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Bible teaching with an emphasis on Israel, prophecy and the Jewish roots of Christianity

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Episode: “Shadows from the Past”

A chamber of tombs, near the Garden Tomb but dated to the time of the First Temple, help us understand the burial customs of that day. We visit the Qumran cave where the first Dead Sea Scroll was found.

Series: “The Stones Cry Out (2012)”

In recent decades, many marvelous, new archaeological discoveries have greatly illuminated and validated the biblical record. In order to film the archaeological sites and interview the experts, Zola Levitt, Thomas McCall, and the production crew of Zola Levitt Presents journeyed to Israel and Jordan. We found that, just as our Lord said about this remarkable Land, indeed The Stones Cry Out. (Luke 19:40) Myles and Katharine Weiss host this encore presentation, examining the archaeological discoveries that shed light on the Bible.

Transcript

Caption transcript for The Stones Cry Out (2012): “Shadows from the Past” (8/12)

00:02 (♪ "The Stones Cry Out" ♪)
00:23 Male Singer: ♪ IF NO ONE STANDS TO SPEAK, ♪
00:29 ♪ IF NO ONE PRAYS, ♪
00:34 ♪ THESE VERY STONES CRY OUT ♪
00:41 ♪ "I AM." ♪♪
00:47 Myles: SHALOM AND WELCOME
00:48 TO ZOLA LEVITT PRESENTS.
00:49 I'M MYLES WEISS.
00:50 Katharine: AND I'M
00:51 KATHARINE WEISS AND WE WANT
00:52 TO WELCOME YOU BACK
00:53 TO OUR SERIES,
00:54 "THE STONES CRY OUT."
00:56 IT'S A WONDERFUL SERIES
00:57 UNEARTHING THE TREASURES
01:00 THAT GOD'S ORDAINED US
01:01 TO FIND IN THIS TIME.
01:03 Myles: YES, REALLY,
01:04 ARCHAEOLOGY VERIFYING THE TRUTH
01:05 OF THE BIBLE.
01:06 AND, IN FACT, OUR RESOURCE
01:07 THIS WEEK IS THIS VERY SERIES,
01:10 THE ORIGINAL SERIES,
01:11 "THE STONES CRY OUT."
01:12 WE'LL HEAR MORE ABOUT THAT
01:13 LATER IN THE PROGRAM.
01:15 THIS PROGRAM IS GOING TO TALK
01:16 ABOUT THE FIRST TEMPLE,
01:18 GO BACK THAT FAR AND ESTABLISH
01:20 THE JEWISH PRESENCE IN THE LAND.
01:22 SO LET'S GO ON LOCATION
01:23 RIGHT NOW
01:24 AS DR. TOM McCALL INTERVIEWS
01:26 ARCHAEOLOGIST GABRIEL BARKAY.
01:31 Tom: MOST OF US ARE FAMILIAR
01:32 WITH THIS TOMB, REFERRED TO
01:33 AS THE "GARDEN TOMB."
01:35 IT WAS DISCOVERED
01:36 BY CHARLES GORDON IN 1883.
01:40 WHAT FEW PEOPLE HAVE SEEN,
01:41 HOWEVER,
01:42 LIES JUST 100 YARDS AWAY.
01:45 THIS MAGNIFICENT BURIAL CAVE
01:47 IS CARVED 43 FEET DEEP
01:49 INTO THE BEDROCK
01:51 OF A DOMINICAN MONASTERY.
01:53 ACCORDING TO ARCHAEOLOGIST
01:54 GABI BARKAY, DATES TO THE TIME
01:57 OF THE 1st TEMPLE.
02:00 Gabi: TOMBS IN GENERAL
02:01 AND BURIAL CAVES, THEY GIVE US,
02:05 I THINK, THE BEST REFLECTION
02:07 OF SOCIETY IN ANTIQUITY,
02:09 AND THEY GIVE US A VARIETY
02:12 OF FIELDS OF KNOWLEDGE.
02:14 THEY TEACH US A LOT ABOUT
02:16 DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF LIFE
02:18 IN ANTIQUITY.
02:19 FOR EXAMPLE, THIS CAVE
02:21 IS LOCATED ABOUT HALF A MILE
02:23 DISTANCE FROM THE CITY
02:24 OF JERUSALEM.
02:26 THE QUESTION IS WHY WAS IT
02:27 PUSHED THAT FAR?
02:28 WE CAN COME TO THE CONCLUSION
02:30 THAT THERE WERE EXTRAMURAL
02:32 SUBURBS FILLING IN THE GAP
02:34 BETWEEN THE LOCATION OF
02:35 THIS CAVE AND THE ANCIENT CORE
02:39 OF THE CITY OF DAVID.
02:41 THE BURIAL CUSTOMS HERE,
02:42 THEY SHOW US THE IMPORTANCE
02:44 OF FAMILY IN THE LIVES
02:45 OF THESE PEOPLE.
02:47 IT SHOWS US THEIR CONCEPT
02:49 OF AFTERLIFE.
02:50 EVEN SPIRITUAL ASPECTS ARE
