it runs nearly north and south with a slight inclination to the east.[205] The principal features of this ancient place of worship are an altar on the west side of the ledge, a platform immediately south of this, a large sunken area directly in front of the altar, and a little to the south of this area a vat or laver.
This high place is approached by a flight of steps cut in the solid rock; (see Fig. 215). The main area, which corresponds to the enclosure of the high place at Tell es-Safi, is 47 feet 4 inches long, 24 feet 4 inches wide, and 15 to 18 inches deep, though this depth is not uniform. In some parts it falls to 10 inches. About midway of the length of this area and 5 feet from its west side, there is a rock platform 5 feet in length, 2 feet 7½ inches wide, and 4 inches high. It has been suggested that this platform was intended for the offerer of a victim to stand upon, in order that he might be distinguished from other worshipers who were crowding the area. Another possible view is that the sacred “pillars” stood upon this platform. No pillars were found in connection with it. Probably such pillars were not cut out of the solid rock, but were, like the sacred stone of Gezer, brought from elsewhere. The arrangement of other high places would indicate that they stood on or near this platform. As this high place was not buried, but exposed on the mountain top, such pillars have in the course of the ages disappeared. The altar is separated from the adjoining rock by a passageway which was cut on its north, south, and west sides. It is of the same height as the adjoining rock. On the east the ledge has been cut down to the level of the foot of the altar. The altar is 9 feet 1 inch in length from north to south and 6 feet 2 inches wide. It is 3 feet high at its highest point. On the top of the altar is a hollow pan, perhaps to receive the fire. This is 3 feet 8 inches long, 1 foot 2 inches wide, and 3½ inches deep. Ascent to the altar was made by a flight of steps leading up to its top on the east side. The top step is wider than the others and forms a platform on which the officiating priest might stand; (see Fig. 217).
Just south of the altar and separated from it by the passageway was the place where the victims were slain. This has been called the round altar; (see Fig. 218). This consists of a platform 16 feet 6 inches long from east to west, 11 feet 9 inches wide. It is approached by a flight of steps. Near its center are two circular and concentric pans, the larger 3 feet 8 inches in diameter with a depth of 3 inches, the smaller 1 foot 5 inches in diameter with a depth of 2 inches. From this inner basin a conduit 3 feet 2 inches long, 2 inches wide, and 3 inches deep conducted the blood to the edge of the platform. This platform was undoubtedly intended for the place of slaughter. The Samaritans, when they assemble on Mount Gerizim for the celebration of the Passover, still dig a round hole in the turf, over which to slay the victim. This hole is about 18 inches in diameter and 10 inches deep. From it a conduit is dug, through which the blood flows off to be absorbed by the earth.[206]
The supposed laver at Petra is to the south of the area of the high place. It is 9 feet 9 inches in length and 8 feet 6 inches in width. It is now partially filled with earth, and has above the earth an average depth of 3 feet.
The remains of three other supposed high places have been found at Petra, but lack of space forbids their description here.[207] The pillars supposed to have been connected with one of them are shown in Fig. 219.
8. A Supposed Philistine Temple.—Turning now to Palestinian temples: Macalister discovered the remains of a building at Gezer which he thinks may have been a temple.[208] This building belonged to the third Semitic stratum; in other words, to the period just before the coming of the Israelites. A general plan of its walls is shown in Fig. 220. In a court in one part of the structure were five pillars which may have had the same religious significance as the pillars of the high place. The two circular structures f f remind one of the circular structures of the high place of Gezer. These were filled with the fragments of the bones of sheep and goats. As these bore no marks of cooking, they could not have been mere domestic ash-pits, and it is plausible to think of them as receptacles for the bodies of slaughtered victims. In a forecourt of the structure a line of bases, apparently intended for the support of columns, was found. Macalister conjectured that these supported a roof over a part of the portico, and it reminded him of the story of Samson in the temple of Dagon. (See Judges 16:23-30.) It is quite possible that the feast of Dagon described in Judges 16 may have been held in a structure similar to this, that the lords of the Philistines may have been gathered in such a porch, and that Samson may have pulled such pillars as rested upon these bases from under the roof that sheltered them, and caused their destruction and his own death. It is all possible, but conjectural.
