I Climbed Mount Masada

Posted on November 13, 2023 by vanbraman

Today I spotted a t-shirt in my closet that I had not seen for awhile.

Israel, masada, t-shirt, cable car, climbing I bought the t-shirt during my first trip to Israel back in 2012. That started me thinking about why I bought it.

During the trip we visited the fortress of Masada. I am not sure if I would call it Mount Masada, but that was what the shirt said. I would have rather it said Fortress Masada.

masada, snake trail, fortress, dead seaa, climbing, cable carTo reach the top of Masada, you have several choices. Most of our tour members opted to ride the cable cars up to the top. I joined a smaller group that wanted to follow the Snake Path to the top. You can see the Snake Path in the picture above. The path goes up the side of Masada with a vertical rise of about 400 meters.

Israel, masada, t-shirt, cable car, climbingHere you see my one way cable car ticket that I would use to come back from the top. It has remained in my name tag holder from the trip and hangs on my bedroom mirror, so I see it often and have some interesting memories.

masada, snake trail, fortress, dead seaa, climbing, cable carWe all headed out to the Snake Path while the other members headed up on the cable cars.

masada, snake trail, fortress, dead seaa, climbing, cable carThe long path first started with a flat portion out to the base of Masada. It was hot, but I was not tired out yet.

masada, snake trail, fortress, dead seaa, climbing, cable carThen the path started working up the side of Masada through some long switchbacks. It was a very hot morning and it was uphill all the way. I had water with me, but should have carried more with me than I had.

masada, snake trail, fortress, dead seaa, climbing, cable carI was definitely moving very slowly in the last several hundred feet up the side.

The view from the top was very rewarding though. We had a great view down on the trail and also the remains of Roman Army camps from when they had Masada under siege back in the first century.

I have been back to Masada a couple times, but since that first time I have always taken the cable car to the top.

Steven

WwRI

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How to Hide a Well

Posted on November 12, 2023 by vanbraman

Have you ever wondered how you could have hidden a well in Old Testament times? What do you think about whey you think of a well. A common image of a well is of a structure that is above the ground so that you would not need to bend far over to draw water up from it.

Some years ago I was teaching a class about Absalom’s revolt and a couple verses brought up this interesting question.

17 Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz were waiting at En-rogel. A female servant was to go and tell them, and they were to go and tell King David, for they were not to be seen entering the city. 18 But a young man saw them and told Absalom. So both of them went away quickly and came to the house of a man at Bahurim, who had a well in his courtyard. And they went down into it. 19 And the woman took and spread a covering over the well’s mouth and scattered grain on it, and nothing was known of it.

II Samuel 17:17-19 ESV

How was the woman able to hide the well by simply covering it up and scattering grain on it? Wouldn’t you be able to see the shape of the well?

This made me think of a well that I saw during my first trip to Israel. The well is near Bet Guvrin in The Shephelah.

israel, shephelah, bet guvrin, water, treeHere is the well that we stopped to look at. It is interesting to see the stone mangers in the picture. In this case they would have probably been filled with water.

israel, shephelah, bet guvrin, water, treeI can imagine this would be a nice place to gather by in the afternoon when it is in the shade.

israel, shephelah, bet guvrin, water, treeHere you can see that the edges of the well are level with the ground.

You can now imagine how the well in the courtyard at Bahurim could be covered up with a cloth and grain. A well in a courtyard would probably not have been this large. However, it would have been large enough for men to be let down into it.

israel, shephelah, bet guvrin, water, treeBecause the well opening is at ground level you can see that they have it covered with a grate so no one will fall in. This well was very deep so falling in would be very dangerous.

israel, shephelah, bet guvrin, water, treeHere you can see the edges of the opening and the grooves caused by ropes being used over the years. I am sure a lot of water has been pulled out of this well over time.

This may not have been the type of well in the courtyard, but it is at least a possibility.

Of course I am now thinking of other wells in Israel and here is a link to another post that I wrote about wells: Two Well Known Wells

Steven

 

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