| OCR Text |
Show The Holy Land 229 stayed at the Ramat Aviv Hotel; Madelyn enjoyed the swim ming pool. An important harbor in ancient Palestine, Joppa was the port through which the Cedars of Lebanon came for the construction of David's and Solomon's temples; it was the port from which Jonah sailed in his attempt to evade God's com mand; it was the port where Peter raised the dead Dorcas. Outside of Tel Aviv was the birthplace of Joseph of Arimethea, in the Samaria District. Arimethea is the Greek word for Ramah. From here, the actual place not definitely identified, came the councillor Joseph, who placed the body of Jesus in his own tomb. (Matt. 27:57) Having been in Beersheba and Hebron in Judea, the Silvers moved north into central Palestine-Samaria. The central hill country of Palestine, from the Plain of Jezreel or Esdraelon on the north to the Mediterranean on the west and the Jordan River on the east, Samaria District is about half-way between Galilee on the north and Jerusalem, Jericho, Judea, and the Dead Sea on the south. Soil and rainfall are conducive to viti culture, the cultivation of fruit and olive trees, vegetable gar dening, and the growing of wheat. The Hebrew prophets usu ally referred to the area as Ephraim; it was the political and cul tural heart of ancient Israel. The city of Samaria was capital of the northern kingdom of Israel for most of the of that history kingdom. Herod the Great renamed the city Sebaste in 30 B.C. and the modern Arab village when Madelyn and Harold visit ed was still called Sebastiyeh. When the Jews of the area were deported by the Assyrians, other peoples settled there. After Alexander had conquered the region, the Jews revolted, were forced to flee, and Samaria was rebuilt as a Hellenistic city. The remaining Samaritans built a temple to the Hebrew God on Mount Gerizim, which is just south of the city of Samaria. In the New Testament the Samaritans are mentioned as people ripe for evangelization supportive of the theological position of the Apostle Paul. The Samaritans revered Mount Gerizim. Almost 3,000 feet above sea level, the mountain was thought by ancient Samaritans to be the highest of all mountains-a meetingplace between Heaven and earth. There the Samaritans worshipped |