02:52 TAUGHT BY THE BURIAL CUSTOMS.
02:56 WE CAN UNDERSTAND MUCH BETTER
02:58 BIBLICAL VERSES WHEN WE STUDY
03:02 THE BURIAL CUSTOMS AND WHEN WE
03:03 STUDY THE ARCHITECTURE
03:05 OF THESE CAVES.
03:06 THIS BURIAL CAVE, FOR EXAMPLE,
03:08 SERVED A NOBLE FAMILY
03:09 OF JERUSALEM
03:10 WHO LIVED MOST PROBABLY
03:12 IN ONE OF THOSE EXTRAMURAL
03:14 OUTER SUBURBS OF THE CITY.
03:17 AND NO DOUBT THAT THEY WISHED
03:20 TO COPY FOR THE DECEASED
03:23 OF THE FAMILY THE CONDITIONS
03:25 THAT THEY HAD IN THEIR LIFETIME.
03:29 THIS ELABORATE BURIAL CAVE
03:31 IS NOTHING BUT A COPY
03:33 OF THE PALACE ARCHITECTURE,
03:36 WHICH WAS THERE IN JERUSALEM.
03:39 YOU CAN SEE IT VERY CLEARLY
03:40 BY THE FACT THAT WE ARE STANDING
03:42 HERE IN THE HALL, WHICH IS--
03:45 THE HEIGHT OF THE CEILING
03:46 IS TWICE OUR HEIGHT.
03:49 OF COURSE, THE ORIGINAL DWELLERS
03:51 OF THIS BURIAL CAVE, THEY
03:52 ENTERED IN A HORIZONTAL POSITION
03:55 BECAUSE THEY WERE
03:56 PRETTY MUCH DEAD.
03:58 SO, THEY DON'T NEED THIS HEIGHT.
04:00 THIS HEIGHT IS SOMETHING WHICH
04:02 REFLECTS THE CUSTOMS OF BUILDING
04:08 IN PALATIAL ARCHITECTURE.
04:11 Zola: THIS FLOOR PLAN OF
04:12 THE TOMB SHOWS HOW PALATIAL
04:13 THE FAMILY HOME MUST HAVE BEEN.
04:16 THE GRAND ENTRANCE CHAMBER
04:17 IS SURROUNDED BY SMALLER
04:18 BURIAL CHAMBERS DESIGNATED
04:20 FOR VARIOUS FAMILY MEMBERS.
04:23 ONE OF THE ROOMS
04:24 TOWARD THE ENTRANCE WAS USED
04:25 TO PREPARE THE DEAD FOR BURIAL.
04:27 GABI TAKES US INTO
04:28 ONE OF THE BURIAL CHAMBERS.
04:32 Gabi: WE ARE HERE
04:33 IN A TYPICAL BURIAL CHAMBER
04:36 OF THE 1st TEMPLE PERIOD.
04:37 THERE ARE SEVERAL OF THIS TYPE
04:40 INSIDE THIS LARGE BURIAL COMPLEX
04:45 IN WHICH WE ARE RIGHT NOW.
04:48 THE CHAMBER IS SQUARE IN SHAPE
04:52 AND IT IS SUBDIVIDED BY
04:55 A CENTRAL PASSAGEWAY WHICH
04:56 HAS STEPS AT ITS END AND
04:58 IT IS FLANKED ON BOTH SIDES BY
05:01 ELEVATED BURIAL BENCHES,
05:04 ONE OF WHICH,
05:05 UPON WHICH I SIT RIGHT NOW,
05:07 IS AT THE BACK OF THE CHAMBER.
05:09 SO WE HAVE
05:10 THREE ELEVATED BENCHES.
05:12 SIMULTANEOUSLY IN ANTIQUITY,
05:14 THEY PUT FOUR BODIES
05:16 STRETCHED ON THE BENCHES.
05:19 HERE, YOU CAN SEE THE HEADREST
05:21 OF ONE OF THE DECEASED.
05:24 THIS IS MADE IN THE SHAPE
05:25 OF A HORSESHOE
05:27 WITH TWO ROUNDED CURLS
05:30 AT BOTH ENDS OF THE HORSESHOE.
05:33 IT IS AN IMITATION OF THE HAIRDO
05:35 OF THE EGYPTIAN DEITY HATHOR.
05:39 THE BODIES WERE STRETCHED ON TOP
05:41 OF THE BENCHES AND THEN, AFTER
05:45 APPROXIMATELY A YEAR, THEY TOOK
05:47 THE BONES AND THE BURIAL GIFTS,
05:50 WHICH WERE DEPOSITED,
05:54 TOGETHER WITH THE BODIES,
05:55 THEY TOOK THEM DOWN
05:56 INTO A HOLLOW AREA
05:59 UNDERNEATH THE BENCHES.
06:01 THIS IS THE REPOSITORY.
06:03 THIS IS THE ENTRANCE
06:04 OF THE REPOSITORY.
06:06 INSIDE THIS REPOSITORY, WE STILL
06:08 SEE THE BONES OF THE DECEASED,
06:11 PART OF WHICH COULD WELL BE
06:15 ORIGINAL BONES DATING BACK
06:16 TO 1st TEMPLE PERIOD.
06:19 Zola: THERE IS ANOTHER CHAMBER
06:20 AT THE REAR OF THE COMPLEX
06:21 WHERE ARCHAEOLOGISTS
06:22 FOUND THE REMAINS
06:23 OF THREE SARCOPHAGI,
06:25 OR STONE COFFINS,
06:26 HEWN OUT OF THE LIVING ROCK.
06:28 THIS BURIAL CUSTOM
06:29 IS REFERRED TO IN 2 KINGS 22:20;
06:39 THESE OSSUARY ON DISPLAY AT
06:41 THE ISRAEL MUSEUM, WERE USED TO
06:43 HOLD THE BONES OF THE DECEASED.
06:46 THE DIRECTOR OF THE MUSEUM,
06:47 TALKS ABOUT ONE VERY SPECIAL
06:49 OSSUARY BEARING THE NAME