9. At Megiddo.
(1) A Hebrew Temple.—In the course of the excavation at Megiddo a temple was found concerning the sacred nature of which there can be no such doubts as in the case of the building just mentioned[209]; (Fig. 222). This temple was in the Israelitish stratum, and so is of especial interest to the students of the Bible. It was situated in the highest part of the city. The whole space was not excavated, but the portion uncovered was 131 feet long and 115 wide. It was of the same period as the palace in which the seal of Shema the servant of Jeroboam was found, and contained more drafted stones than the walls of that palace. In one of the rooms of the temple stood two stones that were certainly “pillars” such as are denounced in Deuteronomy. One of these was 7 feet 8 inches high; the other, 7 feet high. The room in which these pillars stood was 30 feet long and 10 feet 7 inches wide. In building the wall of this temple a stone was used that had once formed the voluted capital of a column; (Fig. 224). Probably this stone was taken from an earlier Philistine building.
In the grounds of the temple, which were once regarded as holy, several jars containing the skeletons of children were unearthed. These had apparently been offered in sacrifice and buried like those found in the high place of Gezer.
While the walls of this temple were built of larger and more carefully cut stones than most of the other walls in the city, no effort seems to have been made to give the temple a definite architectural plan. Large towers were found near it, but, as the temple was at the east end of the city, these formed part of fortifications. The fortifications and other buildings crowded upon the temple, so that, had an effort been made to make it architecturally imposing, the effect would have been lost.
(2) A Palace Chapel.—The people of Megiddo seem to have been particularly fond of the type of worship represented by this temple, for in a room to the east of the palace of the Hebrew governor was a room containing three “pillars,” in which the remains of a number of terra-cotta goddesses were found.[210] This was apparently the private chapel of the palace. This room was almost 40 feet long and 32 feet 10 inches wide; (Fig. 223). Its beginnings antedate the Israelitish period, since they come from the stratum before the conquest.
(3) Another Chapel.—What seems to have been still another place of worship equipped with the necessary “pillars” was found in the Hebrew stratum between the governor’s palace and the southern gate of the city.[211] It would appear from the connecting walls that this sacred place may also have been intended for the special use of the occupants of the palace. This room was not quite 30 feet long and a little less than 20 feet wide. It contained six stones which Dr. Schumacher took to be “pillars.” Like those at Petra and Taanach, they had evidently been shaped with tools. They did not stand in a row or in any regular relation to one another. This might throw some doubt upon the religious significance of the stones. Could they not have been columns used in supporting the roof of the building? Since a small stone object that had religious significance in the high places was found in this room, together with a most remarkable incense burner, it is probable that these were religious “pillars” and that the room was a little chapel. The object was of limestone and about 7 inches long. It was lying at the foot of one of the “pillars.” The incense burner was made of a greyish soft limestone. It was a little over 9 inches in height. The diameter of the bowl was 6⅜ inches. The stone was cut so that the bowl rested on a pedestal, which was divided by rings into two portions, each of which was cut so as to represent a circle of overhanging leaves; (see Fig. 225). The whole was decorated with reddish-brown and cobalt-blue paints. The decoration of the rim of the bowl is a geometrical design, that on the bowl itself represents a sort of conventionalized lily blossom, while the leaves suggest those of the palm.
These discoveries make it plain that the Canaanite temples of Palestine, which the Hebrews took over, were simply high places in miniature, enclosed in walls and probably roofed over, though the roofs have disappeared. The feeling that led to the change from the open air high place was the same as that underlying the saying of David: “I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains” (2 Sam. 7:2).
10. The Temple to Augustus at Samaria.—The excavations at Samaria[212] have brought to light the foundation of the temple erected by Herod the Great in honor of Augustus.[213] This was a temple of a very different type. It was patterned on Græco-Roman models and everything was done to make it architecturally impressive. Unfortunately, the results of the Harvard expedition have not yet been given to the public in detail, but from the imposing stairway, discovered during the first season of the excavation, together with the partial plan of the building as then uncovered, and the outlines of its walls as a later season’s work disclosed them, one can form some idea of the imposing appearance of this structure. A massive stairway led up to a large platform surrounded by large pillars. This formed the portico. Back of this stretched the walls of the temple. The general form of the building seems to have been similar to that of the large temple at Jerash, which will be described in Chapter XIV.[214] At the foot of the stairway leading up to the temple was found a large altar, and near this a fallen statue of Augustus. For outlines of the temple, see Figs. 216 and 221.
