Gegraptai

This is Tel Rehov. As you may notice, there is an upper mound and a lower mound. We are digging in the lower mound, in the Iron IIA strata of Area C.

Classmates working on a new square.

Here is the area where I am excavating. I’m digging in the area just behind the famous beehives (which are covered). Interestingly, the area I’m excavating and the beehives seem to be in the same stratum, though they are at different levels. Hopefully as we excavate farther, we’ll figure out what is going on here.

A 3,000-year-old mud brick building in Area C excavated last season.

This is a horn from a horned altar uncovered by a classmate working in a new square. Several of these altars, including one complete one (which was featured in an article in the latest issue of BAR), have been found at Tel Rehov, particularly in Area C. This was a really exciting find.

Here is a destruction layer in which the ash from the razed city is visible in the stratigraphy.

Fallen mud bricks embedded in the balk—probably caused by an earthquake.

This is what looks to be the base of a red clay cooking pot that we began uncovering in my square just before the day ended. We’re quite sure that this area was a courtyard, and several blackened potsherds and a small bit of charred material might indicate that this was the cooking area. If this turns out to be a cooking pot when we finish uncovering it tomorrow, hopefully we’ll find an oven too.

I’m here … and as you can see from the pictures below, I’m really suffering. We’re staying at the kibbutz Nir David, which is far nicer a place than I expected to stay for a dig.

Yep, we’re in Israel.

Our cabin at the kibbutz.

We have a hot tub in our cabin. Like I said: we’re roughing it.

This place is really just awful.

Cliff jumping in the river that runs through the kibbutz.

You can see that the kibbutz is quite literally an oasis. Behind all the greenery around the river is just desert.

We just relaxed today, but tomorrow excavation begins at 5:00am. In the next couple of days, then, I’ll actually have some pictures of our dig site, Tel Rehov.

Ἐτρέχετε καλῶς˙ τίς ὑμᾶς ἐνέκοψεν τῇ ἀληθείᾳ μὴ πείθεσθαι¹; ἡ² πεισμονὴ οὐκ ἐκ τοῦ καλοῦντος ὑμᾶς. μικρὰ ζύμη ὅλον τὸ φύραμα ζυμοῖ. ἐγὼ πέποιθα³ εἰς ὑμᾶς ἐν κυρίῳ ὅτι οὐδὲν ἄλλο φρονήσετε˙ ὁ δὲ ταράσσων ὑμᾶς βαστάσει τὸ κρίμα, ὅστις ἐὰν ᾖ. ἐγὼ δέ, ἀδελφοί εἰ περιτομὴν ἔτι κηρύσσω, τί ἔτι διώκομαι; ἄρα κατήργηται τὸ σκάνδαλον τοῦ σταυροῦ. ὄφελον καὶ ἀποκόψονται οἱ ἀναστατοῦντες ὑμᾶς. Ὑμεῖς γὰρ ἐπ᾽ ἐλευθερίᾳ ἐκλήθητε, ἀδελφοί˙ μόνον μὴ τὴν ἐλευθερίαν εἰς ἀφορμὴν τῇ σαρκί, ἀλλὰ διὰ τῆς ἀγάπης δουλεύετε ἀλλήλοις. ὁ γὰρ πᾶς νόμος ἐν ἑνὶ λόγῳ πεπλήρωται, ἐν τῷ⁴ Ἀγαπήσεις⁵ τὸν πλησίον σου ὡς σεαυτόν. εἰ δὲ ἀλλήλους δάκνετε καὶ κατεσθίετε, βλέπετε μὴ ὑπ᾽ ἀλλήλων ἀναλωθῆτε.

You were running well; who hindered you so that you are not persuaded by the truth? Such deceptive persuasion is not from the one who calls you. A little yeast leavens the whole lump of dough. I am persuaded regarding you in the Lord that you will think nothing different; but the one who is confusing you will bear condemnation, whoever that one is. But I, brothers and sisters, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? Then the stumbling block of the cross has been rendered powerless. I wish even that those who are confusing you would castrate themselves. For you were called for freedom, brothers and sisters; only, not the freedom for an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For all the law has been fulfilled in one word, in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you are biting and devouring one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.

