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Bible Exploration Guide article

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© israelimages.com<br />

Jericho<br />

Tell es-Sultan, suburb of Jericho.<br />

The city of Jericho is thought to<br />

be the oldest continuously inhabited<br />

city in the world. It is still quite famous<br />

worldwide—not as a powerful fortress<br />

standing above all others as its citizens<br />

might have desired, but as the city<br />

whose walls fell down. The remains of<br />

the Old Testament Jericho have been<br />

located, along with interesting artifacts<br />

of the period.<br />

Tell es-Sultan<br />

The fall of Jericho occurred in<br />

the time period of the Late Bronze Age<br />

(1550–1200 BC). The city was located<br />

on a spot known today as Tell es-Sultan. Tell means “mound.” Over the<br />

course of centuries, many cities are destroyed by war or other calamity<br />

and then rebuilt, with new construction taking place on the rubble of the<br />

previous construction. A detectable mound results as each new city is<br />

built on ground that is a few feet higher than its predecessor. The mound<br />

of ancient Jericho is approximately a mile northwest of modern Jericho.<br />

The mound itself is approximately 400 ✕ 200 yards. As archaeologists<br />

have discovered, many cities had been built on top of Jericho. The<br />

remains of more than twenty-four<br />

SAMPLE<br />

reconstructions have been discovered,<br />

10<br />

© Shutterstock


Greg Copeland © CPH<br />

including two sets of walls. Which level<br />

is the remains of the Jericho destroyed in<br />

Joshua 6 has not been determined.<br />

Center for Trade<br />

Jericho may be the oldest known<br />

town. The town was located at the<br />

entrance to the Palestinian hills<br />

and located on several trade routes.<br />

Because of its ideal location, the<br />

people who lived there most likely<br />

controlled the trade of items such as<br />

salt, sulfur, and bitumen.<br />

In addition, the town was, perhaps, also important for worship, since<br />

the name Jericho means “moon city.” The Canaanites worshiped a moon<br />

god. No doubt, the destruction of Jericho also showed the Canaanites that<br />

their god was not the true God.<br />

Jericho in the <strong>Bible</strong><br />

Jerusalem ●<br />

● Jericho<br />

Dead<br />

Sea<br />

Sea of<br />

Galilee<br />

Jericho was the first city God’s people conquered as they entered<br />

the Promised Land (Joshua 6). Joshua, who himself was once a spy,<br />

had sent spies to that specific destination to search out the land (Joshua<br />

2:1–3). Jericho is also the site of several New Testament events. It is<br />

near this city that Jesus healed blind men on several occasions (Matthew<br />

20:29–34; Mark 10:46–52; Luke 18:35–43). In Jericho, Jesus greeted and<br />

then dined with the not-so-tall Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1–9). Jericho was<br />

also the intended destination of the traveler who was attacked by robbers<br />

in Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:30–37.<br />

SAMPLE<br />

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