These ancient places of worship which archæology has brought to light are eloquent witnesses of the pathetic way the men of Palestine “felt after God, if haply they might find him” (Acts 17:27), and the pathos is not lessened by the fact that they thus continued to grope, even after the clearer light was shining about them.
CHAPTER XII
THE TOMBS OF PALESTINE
Burning the Dead. Cave Burials. Cistern Burial. Burial under Menhirs. Earth-graves. Rock-hewn Shaft Tombs. Doorway Tombs. Tombs with a Rolling-stone.
1. Burning the Dead.—As noted in a previous chapter,[215] the cave-dwellers of Gezer burned their dead. The Semitic inhabitants of Palestine did not follow this custom, but buried theirs. At Gezer the caves that had formed the dwellings of the first inhabitants were put by the Semites to various uses. Sometimes they, too, lived in them; sometimes they made cisterns of them; and sometimes they utilized them as places of burial for their dead.
2. Cave Burials.—A cave that became a tomb after the Semitic occupation was the one that had been the crematorium of the pre-Semitic inhabitants.[216] All over the floor of the cave above the burned bones was another stratum of bones that had never been burned. These were scattered over the floor of the cave, and, although they had been much disturbed by rats, it appeared that they belonged to that early type of burial in which the body is placed on its side with the knees drawn up toward the chin. These bodies had apparently been deposited in all parts of the cave. Ranged around the sides of the cave was a series of enclosures marked off from the floor by lines of stones. In these, portions of various skeletons were found. These enclosures seem to have been reservations made for persons of distinction. For a time, therefore, the cave seems to have been used as a general place of burial. In some of the other caves of Gezer evidence was found that they had been used as tombs.[217] Beautiful pottery and alabaster vessels were found with the bones. Wine and possibly food for the dead had been placed in these. Underneath the pottery in one cave a considerable number of scarabs were found, some of them mounted in gold. This must have been, accordingly, the burial place of persons of comparative wealth. Similar cave burials were found by Mackenzie at Beth-shemesh.[218]
Such cave burials as these at once recall Abraham’s purchase of the cave of Machpelah as recorded in Gen. 23. The kind of burial presupposed in that chapter is just that found at Gezer. The mouth of the cave could be closed up and opened at will for later burials. (See Gen. 50:13.)
The custom of placing food or drink or both in the sepulcher was all but universal in Palestine. It is silent testimony to a faith in a kind of after-life. That that life as they conceived it was of a shadowy and an unsatisfactory nature is shown by the references to it in Isa. 14:9-11 and Ezek. 32:22-32.[219] Nevertheless, these evidences that the mourners who stood by every ancient tomb provided food for their loved ones to eat in the after-life is eloquent testimony to the fact that even in that age the loving heart found it impossible to believe that the life of its dear ones had been altogether terminated.
3. Cistern Burial.—Another burial at Gezer that must have been connected with some unusual circumstance led to the deposit of fifteen bodies in a cistern,[220] and a number of spear heads were found with them. The skeletons were all males except one, which was that of a girl about sixteen years old, whose spine had been severed and only the upper part of the skeleton deposited in the cistern; (see Fig. 229). The cistern is too deep to favor the supposition that the bodies had been deposited at successive times. Macalister hazards the conjecture that the men died of plague and that the girl was offered as a sacrifice to propitiate the deity. A plague, however, would have attacked women as well as men. Perhaps the men were slain in defending Gezer from the attack of an enemy that had succeeded in severing the body of the girl. The real cause of the tragedy is, however, unknown to us.
4. Burial under Menhirs.—A very old form of burial, still practised by the half-nomadic tribes east of the Jordan, is to place the dead in the earth within one of the prehistoric gilgals or menhirs. How old this form of burial is, it is impossible to tell. It is assumed by some writers that it was practised by the neolithic people who erected these monuments, and who are believed by such writers to have been ancestor worshipers. If, however, these neolithic men were akin to the neolithic cave-dwellers of Gezer, they burned their dead. Another explanation is, accordingly, more probable. All through the history of Palestine the sanctity of certain spots has persisted. A place once considered as holy, if not so regarded by the next wave of conquerors, nevertheless often has enough sanctity clinging to it to make it taboo. No thief will disturb objects left within its precincts, lest the spirit of the place bring disaster upon him. It seems probable that the wandering tribes on the border of the Arabian Desert have utilized the sacred places of these prehistoric men for the burial of their dead, in order that the fear of violating the taboo pertaining to these places may secure the bodies from disturbance. Whatever the reason may be, they still bury their dead in such precincts and place their tribal wasms or marks on such stones.[221]
5. Earth-graves.—The simplest form of burial was to place the body in the ground without accessory of any kind. In the course of the excavation of Gezer a few burials of this sort came to light.[222] The skeleton was in these cases stretched out; sometimes it was lying on its back; sometimes on its side. As these bodies were buried without accessories, so contrary to the custom of the Palestinians who placed food or drink by the dead, the excavator thought that they were probably the graves of murdered persons, who had been hastily concealed in the earth.
