GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT ISRAEL

The Sea of Galilee is 12 miles long, 7 miles wide and 150 ft. deep. It is 700 ft. below sea level. It is the main source of water for Israel. The Jordan River flows into it at the top and flows out of it at the bottom, continuing on to the Dead Sea.

The Dead Sea is 1300 ft. below sea level - the lowest point on the face of the earth. It is 50 miles long and 10 miles wide. The lowest place in the United States is Death Valley, California, at 180 ft. below sea level, for comparison.

The Moabite Mountains are on the east bank of the Dead Sea. Aroer is the capital of the Moabite Nation in the country of Jordan, about 30 miles away from the Sea. Mt. Nebo is about 10 miles from the Moabite Mountains. Mt. Pisgah is one of the three peaks in that range of mountains.

Jericho, captured by Joshua, the first city burned by him, was about 10 acres in size. There are 18 layers of civilization on top of the location of Jericho now, as is true of many, many locations in Israel. So many Jews have entered Israel since it became a country, housing has been a problem. Dwellings, apartments, houses have been built on top of previous civilizations, so that when you dig, you find ruins almost everywhere. Contractors have a problem when they begin construction and find ruins, because they are supposed to report the ruins. The people must have housing, so ruins thousands of years old, will never be excavated because buildings are there now.

The Eastern Gate in the wall around Jerusalem was sealed by the Turks about 400 years ago. They sealed it so that a Messiah could not come through it. There is a Jewish cemetery in front of it, as well as covering the hillsides of the Mt. of Olives. The Jews believe that Jesus will return through that Eastern Gate and they want to be the first to see him.

From the Eastern Gate of the City, you walk down a short incline, the side of Mt. Moriah, into the Kidron Valley and immediately up another incline to the Mt. of Olives and the Garden of Gethsemane. Everything in Israel is close, because of the size of the country.

The Kidron Valley is also called Jehoshaphat Valley. Jehoshaphat means "Valley of God's Judgment." The Jews and Muslims believe the last judgment will take place there.

Jerusalem is set on two hills. The first hill is Mt. Moriah and the second hill is called the Western Hill. There are three valleys. Hinnom or Gehenna Valley circles almost to the middle of Jerusalem, making a U shape. The three valleys come together to form a shape like a W.

The Dead Sea Scrolls were found in caves about ten miles from Bethlehem, in 1947, discovered accidentally by a Bedouin boy (the meaning of Bedouin is Desert Dwellers). They were contained in jars. The scrolls are now housed in Jerusalem, placed in a building designed and built especially for them. The building is shaped like the jars they were found in.

There were about 800 scrolls found: almost all of the Old Testament is included in the scrolls. There is a long scroll, called The Temple Scroll, that describes how the temple should look.

About half of these scrolls are Bible scrolls and others tell of daily life, routine and disciplines of the Jews. Six copies of Isaiah were found. There was a total of about 15 caves where the scrolls were discovered.

The Valley of Gehenna is to the left of the city of Jerusalem, or almost included in it now. This is believed to be the valley where Solomon offered sacrifices, including sacrifices of children, probably including his own, after he married strange wives .