Good god it was gad!

The annals of ancient civilizations demonstrate the influential power of stellar patterns used to predict good fortune and events that challenged early creation logic. Against ethereal alternatives the constellation logic of occultists, soothsayers and stargazers prevailed. Perhaps the seemingly abstract, often ambiguous and sometime falsified prophetic voice was not as consistent as the suns rising. Strong evidence of astrological cultures are found in archaeology of Mesopotamia and many other regions including in tombs of Egyptian Pharaohs that often tell of a soul journey to the stars and some that become stars. 

According to monotheism the Knower is the Knowledge and the Known, which contradicts that any intermediary, object or living god-figure could ever claim an independent role. Ancient civilizations that credited deities with independence defended the existence of pluralism. These conflicts underpinned the clash of cultures in the fertile crescent from modern Turkey through Egypt. 

Long memory is best preserved in ancient teachings and living, intact cultures that claim a communal continuum. The best long memories are maintained by cultures that posses a rich archaeology, history and anthropological synchronization in laws and customs still evident in the modern continuum.  

The oldest and most intact continuum with a written history, rich archaeology and anthropological synchronicity are the Israelite Hebrews diversely known as Jews. Descendants of Biblical Jacob, also known as Israel they prove a 3500 year continuum. At least this is validated through the paternal lineage of priests who descend from Jacob's son Levi and from whom today's high priestly sect continue to ascend. The continuum by this Levite sect is evident in general communal acceptance and validated in orthodox synagogue practices of modern Jewish people.

The Biblical and archaeological record illustrate the impact of these conflicting ideologies on the unity of the Jewish people. After King David conquered ancient Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, 2900 years ago he proceeded to unify Israel's disparate tribes and locate the altar around which a permanent temple could then be built. By law and intact tradition of its communal continuum the permanent altar had to be built where, 800 years earlier Jacob's father Isaac was bound by his father Abraham and offered as a sacrifice. As much as he tried, David could not locate it.

Then, a series of personal errors and political challenges challenged David's leadership and coincided with a nationwide pandemic. It caused him to repent following a vision of the angel of death standing a top Mount Moriah poised to destroy Jerusalem. Gad, his lower prophet advised David to build a personal altar on land at the foot of his angel of death vision and offer sacrifice to stay the pandemic. He appealed to Israel's tribal leaders to participate. They jointly purchased the 'angel of death' land from the local Jebusite king, then David built his altar and offered sacrifices.

The established written records of the Jewish continuum, that permit the above reconstruction describe a default communal shift that resolved continuum law and established the location where David's son Solomon built the altar and temple. There are no references tat confirm whether the default location agreed by the tribes also agreed with the continuum law that the altar be at the same site Isaac was bound. One generation after King Solomon, his son could not retain Israel's national unity, the nation split, the continuum was permanently altered and the majority turned to an alternative temple and worship.

The word gad in the written Biblical record occurs 67 times. 54 times refer to Jacob's son Gad, his tribe or their tribal land. It means 'good fortune' that originates from his naming at birth. On 13 other instances it relates to Gad the seer or lower prophet of King David. Only once the term was used to identify a god for good fortune and berate those who made 'good fortune' their independent god. 

Under The Rock - New Evidence Proof For Temple Zero!

Seldom do senior archaeologists disagree over a hundred years let alone a thousand! A four roomed Bronze Age 'Temple Zero' complex, was discovered and named by Eli Shukron, but his boss, Ronnie Reich openly contradicted him by publishing a video in which he claimed the complex to be a creation of the Iron Age.

Orientation

Lower down the eastern slope under boulders on the bedrock, adjacent to the Gihon Spring was a missing layer of important evidence. Precisely two full missing strata, eight and nine - that can represent up to 1000 years! How did the evidence trapped under a boulder miss out from strata 10 through strata 7? After all it was trapped under the same rock, but nothing from strata eight and nine. How did this missing evidence phenomena occur? 

Sunken Round Chamber (closest) and present day platform suspended in quarry

One answer comes directly from Ronnie Reich who separately explained that a wooden platform was once suspended across the rock-cut-pool or quarry (south of the Gihon Spring) much like the platform on which people are sitting in the image above, only fully extended. The indentation for this platform can still be seen cut into the stone above the heads of the people who are standing.  (also see rendering below) 

Depicted, ancient wooden platform suspended above bedrock

Evidence trapped under the rock

If the ancient suspended platform was maintained in place for the entire period spanning strata eight and nine, evidence from that era would have been prevented from falling to the bedrock. Once the platform was built, during strata 10 it would have locked in strata 10 evidence on the bedrock and no later evidence could fall on top of it. In simple terms strata 10 is around late bronze age - ~3400 years ago, strata 7 late iron age, ~2600 years ago.

From this evidence we can conclude activity existed from the late bronze age. This critical dating is conclusive for the citadel complex built from boulders that most likely originated on the adjacent double wall north of the quarry. Further, it clarifies that water channeled from the Gihon Spring into the deep round chamber (feature of the quarry) was drawn from and processed on the platform for distribution to the people living +50 meters higher up on the mountain plateau. All this has been confirmed by Ronnie Reich.

Gihon Spring Citadel complex
Quarry (south), double wall (west) and guard tower (east) by Ronnie Reich

Since digging the quarry post-dated the deposit of strata 10 evidence, two possibilities emerge: 1) Either the designer hoped the quarry would dam up with water from the Gihon Spring, but never did because it's a geophysical impossibility since the spring is only 1 meter above the base of the Round Chamber, or: 2) The Citadel, double wall and quarry cavity, were the objective of the massive construction effort, if so why?  Its important to recognize that the quarry cavity forever changed the previous natural bedrock slope. Further if the the smaller diameter, round chamber were originally cut into the natural slope the much larger quarried cavity lowered natural access to the round chamber. This required the construction of a wooden platform to conveniently access and process water for distribution.