06:51 OF THE HIGH PRIEST, CAIAPHAS.
06:53 Dr. Martin Weyl: THE BOX
06:54 YOU ARE LOOKING AT THIS MOMENT
06:55 IS NOT A JEWELRY BOX.
06:58 IT IS A BOX MADE OUT
07:00 OF LIMESTONE, THE LOCAL STONE.
07:03 DURING THE PERIOD OF
07:04 THE 2nd TEMPLE, THE BONES
07:06 OF THE DEAD WERE DEPOSED
07:08 IN SUCH BOXES AND, THEREFORE,
07:10 IT IS CALLED AN OSSUARY.
07:12 IN LATIN "OS" MEANS "BONE".
07:16 SUCH BOXES, AFTER THE BONES WERE
07:20 DEPOSITED IN THEM, USUALLY WERE
07:22 THEN PUT INTO CAVES IN
07:24 THE PROTECTED AREA WHERE
07:25 SOMETIMES WHOLE FAMILIES
07:27 KEPT TOGETHER THE BONES
07:30 OF THEIR FAMILY.
07:32 WE HAVE MANY.
07:33 WE HAVE MAYBE HUNDREDS
07:34 OF THOUSANDS OF BOXES LIKE
07:36 THESE OSSUARIES THAT WERE FOUND
07:37 IN THE COUNTRY.
07:39 BUT THIS OSSUARY IS SO SPECIAL
07:41 BECAUSE IT HAS AN INSCRIPTION
07:42 WHICH MENTIONS THE BONES,
07:45 THE NAME OF THE BONES
07:46 OF THE PERSON
07:47 THAT WAS BURIED IN THE BOX.
07:49 THE NAME THAT IS MENTIONED
07:50 IN HERE IS JOSEPHUS CAIAPHAS
07:54 AND THE FAMILY OF CAIAPHAS
07:55 IS WELL KNOWN TO US
07:56 FROM SEVERAL SOURCES;
07:58 THE FIRST SOURCE
07:59 BEING THE TALMUD.
08:01 WE KNOW ABOUT THE FAMILY
08:04 THAT THEY WERE HIGH PRIESTS
08:05 IN THE TEMPLE.
08:06 THEY WERE NOT OFTEN LIKED AT
08:08 THE PERIOD BUT IT WAS APPARENTLY
08:10 A VERY ARISTOCRATIC FAMILY
08:12 BELONGING TO THE GROUP OF JEWS
08:14 WHO WERE CALLED THE SADDUCEES.
08:17 THE SECOND CASE WE KNOW THE NAME
08:19 FROM IS FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT.
08:21 THIS IS ONE OF
08:22 THE VERY FEW CASES THAT WE HAVE
08:24 AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE
08:26 FOR THE NEW TESTAMENT.
08:28 Tom: ONE OF THE FINDS,
08:29 WE UNDERSTAND, IN A TOMB
08:30 SIMILAR TO THIS, A SIMILAR TIME,
08:34 WAS A GREAT DISCOVERY
08:36 OF SCRIPTURE PORTION.
08:38 COULD YOU DESCRIBE THAT FOR US?
08:41 Gabi: THE TRUTH IS I COULD
08:42 STAND HERE FOR SEVERAL HOURS AND
08:44 TELL YOU ABOUT THAT DISCOVERY.
08:46 IT WAS MADE ABOUT A MILE AND
08:49 A HALF FROM HERE, ON THE WESTERN
08:51 SIDE OF ANCIENT JERUSALEM,
08:54 NOT FAR FROM THE JERUSALEM
08:56 RAILWAY STATION.
08:58 THE PLACE THERE
09:00 IS KNOWN AS KATEPH HINNOM,
09:02 OR THE SHOULDER OF HINNOM.
09:04 WE EXCAVATED THERE
09:06 UNDER MY DIRECTORSHIP
09:08 SEVEN BURIAL CAVES
09:10 DATING BACK TO 7th CENTURY BC.
09:13 ONE OF THEM WAS LOOTED IN
09:15 ANTIQUITY, BUT THE REPOSITORY
09:18 UNDERNEATH ONE OF THE BENCHES
09:21 ESCAPED THE FATE OF THE REST
09:23 OF THE CAVE AND IT INCLUDED
09:25 ALL THE GOODIES
09:27 WHICH WERE PLACED THERE,
09:28 TOGETHER WITH THE DECEASED,
09:30 ALL THE BURIAL GIFTS AND
09:31 THE BURIAL FURNITURE WERE FOUND
09:33 IN THEIR ORIGINAL POSITION
09:35 INSIDE THE REPOSITORY,
09:37 THANKS TO THE FACT THAT,
09:38 AS A RESULT OF AN EARTHQUAKE,
09:40 ONE LAYER OF THE CEILING GOT
09:42 UNPEELED, COLLAPSED AND BURIED
09:44 THE CONTENTS OF THE REPOSITORY
09:46 UNDERNEATH IT AND THE LOOTERS
09:48 THOUGHT THAT THE TOP
09:50 OF THE UNPEELED ROCK
09:52 FROM THE CEILING
09:55 WAS THE FLOOR AND, THEREFORE,
09:57 THEY LEFT IT UNTOUCHED.
10:00 WE HAD THERE A GUSHER OF FINDS.
10:02 MORE THAN 1,000 OBJECTS
10:03 IN ONE CHAMBER:
10:04 ABOUT 300 INTACT POTTERY VESSELS
10:08 WERE FOUND THERE,
10:10 ABOUT 40 ARROWHEADS OF IRON,
10:13 ALL KINDS OF PIECES OF JEWELRY,
10:15 ABOUT 120 PIECES OF SILVER, AND
10:19 VARIOUS OTHER PRECIOUS METALS
10:22 AND PRECIOUS OBJECTS,
10:23 SEMI-PRECIOUS STONES, ETC.
