Today, we went on a tiyul to the City of David. We learned a lot about the past kings and their successes and failures. King Saul, though having good intentions, had many failures. First, Saul gives an offering to god without his prophet, Samuel, present, and in doing so god is no longer on his side. Next, Saul does not kill the king of Amalekites and takes the best spoils of his conquest, which goes against god’s will. All that Saul did was with good intentions. Saul also had a huge victory against the Amalek kingdom and united all twelve tribes of Israel. King David was also a very important king, though unlike Saul, we mostly focus on David’s accomplishments. David had many significant military victories, such as his capture of Jerusalem and reclaiming of the Ark of the Covenant. David was also admired and followed by many in general. But, he wasn’t as great as most perceive him to be. He slept with his faithful soldier Uriah’s wife and killed him off in battle.
Modern day city
The next important aspect of our tiyul was the geographical significance. David was very strategic in choosing his new kingdom. When he first saw the city of Jebus, he noticed the two deep valleys on either side of where the city lay, on Mt. Moriah. These two valleys are called the Kidron and the Hagai. The city was also surrounded by a large wall, giving it ample defense. The Gihon spring located just outside of the city was an adequate water source as well. The natural spring and open area surrounding would also make for good agricultural land. Two cities lay on either side of the Kingdom of David as well, which would make for good trading. There are a multitude of other reasons David chose this location, but these few stood out most to me during our Tiyul.
Kidron Valley
We also learned about some artifacts and sites excavated in this city. The discovery of the large water channels was very important because it gave historicity to the story of David capturing Jebus through the water channels. In my opinion, the most compelling artifact mentioned was the tablet found in a water channel in the city. This tablet references David and his kingdom. This gives the biblical story of David at least some historicity. Stamps with the name of a documented biblical character were also recovered. These stamps were found in the place the Bible story indicated their owner to be.
Water channels
When the stories we hear in the tanakh and torah align with historical artifacts and real places it makes me believe more unproven stories may very well be true. This also puts our history into perspective for me. To walk in the places our ancestors walked makes reading their stories more interesting and relevant. It also gives you a new perspective on their struggles, and lets you come to your own conclusion on what is or isn’t true. How did the tiyul to the City of David make you feel more connected to the biblical characters we read about? How did it affect your opinion on the
stories in the Torah and Tanakh
This trip made me feel very connected to the biblical characters we read about because it shows historical evidence that these characters actually existed. All of the ancient artifacts show that these people actually lived in these places and did all of the things that were written in the Tanach. My opinion was affected by this tiyul because it allowed me to further uncover the value of the writings in the Tanach and Torah. It placed the ideas written inside into perspective and reality
ReplyDeleteThe tiyul to the City of David made me feel more connected to the biblical characters/events in what we read in the Tanakh by personal witnessing the landscape and the tunnels that were proven to be around the time period of the City of David. Looking at a map of the City of David, you can see that the City of David is surrendered by valleys and has a water main source outside the Jerusalem walls; however, by personally witnessing the historicity of the City of David, I get a better concept of the advantages of settling where the City of King David had settled. In addition, the Tanakh is considered to be a secondary source but once there is evidence of historicity of what is in the Tanakh, it immediately becomes a primary source. The tiyul to the City of David affected my opinion on the stories in the Torah and Tanakh by making me believe that not all stories that come from the Tanakh are fiction. For example, the City of King David is one of many examples of the Torah/Tanakh that has psychological evidence to back up the readings.
ReplyDeleteFor me, seeing and walking in the places we read and learn about both physically and mentally connects us to the struggles and issues from stories in the tanakh. For example; being able to visit a geographic location that had such an impact in one of the tanakh's stories helps me better visualize and understand the story's situation; such as David's thinking for choosing Juda to be his nation's capital. Although one, (myself included), might not reference everything in the tanakh/torah to be true, being able to find genuine historicity helps us close a gap between a story and an event, or the difference between regarding someone as a biblical character to a once real and living human. For this reason, I wouldn't say my opinion on stories of the tanakh has changed, but I do believe in a possibility that other artifacts and evidence are out there unfound that could give historicity to some of the tankah's other stories.
ReplyDeleteOn our tiyul to the City of David, just like our other tiyulim so far this semester, I have felt extremely connected to biblical times and characters. Rather than just listening in class to an account of what supposedly happened or by reading about it in the tanakh, we have a more hands on experience where we can see the physical place where these things happened. In this way, it gives me a reason to believe that many of these biblical stories hold more truth than I had once previously believed. I also feel more connected to our ancestors and thankful for those who were the foundation for modern times.
ReplyDeleteThe tiyul to the city of david made me feel extremely connected to the biblical characters we read about. Before, I just thought that most of the stuff written about in the tanakh was simply false. However, after going there, I realize that there are a ton of connections between what we saw and what is actually written in biblical text. This made the characters really come alive in my opinion. I also thought that seeing the water tunnel gave some historicity to the story of David capturing Jebus through the water tunnels.
ReplyDeletePhysically being in the old city, surrounded by artifacts, allowed me to feel more connected to the biblical characters we read about because I was able to visually see the cave/water chamber they dug out, not just read about it.
ReplyDeleteBeing there, and seeing artifacts that proved historicity only strengthened my opinions ( both sides) of the Tanakh.
For me I have a very rough time connecting with things that I can not physically approach. For me, finally being in the city of David made me be able to think about the Tanakh in a historical sense rather than a theological one. Am I fully convinced that everything in the book happened? Of course not! But I'm definitely one step closer to understanding why it may have.
ReplyDeleteThe city of David tiyul made me feel more connected to the tanach and the biblical characters in it because it finally created a bridge of hard core evidence, and the stories of the Tanach. This helped me to believe that some of the stories of the ancient Israelites in biblical times, may have been true. Additionally, I found it very meaningful to walk through a cave that was built by the ancient Israelites, because we were standing in the same spot they were.
ReplyDeleteThe trip to the City of David definitely helped me visualize the stories we were learning about because it allowed me to actually see the valleys that David may have scouted, and the spring the people used. I really like being able to connect actual artifacts and places to the stories because it makes me much less skeptical about their historicity and makes them more interesting in general.
ReplyDeleteFor me, the tiyul to the City of David added some historicity to certain characters and stories in the Tanakh. This in turn made me feel more connected with some biblical characters as I knew that they had walked where I had walked. Being where they had stood also reminded me how we are all human and they were no larger than life than I am today. It is sometimes hard to remember that the biblical people, if they existed, were just as normal as us.
ReplyDeleteThe trip to the old city of David really helped me actually see the stories. Being able to explore where all of these events actually happened is amazing and it really helps me remember all of the event even better. I like being able to actually see the artifacts and tunnels and walls we learn about because it makes me feel more connected and more engaged into what we are learning
ReplyDeleteSeeing the City of David and exploring tunnels that were said to be actually used in the siege of Jerusalem made me feel a lot more connected to the actual history of the city. Learning about the history was informative, but actually being able to experience the atmosphere and environment first hand made me feel like I actually understood the historical importance. This experience also helped me to understand the validity of the stories we learn and I feel like I believe it more when I can see the evidence.
ReplyDeleteThis trip was truely eye opening. The fact that they discovered places that were talked about in the tanahk thousands of years ago is extremely interesting to me and makes me wonder what other events/places from the tanahk have yet to be discovered/verified.
ReplyDeleteBeing in the City of David helped me feel more connected to the stories we learn about during class. It helps me to believe that there is truth behind the Tanach, because suddenly we aren't just learning by words on paper, but by actually experiencing what the people went through. It helped connect me to the characters because we were walking the same land the people walked on, and seeing the same views that they did.
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