Perhaps the best clue to the construction objective is not in the quarry or the new water route through the double wall, but at the highest westerly point, at the termination of the double wall at the top of the 35m vertical rise, in a place now known as the Parker Tunnel.

Double Wall Termination

Parker Tunnel

Parker's "cyclopean" clearance

To highlight the steep rise on the eastern slope of Mount Moriah, each color in the image below represents a 5 meter rise above sea level. Ronny Reich's Citadel complex is overlaid on the topography to give you an idea of the impassable access to and from the Parker Tunnel. The highest point, the termination of the double wall abuts the bedrock at an ancient wall section that blocked access to the Parker Tunnel, @670m.

Parker's excavation notes recorded that he removed one of the giant"cyclopean" boulders to improve access, but he failed to discover the complete Temple Zero complex immediately to the south. When Eli Shukron found it in 2011, it strengthened evidence that termination of the double wall, its construction, the quarry cavity and citadel watchtower served a dual purpose: 1) to cut the eastern slope of the mountain and prevent access to the southern end of the Parker Tunnel and the Temple Zero location @670m and 2) to protect the transport of water through the underground passage, now known as Warren's Shaft System.

Residents of Mount Moriah could not have completed this massive construction project without significant help. They relied on allies, imported workers, but what compelled their alliance. Blocking access to Temple Zero may sound a bit far-fetched, but not if you were living their at that time. The new, much enlarged Israel were rising up out of Egypt, nations living on land that was sacred to Jacob knew that Israel would return. If Temple Zero were exposed Israel would have been more compelled to conquer the mountain, like a red flag to a bull. Perhaps the occupants who built this construct knew that when Israel returned they would surely seek it out so they blocked and obfuscated access to Temple Zero!

The evidence trapped under the rock and the quarry proves the quarry construction from the Bronze through the Iron Age. It dates the entire complex on the eastern slope of the Gihon Spring, including Temple Zero to the period around 3400 years ago, around the time Israel rose up out of Egypt and not to the Strata 7 Iron Age.

Shalem, Luz, BeitEl, Jerusalem - City of David!

Once a small, quiet, undisturbed hill among many, the rock that constitutes Mount Moriah lies in a north-south direction. In a recent presentation I tried to compress more than 10 years of experiences in archaeological excavations and spiritual pursuit to capture a better understanding. Why this rock, and what compelled King David, in the seventh year of his reign to leave his base in Hevron to establish a kingdom from this Mountain?

The presentation, which is available in the video link below, lacks one additional point that I wanted to emphasize: In his book, In Ismael's House Martin Gilbert told of the men who entered Jerusalem with Calif Omar in 638 CE, one of whom was a Jewish convert to Islam, Ka'b al-Ahbar [whose Hebrew name was Akiva]. Some 600 years after the Herodian Temple destruction, at Omar's request, Ka'b pointed out the rock where the Jewish Temple had been built by Solomon and after some misgivings, identified the holiest spot where the shrine to Calif Omar was built. That shrine today known as the Dome of The Rock, the Golden Dome occupies a prominent location on the Temple Mount selected by a Jewish convert. That particular location on the Temple Mount has no special designation in Jewish law, only in Jewish tradition.

The presentation lasts around 40 minutes.

Beit El Proof Text Locates Ai!

Refugees who fled the Assyrian army that had attacked the northern tribes of Israel arrived in Jerusalem only to swell its already burgeoning population. In the months following resettlement, their different religious practices immediately became abhorrent to the resident priests in Jerusalem's temple.  King Hezekiah acted to remove idolatry, centralize worship and focus the attention of his subjects on the task at hand, to strengthen the city. Hezekiah sent Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, and Shebnah and Joah to appease Sennacherib's generals, they obtained only temporary reprieve. He sent lavish gifts to Sennacherib, the Assyrian King hoping to stave off an attack, but it soon became apparent the Assyrian army would advance on Jerusalem.

During the reprieve Hezekiah was attributed with 6 decrees, the first three were considered good; (1) he concealed the book of healing because people, instead of praying to God relied on concoctions; (2) he broke in pieces the brazen serpent of Moses; and (3) he dragged his father's remains, instead of giving them an honorable burial. The second three, which were not good: (1) he re-directed the water of Gihon into the city; (2) he cut the gold from the doors of the Temple for a gift to Sennacherib; and (3) he moved Passover celebrations to the second month to meet the demands of northern refugees. Around this time Hezekiah fell gravely ill (Isaiah 38:6).

The king's stress was palpable, but we cannot imagine how that was exacerbated when workers, commissioned to strengthen the walls of the city and build watch towers stumbled across a discovery that shocked the king to his core (2 Chronicles 32:5). On the eastern slope of Mount Moriah @657m (above sea level), directly above the path, @634m of the water tunnel being constructed workers cleared rubble and stumbled upon the ancient, permanent temple of Beit-El carved out of the buried bedrock. As the king grappled with the discovery, its potential impact to centralized worship and its contradiction with Solomon's temple he went into a state of shock, infection took over the boils on his body and he began to die. He lamented, prayed and ordered the ancient temple to be sealed between a false wall that was filled with soft sand. Then the prophet Isaiah announced a miracle, the king was granted a 15 year life extension, following which the Assyrian invasion of Jerusalem collapsed. 

"C" marked on map below - standing on bedrock
Hezekiah's wall behind matzevah

Hezekiah's wall behind Jebusite
 wall (built on bedrock)

Tower marked "A" on the map was ~4m above bedrock, in the South corner (see middle image below)

Until Hezekiah, the general area of Beit-El in Jerusalem had been forgotten. Biblical reference was first made more than 1000 years earlier during the time of Abraham and again by Jacob, then nothing until Joshua. By the time King David arrived it's association with Jerusalem had mostly been forgotten. Commentators of the bible vary in their opinions, most refer to the later city of Bethel that was built by Jeroboam north of Jerusalem, but for some reason they are compelled to refer it back to Jerusalem. Some 67 years after Hezekiah, his great, great grandson King Josiah ordered The High Priest Hilkiyahu to remove idolatry from the temple and destroy it in the plains of the Kidron Valley. Hilkiyahu promptly carried out the mission and carried the smashed pieces to Beit-El (2 Kings 23:4) adjacent to the Kidron Valley where it's thought he deposited them in a pit behind Wall NB or Wall 3, discovered by archaeologist Kathryn Kenyon (see images below). This is the last time Beit-El of Jerusalem was accurately mentioned in Biblical texts.