10:26 ONE OF THE FINDS WAS TWO SMALL,
10:29 TINY PIECES, WHICH LOOKED
10:31 LIKE CIGARETTE BUTTS,
10:33 ROLLED UP TINY OBJECTS,
10:36 EACH OF THEM,
10:37 LESS THAN AN INCH IN LENGTH
10:40 AND LESS THAN
10:41 HALF AN INCH IN DIAMETER.
10:43 THEY WERE MADE OF PURE SILVER.
10:45 THEY WERE DISCOVERED
10:46 BY A YOUNG AMERICAN LADY.
10:49 THE FIRST ONE WAS OBSERVED
10:51 BY HER STILL IN THE GROUND.
10:53 HER NAME IS JUDY TEDLEY,
10:54 FROM TOLEDO, OHIO.
10:57 THE OBJECT, IT TOOK US ABOUT
11:00 THREE YEARS TO UNROLL IT
11:02 AND TO OUR SURPRISE, IT WAS MADE
11:04 OF PURE SILVER, 99% OF SILVER.
11:09 IT LOOKED LIKE
11:10 A STRAP OF SILVER.
11:12 IT WAS DENSELY COVERED WITH VERY
11:14 DELICATELY SCRATCHED CHARACTERS
11:17 IN THE ANCIENT HEBREW SCRIPT.
11:19 THE FIRST WORD TO BE DECIPHERED
11:21 WAS, TO MY SURPRISE, THE NAME
11:24 OF THE LORD, THE TETRAGRAMMATON,
11:26 OR WHAT WE ANGLICIZE SOMETIMES
11:29 AS "JEHOVAH,"
11:31 YOD(Y); HEY(H); VAV(V); HEY(H);
11:33 WHICH APPEARS IN
11:34 THE HEBREW BIBLE WHENEVER
11:35 THE ENGLISH BIBLE HAS THE WORD
11:37 "THE LORD."
11:38 LATER ON, WE DISCOVERED
11:39 THAT THE NAME OF THE LORD,
11:42 WHICH WAS FOR
11:43 THE FIRST TIME DISCOVERED
11:45 IN THE CITY OF THE LORD,
11:46 IN JERUSALEM, KEEPS REAPPEARING
11:49 SEVERAL MORE TIMES,
11:51 AND, OF COURSE, THAT REPETITION
11:53 RINGS A BELL, AND WE CAME UP
11:57 WITH A DECIPHERMENT OF
11:58 THE INSCRIPTION AND IT INCLUDED
12:01 ON BOTH PLAQUES, VERSIONS
12:03 OF THE PRIESTLY BENEDICTION,
12:06 WHICH APPEARS IN THE BIBLE
12:08 IN THE BOOK OF NUMBERS 6:24-26.
12:13 "THE LORD BLESS THEE
12:14 AND KEEP THEE," ETC.,
12:16 BUT, OF COURSE,
12:17 IN THE HEBREW ORIGINAL.
12:19 THE WORDS START WITH...
12:23 ( Speaking Hebrew )
12:26 "THE LORD BLESS THEE
12:27 AND KEEP THEE."
12:28 NOW, THE TEXT IS
12:31 SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT
12:33 THAN THE MASORETIC TEXT,
12:34 WHICH IS PRESERVED IN THE BIBLE.
12:36 THE DIFFERENCES ARE SLIGHT,
12:38 BUT VERY INTERESTING.
12:39 THEY TEACH US, OF COURSE,
12:40 ABOUT THE HISTORY OF THE TEXT
12:42 AND HOW IT WAS TRANSFERRED DOWN
12:45 TO US THROUGH THE GENERATIONS.
12:48 MORE THAN THAT, THESE WORDS,
12:50 THESE BIBLICAL VERSES ARE
12:52 THE OLDEST BIBLICAL VERSES
12:54 THAT WE OWN.
12:55 THEY BELONG TO
12:57 THE 7th CENTURY BC, TO THE TIME
12:59 OF THE PROPHET JEREMIAH,
13:00 TO THE TIME OF KING JOSIAH.
13:02 THEY PREDATE THE VERY FAMOUS
13:04 DEAD SEA SCROLLS
13:05 BY SEVERAL CENTURIES.
13:07 THAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT
13:11 SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS DISCOVERY,
13:12 BECAUSE WE HAVE HERE BIBLICAL
13:14 VERSES WHICH BELONG TO THE TIME
13:17 OF THE DAVIDIC DYNASTY,
13:18 FIRST TEMPLE PERIOD,
13:20 MUCH BEFORE THE CANONIZATION
13:23 OF THE BIBLICAL TEXT,
13:24 MUCH BEFORE IT GOT CRYSTALLIZED
13:26 AND COPIED AND BROUGHT DOWN
13:30 TO US VIA THE CHAIN
13:32 OF GENERATIONS OF COPIERS
13:37 AS WE HAVE IT TODAY.
13:38 SO, THIS IS BEFORE THE FINAL
13:40 CRYSTALLIZATION OF THE TEXT.
13:42 THIS IS IMPORTANT.
13:44 AND IT IS IMPORTANT ALSO
13:45 TO SEE A TEXT
13:46 WHICH IS SO SLIGHTLY CHANGED
13:48 FOR MORE THAN 2,600 YEARS.
14:02 Zola: COMING UP,
14:03 WE'LL EXAMINE THE IMPORTANCE
14:04 OF THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS
14:05 AND WITNESS FURTHER EVIDENCE
14:07 OF THE BIBLE'S
14:08 IMPECCABLE ACCURACY.
14:12 ♪ ♪
14:21 ♪ ♪
14:47 Myles: WE WOULD LOVE TO HOST YOU
14:48 ON A TOUR TO ISRAEL.
