I know that this post is long over due, but this month has been quite hectic for me. I've had three ten page papers and 3 finals since coming back from Jordan, and, as much as I like keeping a blog, school had to come first.
So! Without any further delay, day two of Jordan:
That morning, in Ammon, we didn't have to drive too far because our first stop was within the city. Kind of like visiting the “historic” part of any city in the states, we stopped in ancient Ammon. Most of biblical Ammon has been built over with beautiful Roman architecture. I know that I've been getting a little tired of Roman stuff because I typically care much more about Old Testament sites, but this place was pretty cool. I mean, look at these pillars!:
How did they build that? It's not like they have cranes or computer technology or anything. Sometimes I don't think we give our ancient cultures enough credit. Anyways, as much as I liked exploring the Roman remains, lets get down to the important stuff. According to Genesis 19, we know that Ammon's people came from Lot's daughters. And by Lot's daughters I mean, when Sodom and Gamora fell they decided to sleep with their father to keep the family line going. So Ammon is both the son and grandchild of Lot. I always used to make fun of my mom's genealogy for being a bunch of inbred quakers, but I guess they were just being biblical. Hah! I kid! Seriously, it's a little gross. But Ammon really did get the short end of the stick, as far as land goes. In the midst of the beautiful Gilead area that is so full of farm-able country land, prosperous in trees, Ammon got a little bowl of land with less profitable resources and not much room for expansion – not that they didn't try. We read of countless attempts by the Ammonites to expand up towards Damascus and West into Judah in the book of Judges and in the book of Samuel, during the reign of Saul. Also, Solomon's son and successor, Rehoboam the idiot king was a son of an Ammonite woman. And, as if they didn't cause enough issues in the beginning, they were also most likely some of the pagan women that the Israelites married during exile that Nehemiah told them to divorce. Thanks for nothing Ammon. This is why you don't inter-marry!
After learning about all that loveliness, we were allowed to explore a museum at the site. It was interesting. There was turkish coffee and some really pretty painted pottery. Also, some plastered skulls and another skull that had been lobotomized. Just what I want to see first thing in the morning. I suppose it was worth the trip just for the caffeine boost. We had stayed at a 5 star hotel the night before but they couldn't make good coffee. Go figure.
Then we went to Jaresh, another Roman site. Noteworthy things of mention:
Hadrien's arch -
A really well preserved and reconstructed arch. This thing is absolutely huge.
And the temple to Artemis-
It was mostly a lot of walking around and “ooh”ing and “aah”ing at the architecture. I guess it was cool, but I did not need to spend several hours looking at the whole thing.
On the way to our next stop, we pulled over by the side of the Jabbok River to get a preview into what we would be studying on day 3 of the trip. It was beautiful. Check it out:
This is where Jacob crossed on his way back into Canaan to start taking the lands for the tribes of Israel. It also eventually became the boundary marker between the tribes of Reuben and Gad. But, I like to think that it's more famously known for where Jacob wrestled with the angel of God and was renamed Israel. From birth, Jacob and Esau fought. Coming out of the womb, Esau pulled back Jacob so that he could be born first. They were the exact opposite. Esau was a wild hunter and Jacob was a civilized person who stayed at home and took care of matters there. Esau impulsively gave up his birth right for food, while Jacob deceived his father for the birthright blessing. A blessing that reflected on his future nation – wealthy and resourceful. When this happens, Esau reacts angrily and causes Jacob to flee from the land and seek his future wife. For the next several years, he works and toils for the wife whom he loves, Rachel. By the time God tells him to return to the land of his father, I'm sure that he feels as if he's been struggling with man his whole life. In reality, he was struggling with trusting and relying on God. From the point where God renames him, he seems to fully accept God as the one and only god.
Our last stop of the day is known as “Iraq”... not the country Iraq! Haha. No, it's actually a biblical site in Jordan that just happens to be named Iraq. But I thought it was a funny name. It's actually an old pleasure palace in Ammon, close to Jerusalem, that was owned by the Tobias family. Now the Tobias family is seemingly first mentioned by Josephus, but they seem to all ready be a well-established family in Ammon by the time he mentions them. So, who are they? Well, looking back in the Old Testament, there is a Tobias of Ammon mentioned in Nehemiah that opposed the rebuilding of Jerusalem. Why, though? Why would this Ammonite care so much? The family is mentioned previously in Ezra as one of the priestly families who tried to return from exile, but couldn't. See, a lot of families dropped their family names in exile in Babylon in order to conform to the Babylonian culture more and grow in the ranks among the wealthy people and royalty. And when they tried to return to Jerusalem, they could no longer prove their family history. Without which, they could not be considered a true Israelite. The Tobias family, is one of those. So, if they had been a priestly family pre-exile, then it makes sense that they would want to carry on their wealth and stature in Babylon by changing their last name and embracing Babylonian culture. Maybe they opposed the rebuilding of the temple because they had once been part of the priests but were not allowed back. But let's delve back even further than the exile. There's an Ammonite family of “Tob” mentioned in 2 Samuel 10:6 that was hired to fight against King David, and, even further back than that, in Judges 11:1-9 is the “land of Tob” in Ammon. So, there seems to be a family that is well established in Ammon that later tries to come into Jerusalem as a priestly family that can't prove their Jewishness. The question is, are they Ammonite or Isrealite? This is why I want to study genealogy and cultural backgrounds of the Bible, to try and figure out mysteries like this.
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