Spring citadel - double wall

The ancient temple of Beit-El remained buried, untouched until it was re-discovered by Eli Shukron for the Israel Antiquities Authority in 2011. 2 Kings 23:4 is a proof text that resolves the mystery of Beit-El's original Shalem, Jebusite City, City of David, Jerusalem location. With this it establishes a new basis for archaeologists looking for its counterpart city Ai, which was to its east.

Report from City of David

After living in exile in Egypt for 210 years and after wandering the desert for 38 years, Israel sought to enter the land of its inheritance. To their surprise Amalekites disguised as Canaanites attacked them, Edomites refused them passage, Moabites and Ammonites withheld food or water. All these events took place on Israel's southern approach, along the eastern side of the Jordan river and are recorded for posterity in passages of Chukat (Numbers:20-22) from the Bible.

What inspired these independent nations to collaborate against Israel? In absentia, Israel should not have deserved their collective, ill treatment or designation as enemy of their various states. Yet, they unanimously stood against Israel's attempt to reach its destination. The threat of Israel rising must have been a significant motivating factor that contributed to this coordinated national resistance.

If we use the Bible as a context, Israel's redemption from exile in Egypt must have seemed like the impossible come true. This fledgling nation of 70 had grown to an army of 600,000 men and now their families were amassed along the south eastern boundary of the Jordan River. The daunting prospect should have dampened the conviction of the alliance against Israel, yet each nation stood resolute against them.

This article is not about the war that ensued, during which Israel conquered the land of Moab, Amon and the Amorites east of the Jordan river instead it focuses on the ultimate destination, the mountain that motivated Israel's allied opponents to remain united and intransigent.

Some 300 years after these events, there was good reason King David waited for 7 years, after his inauguration, before he could advance on the mountain from which he would ultimately establish the united kingdom of Israel. The mountain, is ancient Jerusalem's Mount Moriah associated with some of Israel's most significant events during establishment, and post redemption from Egypt. Israel's preamble, as recorded in the Bible and commentaries preserved over multiple millennia include stories of, Adam, MalchiTzedek, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joshua and, David followed by a 1000 year lineage of kings. So, why was conquering the mountain a go-no-go event for David and why did he risk his fragile kingdom to capture it?

To answer that I offer the following pictorial study of the early through late bronze age (4000-3300 years ago) artifacts that preceded King David (3000 years ago) on Mount Moriah.

Inside cave home on the
 lower eastern slope of Mt Moriah

Passage out of cave home,
north to steel steps

Early bronze VIP pottery
discovered by Parker

Connection from top of 
cave home passage to upper ridge

Connection arrives at upper
ridge altar and liquids channel

Upper ridge - bedrock
 and steel cabinet

Standing stone/pillar
or matzevah on upper ridge

Oil press on upper ridge
 (north end)

V-markings on upper ridge
(animal processing - south end)

Double walled fortress of Zion
south of Gihon spring

View from upper ridge into
the double wall fortress of Zion

 More at this interactive map 

By the end of the Middle Bronze Age the massive double wall of the fortress of Zion was built up the steep eastern slope of Mount Moriah. It was an enormously complex feat of architecture and engineering for that time. It could not have been accomplished by the small local population alone. They must have obtained the full support of the alliance and there must have been a deeply rooted reason for allies to dedicate the resources required for its construction. The water of the adjacent Gihon Spring was not directly protected by its construction and could not have served as the reason for it.

The artists rendition of the King Solomon Era, eastern slope of Mt Moriah, demonstrates how the double wall fortress of Zion circa 3300 years ago (400 years before Solomon) may once have cut access across north-south directions on the eastern slope. The city wall, circa 2700 years ago, was  added before the destruction of the first temple.

The ~2700 year old city wall can be seen
in the upper section of this image on top
 of an older wall connected to the bedrock

Connect the blue plastic to piece together
remnant of the southern element of the
 double wall fortress of Zion

Apparently the allied forces opposing Israel did not want Israel to come back to the mountain and particularly this section on the south eastern slope. But, why did King David make sure to conquer this mountain, at this location in order to unify his kingdom?

The area was once known as Luz, Salem previous to that. It was the area that Malchi-Tzedek practiced as high priest, where Abraham tithed to him, where Isaac was offered as a sacrifice and Jacob erected the pillar, standing stone or matzevah. For these reasons Israel's allied enemies were intent on permanently isolating the bedrock temple discovered at this location and they did all they could to ensure the impracticality of its use. They allowed it to be buried under natural ground cover and defended against Israel's attempts to reoccupy the location. By the time King David conquered it, 300 years after Israel's return, the bedrock temple on the upper ridge was out of site, buried deep under ground. These are my opinions, I invite you to form yours!

From Missiles on Sderot To a Terrorist in Poway

Missiles fired from Gaza to Sderot

In everything there is a lesson to be learned as the Israeli family from Sderot who recently moved to Poway, California discovered.

The elderly Isaac became blind because, as is warned against in the Gemara (Megila 28) he had too often gazed into the eyes of his evil son Esau. Isaac's good son Jacob on his return, after 20 years in exile was injured in his hip, lamed in a battle with the angel of his evil brother Esau, who bestowed on him the name Israel for prevailing over him.

The Gemara added that Avimelech, King of the Philistines cursed Isaac's mother Sara, when he found out that she was the wife, not the sister of Abram. Commentary about the curse centered on the word K'SooS[T], which normally means a garment, but suggested punctuation on the same letters could have rendered the word K'SiyaS[T], which would mean a cover - over your eyes. Its use in a curse would have meant to loose your eyesight, which is what had happened to Sara's son - Isaac. The Gemara accepts both reasons as valid.