14:49 YOU CAN GET IN TOUCH WITH US
14:50 AT 1-800-WONDERS OR LEVITT.COM
14:53 AND BOOK A TOUR WITH US.
14:54 YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.
14:55 EVERYONE THAT COMES TO ISRAEL
14:57 SAYS IT'S A LIFE-CHANGING EVENT.
14:59 SO PLEASE COME WITH US.
15:00 IT WOULD BE OUR JOY
15:01 TO HOST YOU THERE.
15:04 YOU KNOW, OUR OFFER THIS WEEK
15:05 IS THIS SERIES,
15:06 "THE STONES CRY OUT"
15:08 THE ORIGINAL SERIES,
15:09 IT'S 12 PROGRAMS, WHICH WILL
15:11 REALLY ENRICH YOUR FAITH,
15:12 EVEN THE ARCHAEOLOGISTS SPEAK
15:14 ABOUT HOW THE THINGS THAT THEY
15:16 DISCOVER REALLY JUST ENCOURAGE
15:19 THEM IN THEIR IN THEIR WORK
15:20 AND IN THEIR LIFE OF FAITH.
15:22 SO WE WANT TO MAKE THIS
15:23 AVAILABLE TO YOU THIS WEEK.
15:25 Katharine: IT REALLY BRINGS YOU
15:26 BACK TO THE TIME IN WHICH
15:27 THESE ANCIENT PEOPLE LIVED
15:29 AND YOU SEE HOW THEY LIVED,
15:31 THE TRIALS THEY HAD
15:35 AND THE LIFE THAT THEY LIVED
15:36 BEFORE THE LORD.
15:37 I MEAN, YOU KNOW,
15:38 THE FOUR-ROOM HOUSE
15:39 AND ALL THE THINGS THAT WE'VE
15:40 LEARNED SO FAR; SO WE THANK YOU
15:42 FOR YOUR GIFTS OF FUNDS.
15:43 WE THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING
15:45 THIS MINISTRY SO THAT WE CAN GO
15:48 AND BRING YOU THESE STORIES
15:49 FROM ISRAEL, FROM THE LAND,
15:52 FROM THE ACTUAL PLACE
15:53 THAT THESE STONES ARE CRYING OUT
15:55 AND FROM THE ARCHAEOLOGISTS
15:57 WHO ARE TELLING THE STORY
15:58 OF THE BIBLE'S VALIDITY.
16:00 IT'S SO EXCITING
16:01 TO BE A PART OF THAT AND NOW...
16:03 WE'RE GOING TO QUMRAN
16:04 NEAR THE DEAD SEA.
16:06 Zola: IT'S DAWN IN ISRAEL
16:08 AND ARCHAEOLOGIST, STEVE PFANN,
16:10 PREPARES TO TAKE A READING
16:11 ON THE SUN ABOUT TO APPEAR
16:13 ABOVE THE DISTANT MOUNTAINS.
16:16 THIS IS QUMRAN,
16:17 THE HOME OF THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS
16:19 AND IT'S HERE THAT STEVE HAS
16:20 COME TO MAKE HIS CALCULATIONS
16:22 BASED UPON
16:23 THIS ANCIENT SUN DIAL.
16:26 THE DEVICE WAS FOUND AMONG
16:27 THE RUINS OF QUMRAN IN 1954.
16:30 STEVE HAS PLACED A MAKESHIFT
16:31 BLUE STRAW IN THE PLACE
16:33 OF AN ORIGINAL METAL PIN,
16:34 AND THE SHADOW FORMED
16:36 INDICATES THE EXACT
16:37 TIME OF DAY,
16:38 AS WELL AS THE TIME OF YEAR.
16:40 THE SUNDIAL INFORMED
16:42 THE ESSENES, WHO ORIGINALLY
16:43 USED IT HERE 2,000 YEARS AGO,
16:45 EXACTLY WHEN THEY SHOULD
16:47 OBSERVE IMPORTANT EVENTS,
16:48 SUCH AS PASSOVER.
16:51 THE VIEW FROM THE ADJACENT
16:52 MOUNTAINS LOOKING TOWARD
16:53 THE RUINS OF THE ESSENE
16:54 COMMUNITY IS QUITE SPECTACULAR,
16:57 AS THE DEAD SEA GLISTENS
16:58 IN THE BACKGROUND.
17:00 TOM JOINS STEVE IN A CLIMB
17:02 OF THE MOUNTAINS TO THE SITE
17:03 WHERE THE FIRST
17:04 OF THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS
17:06 WAS DISCOVERED.
17:07 THE SUBJECT OF THE SCROLLS
17:09 CONTINUES TO FASCINATE
17:10 AND INTRIGUE.
17:13 Steve: WE'RE SITTING ABOUT
17:14 150 YARDS ABOVE THE DEAD SEA.
17:18 THIS IS JUST ABOUT A KILOMETER,
17:21 OR 2/3rd OF A MILE TO THE NORTH
17:23 OF KHIRBET, QUMRAN,
17:24 WHERE THEY ESSENES LIVED.
17:26 HERE, A LITTLE LESS THAN
17:29 2,000 YEARS AGO, SOME OF
17:32 THE INHABITANTS OF QUMRAN
17:35 GOT THEIR PRIZED SCROLLS
17:37 AND HID THEM IN JARS
17:38 AND CARRIED THEM
17:39 UP TO THIS CAVE
17:40 THAT IS RIGHT BEHIND ME HERE.
17:41 Tom: THAT'S ONE OF THE CAVES
17:42 THAT THEY PUT THE JARS IN.
17:45 Steve: THIS WAS THE FIRST CAVE
17:46 THAT WAS DISCOVERED
17:47 THIS CENTURY, IN 1947,