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Vocab:

Ἐτρέχετε - imperf. act. ind. 2 pl. from τρέχω: to run

ἐνέκοψεν - aor. act. ind. 3 sg. from ἐγκόπτω: to cut into, impede one’s course; to hinder

ζύμη - nom. sg. fem.: yeast, leaven; so, ζυμοῖ - pres. act. ind. 3 sing. from ζυμόω: to leaven

φύραμα - acc. sg. neut.: a lump of dough

ταράσσων - pres. act. part. nom. sing. masc. from ταράσσω: to cause one inner commotion; to disturb or perplex the mind by suggesting scruples or doubts; to confuse

βαστάσει - fut. act. ind. 3 sg. from βαστάζω: to bear, carry

διώκομαι - pres. pass. ind. 1 sg. from διώκω: to persecute, mistreat

σκάνδαλον - nom. sg. neut.: a trap, snare; stumbling block

κατήργηται - peft. pass. ind. 3 sg. from καταργέω: to render inoperative or powerless

ἀφορμὴν - acc. sg. fem.: an occasion, opportunity

πλησίον - acc. sg. neut.: a neighbor

δάκνετε - pres. act. ind. 2 pl. from δάκνω: to bite

κατεσθίετε - pres. act. ind. 2 pl. from κατεσθίω: to consume, devour

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Notes:

¹ Infinitive of result. A simple “to” usually won’t do for this use of the infinitive; hence, so that, etc.

² This article is anaphoric, pointing back to the “persuasion” that has just been mentioned (πείθεσθαι); hence, this, such, etc.

³ According to BDAG, this verb has a present passive meaning in the perfect active.

⁴ This partially independent article bears a demonstrative force (in this …). (The article was originally a demonstrative pronoun, by the way.)

⁵ The cohortative indicative, most common in quotations from the OT in which the Hebrew has been translated literally.

I just want to throw this out there — I’m very grateful that WordPress has a spam filter for comments. I just deleted 28 disgusting spam comments from the queue, and I’m really glad they never made it onto my blog.

Note that I have added a page on which I list online resources for biblical studies by category. (The link is at the top right. Also, here.) I will continue adding to the list when I find new useful resources. If anyone knows of anything that I’ve missed, I would love to know about it. I hope someone may find the page useful.

UPDATE: I’ve updated the resources page. I added a few more resources and categories, and I changed the layout so that it is better organized.

A good Christmas Eve text, from Philippians 2:5-11:

τουτο φρονειτε εν υμιν ο και εν Χριστω Ιησου, ος εν μορφη θεου υπαρχων ουχ αρπαγμον ηγησατο το ειναι ισα θεω, αλλα εαυτον εκενωσεν μορφην δουλου λαβων, εν ομοιωματι ανθρωπων γενομενος: και σχηματι ευρεθεις ως ανθρωπος εταπεινωσεν εαυτον γενομενος υπηκοος μεχρι θανατου, θανατου δε σταυρου. διο και ο θεος αυτον υπερυψωσεν και εχαρισατο αυτω το ονομα το υπερ παν ονομα, ινα εν τω ονοματι Ιησου παν γονυ καμψη επουρανιων και επιγειων και καταχθονιων και πασα γλωσσα εξομολογησηται οτι κυριος Ιησους Χριστος εις δοξαν θεου πατρος.

“Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not consider equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of humankind. And being found as a human in appearance, he lowered himself by making himself obedient unto death, even death on a cross.  Therefore, God also raised him to supreme majesty and granted him the name which is above every name, so that at Jesus’ name every knee will bow—those in heaven and those on earth and those under the earth—and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, for the glory of God the Father.”

After a long sabbatical, I’ve decided it’s about time to start blogging again.  Hopefully it’ll stay up and updated this time around.  We’ll see…