After Avimelech's shepherds attacked Issac's wells, Isaac agreed with Avimelech to extend his father Abraham's peace-pact permitting all future decedents of the Philistine King to reside in the land of Isaac's inheritance.  But, peace with the Kings antagonistic subjects was short lived, fragile at best. For his weakness in pursuit of improbable peace, Isaac was nick-named - "The Blind" and after Jacob returned to the home of his father the antagonists nick-named him "The Lame" because of his injured hip. Together they became known as The Lame and The Blind!

The coast in Aza, today known as Gaza, was once home to the Philistine antagonists. But, 10 Kilometers east, along the ridge of central hill territory their antagonist cousins occupied Isaac's inherited land spanning north from the Town of Four (Kiryat Arba) to Mount Moriah. Not long after Isaac's death, Jacob and his family of 70 escaped severe drought by immigrating to Egypt leaving behind the land he inherited, but had struggled to possess.

Mount Moriah (looking north) - Jerusalem - time of Joshua 

For the entire 210 years of Israel's sojourn in Egypt the antagonists were free to spread their occupation and entrench themselves in the important cities of Kiryat Arba (which is Hebron) and Jerusalem on the lower southern slopes of  Mount Moriah. Empowered, by their false beliefs narratives of The Lame and The Blind became entrenched in their antagonistic cultures as they mocked Israel.

Egypt provided a protected environment for the family of Israel to flourish. Jacob's son Joseph, who preceded their arrival had been empowered as the Egypts viceroy which provided the basis for the fledgling family of Israel to spread their influence. The family grew to millions, but toward the latter years, after Egypt's Pharaohs turned against them the path was established for their return to the land of their inheritance. Egypt's political alliances followed their direct family relationships to the Philistines along the Mediterranean coast and cousins to the inland mountain ridge, where news of Israel's rise against and threat of departure from Egypt spread.

The central hill antagonists anticipated Israel's return to their beloved Mount Moriah, the source of their inheritance:- The place, Noah's son Shem had practiced as the high priest of Salem, to whom Abraham had tithed his wealth, from whom Abraham descended:- The place Abraham had offered his son Isaac as a sacrifice :- The place Jacob had erected a standing stone, pillar or matzevah as a covenant to build the House of God. Intent on stopping their repossession, the antagonists lobbied their regional allies to provide labor and skilled stonemasons to erect a massive structure up the eastern slope of Mount Moriah and block the sacred places that Israel would no doubt seek on their return.

Quarry - cutting access across eastern slope of Mount Moriah

To the sacred place on the eastern slope

Quarrying massive stones from the adjacent rock plateau, they hacked Mount Moriah's lower, eastern mountain-side to ensure any prior access to the sacred places was forever impassable. One by one massive cut-boulders were lifted on top of each other progressively rising from valley floor up a steep slope to the most sacred place, 120 meters above the valley floor. The massive structure resembling a ziggurat, an ascending stepped structure and the quarry remnant would forever alter the landscape of the once naive, east facing slope of Mount Moriah.

The first of Israel's spies to return to this place could not believe what they saw. Their experience with the pyramids in Egypt must have led them to believe such similar structure on Mount Moriah was beyond human. It shook them to the core, shattered their confidence, motivated them to publicly express anxiety, report dangerous tidings and ultimately delayed Israel's return to their land by 40 years.

When Israel under Joshua finally entered the land of their inheritance and made their way to Mount Moriah, the antagonists were waiting on the very structure they had constructed in preparation. From their strategic vantage point they beat on drums, threw stones,  displayed their idols and shouted reminders that Israel, the ascendants of The Lame and The Blind had an obligation and responsibility to honor their pact with the central hill antagonists and their Gaza kin. It took 300 more years before a brave King David (2 Samuel 5:8) finally antagonized the antagonists in a manner that induced their co-existence.

Rabbi Goldstein on the White House Lawn

Like those before them, today the antagonists of Gaza antagonize their neighboring Israeli residents with a constant barrage of missiles on places like Sderot. Israel cannot hide from antagonists, only their constant strong-arm, offensive, counter-antagonistic strategies will mimic the tactic of King David to neutralize the behavior of antagonists who otherwise will forever recall the curse of Avimelech. Israel must adopt the attitude of the Rabbi of Poway, who avenged the dead and injured to change the curse of terror to the blessing of peace!

2900 Year Jerusalem Mystery Solved!

The most significant and immovable artifact at the City of David has been protected by a steel locked box since its discovery in 2011. Understanding its origin, especially in context of its location has been aided by the recent discovery of a small 2600 year old seal that once belonged to a man named Nathan, servant of King Josiah, mentioned in 2 Kings 23:11 of the Bible.  However, the geophysical location of the artifact and recorded events surrounding Nathan, servant of King Josiah are trans-formative in resolving the artifacts interpretation. Three verses of chapter 23 are pivotal:

23:4 And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest and the priests of the second rank and the guards of the threshold, to take out of the Temple of the Lord all the utensils that were made for the Baal and for the asherah, and for the entire host of the heaven, and he burnt them outside Jerusalem in the plains of Kidron, and he carried their ashes to Bethel.

23:11 And he abolished the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun, from the entrance of the house of the Lord until the chamber of Nathan-melech the eunuch who was in the outskirts, and he burnt the sun chariots with fire.

23:15 And also the altar that was in Bethel, the high place that Jeroboam the son of Nebat-who caused Israel to sin-had made, also that altar and the high place he demolished, and he burnt the high place; he pulverized it and burnt the asherah.

Eli Shukron, the archaeologist who discovered the protected artifact, known as a standing stone or matzevah was prompted by a question; “Eli- is there any chance the stone was from Genesis (the one Jacob erected)?” 