Another form of burial, when the interment occurred within a city, is illustrated by the five “Philistine” graves found at Gezer.[223] These graves were excavations in the earth, lined with cement, and, after the interment, covered with four or five massive stones and earth; (Fig. 226). In these graves the usual deposits of food and drink had been made in beautiful bronze and silver vessels, which show kinship to the art of Cyprus; (see Fig. 137). They are probably, therefore, Philistine.
6. Rock-hewn Shaft Tombs.—A form of tomb of which many examples are to be found in all parts of Palestine is the rock-hewn tomb. The limestone of the country is easily cut, and lends itself readily to the construction of this kind of burial-place. Such tombs are of two kinds—“shaft” tombs and “doorway” tombs.
The structure of a shaft tomb is as follows:[224] The tomb chamber or chambers are cut in the rock and are approached by a perpendicular rock-hewn shaft, which is usually rectangular. This shaft is closed at the bottom with slabs and then the shaft is filled with earth. Such tombs are usually constructed in ledges covered over with soil, so that, when the hole leading to the rock-cut shaft is filled, the tomb is effectually concealed. Such tombs are very numerous all the way from pre-Israelitish times to the Greek period. For a plan of one, see Fig. 228.
7. Doorway Tombs.—The “doorway” tombs are sometimes cut in a ledge that is altogether under ground. In that case a flight of steps is excavated leading down to the door; (Fig. 232). Often the tomb is cut in a ledge on the slope of a hill, so that the doorway is approached from the level of the ground; (see Fig. 227). Doors were, no doubt, fitted into the doorways. The places cut in the rock for the latches or bars of such doors are sometimes still visible. These tombs consisted sometimes of one room, sometimes of several. Sometimes the bodies were laid on the floor of the tomb; sometimes elevated benches or shelves were cut in the rock on which bodies might be placed. Quite as often shafts or niches were cut into the rock, into which a body or a sarcophagus could be shoved endwise. Such a shaft is called technically a kôk, in the plural, kôkim. For examples of them, see Figs. 233, 237. The date at which this kind of tomb was introduced has not been satisfactorily determined.
Sometimes numerous small tombs, each one resembling somewhat a kôk, were cut in a hillside. Archæologists call such a group of tombs a “columbarium”; (see Fig. 230).
In the Hellenistic and Roman periods efforts were made to give adornment to such tombs. The so-called “Tombs of the Judges”[225] near Jerusalem, of which the writer was the first to make a scientific examination, is a good example of this kind of tomb[226]; (see Fig. 231). This tomb consisted of three rooms in its upper level and three in its lower level; (see Fig. 235). The ledges and kôkim in it made provision for seventy bodies, and a rough chamber opening out of room D was evidently used for the deposit of the bones of those who had been long dead, when a niche or kôk was needed for the reception of another body. Sometimes the pillars of a porch were carved out of the solid rock. A number of such tombs are to be found near Jerusalem. There is one in the Kidron Valley near Gethsemane, cut wholly out of the rock and finished to a spire at the top. This is the so-called “Absalom’s pillar.”
In the time of Christ the tombs of Israel’s heroes were adorned and venerated. Jesus alludes to this in Luke 11:47, 48. Elisha must have been buried in a doorway tomb, into which by opening the door the body of a man could be easily thrown. (See 2 Kings 13:20, 21.) It was, no doubt, the memory of such narratives as this that led to the reverence paid to the tombs of the prophets in the time of Christ.
