"18 And when they came again to him, (for he tarried at Jericho,) he said unto them, Did I not say unto you, Go not? 19 And the men of the city said unto Elisha, Behold, I pray thee, the situation of this city [is] pleasant, as my lord seeth: but the water [is] naught, and the ground barren. 20 And he said, Bring me a new cruse, and put salt therein. And they brought [it] to him. 21 And he went forth unto the spring of the waters, and cast the salt in there, and said, Thus saith the LORD, I have healed these waters; there shall not be from thence any more death or barren [land]. 22 So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the saying of Elisha which he spake" (II Kings 2:18-22).
This perennial spring just opposite to Tel es-Sultan is one of the main reasons why Jericho existed for 10,000 years. Even now the spring is a vital source of water in Jericho. It is most famously identified with the biblical spring mentioned with Prophet Elisha in 2 Kings 2: 19-22. We have written records of the spring from as early as 1st Century AD, by the Jewish Historian Josephus, and from early Christian pilgrimages from 4th Century AD (precisely the "the Bordeaux itinerary" of 333-334 AD). Even a Church on the spot has been reported by Theodosius in 530 AD. The spring is also depicted in the famous 6th Century Madaba Map-all showing the significance of this very ancient source of water.
No comments:
Post a Comment