As you can see @7:40 minutes into the video Eli answered; "..yes, maybe Jacob was here, but this is not the stone of Jacob because we are talking about Jerusalem".

300 years before King Josiah and Nathan - melech the eunuch, King Jeroboam erected the altar at Bethel on the border of the territory of Benjamin and Ephraim. During the ceremony a prophet was sent to announce its future destruction by a man named Josiah. These events of chapter 23 capture the moment the prophecy came true when King Josiah destroyed the altar of Jeroboam at Bethel (north of Jerusalem). Ever since this time, the location of the original Beit El, of Jacob has been lost to the nation of Israel.

Jeroboam's prevailing geologic continues to plague the modern nation. Eli, like many others is confused because modern Bethel (~10 km north of Jerusalem) considered to be named by Jacob is not the location Jacob erected the standing stone at the place he named Beit El. Miraculously, the recent discovery of Nathan - melech the eunuch's seal comes to resolve this longstanding error.

We read in 23:11 that the chamber of Nathan -melech was on the outskirts of the temple, therefore  it may have been the very location his seal was discovered in the Givati excavation shown @0:37 into the next video.

Remarkably, the dispute between Bethel north of Jerusalem and Beit El of Jerusalem is now resolved because the only reference in the entire 24 books of the Bible that can possibly have resolved this conflict is verse 23:4. Indisputably this is the area outside Jerusalem (the tiny ancient city on Mount Moriah) and the plains of the Kidron Valley, where the wooden idols were burned to ashes and Beit El, the place where the ashes were carried and deposited. Hilkiah the High priest did not walk, ride, drive or fly to Bethel ~10km north of Jerusalem to deposit these ashes and that is in direct opposition to Eli Shukron's denial that the standing stone is Jacob's Beit El in Jerusalem.

To this day, the matzevah or standing stone of Jacob remains locked in its steel box and each time I think of it I'm inspired to continue my struggle to correct the long, perplexing, disinformation campaign Jeroboam imposed on Israel, which was confounded by the prophet who came from Judah, who was mauled to death by a lion that was waiting on the road with a donkey - wow!

The matzevah of Jacob

Jacob And His Trees

Covenant of Jacob - Standing Stone or Matzevah at Beit El, Bethel, Ancient Jerusalem

For 39 years the progenitor Israel lived with a gnawing frustration because the covenant he, as Jacob made at Beit El to build the House of God had not been fulfilled. Confounding events had distracted him from meeting his obligation.  After a successful 20 year exile he returned to his homeland to fulfill his covenant, but was delayed by the burden of his cattle, the idols his entourage carried, the rape of his daughter and massacre in revenge, the death of his mother, the death of his favored wife, the sale of his favored son Joseph into slavery, by his brothers and their living lie to Jacob.

Ultimately his family’s exile to Egypt, where they were finally reunified with Joseph must have been a bittersweet 17 year end to Jacob’s life. On his deathbed, he struggled to express the vision of his yet unfulfilled covenant, perhaps still hoping to motivate his children to fulfill it. Instead Jacob died hearing their acknowledgement that they too would unify their Creator and with that he bestowed his final blessings to them.

When you make a covenant with your one and only God, there is no escaping it. There is no other god who can cancel or adjust it, that constitution is expressed in the continuity of Jewish law. Jacob memorialized his covenant by setting and anointing a standing stone in Luz, which he renamed Beit El, that marked the place of his obligation. By his default, to build the House of God his unfulfilled covenant became the cornerstone of his nations indigenous memory.

The essential backstory to Jacobs yet unfulfilled covenant is less well known. Before his final exile to Egypt he gathered Acacia seeds, some say the Acacia trees that had originally been planted by Abraham and Jacob south of Jacob’s standing stone at Beit El. Nurturing these trees was Jacob’s contemplation, to provide the wood to construct and fulfill his covenant at the place Malchi-tzedek - High Priest of Salem had practiced, Abraham had offered his son Isaac as a sacrifice and Jacob had set his standing stone on Jerusalem’s Mount Moriah. When Jacob left the land of his inheritance, he took the Acacia seeds with him and, not to give up on his indigenous dream he planted them when they settled in Egypt.

210 years after Jacob’s exile his disenfranchised nation were thrust out of Egypt. Before departing some realized the contemplation of their forefather Jacob was about to come true. Tantalizingly, they anticipated returning to Mount Moriah, they felled the trees prepared the wood and took it from Egypt to be used to complete Jacob’s covenant and vision. But, Israel’s circuitous route back to their land took 40 more years. Along the journey Jacob’s trees were used to construct a temporary sanctuary to house the Ark of the Holy Covenant and offer sacrifices. The sanctuary was deconstructed and reconstructed at 42 locations before the nation was ready to arrive.

The seeds Jacob took with him did not merely provide wood, they also implanted a will, in the national psyche that had taken root with his family to fulfill his covenant. When they carried the wood out of Egypt into the desert to worship The God that had saved them from tyrant Pharaohs they were sentimentally expressing Jacobs Beit El contemplation. But, when Joshua finally led each of the tribes into battle to conquer their allotted land, there were two places he was unable to dislodge the occupant enemy. One was the territory of modern Gaza, which is the territory of Dan and the other Mount Moriah, which straddles territory on the southern boundary of Benjamin and northern boundary of Judah. Emorites and Jebusites had constructed massive fortifications on the eastern slope of Mount Moriah that concealed the bedrock, which in light of recent archaeology is Jacob’s Beit El to hide features of the earliest temple Israel’s ancestors had once developed and used.

It took another 300 years before King David mustered a small force that penetrated the fortification by scaling the water channel flowing out of the Gihon Spring and a bedrock fissure. The young Kings forces successfully occupied the lower section of Mount Moriah, but did not dislodge previous occupants of the mountain including the Jebusite King. King David recovered the Ark of the Holy Covenant that had been stolen by the Philistines of Gaza, but abandoned by them because of their superstitions. He temporarily housed it on the mountain until a permanent temple could be built. Progressively King David established Mount Moriah as his base for unifying the administration of justice over all Israel’s tribes.

