Shephelah Fieldtrip

Possibly the most fun-packed field trip so far, the Shephelah had a little something for everyone! The Shephelah are the foothills that lie between the Mediterranean coastal plains and the central hill country. Naturally, this region served as a battle ground for the Philistines on the coast and the Israelites in the hill country.

I’m having trouble finding my itinerary for this trip, and it was so very long ago…just bear with me. As with all our grueling fieldtrips I had to lug myself out of bed at the unnatural hour of seven in the morning (note: this is not actually an unnatural hour) just to get my lunch packed and grab a bite to eat before catching the bus. That was pretty easy to do without the itinerary, but this next part could get a little shaky.

The bus briefly drove through, but did not stop in, the Aijalon valley. It was here in the Aijalon valley that God caused the sun to stand still so that Joshua could defeat his enemies. South of the Aijalon lie five other valleys, the next valley being the Sorek, where we did stop. The notable fact about the Sorek is that it was the location where the story of Samson took place. Randy brought along a donkey jawbone for this part and we slew a few thousand philistines. I also recall there being a large number of red flowers in bloom here…perhaps what the Bible refers to as “rose of Sharon”?

Here’s a cool place everyone will know, the Elah valley. The name might not ring a bell, but it was here – between the towns of Azekah and Socoh – that the Philistines sent out Goliath against the Israelite camp. We all know how that ended up of course. We had a short little re-enactment here, after which I grabbed five very smooth stones for my pockets.

Other fun activities: Spelunking! We explored some small caves which were used by early Christians as places of hiding, if my memory serves correct. There was also a colleseuim which we visited – a truly unique and enjoyable experience. I’ve never been in a colleseuim before and it was even better than I’d anticipated. Naturally there was much gladiator reminiscing and even a little re-enacting. But it’s not all just about our amusement – there is also the very sobering thought that in that very same colleseuim Christians and others were pitilessly slaughtered as sport and diversion for a bloodthirsty crowd. It’s easy to forget things that happen at another seam in time, or on the other side of the world.