17:50 IN THE WINTER.
17:52 A SHEPHERD WAS FOLLOWING HIS
17:54 SHEEP UP THE RIFT VALLEY HERE.
17:59 ACCORDING TO THE ORIGINAL STORY,
18:00 HE WAS CHASING HIM UP
18:01 INTO THE HILLS, LOOKING FOR HIM
18:03 AND THREW A ROCK TO SCARE IT
18:05 BACK DOWN AND SAW THIS HOLE;
18:06 THREW THE ROCK INTO THE HOLE
18:08 IN THE CAVE
18:09 AND HEARD SOME CLINKING INSIDE.
18:11 THAT'S WHEN
18:12 THE WHOLE SAGA BEGAN.
18:14 Tom: HE KNEW IT SOUNDED
18:15 DIFFERENT FROM HITTING A ROCK
18:18 AND CAME TO INVESTIGATE IT THEN.
18:19 Steve: THAT'S RIGHT.
18:20 ONE STORY SAYS THAT HE THOUGHT
18:22 THAT THERE WAS A GENIE INSIDE
18:23 THAT WAS PROTECTING A TREASURE.
18:24 SO, HE WENT DOWN
18:25 AND GOT HIS BROTHER
18:26 TO COME BACK UP WITH HIM
18:29 SO THAT ONE OF THEM COULD GO IN
18:30 AND THE OTHER ONE COULD GO
18:31 FOR HELP IF THE GENIE ENDED UP
18:32 CAPTURING HIM.
18:34 SO, THEY WENT INSIDE AND WERE
18:36 DISAPPOINTED ONLY TO FIND
18:37 THESE LEATHER THINGS INSIDE
18:39 THESE JARS INSTEAD OF TREASURE.
18:41 Tom: IT TURNED OUT TO BE
18:42 ONE OF THE GREATEST TREASURES
18:43 FOR MANKIND.
18:44 Steve: INDEED.
18:45 Tom: YOU HAVE A SAMPLE OF ONE
18:47 OF THE SCROLLS THAT WAS FOUND.
18:50 WHAT DOES IT SAY?
18:51 Steve: THIS IS A REPLICA
18:53 OF A SCROLL THAT WAS TAKEN APART
18:57 AND, NOW, I'VE TAKEN THE PIECES
19:01 FROM VARIOUS PLACES
19:02 AND PUT IT BACK TOGETHER.
19:04 IT'S CALLED
19:06 "THE COMMUNITY RULE,"
19:07 OR "THE MANUAL OF DISCIPLINE,"
19:08 WHICH IS THE LISTING
19:09 OF THE RULES.
19:11 THE FIRST TWO SHEETS DEAL WITH
19:12 THE ENTRANCE INTO THE COMMUNITY.
19:14 THE NOVICES AS THEY ENTER, AFTER
19:15 TWO YEARS OF THEIR NOVICESHIP,
19:19 END UP SAYING, FIRST OF ALL,
19:21 THAT THEY AND THEIR FATHERS HAVE
19:23 SINNED AND THEY HAVE SINNED, AND
19:25 THAT THEY WERE CALLING ON GOD
19:27 FOR HIS CLEANSING OF THEIR SINS
19:31 AS THEY ACTUALLY ENTERED INTO
19:32 THE WATERS OF ESSENE BAPTISM
19:34 FOR ENTRANCE INTO THE SITE.
19:37 Zola: THE WATERS OF BAPTISM,
19:39 HERE AT QUMRAN,
19:40 WERE CALLED " MIKVAOT."
19:42 JUST A SHORT DISTANCE FROM HERE
19:44 JOHN THE BAPTIST
19:45 IMMERSED THE LORD IN THE WATERS
19:46 OF THE JORDAN RIVER.
19:48 INTERESTINGLY, JOHN HAD MUCH
19:50 IN COMMON WITH THE ESSENES.
19:54 Steve: THEY CAME OUT TO
19:55 THE WILDERNESS TO TRY TO KEEP
19:56 THE RULES IN THE TORAH THE WAY
20:00 THAT GOD MEANT IT IN THE TORAH.
20:05 AND THE LAWS OF MOSES,
20:06 THEY WANTED TO APPLY
20:07 TO THEIR OWN LIVES.
20:08 THEY FELT THEY WERE CALLED
20:09 TO THE WILDERNESS
20:10 TO PREPARE THE WAY OF THE LORD.
20:12 THEY SAID, "THE WAY OF THE LORD
20:13 IS THE MIDRASH OF THE TORAH."
20:16 THAT MEANS,
20:17 THE STUDY OF THE TORAH.
20:18 SO, THEY ALWAYS HAD ONE PERSON
20:19 IN THEIR COMMUNITY
20:21 STUDYING IT ALL DAY LONG
20:22 AND THEN EVERY 3rd NIGHT
20:24 THEY HAD A VIGIL IN WHICH
20:25 EVERYONE STUDIED IT TOGETHER.
20:26 Tom: SO, DAY AND NIGHT,
20:27 SOMEBODY OR THE WHOLE COMMUNITY
20:29 WAS STUDYING THE TORAH.
20:31 Steve: AND THEY WERE STUDYING
20:32 THE TORAH WITH A NEW ANGLE
20:35 THAN THEIR PREDECESSORS.
20:36 THEY WERE STUDYING
20:37 IN THE LIGHT OF THE PROPHETS,
20:39 WHICH WAS A VERY IMPORTANT
20:40 ELEMENT THAT A MAN
20:42 BY THE NAME OF "THE TEACHER OF
20:43 RIGHTEOUSNESS" BROUGHT TO THEM.
20:45 ALSO, HIS SUCCESSOR
20:46 IS KNOWN AS " THE MASKILIM ,"
20:47 THE SPIRITUAL LEADERS
20:48 OF THE GROUP,
20:51 CARRIED ON IN THAT TRADITION.
20:52 Tom: STEVE, I SEE YOU HAVE
20:53 DISCOVERED SOME INTERESTING
