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...

Between Zorah and Eshtaol

And the Spirit of the LORD began to move him at times in the camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol.

Judges 13:25

This was Samson's old stomping grounds. Between the villages of Zorah and Eshtaol was where God dealt with Samson. When Samson died, "his brethren and all the house of his father came down, and took him, and brought him up, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol" (Judges 16:31).

Who but God knows all the events that transpired in Samson's life between "Zorah and Eshtaol?" 

Masada

Strangely enough, although Masada is one of Israel's better known archaeological sites, we have never been atop this fortress. I know you need most of a day to get there and tour it. We've never seemed to have that much time to see one site. 

I'll blog about Masada again if we ever get a chance to visit it. But this I know from traveling on the highway near it: Masada would have been a brutal place to live. It is hot, dry and remote. Not my idea of a relaxing mountain retreat, regardless of how many opulent baths and saunas Herod had up there!

Lot's Wife

But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

Genesis 19:26 

Remember Lot’s wife.

Luke 17:32

In Israel, overlooking the Dead Sea, is Mount Sodom, comprised almost entirely of rock salt. A portion of it broke away and created a rock formation strikingly similar to a woman. 

We took this photo in the dark of night. Our flash provided enough illumination to see the pillar. We know that this is not Lot's wife, but what a sobering reminder that God is not just a God of love but also of judgment.  

Metsad Zohar

This is Metsad Zohar, or "Zohar Stronghold." ("Metsad" means "stronghold.")

This is one of those sites that there is frustratingly little information about. I have looked in every book I have about Israel and searched online and have come up with more questions than answers.

How did this canyon-type settlement get its name? Who lived here and when? What drew people to settle here?

The only fragment of information I found said that there are two ancient fortresses here, one Israelite-era and the other Roman. 

Metsad Zohar is a site in a dry canyon near the intersection of Highways 31 and 90. It seemed odd to me to be looking down at an ancient site. Most archaeological sites in Israel are located on the top of tels, high mounds that you have to climb up to. 

There was greenery near a pool of water, starkly contrasted against the brownness of the landscape, indicating a spring of water that would have made it possible for people to live here. In this dry, inhospitable Negev Desert, water was equivalent with life. 

So many unanswered questions are a reminder that previous generations did not carefully document their life stories and leave them in airtight time capsules for our convenience!

Old Man and the Sea

It was late and we were hungry. We had been in Tel Aviv ministering to a group of people. We found Old Man and the Sea in the Old Jaffa Port. It is an Arabic restaurant. 

The meal began with many small bowls of "salads" - and graduated to include a fish called Dennis. (Ironically, it is not pronounced like the man's name Dennis but more like the woman's name Doniece.)

We first ate Dennis at the Darna Village Hostel in Aqaba, Jordan, where we were assured that it was a "very good…very famous fish." We decided that it was not so famous with us after we spent most of the meal picking bones out of our mouth. It was the boniest fish we'd ever eaten!

We ordered Dennis again at Old Man and the Sea because the server called it by another name. After we began to eat it and found it terribly similar to our experience in Aqaba, we asked the server, "Is this dennis?" 

"Yes, yes. Dennis!" he enthusiastically replied. 

It was a deja vu experience we hope to never repeat. Oh well, at least the "salads" were tasty!