Another tomb at Jerusalem, called the “Tombs of the Kings,” has a large open court cut down into the rock, from the different sides of which entrances lead to the other tomb chambers. This tomb was built for Queen Helena of Adiabene, the ancient Assyria, who, in the days of Herod the Great, was converted to Judaism and removed to Jerusalem. She died and was buried there.[227]
Sometimes in the Seleucid period the interior of the tombs was also made very ornate. Such were the tombs, discovered in 1902,[228] of some wealthy Greek-speaking citizens of Marissa. A plan of one of them is shown in Fig. 234, and examples of its inner ornamentation in Fig. 236. These tombs were also adorned with pictures of vases, trees, animals, etc.; (see Fig. 239). The figures, as well as the interior generally, were decorated with red, yellow, and brown paints. One of them was that of Apollophanes, chief of the Sidonians at Marissa. Over the different niches in the tombs the names of the persons buried were inscribed in Greek letters.
Rock-cut tombs, whether large or small, were regarded as important possessions, and the people who might be buried in them were frequently carefully specified by their builders. An example of this may be found in Part II of the present work, p. 442.
8. Tombs with a Rolling-stone.—One other type of tomb must be noticed even in this hasty sketch. To close a “doorway” tomb securely must always have been a matter of difficulty in Palestine. It was not easy with the kind of locks they had to keep intruders out of tombs. This led to the cutting of a large groove by the side of the doorway into which a rolling-stone was fitted. When it was desired to open the tomb, the stone could be rolled back. The stones were too heavy to be easily disturbed. It was in a new tomb of this type that the body of Jesus was laid, and it was such a stone that the women found rolled away on the resurrection morning. (See Matt. 28:2; Mark 16:3, 4; Luke 24:2; John 20:1, and Fig. 238.)
CHAPTER XIII
JERUSALEM[229]
Situation. Gihon. Cave-dwellers. The El-Amarna Period. Jebusite Jerusalem. The City of David: Millo. David’s reign. Solomon’s Jerusalem: Site of Solomon’s buildings. Solomon’s temple. Solomon’s palace. From Solomon to Hezekiah. Hezekiah. From Hezekiah to the Exile. The Destruction of 586 b. c. The Second Temple. Nehemiah and the Walls. Late Persian and Early Greek Periods. In the Time of the Maccabees. Asmonæan Jerusalem. Herod the Great: Herod’s palace. Herod’s theater. Herod’s temple. The Pool of Bethesda. Gethsemane. Calvary. Agrippa I and the Third Wall.
1. Situation.—Since 1867 excavations have been made at Jerusalem from time to time. The most important of these were mentioned in Chapter IV. An attempt will be made here to set before the reader the growth and development of Jerusalem from period to period, as that growth is now understood by foremost scholars. Our knowledge of the situation and form of the city in the different periods is based partly on formal excavations, partly on remains that have been accidentally found, and partly on a study of the references to Jerusalem in the Bible and other ancient writings. These references are interpreted in the light of the topography and of the archæological remains.
Jerusalem is situated on the central ridge of Palestine, where the ridge broadens out to a small plateau. The plateau at this point is approximately 2,500 feet above the level of the Mediterranean Sea. In a narrower sense the site of the city is two rocky promontories which run south from the plateau with the valley El-Wad (in Roman times the Tyropœon) between them. On the north these promontories merge into the plateau, but on the east, south, and west the valleys of Hinnom and the Kidron sharply separate them from the surrounding land. The steep sides of these valleys made fortification easy in ancient times. The highest point of the western hill is about 400 feet higher than the bottom of the Kidron valley, which in ancient times was 20 to 40 feet deeper than now; (see Fig. 240). Indeed, the position was almost impregnable. Only on the north was the city vulnerable.
West of the city hills gently rise to a slight elevation and shut out the view. The easternmost of the two promontories is lower than the western, which in its turn slopes to the east. Just south of the Mount of Olives, to the east of Jerusalem, there is a rift in the hills through which the distant mountains of Moab can be seen. From elevated buildings in the city the Dead Sea is also visible. The slope of the hills of Jerusalem and her broader outlook to the eastward are significant of the influences that moulded her earlier history. During the centuries that Israel was an independent nation the Philistine plain was nearly always in the hands of a hostile people. Jerusalem was thus cut off from influences that might otherwise have reached her from across the Mediterranean, and was shut up to influences that reached her through kindred tribes and nations to the east. Thus in intellectual kinship, as well as in physical outlook, the gaze of Jerusalem was directed toward the Orient.