20:55 STONES THERE IN QUMRAN.
20:57 WHAT DO THEY HAVE TO DO WITH IT?
20:59 Steve: ONE OF THE THINGS THAT
21:00 THE ESSENES DID, WHICH THEY
21:02 CARRIED ON AND CAME OUT OF
21:04 THEIR PRIESTLY BACKGROUND WAS
21:07 IN DESIGNATING ROLES AND LEVELS
21:08 WITHIN THEIR COMMUNITY.
21:10 THEY USED LOTS
21:11 TO DETERMINE THESE THINGS.
21:13 THERE AT THE SITE, IT WAS FOUND
21:15 BACK IN THE '50s, SOME 50
21:17 OF THESE LITTLE CLAY BALLS.
21:22 Tom: I SEE THEY'RE ROUND
21:23 AND THEY HAVE PIERCED HOLES
21:24 IN THEM.
21:27 Steve: YEAH, THEY HAVE
21:29 DIFFERENT NUMBERS OF HOLES.
21:31 EACH YEAR A PERSON WOULD RECEIVE
21:34 A NEW LOT, A NEW NUMBER.
21:36 THEY ALL ANSWERED
21:38 TO ONE ANOTHER, SAT IN ORDER
21:39 ACCORDING TO THE LEVEL
21:41 IN RANKING THAT THEY RECEIVED
21:42 FROM THIS AND ALSO WITHIN
21:44 THE COMMUNITY OF QUMRAN ITSELF,
21:46 WHICH WAS A VERY SPECIAL
21:47 COMMUNITY COMPARED TO
21:48 ALL THE OTHER COMMUNITIES
21:49 WHERE THERE WERE ALSO
21:50 MARRIED ESSENES LIVING.
21:52 THEY ACTUALLY, ON A DAILY BASIS,
21:54 USED THESE TO DETERMINE WHO
21:56 CARRIED OUT WHICH ROLE, WHICH
21:58 IS SIMILAR TO WHAT THE LEVITES
21:59 DID EVERY DAY UP IN THE TEMPLE
22:01 WHERE, IN THE GATES,
22:02 THEY WOULD DETERMINE THEIR ROLES
22:03 AND THEIR RANKS AND THEIR JOBS
22:07 ACCORDING TO LOTS.
22:09 Tom: AND THEY UNDERSTOOD THAT
22:10 THIS WAS THE EVIDENCE OF DIVINE
22:11 LEADING WHEN THEY DREW THE LOTS?
22:13 Steve: WELL, YES.
22:14 IT SAYS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
22:16 THAT, "MAN CASTS THE LOT
22:19 BUT GOD DETERMINES THE OUTCOME."
22:22 Zola: LOTS ARE MENTIONED
22:23 24 TIMES IN THE BIBLE.
22:25 IN JOSHUA 18:10 WE READ:
22:37 IN THE BOOK OF JOHN
22:38 WE FIND THAT LOTS WERE A PART
22:40 OF THE PSALMIST'S PROPHECY
22:41 REGARDING THE ROMAN SOLDIERS
22:42 CONTENTION FOR JESUS' CLOAK.
22:52 AND THIS IS
22:53 THE PSALMIST'S PROPHECY.
23:01 Steve: THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS GIVE
23:02 US A VERY REAL UNDERSTANDING
23:04 OF PEOPLE'S QUESTIONS,
23:06 THEIR FEARS, THEIR ASPIRATIONS,
23:08 WHICH HAD THEM PREPARED
23:10 FOR THE COMING OF THE MESSIAH.
23:11 TODAY, WE CAN LOOK BACK AT THAT
23:14 AND SEE THAT THE GOSPELS THAT WE
23:16 HOLD IN OUR HANDS, DO VERY MUCH
23:18 REFLECT THAT HISTORICAL CONTEXT.
23:21 Tom: MY TIME WITH STEVE
23:22 HAD REALLY PEAKED MY INTEREST
23:24 IN THE CAVE BEHIND HIM
23:26 DURING THE INTERVIEW.
23:27 SO, I DECIDED TO HAVE A LOOK
23:29 FOR MYSELF.
23:31 AMONG THE MORE VALUABLE WRITINGS
23:32 FOUND IN THE CAVE WERE THOSE
23:33 BY THE PROPHET ISAIAH.
23:35 ORIGINALLY WRITTEN HUNDREDS OF
23:36 YEARS BEFORE THE ESSENE SCRIBES
23:39 PRESERVED THEM
23:40 IN THEIR OWN HANDWRITING.
23:42 THE LEATHER SCROLLS HAD BEEN
23:43 HIDDEN HERE FOR 2,000 YEARS.
23:46 TODAY THE ISAIAH SCROLL
23:48 IS PRESERVED IN THE SHRINE
23:49 OF THE BOOK IN JERUSALEM, ALONG
23:51 WITH PORTIONS OF OTHER SCROLLS.
23:54 FOR THOSE WILLING
23:55 TO CONSIDER ITS MESSAGE,
23:57 ISAIAH'S PROPHETIC CHAPTER 53,
23:59 ABOUT THE COMING MESSIAH,
24:01 HAS BECOME AN ETERNAL FLAME
24:03 DISPELLING THE DARKNESS.
24:16 IN QUMRAN, THE ECHOES FROM
24:18 ROCKY CAVES CRY OUT, "I AM."
24:33 (♪ Soft Flute ♪)
25:06 Myles: WOW...THESE PROGRAMS
25:07 ARE SO FAITH BUILDING;
25:09 THEY'RE SO ENRICHING.
25:11 TO FIND OUT THAT DAVID
25:12 WAS A REAL PERSON;
25:13 HIS DYNASTY WAS REAL;
25:14 THAT PILATE WAS REAL,
25:16 AND CAIAPHAS,
25:17 THAT THE CITY OF HAZOR
25:19 WAS A REAL PLACE;
