Week 2!

Woo three day weekend! Hope everyone is enjoying a little break from school! :)

This week in lecture we continued discussion on what makes a space sacred and furthermore, what evidence do we have in regards to Jerusalem being a sacred space. We also spent time discussing the historical background up until the time of David’s Jerusalem. 

Tuesday:

Jerusalem is known as an axis mundi meaning “Center of the World”. As an axis mundi Jerusalem attracts legends and stories from all around that could or could not be true. Professor gave examples of three major stories that are now associated and were drawn towards Jerusalem. This first story is that Adam, from the Garden of Eden, is now buried under the Dome of the Rock. Of course this legend can never really be verified because that would involve excavating the Dome of the Rock, which I highly doubt will be possible in the near future. The second legend is the story of Akedah, the Binding of Isaac. In the story of Akedah, God tells Abraham to take his son, Isaac, to Mt. Moriah, to build an alter, and to sacrifice his son. Abraham does as God has instructed him too, but just before Abraham is to kill Isaac, God stops him and gives him a ram to sacrifice instead. He says that asking Abraham to sacrifice his only son was to test his fear of God, and since Abraham did as he was told, Isaac was saved. It is now said that Jerusalem was built on Mt. Moriah. The third story mentioned was from Genesis 14, “Melchizedek.”

Professor also discussed how time could be considered sacred. He talked about the Sabbath and how it is regarded differently depending on which religion you study.

Lastly, Professor discussed the significance of the construction of temples in all three religions that regard Jerusalem as holy. The temple is a place where people go to worship God; it is considered a sacred space, a break from the profane, where people can come into contact with the Heavens. In Judaism this place is the Temple Mount and the Western Wall. In Christianity it is the Holy Sepulcher. And is Islam it is the Dome of the Rock and the al Aqsa Mosque.

Thursday:

There is much historical evidence, other than just the Hebrew Bible that indicates the significance and presence of Jerusalem as a sacred space. Professor Cargill lectured about the Execration Texts and the Amarna Letters, both of which I found very interesting. The execration texts were described as being similar to voodoo dolls. People would write curses and names on these stone dolls to represent their enemies and then they would destroy them, signifying the destruction of their enemies. On one of the execration texts found the name “Rusalimum”, meaning Jerusalem, was inscribed. The Amarna Letters were letters written to the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaton, asking for money to help protect against enemies. During this time period, kings of different lands would write to the Pharaoh, the strongest, wealthiest ruler, asking for money to help defeat other kings in surrounding areas. In return the kings would promise to honor the Pharaoh and do everything in his name. Professor used the example of the two bullies and the lunch money. In one of the letters written to Akhenaton, the king uses the phrase “Consider Jerusalem!” indicating the presence of Jerusalem during these historical times. During lecture we also looked at some of the archeological evidence pertaining to Jerusalem, such as the fortifications that were found that probably were built to protect the Gihon Spring and also the libation table.

Next we discussed the Biblical references to Jerusalem and the problems with the “conquest” of Jerusalem. In Joshua 10, 21, and 24, the story of Jerusalem being taken by the Israelites is told. The Israelites are said to have wiped out all their enemies, leaving no one, and that they had done this in the name of God and God had handed their enemies to them. But in Joshua 15 and Judges 1, the Bible says that the Israelites did not take Jerusalem completely and that some Canaanites and Jebusites were still there. These passages signify the historical presence of Jerusalem but bring into question which story is true. Why does one story say the Israelites came in and wiped out the city completely, yet the other story claims that this was not the case? This contradiction between the two books and within the book of Joshua then led into the discussion of how did the Israelites get there and is it possible that the Bible was written by multiple authors or not in chronological order?

Professor discussed three possible theories for the appearance of the Israelites. The first theory is the one stated in the Bible, of the Israelites conquest/non-conquest. The second theory is the Israelites slowly migrated to Jerusalem over time and once they were established began to make up stories pertaining to their origin. Third, is the theory that the Israelites were always there and they are of mixed ethnic background. Essentially, the Canaanites slowly changed their eating habits and their ways of life, etc until they had gradually become what we now consider Israelites. There is some archeological evidence to back up this theory but not nearly enough for this to be the only story.

Week 1!

Today in lecture, Professor discussed what makes a place sacred. For the most part, sacred spaces can be traced back to either a supernatural event, or a birth, something witnessed by either a single person or a group of people. That person then tells others who then pilgrimage to experience this new found place themselves. As believes begin to accumulate, people begin to build small shrines. Soon, as more word spreads and more people visit, actual shrines are built, attracting even more visitors. Overtime hotels, shrines, parking lots, etc are built and the once undiscovered place has become a holy city.  Professor also discussed the importance of water and trade in the creations of great cities.

Water is seen as ritually purifying in each of the three religions that have ties back to Jerusalem. In Christianity, water is used in baptisms as holy water. In Islam, people use water to cleanse their bodies before entering mosque. Lastly, in Judaism, during the Herodian period, people would bath in a large pool before entering Temple. Water is also crucial for trade. Great cities need to either be built by the water or have access to trade otherwise.

Professor then began talking about Jerusalem, the holiest city in Judaism, one of the top two holiest cities in Christianity, and the third holiest city (behind Mecca and Medina) in Islam. But what was interesting to me was the fact that there was very little fresh water in the city, the Gihon was the only source of water and it had to be brought to the city through a tunnel and shaft, and later into the Siloam Pool. But Jerusalem did have access to trade since it was built on the Fertile Crescent along a trade route. Although trade did not go straight through Jerusalem, it had very much exposure and access to trade along the Via Maris (Great Trunk Road) and the King’s Highway. Professor also emphasized the fact that Jerusalem was also built strategically between three valleys, which provided the city with much protection, as it is hard for an enemy to attack uphill. The fact that the city was built on a hill also tied to the belief that the higher they were, the closer to the heavens they became.

What I found the most interesting about lecture was the fact that the location of Jerusalem does not immediately flash holy city in my mind. What set Jerusalem apart from other cities around the world that would have even more favorable conditions, such as more access to water, or trade? We read passages from the Bible and the Quran that can be and are often thought of as pointing towards Jerusalem as the Holy City, but it sounded as if those passages were used as support for why Jerusalem became the Holy City after the fact, not reason to create it in the first place? I may be mistaken, as I have little background in any religion at all, but lecture definitely left me wondering what sets Jerusalem apart from the rest of the world...