During his tenure, the King struggled to find the Mount Moriah site that was destined for the altar of the permanent temple. The exact location was not obvious, but the prerequisite, by Jewish law had to be akeida - the site of the binding of Isaac. Despite all of his efforts, he was unable to locate it. Toward the end of his life, under political pressure for his moral ineptitude he dispatched his loyal general on an ill fated census of the nation. A plague ravaged the nations north killing 70,000, as it approached Jerusalem the King witnessed the angel of death standing on Mount Moriah with its sword drawn over the lower slope, which was Jerusalem at that time. The nations prophet declared the site suitable for an altar. King David who publicly sought forgiveness and the tribal leaders whose tribes were being ravaged, purchased the site from the Jebusite King. King David brought his sacrifices and the plague stopped. The event that unified the tribes was soon forgotten, but the location of the Kings altar was not. Finally King David’s blueprint, for the construction of Jerusalem’s first permanent temple were completed and made ready for his son King Solomon to construct.

Notwithstanding the joyful pomp and ceremony at the inauguration of Jerusalem’s first permanent temple, Jacob’s Beit El location had been lost. It was inadvertently re-discovered by King Hezekiah’s builders during his Gihon Spring tunnel reconstruction, but it was quickly and perfectly re-buried and preserved. It was rediscovered by Eli Shukron, in the City of David on the eastern slope of Mount Moriah 3533 after Jacob’s exile in 2010.

The long search

The Bible recounts that moments before Jacob’s death he invoked his redeeming angel (Vayechi 48:16) and blessed Joseph’s sons, his grandsons Efraim and Menashe. He adopted them and in doing so bestowed the double blessing on Joseph, first born to his first love, wife Rachel.

The Zohar asks - why did they deserve to be blessed? And answers because Joseph preserved the sign of the holy covenant by not allowing himself to be seduced (by evil). The mystery of faith is a covenant with My chosen (righteous) one [1:231a] alluding to King David. He finds pleasure together with the souls of the righteous (Israel) and will not enter Jerusalem below until Israel enters the city. The world was not created until He took a certain stone -Foundation Stone, central point of the whole world. That stone, I set up as a pillar (matzevah) to be a house of God (Genesis 28:22). I am sending an angel before you. 

Jacob took 12 stones of that place and they become one

(Vayechi 49:1) Jacob called for his sons and said, "Gather and I will tell you what will happen to you at the end of days". [1:234b] "Gather" - that I may tell you - "Ve-agidah", the mystery of wisdom! Why the mystery of wisdom? Because the word contains (g)imel followed by (d)alet, though sometimes (y)ud intervenes. He sought to reveal Israel's future, but his end of days vision dwindled.  

Jacob was about to reveal that his stone-pillar would locate the permanent temple he had committed to build, but he couldn't explain what he saw. How do we know this? Because the non-incidental prophet Gad, also spelled (g)imel (d)alet connected him to this same mystery of wisdom. Some 670 years after Jacob, Gad authorized King David and all Israel's tribal leaders to locate an altar, on Mount Moriah at a different place than the place Jacob erected his stone-pillar. This confronting fact disturbed Jacob's vision.

The deeper mystery connected Efraim and brother Menashe to the northern tribes, collectively named Israel. They vehemently resisted re-locating the temporary temple from Shilo in Efraim's territory, where it had been abandoned to Jerusalem on the southern border of Benjamin's territory with Judah. When a plague killed 70,000 northern Israelite's a short-lived reprieve led them to unify and accept Gad's prophetic house of God relocation from the neck to the head of Mount Moriah.

Rivalry between Judah and Joseph (Efraim) over Benjamin would eventually lead to the destruction of two temples at Gad's location. Jacob saw beyond these destruction's, but the perpetual denial by Joseph and his brothers, including their silencing Benjamin about their kidnapping and selling Joseph disturbed Jacob's foretelling.

In 2008 the Hebrew year 5768, Jacob's stone-pillar was rediscovered at its location on Mount Moriah. It had been purposely buried, preserved for more than 3700 years. This time there will be no destruction.

Jerusalem's 'Temple Zero' Predicament!

The southern room - animal processing and grain press

The lead archaeologist says its Middle Bronze Age, but the tour guides say Iron Age and the Antiquities Authority is silent? For the uninitiated that’s an impossible gap of 600 years!

In 2011 lead archaeologist Eli Shukron discovered 4 hidden bedrock rooms preserved by a false wall. They feature an altar, a grain press, an oil press and a stone monument known as a matzevah. Low loops chiseled through corners of bedrock were once used to tie small animals before they were sacrificed. He openly attributes the rooms to MalchiTzedek’s Shalem, but the matzevah he unwittingly says cannot be Jacob's because"...we're talking about Jerusalem...” (See the video @7:40).

The matzevah of Jacob

This is where Eli and I diverge. Jacob’s matzevah was erected at a place he called Beit El, which according to the clearest geophysical reference in the bible (2Kings 23:4) is on eastern face, on the southern end of Mount Moriah, Jerusalem. Exactly at the location in this blog-post! Eli falls victim to the confusing arguments promoted by Jeroboam after King Solomon built the first temple at its alternative location on Mount Moriah.

The ramifications of Eli's statements strengthen me to overcome ignorance, which I justify because archaeologists are not biblical scholars nor the alternative. Who can blame them? However, the City of David has a far greater responsibility to reveal facts. Jerusalem's "temple zero" predates King David so why didn't he identify these rooms as the location at which his son Solomon would  build the first temple further up the mountain?

If you're fortunate enough to visit this place, tour guides may tell you King David built it to house the Ark of the Covenant during the 37 years before the first temple was built. Or that the rooms already existed so he brought the Ark here to rest and this is where he built a tent to house it. But, nothing in their explanation addresses why King David would permit a matzevah, a practice abolished in the bible ~350 years before him. Worse, they won't tell you of the Middle Bronze Age evidence that predates King David to Jacob, Isaac, Abraham and MalchiTzedek. They promote confusion by saying things that are not helpful to absolving ignorance.

