I was unprepared for Tel Be'er Sheva

Ancient Be'er Sheva isn't too far from the modern city, but their distance spans millennia.

That's the thing about Israel... the ancient and modern are inextricably linked. You can travel a few feet and go back in time 1000 years (or more), and vice versa. It's mind-blowing!

But that's not what left me breathless this time. 

It was a hot, beautiful day in August, yet somehow I was surprised to not be overheating. Probably because it was dry heat. We walked up to tel Be'er Sheva with not long before the park was to close. 

Like I shared last week, I'd always associated Hebron with Abraham, and missed Be’er Sheva altogether in his story- until visiting one of the well museums.

I was unprepared for just how moving it was to stand in amongst the ruins of ancient Be’er Sheva and realize that it all began there. Abraham lived HERE.

But he lived here, dug wells, made a peace treaty, and offered hospitality and I couldn’t wrap my brain around that. Not only him, but Isaac and Rachel lived here, and likely Jacob as well.

This is where it all began.

the map above shows Abraham's route from Ur to Be'er Sheva

As the hot desert wind whipped my hat off my head, I read the account of him and Abimelech, and then remembered another passage I suddenly had to read. I was certain the passage I wanted was Galatians (later I remembered it was Hebrews). But Galatians 3:6-9 is where God led me and it left me speechless.

Verses 7-9: that's me! This is also the early beginnings of my story of faith, even though I am a Gentile.

There, right there, in Be'er Sheva. My roots go down there too.

WOW.

Let that sink in for you too.

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Now, for the tour!

More than just Abrahamic history happened here. The land in view is also where significant events in WWI happened!

Here you can see a continued example of rebuilding on original foundations. There are 2 different time periods represented here!

Unfortunately, I did not get to go into the water system, as the lady running the park wanted to leave before closing and was angry at us. But I found out that it was dug by Jacob... you can bet I'm going back!

An early street!

Storehouses!

My favorite, though, is the ancient residential areas. I couldn't get enough of it, especially with the modern skyscrapers in the distance!

Not pictured (I could see it but my lens wasn’t powerful enough) was the IKEA right on the edge of the city.

Sarah’s favor spot for home decor?

Exploring Hezekiah's Tunnel: How in the world did they do that?

In 2022, I described my visit to the City of David and standing outside of Hezekiah's Tunnel. My first visit there was an unusually cold weekend in March—gray, raining, and hovering in the 30-40 degrees Fahrenheit. Even though the water in the tunnel stays the same temperature year-round, I didn't feel like getting my jeans wet up to above my knees and just walking around in the cold.

No, this was an adventure for summer.

So, in July, I went back, and this time walked through the Hezekiah's Tunnel.

The water felt amazing, even when it briefly flowed over my knees. At first, all I could hear was the roar of the water and people yelling/laughing... and I couldn't see anything. That stayed the same the whole time, haha. There is no light without a flashlight in there (the picture above is the view when you finally emerge from the tunnel).

This 535 meter tunnel is not straight; it winds through the rock just like the dry one.

Unfortunately, there was a middle school group of the UK behind me, and the boys, who were directly behind me were constantly yelling crude things in the dark. When we finally got to the end of the tunnel, there was a small gift shop by the Pool of Siloam that had t-shirts saying, "I survived Hezekiah's tunnel". When of the boys read it out look and I looked him dead in the eyes, "You almost didn't". 

But I digress. 

Wow, being in that tunnel in complete darkness was an experience that I'll never forget. It makes the miracle of how this tunnel was created that more incredible! 

King Hezekiah commissioned this tunnel in 2 Chronicles 32:30 (2 Kings 20:20 and Isaiah 22:9) so that Jerusalem could channel its water supply from the Gihon Spring to the Pool of Siloam. This way when the Assyrians and anyone else came to lay seige, the inhabitants still had water. 

But in order to do this quickly, as the Assyrians were already advancing towards Jerusalem, the tunnel was dug from both ends and met in the middle with only a small distance between the levels. How in the world did they do that: 2 groups of men digging in rock towards each other while underground, with varying levels of terrain, and find each other within 30 centimeters (1 foot) of each other?

Amazing!

Finally, after exiting the tunnel and putting my tennis shoes back on, we passed the pool of Siloam and entered the Promenade and the Western Stepped (Pilgrim) Road.

The promenade itself has a mural depicting what life likely looked at at the time of Herod. From that, a dating back to 1st century AD leads north and up—straight up to the Southern Steps.

Below this road was a water drainage channel. Both are about 650 meters long (almost half a mile). In the channel, artifacts like coins from the 2nd Temple period, a gold bell ornament like what was on the High Priest's robe, a Roman sword, and a clay seal. According to the brochure the park gives you, this is channel was also likely a refuge for those who felt the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70.

All those finds prove the every day use of this road, as it was when it was above the earth (and wider) in the time of Jesus. People walked back and forth. This is likely the road the blind man took when he descended from the Temple steps to the Pool of Siloam with mud on his eyes. 

Can you see it?

Besides the fact that it is SO COOL to walk where you know Jesus and His disciples did, there was one other perk from taking this tunnel back up to the entrance of the City of David: with it being underground, we were in the shade, in the cool of the earth, getting a break from the intense July sun. That's not to mention the earlier relief of walking through water, and dipping my hat in it before putting it back on.

I definitely recommend taking the time to visit the entirety of the City of David. I'd love to go back with a tour guide, as I'm sure there's much I didn't see. It's one of my favorite places in all of Jerusalem, just because of the treasure of history that it is.

OH, and did you hear the big news? 

The Pool of Siloam is going to be fully excavated! WOW! I can't wait to go back and see it for myself!