Qumran's Secrets

Qumran is best known as the place near the Dead Sea where the famous Dead Sea Scrolls were found by Bedouin shepherds in 1947. 

It is thought that a religious group called the Essenes lived here. The Essenes were an ascetic, self-sufficient group. Displeased with the religious corruption in Jerusalem, they formed a tightly structured settlement complete with an aqueduct, a cistern, ritual baths, a kitchen, dining room, and a special room for scribes to do their meticulous work. 

There is speculation that John the Baptist spent time in Qumran but there is no biblical record of this.

In the future, I will blog more extensively about Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls, which are housed in the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. 

Neot Hakikar

 Neot Hakikar is a small moshav (cooperative village) not within sight, but definitely within smell of the Dead Sea. Not far away are factories that extract and process salt. There is a distinct smell that accompanies these procedures. 

We stayed overnight in one of Belfer's Cabins called Arava. My mother was with us. She took the bedroom on the main floor of the simply furnished cabin and we climbed a ladder into the loft.

There's not much to see in Neot Hakikar and no restaurants were open. We went to the small supermarket and picked up a few things for a light meal.

Bill did not care much for Neot Hakikar. There is not much to do there and it is rather remote and dry. I think the salty/dusty air bothered his breathing too. I was a bit disappointed because this moshav did not seem to have any biblical links. In fact, there is really not much reason for me to be writing about Neot Hakikar, since it has no biblical significance that I know of, but sometimes people find such places interesting. 

All told, it was an okay stopping-over spot but not somewhere to spend an extended time. 

Sorek

We are still in Samson's territory.

"And it came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah" (Judges 16:4).

Samson did not seem to have good luck with women. This time, he allows himself to be snagged by Delilah, who lived in the valley of Sorek. We all know how that relationship ended.

In this brook's valley Delilah deceived Samson, he was captured by the Philistines, his eyes were gouged out, and he ground grain in prison. His life then ended with a heroic act in which many Philistines were killed. One thing for sure, Samson had a life like no other. His life was "never a dull moment" to the hilt. 

Pictured here is the Brook Sorek, not far from Timnath, Eshtaol, and Zorah, other places that Samson frequented. 

Timnath

And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines. 

And he came up, and told his father and his mother, and said, I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines: now therefore get her for me to wife.

Judges 14:1-2 

Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to Timnath, and came to the vineyards of Timnath: and, behold, a young lion roared against him. 

And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand: but he told not his father or his mother what he had done. 

Judges 14:5-6

Out of all the guide and reference books about the Middle East that I have purchased through the years, Arise, Walk Through the Land by Roy Turkington remains the most useful for finding authentic biblical sites not on the general tour guide route. 




This is how the directions to Tel Timnath began: "Access is quite difficult but can be gained by following the 'road' alongside the Brook Sorek for about 6 km from Beth Shemesh. This road passes modern kibbutz Zorah, but unfortunately the Brook Sorek is always between you and the Tel."

The author then gives an alternate route just as doubtful. Obviously this is off-the-beaten-path even for diehard adventurers!

The long and short of it is that we never did make it to Tel Timnath. We were within a short distance of it but when the dirt road took an abrupt dip, we decided that we did not want to take a chance of getting stuck in our economy rental car. 

Nevertheless, we were close enough to get a feel for the landscape surrounding the village where Samson found his Philistinian wife and killed a lion. Here Samson presented the "riddle" about the lion to the 30 young men who celebrated with him at his wedding. Samson tied together small foxes, set them afire, then turned them loose in fields of grain as retaliation toward his wife's father-in-law because he gave her to another man. All this and more happened in Timnath. Talk about drama!

Today, all is quiet around Timnath, but it has not always been so peaceful and tranquil. During Samson's time, he put Timnath on the map in a big way. Unfortunately, it does not seem to still be on the map. 

Mmmmm. Maybe next time we could rent an economy four-wheeler...