Tanach Thoughts

 Yes, I'm aware a few weeks have passed since Chanukah. Yes, I'm aware Chanukah is not (explicitly) mentioned anywhere in Tanach. Yes, I'm aware The Books of Maccabees aren't in Tanach. Nonetheless, an idea for a Chanukah-and-Tanach-related post came to mind over Shabbat, so here it is. Last Thursday, we toured several different sites in the Land of Menashe - well, what was the area of the Tribe of Menashe in Tanachic times. One of the places we visited is called Al-Makhruch. It's thought to have been a fortified site that was manned by soldiers of the Kingdom of Yisrael, after the split of the United Kingdom. Its original Hebrew name is unknown. Near Al-Makhruch there are two other fortified sites, thought to similarly having belonged to the Kingdom of Yisrael. I'm not really sure what the Arabic names of these two little tels are, just know that both are walking distance from the first site and one in particular is connected to Chanukah. Fortified wall ruins E...

Every Thursday the Bar Ilan archeology department organizes a trip for the students to a historical site here in Israel. We need to complete a certain number of such trips to be able to complete our degree. You don't have to come to every single one, you just have to make sure that at some point you complete the required number. Last Thursday we were supposed to go to Tel Arad, Tel Sheva and Tel Lachish, but due to heavy traffic, our lecturer decided to change the trip to over two hours in Tel Lachish (instead of 15-30 minutes as generally happens on this particular trip) and then we went to Tel Burna, which was cool, because typically archeology students don't go to Tel Burna. It's not one of the most famous and significant sites and has barely been excavated. (my sketch of Tel Lachish at a distance) I wanted to share something cool about Lachish. Lachish is probably most famous for being the most important city captured by Sanchariv during his conquest of Judea (which end...