Caves of the Prince

Drive west through Amman, Jordan, past 8th circle. Maneuver through a village called Wadi Al-Seer, then drive about eight more miles, into country so beautiful and quiet that congested Amman seems thousands of miles away.

The hilly countryside is dotted with olive groves. We wait as a shepherdess herds goats down the street. Seemingly unattended vegetables lie along the road and children stare as we drive by; not many tourists venture out this way.

Missouri, where I grew up, is known as the Cave State (Think Jesse James’ hideout.) With over 5,500 caves in the state and my parents’ inclination to take us to really cool nature-oriented places, I like exploring caves. But none of those Missouri caves were as significant to me as Iraq Al-Amir (Translation: Caves of the Prince) that we visited last year with Scott and Suzi. The Prince referenced was Tobiah, one of the famed opponents of Nehemiah. These caves and the surrounding land were the ancestral domain of his family.

Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the walls and gates of Jerusalem, with the permission of King Artaxerses I, who supplied Nehemiah with necessary building materials. Tobiah the Ammonite, Sanballat the Horonite, and Geshem the Arabian were angry about Nehemiah’s objective (Ne 2:10). Tobiah and Sanballat were appointed Persian officials and - although Nehemiah had the king’s blessing - they employed several strategies to try to defeat Nehemiah's objective.

1. They ridiculed him and demeaned his work (Ne 4:1-6).
2. They accused him of insurrection to the king (Ne 2:19).
3. They tried to intimidate him and put fear in his heart (Ne 6:9; 6:19).
4. They conspired with others to catch the Jews unarmed. When the Jews became aware of the plan, they prayed and armed themselves. When their enemies realized that the plan was discovered, they abandoned it (Ne 4:7-15).
5. Tobiah was married to a Jewish woman, and his family tie made the men of Judah loyal to him instead of Nehemiah (Ne 6:17-19).
6. They hired a man to advise Nehemiah to enter the temple to protect himself from his enemies. This was not acceptable according to the laws of God. If Nehemiah would have done this, he would have brought a reproach upon his impeccable reputation (Ne 6:10-14).
7. They invited him to meet with them in the plain of Ono in the land of Benjamin, about 30 miles northwest of Jerusalem. (Ono is the modern village of Kefr ‘Ana, about five miles north of Lydda.) Chances are good that the proposed meeting was not to be a cozy coffee house chat, but a method of taking Nehemiah prisoner or doing him harm (Ne 6:1-4).

None of these things caused Nehemiah to lose focus. He kept building the walls that had been broken down and the gates that had been burned with fire. He did not concede to discouragement and opposition. He prayed. He worked. He solved social problems.

Eliashib the priest had allowed Tobiah to occupy a spacious room in the temple; Nehemiah discarded Tobiah’s belongings (Ne 13:4-9). Perhaps Tobiah was so antagonistic toward Nehemiah because he knew he had no legitimate right to be involved in Israel’s affairs. He was an Ammonite and was unable to trace his genealogy to pure Israelite origin (Nehemiah 13:1; 7:61-62). Nehemiah plainly told Tobiah, Sanballat, and Geshem that they "have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem" (Ne 2:20).

I had read that there were two Aramaic inscriptions with the family name “Tobiad” inscribed in the outer rock walls of the caves, but we’d only seen one. As we were leaving, Bill happened to turn around and saw the second one near another doorway so we got pictures of the two identical inscriptions.

I completely disagree with one guide book which stated that if I scrambled up to the caves I would “find very little to get excited about: most are malodorous, and there's nothing to see but the view across the fields and a single ancient Hebrew inscription beside one of the cave entrances...” The caves were fascinating and the beautiful hillsides provide one of the prettiest views in Jordan.

Except for the occasional cry of a shepherd, a dog barking, or the distant sounds of people talking, all was quiet around us. It was incredibly easy to imagine how things must have been here approximately 2,500 years ago. Some of the cave walls are blackened from long ago fires. One of the caves is equipped with rock-hewn seats around the perimeter of the room; this cave probably served as a council and fellowship room. The rocky, terraced hillsides are ideal for grazing flocks and growing food.

How long did Tobiah live here? We cannot know. Perhaps this was his childhood playground, the place where his children were born, and a conference center where he hosted area leaders as they gathered and discussed their world affairs. If these caves could speak, what stories they could tell. But the caves and their two simple inscriptions are quiet, unwilling to reveal the secrets of the Tobiad family, urging us to be content with the biblical account of his life.

It is enough to be inspired by Nehemiah's constant refusal to be distracted, discouraged, intimidated, or afraid. He refused to believe the lies - both obvious and subtle - of his enemies. Nehemiah's enemies tried a variety of strategies in hopes that one of their tactics would catch him off guard. But nothing worked. The walls were erected. The gates were built. Mission accomplished.