25:20 THAT EVERYTHING THAT'S WRITTEN
25:21 IN THIS WORD IS COMING ALIVE
25:23 AS ARCHAEOLOGISTS ARE UNCOVERING
25:26 THE VERACITY OF THE BIBLE,
25:28 BECAUSE THE STONES
25:29 ARE CRYING OUT EVEN IN OUR DAY.
25:32 THIS PROGRAM IS ACTUALLY
25:33 THE RESOURCE WE WANT
25:34 TO OFFER YOU THIS WEEK.
25:35 IT'S THE SERIES,
25:36 THE ORIGINAL SERIES,
25:37 "THE STONES CRY OUT,"
25:38 AND IT'S 12 PROGRAMS LONG.
25:40 IT HAS EVERYTHING THAT
25:41 YOU'RE SEEING IN THIS SERIES,
25:44 BUT I WANT TO TELL YOU THAT THIS
25:45 IS A REALLY GOOD TOOL FOR YOU TO
25:47 GATHER YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY
25:49 AROUND AND TO HELP THEM
25:51 TO UNDERSTAND THE CONNECTION
25:53 BETWEEN FAITH AND THE BIBLE;
25:55 BETWEEN THE BIBLE AND THE LAND;
25:57 BETWEEN THE LAND
25:58 AND THE JEWISH PEOPLE.
25:59 THIS IS A REALLY VERY CONNECTING
26:02 KIND OF A PROGRAM SERIES.
26:05 SO WE WANT TO ENCOURAGE YOU
26:06 TO GET THIS RESOURCE.
26:07 Katharine: IT'S SO EDIFYING
26:08 TO KNOW THAT NOT ONLY
26:11 DOES GOD SAY IT
26:12 BUT THEN HE SHOWS IT
26:14 AND WE CAN STAND KNOWING
26:16 THAT WHAT HE SAYS IS TRUE.
26:18 THE BIBLE IS REAL AND THE FACTS
26:20 ARE CONTINUING TO BE UNEARTHED
26:22 AS WE SEE
26:23 THESE ARCHAEOLOGICAL DIGS.
26:25 AND THERE'S MORE DIGS
26:27 GOING ON TODAY.
26:28 AT ANY GIVEN TIME THERE ARE DIGS
26:30 THAT ARE HAPPENING IN THE LAND
26:31 OF ISRAEL.
26:32 SO WE LOVE TO STAND
26:33 WITH THE ARCHAEOLOGISTS.
26:34 Myles: WE HAVE A FUND.
26:35 WE HAVE A BENEVOLENCE FUND
26:36 CALLED "THE STONES CRY OUT,"
26:39 BASED ON THE NAME OF THE SERIES
26:41 WHERE WE ACTUALLY TAKE GIFTS
26:42 OF FUNDS THAT COME IN, THAT ARE
26:43 DESIGNATED FOR ARCHAEOLOGISTS,
26:45 SO THAT WE CAN PARTICIPATE
26:47 WITH THE UNEARTHING
26:48 OF THESE TREASURES.
26:49 Katharine: RIGHT, IT'S VERY
26:50 EXCITING AND WHEN WE GO
26:51 TO ISRAEL, WE'LL TAKE YOU
26:52 TO SOME OF THESE SITES...
26:53 MEGIDDO...QUMRAN...
26:55 AND A LOT OF OTHER ONES.
26:58 SO WE ARE SO THANKFUL
27:00 FOR YOUR GIFTS OF FUNDS.
27:01 WE'RE SO THANKFUL THAT, NOT ONLY
27:02 DO YOU GIVE TO THE LAND ITSELF,
27:05 BUT YOU'RE GIVING TO THE PEOPLE.
27:07 WE ALSO HAVE A BENEVOLENCE FUND
27:09 THAT WILL GO TO THE JEWS FIRST
27:10 AND WE'RE OUT THERE
27:13 SHARING OUR FAITH
27:14 IN A VERY APPROACHABLE,
27:15 TANGIBLE WAY WITH PEOPLE
27:16 AND PEOPLE ARE COMING
27:17 TO SAVING FAITH, AND THAT'S
27:19 THE HIGHEST JOY, RIGHT?
27:21 Myles: YEAH, AS WE'RE
27:22 BRINGING THE TOUR TO ISRAEL
27:24 WE HAVE DR. TODD BAKER WITH US.
27:26 HE'S OUR STAFF
27:27 THEOLOGIAN/CHAPLAIN AND
27:29 HE TAKES THE GOSPEL OUT
27:31 TO THE STREETS, TO THE JEW FIRST
27:32 AND ALSO TO THE GREEK.
27:34 AND WE'RE SEEING PEOPLE
27:35 COME TO THE LORD THROUGH THAT.
27:36 SO THAT'S PART OF WHAT WE DO
27:37 HERE AT ZOLA LEVITT MINISTRIES.
27:40 SO, UNTIL WE SEE YOU AGAIN...
27:42 WE WANT TO REMIND YOU,
27:43 SHA'ALU SHALOM YERUSHALAYIM
27:45 Katharine: PRAY FOR THE PEACE
27:46 OF JERUSALEM.
27:52 Male Singer: ♪ LORD GOD, CREATOR OF HEAVEN ♪
27:59 ♪ LORD GOD, WE BRING FORTH YOUR PRAISES ♪
28:08 ♪ THE EARTH STANDS A TRIBUTE TO GLORY ♪
28:16 ♪ STONES TELL YOUR WONDERFUL STORY. ♪♪
28:25 Announcer: THIS HAS BEEN A PAID PROGRAM, BROUGHT TO YOU BY:
28:28 CAPTION TECHNOLOGIES, INC. www.captiontech.com

Episodes in this series

Guest organizations and links

Zola Levitt

Zola Levitt Ministries, Host and founder

Katharine Weiss

Myles Weiss

Zola Levitt Presents

Levitt Letter