All Palestinian cities of importance were situated near perpetual springs. There are at Jerusalem but two unfailing sources of water—the Ain Sitti Miriam (the ancient Gihon) and the Bir Eyyub (Biblical En-rogel). These are both in the Kidron valley, the former just under the brow of the eastern hill some 400 yards from the southern point of the hill, the latter at the point where the valley of Hinnom and the Kidron unite. Of these two sources of supply, the Gihon is pre-eminently fitted to attract an early settlement. It is almost under the hill, whereas the other is out in the midst of the open valley. Gihon, too, is at the base of a hill that can be defended easily on three sides, whereas a town built on a hillside above En-rogel, as the modern Silwan is, could be easily attacked from above. These conditions determined the situation of the earliest settlement, which was near Gihon.
2. Gihon.—The Parker expedition of 1909-1911 revealed by its excavations the fact that the source of the spring of Gihon is a great crack in the rock in the bottom of the valley far below the present apparent source.[230] This crack is about 16 feet long, is of great depth, and runs east and west. The western end of it just enters the mouth of the cave where the apparent source is today, but the eastern end passes out into the bed of the valley. All the water would discharge into the valley but for a wall at the eastern end of the rift, built in very ancient times, which confines the water and compels it to flow into the cave. This wall was constructed by some of the earliest inhabitants of the place. The spring thus produced is intermittent. Its flow is not ceaseless. The water breaks from the hole in the rainy season, three to five times a day; in the summer but twice a day; and after the failure of the spring rains, less than once a day. This fact indicates that the waters collect in some underground cavern from which they are drained by a siphon-like tunnel. The “troubling” of the Pool of Bethesda (John 5:4) is thought by some scholars to have been due to the action of such a siphon-like spring.
3. Cave-dwellers.—About this spring the Parker expedition found large caves and rooms excavated in the rock, and indications that these had once been inhabited. A great deal of pre-Israelite pottery was also found around the spring. These indications seem to show that the site was inhabited for at least a thousand years before David, and perhaps for two thousand, and that its first inhabitants were cave-dwellers. One naturally thinks in this connection of the cave-dwellers of Gezer. It is possible that the first Jerusalemites belonged to the same period and were of the same race. One thinks, too, of the sacred cave and the stone altar on the next peak of the eastern ridge to the north, where the temple afterward stood, and wonders whether it may not have been the sanctuary of this early cave-dwelling race. A definite answer cannot be given to this question. One can only recognize that it may possibly be true.
4. The El-Amarna Period.—The next knowledge we have of Jerusalem comes from the letters of Ebed-Hepa, which were written to Amenophis IV of Egypt between 1375 and 1357 B. C. At that time it was already a walled city, for Ebed-Hepa speaks of “throwing it open.”[231]
The fortified city of Ebed-Hepa was, no doubt, identical with the later Jebusite city. It was situated on the eastern hill just above the spring of Gihon. Probably in the period just before this time it had, like Gezer, been surrounded by a massive wall. In connection with this fortification the rock near Gihon had been scarped (cut to a perpendicular surface) in order to increase the difficulty of scaling the wall.[232] As the wall of Gezer lasted for a thousand years, so this Egyptian wall continued to the reign of David.
It is privately reported that Weil in his excavation in 1913-14 found on the eastern hill remains of a wall with a sloping glacis similar to that belonging to the earliest period of Megiddo. This would not only confirm our inference that Jerusalem was a walled city in the time of Ebed-Hepa, but indicate that its wall had been built at a much earlier time. It was also in the fourteenth century B. C. the capital of a considerable kingdom which Ebed-Hepa ruled as a vassal of the king of Egypt. This kingdom extended as far west as Beth-shemesh and Keilah (1 Sam. 23:1), including, perhaps, Gezer. Aijalon seems to have been included in it on the north, and Carmel in Judah (1 Sam. 25:2) on the south.
When the letters of Ebed-Hepa were written, his kingdom was being attacked and apparently overcome by the Habiri, a people who may have been the first wave of the Hebrew conquest.[233] The letters of Ebed-Hepa cease without telling us whether or not the Habiri captured his city. If they did and they were really Hebrews, they did not hold it long, for, when the Biblical records lift the veil that hides so much of the past, Jerusalem was in the hands of the Jebusites. (See Josh. 15:63; Judges 1:21.)