The simplest answer is that King David never found these four rooms. However, someone after him, in the mid-late Iron Age did because Middle Bronze Age evidence was found in the area surrounding these rooms, but the rooms had been filled with soft sand, preserved and cleared of Middle Bronze Age evidence.

I've written extensively about these rooms, you can explore my blog for more, but Jerusalem's Temple Zero predicament challenges interpretations of Jewish law and tradition that preceded King David. Fundamentally, if this is Jacob's Beit El then established ancient traditions also declare it to be the site of the future, final temple, which competes with present views and raises questions that may be too hard for people to answer.

Stop the "fake news"!

Moses was told to gaze west, north, south and east (Deuteronomy - 3:27) similarly Jacob (Genesis 28:14), but Abram was told to look north, south, east and west (Genesis 13:14). The Me'Am Lo'ez says; one would expect east to be mentioned first since this is the direction of sunrise. However, Abram, their predecessor was in BethEl where the future Temple would be built.

About the whereabouts of this location, only one defining statement in all the 24 books of the Bible exists. Undisputed, 2Kings 23:4 states BethEl is the lower south-east slope of Mount Moriah, adjacent to the Kidron Valley in the City of David archaeological park, which is ancient Jerusalem from before the time of King David.

For more than 300 years Israel's tribal logic was dominated by Ephraim's envy over the southern boundary Benjamin shared with Judah, the location Abram was standing. Following King Davids ascension to Jerusalem and unification of the tribes, his son Solomon built the temple at the location. But, one generation later the exiled Jeroboam became King over a divided nation and established a temple of idolatry at Bethel, which is ~20km north of the location at ancient Jerusalem. The nation remained divided since that time.

Significantly, Jeroboam's actions left Israel confused until today. In northern Bethel, Professor Hagi Ben Artzi, the brother of Sarah Netanyahu argues it is the place Jacob experienced his famous dream of a stairway between heaven and earth on which angels were ascending and descending. And, archaeologist Eli Shukron argues the matzevah (monument) he recently discovered at BethEl, the location of Abram cannot be Jacob's because he was in Hagi Ben Artzi's Bethel (to the north) (see Eli @7:40 in the video below). 

The confusion has become endemic and logic circular causing many investigators to justify the ancient city of Ai  must also be ~20km to the north because that's where Bethel was and Abram is said to have pitched his tent between these two locations (Genesis 12:8). Despite the ancient city of Ai never being discovered academics happily defend their entrenched views.

Few have stopped to consider ancient Jerusalem is Mount Moriah, Salem of MalchiTzedek (Noah's son Shem), BethEl of Abram who became Abraham, akeida of Isaac, Luz and BethEl of Jacob's matzevah, Zion of King David and the Temple of King Solomon. Further that Abram could just as easily have pitched his tent opposite BethEl at the site of a Benedictine Monastery that is today a guesthouse called Maison d'Abraham - the House of Abraham. Finally that Ai could have been east of Maison d'Abraham toward the village Jabal Batin Alhawah.

Maison d'Abraham opposite BethEl in the reclaimed City of David.

Regardless, the irrefutable evidence that Eli Shukron discovered in 2011 is too impact-full to uphold the confusion that has permeated our logic for thousands of years. The temple complex in which the matzevah is located predates King David. Middle bronze age artifacts in the adjacent surroundings, the stone cut rooms of bedrock, preservation of the altar platform, liquids channel, oil and flour press are far too compelling to endure prevailing confusion. Further the middle bronze vessels found under the stone floor of homes built in the perimeter wall of the lower south-eastern valley floor, establishes occupation to the time of Abram. 

This enlightenment firmly establishes a path to realize this location. It is repeatedly referred in the Bible, a living text that is archaeologically established for at least 2300 years. It serves as Israel's permanent record which governments will be formed to express and a King appointed to realize Jerusalem's temple at this location that screams out for it.

Ancient Chronology of Jerusalem's Holy Rock

As updated October 2018

Believe it or not, you are looking at Jerusalem's Mount Moriah. This once deserted mountain, nested among others is one rock from top to bottom between an eastern and western valley. On its lower eastern face, near the water of the Gihon Spring its first permanent cave dwelling, a living space with three sleeping quarters was carved neatly in the mountainside rock. A narrow single access passage provided a concealed entry for its inhabitants. The dwelling must have passed through generations, but the periodically and sporadically occupied mountain mostly remained desolate and the cave empty of inhabitants.

Mount Moriah looking North

Bronze Age Cave Home

An important spiritual practitioner, perhaps an oracle, a priest and healer occasionally attracted visitors. Higher up the steep east facing slope, a ridge, a platform overlooked the water of the Gihon Spring as it ran along the Kidron valley floor. It became the meeting place for worshipers and advice seekers. Temporarily dwelling on the mountain they sought advice, prayed, brought sacrificial offerings and moved on.

Bronze Age artisans chipped away the bedrock of the ridge on the eastern face until hollow spaces formed depressions in the rock. The depressions were enlarged, shaped into rooms exposed to the sky. More rock-on-rock workmanship eventually smoothed vertical walls from the hollowed spaces, until the depressions became rectangular and bedrock walls arose from the bedrock floor that had been lowered by the artisans.

A low bedrock platform in room 3 was preserved by the artisans, it is the foundation of an altar and supports the holy purpose of the 4 rooms . Two rooms (1&3) preserved access to the rear (west), rising, undulating bedrock ridge, perhaps to facilitate movement of people, supplies or animals to be sacrificed.

