A Day in Bet She’an

The ancient city of Bet She’an (Beit Shean, Beth Shean, Beth Shan, Bethshean, etc.) first appears in the Biblical narrative during the period of conquest, when the city was given to Manasseh as part of her territory. The tell is beautifully strategic, located at the junction of the Jezreel and Jordan Valleys and commanding a fantastic view of the surrounding countryside. However, Manasseh allowed this fortress city to slip through her fingers due to the iron chariots of the Canaanite inhabitants.

Bet She’an at the Junction of the Jezreel and Jordan Valleys, Taken from Gilboa

What Manasseh gave up, the Philistines were happy to take. In I Samuel 29, the Philistines gear up at Aphek for another row with the Israelites. This is where they rather irritably sent David, their supposed ally, away. The battle against Israel was brutal, and, in I Samuel 31, the royal family falls at Mt. Gilboa. In triumph, the Philistines hang the headless bodies of Saul, Jonathan, and the rest on the fortress walls at Beth Shan. The men of Jabesh Gilead recalled Saul’s kindness and removed the bodies in the night—a valiant deed, as they covered miles of open territory and scaled the side of a fortified and guarded city. David would go on to take Beth Shean and Solomon would place the city under the administration of Baana.

Israelite Fortress at the Summit of Bet She’an

Time passed, and Beth Shean eventually came under the control of Alexander the Great, who settled his garrison of Scythians here, thus changing its name to Scythopolis. The city would later be caught in the crossfire between the Ptolemies and Seleucids, and Josephus gives the account that High Priest Jonathan was kidnapped there and later murdered—one of the events leading to the Maccabean Revolt. In 63 BC, Pompey gathered Beth Shean under his wings as a city of the Decapolis. It was beautified, with theaters, amphitheaters, a cardo, bathhouses, and a rather nice public toilet.

At Look at Scythopolis from the Tell

Beth Shean was never really abandoned over the millennia, though the site of many a bloody conflict, even through the 21^st century. Today, the tell can still be seen for miles around, just south of the Spring of Harod.

Bet She’an over Ancient Scythopolis

Aphek and the Importance of Location

The other day, we spent a bit of time at Tel Afek, the site of…Aphek, also called Antipatris.

Ottoman Fortress at Tel Afek

Biblically, we first see Aphek as one of the cities taken by the conquest and given to the tribe of Asher. By this time, it was already old, having been controlled by Egypt for quite some time. In I Samuel 4, the Philistines were encamped at Aphek when they routed Israel’s army and took the Ark of the Covenant as spoil. Despite the fact that that incident ended rather unpleasantly for them, they again set up base there to fight the Israelites–though, for some reason, the princes of the Philistines protested against David’s presence in their army.

Egyptian Palace at Tel Afek

History tells us that Herod would eventually receive Aphek as part of his kingdom, which he expanded, adding a Roman forum and cardo through the city. He renamed it Antipatris, after his father. It was thus to ancient Aphek that the chief Roman captain of the Antonia, Claudias Lysias, spirited Paul away when the Jews made their assassination plot against him (Acts 23).

The Roman Cardo at Tel Afek

But why was Aphek so hotly contested? From its foundation in the Chalcolithic Period (4500-3000 BC) to the Ottoman empire, it is clear why it was a popular piece of real estate. Located at the headwaters of the Yarkon River, Aphek sat on a strategic point where the coastal routes–including the Via Maris–were blocked by the Yarkon and its surrounding swampland, and funneled through a narrow pass towards Megiddo and the Jezreel Valley. Whoever controlled Aphek controlled the pass and any trade or armies moving through it.

Via Maris Funneled by Aphek
(A BIBARCH™ Photo courtesy of High Top Media™. Copyright ©1997 High Top Media™. All Rights Reserved.)

And, as a side note, the local donkey population at Tel Afek is also worth viewing. They are as curious about you as you are of them.

Citizen of the Local Donkey Population

Through the Shephelah and Beyond

On what was one of the most exciting days of the trip so far, we finished up our Israel leg by winding our way from Jerusalem down to Gath, and up to Tel Aviv through the Shephelah (or Shfela). This is the lowland area of southern Israel in Biblical Judea.

It’s interesting to note the difference between the two sides of the ridge in Judea–on the west is the Shephelah with rolling hills of fertile agricultural land, which you can see in the Sorek Valley photo. On the western side of the mountains is the wilderness of the hill country with its rugged and barren land.

We stopped at the tell of Beth-Shemesh first. This was originally in the Danites’ territory, which was abandoned when the Philistines became too aggressive for Dan’s sensibilities. God allowed their territory to be overrun because they violated His command to utterly drive out the inhabitants of the land (Judges 2:2-4). This city was at an important passage through the Shephelah and the old stomping grounds of our friend Samson. His birthplace and his wife’s hometown are both visible from this tell. The Philistines would later send the Ark of the Covenant up the Sorek Valley on a cart drawn by two very miserable milk cows.

View from the Tell of Beth-Shemesh into the Sorek Valley

Another stop on our way was the tell of Lachish. This was a geek-out site for us. The British Museum has a beautiful display of Sennacharib’s siege against Lachish (note the siege ramp on the right of the mound), from the beginning to the brutal end when the rebels were impaled or skinned alive as the rest of city was led into slavery. The Assyrian army was slowly moving through Judah, ravaging the land and conquering the fortified cities–cities which communicated to each other by signal fires. There’s an emotion that lands somewhere between heartrending and chilling when you read one of the final letters to the military governor saying, “…we cannot see [the signal fire of] Azekah.” Lachish was alone.

Tell at Lachish, Showing Siege Ramp

The last site was Gath (Tell es-Safi). We know this best as the mighty giant Goliath’s hometown. Ironically, the brook of Elah runs at the foot of the city, the same brook from which, further along, David likely lifted the smooth stone that would be Goliath’s bane.

Tell at Gath, Goliath’s Hometown

Now, for the weird note for the day. In Tiberias, across from our hotel, we snapped this photo of a creepy bit of graffiti. Creepy, because that buck-toothed teddy just seems to stare into your soul.

The Creepy Teddy Bear, Part 1

Much to our consternation, we stepped off the bus 10 days later at a random gas station in southern Judea near Lachish, and there–staring into our souls–was Creepy Bear. Again.

Creepy Teddy Bear Stare, Part 2

This is our last post from Israel–we’re heading to Seville, Spain next. We hope you enjoy the next step in time to the Renaissance and beyond!