5. Jebusite Jerusalem.—The Jebusites held it all through the period of the Judges (Judges 19:10, 11). Israel did not capture it until the reign of David. (See 2 Sam. 5:6-8.) At some earlier period of the history of Jerusalem an underground rock-cut passage similar to the one at Gezer[234] had been made, so as to permit the inhabitants in case of siege to descend to the spring for water without going outside the walls; (see Fig. 241). The natural slope of the hill had been reinforced at this point by the escarpment of the rock, and the Jebusites felt so secure that they taunted the Hebrews from the top of the walls. Joab, however, discovered the way to this underground passage through the cave back of the spring, Gihon, and, leading a band of men up through it, appeared suddenly within the city, taking the Jebusites by surprise, and captured it.
6. The City of David.—David then took up his residence at Jerusalem, thus making it the capital of the kingdom of Israel. Thus the city of the Jebusites, situated on the eastern hill, which was called Zion, became the “city of David.”
A few modern writers still insist that the “city of David” was on the western hill, which since 333 A. D. has been called Zion. This, as most scholars have seen, is an impossible view. Solomon built a palace for Pharaoh’s daughter near his own on the temple hill, and, when she moved into it, she went up out of the city of David (1 Kings 9:24). As the western hill is higher than the eastern, she must have gone from a point on the eastern hill lower than the temple. When the temple was completed, Solomon brought the ark up from the city of David to the holy of holies in the new temple (2 Chron. 5:2). Scripture thus confirms the inferences from the pottery and the water supply, that the “city of David” was on the eastern hill, and that that hill was Zion. It was a small town, since the space it could occupy was not more than thirteen acres, and may have been less.
(1) Millo.—After occupying his new capital David “built round about from Millo and inward” (2 Sam. 5:9). What was Millo? This is a great puzzle, and there are many varying opinions about it. The word literally means a “filling,” and is employed in Assyrian for the building up of a terrace on which a building may be erected. It may have been a “filling” on the line of the valley that separated the hill of the citadel of David from Moriah or the temple hill. It would seem to have been on the edge of the city, since David built from there “inward.” Some have supposed it to be a fortress, and the Septuagint translated it by “akra,” which means “citadel.” Some have thought of it as a fort, others as a solid tower. If on the line of the valley mentioned, it may have been at the northeast corner, or at the northwest corner of the town. Some have supposed that it was at the southern end of the eastern hill in order to protect a pool there. Just below the southern end of the eastern hill in the valley of the Kidron lay the “King’s Gardens,” and just across the valley, the village of Siloah. In 2 Kings 12:20 it is said that Joash was killed in Millo, leading down to Silla. We know of no Silla. Is it a corruption of the Hebrew word for “shade” or is it a corruption of Siloah? In the former case the reference might be to the King’s Gardens, in the latter to the village of Siloah. Either of these suppositions would favor a site for Millo at the south end of the hill, but the words “leading down to Silla” may have had quite a different origin and meaning.[235] We must, therefore, confess that the location of Millo cannot at present be determined.
(2) David’s Reign.—As David’s reign advanced and his success in war compelled neighboring nations to pay tribute, probably the population of Jerusalem increased. Such an increase would naturally lead to the erection of houses outside the walls, as it has in recent times. It is altogether probable that a settlement on the western hill was thus begun in the reign of David. There is no hint, however, that he took any steps to enclose such a settlement within a wall. The phrase “the way of the gate” in 2 Sam. 15:2 implies that there was still but one gate in the walls. This is in striking contrast to the number of gates in later times. The only record that we have of further action on David’s part that affected the future growth of Jerusalem refers to the way in which he took over the rock on Mount Moriah and the sacred cave under it and made a sanctuary to Jehovah. (See 2 Sam. 24.) This action, at a later time, determined the site of the temple.
7. Solomon’s Jerusalem.—David left Jerusalem a military fortress; Solomon transformed it into a city with imposing buildings. This creation of a more imposing city was in accord with the general character of Solomon’s reign. He established a large harem, made marriage alliances with many neighboring kings, maintained such an establishment that it was necessary to make a regular levy on a different portion of the country each month for supplies, and endeavored to make his capital as splendid as the capital of a rich commercial Phœnician monarch. Such a policy necessitated, probably, the enlargement of Jerusalem. David, who began life as a shepherd-boy, was content to live the simple life to the end; Solomon, born to the purple, desired to surround himself with a pomp befitting his rank. The Biblical writers were more interested in the construction of the temple and of Solomon’s palace than in any other phase of his work, but they have left us some hints of his activities in other directions.