Temple Zero complex on the high ridge

Archaeologist recently revealed that the openings in the rear (west) of room 1 and room 3 provided access to the rising bedrock (follow green arrow in images below). Iron Age houses were built on top of the rear bedrock, but the evidence uncovered proved they were destroyed during events of the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem. Their rudimentary basements penetrated to the spaces, near bedrock, at the rear of room 1 and 3, but their occupants never accessed these four rooms because in 2008 Eli Shukron discovered these rooms had been purposely buried in soft sand, concealed by a false wall on their eastern front, which he deconstructed.

In the rear opening of room 1, clay weights, once used as part of a weaving loom were discovered (Ronny Reich). Immediately north of this ridge Kathleen Kenyon excavated a trench behind a Middle Bronze Age wall in which pottery shards and hundreds of broken artifact idols were uncovered, but her dig did not discover these rooms.

Green Arrow (left) leads from the opening in rear of Room #1

The features chiseled into the bedrock were confirmed to have been made by rock implements and may have been added progressively. At some point after completion of room 2, a unique matzevah (massebah) or standing stone was placed onto the bedrock. This matzevah has been standing in its place, on the bedrock of the high ridge ever since it was first erected, preserved by the soft sand burial. Most likely this area was preserved before the Babylonian destruction, because it was cleared of artifacts and void of any destruction layer evidence found in the Iron Age rooms to the west.

Temple Zero with Matzevah

How long did room 2 exist before the matzevah was placed? Did room 2 serve an initial purpose other than for the placement of the matzevah? To answer some of these questions we will explore the Bronze Age cave home and ridge complex to chronologically estimate whether they were contextually related.

The cave dwelling on the lower eastern face was first re-discovered by Colonel Montague Parker and Père Vincent between 1909-1911. In the only published picture of the cave he is seen sitting with backer and writer Valter Juvelius. Although this cave was preceded by smaller paleolithic sites on the eastern face, this Chalcolithic to early Bronze Age cave is considerably more sophisticated.

Jerusalem's first mansion

To the north, an early Bronze Age tomb and advanced pottery were discovered by Parker-Vincent. The pottery and cave indicate the importance of the occupants and their relative prominence.

The living area of the cave dwelling and 3 sleeping quarters can be seen @ K 19,20,21 (bottom left)  of the map that Vincent compiled during his excavations. The rectangular area marks the site of the present excavations immediately west of the four rooms on the high or upper ridge (circled). 

In the Bronze Age water was first channeled from the natural Gihon Spring, on Mount Moriah's  eastern face to the round chamber that was eventually expanded to become the rock cut upper Gihon pool.

Round Chamber seen from above in bottom of picture

Round Chamber, narrow section of Upper Gihon Pool (north section)

Geophysical context for image above

The expanded upper Gihon pool, adjacent and north of the cave dwelling was apparently constructed to hold water and spill excess to the stream along the valley floor. However, water pressure and  mountain slope are unlikely to have filled much more than the lower sections of the round chamber. Bones of kosher animals, fish and many pictorial bullae were discovered in the pool. 

Red line denote north-south division preventing access to the High Ridge

Between the Cave dwelling and Upper Gihon Pool archaeologists have re-established an ancient stepped structure that was purposely quarried and terminated. It must have been the original access on the eastern face of the mountain.

Access from Cave Dwelling to High Ridge was terminated, now reestablished

Significantly and curiously the next major construction (to the north) appears to be the fortress above and over the Gihon Spring (House) and some of the eastern walls surrounding the city. The bedrock features left (south) of the red line, which were rediscovered by Eli Shukron and Ronnie Reich in 2008 have not been rendered into the black rectangle in the next artist impression and many artist interpretations like this fail to incorporate their significance. The impression below approximates the later Bronze, early Iron Age city around the time of Biblical Joshua.

Black rectangle marks area south of the red line

Archaeology clarified that water sourced from the Gihon Spring was not necessarily the object of the significant Gihon Fortress (David Citadel) construction. The image and map below demonstrates that water was originally channeled from the Gihon (left-north) to the middle Bronze Age Round Chamber (right-south of rock "B") and from there it flowed east to the valley floor. Once this became the default channel, the previous route may have been blocked to prevent water entering the Round Chamber, which expanded to the rock-cut upper Gihon pool, but excess water to the valley floor continued to flow freely.

See  location of Rock B in map below

The map below demonstrates the round chamber of the rock-cut upper Gihon pool (grey box) was first fed by Tunnel III. Channel II and Channel I indicate the by-pass discussed in the image above, which flowed water to the lower pool (adjacent to rock "B" located in map below). It also shows the Spring Tower Fortification (cream color) made of large boulders constructed on top and adjacent to the older grey rock-cut bedrock elements.

Water does not appear to have been the motivating reason for construction of the very significant Fortification adjacent to the Gihon Spring because water continued to flow to the valley floor during the Iron Age II until the reign of Hezekiah.

Fortification corridor looking west

The remaining Fortification massive boulders (image above - looking west) are neatly arranged up the steep eastern slope to eventually butt up to the city wall. This significant construction appears to have been designed to stop north-south access (across the red line) to the high ridge. The ultimate construction completely blocked access to the high ridge, including from the original lower bedrock of the now quarried upper Gihon pool and prioritized water flow to the lower Gihon pool, most likely blocking water flow to the upper pool.

The motivation for this most significant, multi-national, labor intensive construction of the Fortification corridor favors obfuscation of the high ridge and cave dwelling complex on the eastern face of Mount Moriah.

Whether or not the high ridge was obfuscated prior to or by King David or revealed during King David's reign or by Hezekiah during the construction of his channel remains unknown. However, matzevot, standing stones (like the matzevah on the high ridge) were not permitted after the period of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, as clearly commanded in the Bible.

Well before Herod, Solomon-David or Joshua, there was a matzevah erected on the high ridge of the eastern slope of Mount Moriah in a location that included a substantial cave dwelling and temple complex that was once used for regular holy worship. Temple Zero pre-dated temple one or two by more than 1000 years and is attributed to the time of Biblical Malchi-Tzedek.

The Matzevah is most likely the one erected by Jacob and the subject of many articles at this blog.