<\/p>\n
JERICHO, Judean Desert\u00a0\u2013 Long before modern cities and borders, an ancient priestly family called the Hasmoneans restored religious freedom and strengthened Jewish identity. They turned Jericho into a place of power, luxury, and politics.<\/p>\n
The Hasmoneans are remembered as a Jewish priestly family who led the revolt against Greek-Seleucid rule. The Greeks had outlawed the practice of Jewish traditions and desecrated the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0Excavations in Jericho at the Hasmonean Palace complex uncovered one of the region’s most impressive Second Temple Period sites. For security reasons, it’s not accessible year-round.<\/p>\n
Israeli Tour Guide Gadi Himof told\u00a0CBN News that the complex is open “only\u00a0on holidays, Hanukkah, Passover, Sukkot.”<\/p>\n
He added, “It’s\u00a0three days (per year) each chance, and\u00a0that’s\u00a0it.\u00a0That’s\u00a0why you can see here a few hundred people\u00a0on these\u00a0days, because\u00a0they\u2019re the\u00a0only\u00a0days you can come here to see the archeology, our history, our tradition.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Hasmoneans fought to restore Jewish worship, religious freedom, and devotion to the God of Israel. They eventually established an independent Jewish kingdom here, two thousand years before modern Israel.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n
It’s not hard to see parallels between modern Israel and that Jewish state of the past. Both faced challenges in maintaining sovereignty over a complex geopolitical environment, and both faced concerns over maintaining security as well as safety.<\/p>\n
The fortified complex served as a palace, as well as a defensive stronghold. Ruins show a city located in a strategic area. Discoveries also indicate that city leaders were observing Jewish practices, which is exactly what they had fought for against the Greeks.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Hasmonians\u00a0and later Herod chose Jericho as a winter capital because its climate and commerce made it an important hub.<\/p>\n
***Please sign up for\u00a0CBN Newsletters\u00a0and download the\u00a0CBN News app\u00a0to ensure you\u00a0receive the latest news from a Christian perspective.***<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n So began the Hasmonean slide into assimilation. The remains show a lavish lifestyle, with one foot in Greek culture and the other in traditional Jewish customs.<\/p>\n Himof explained, “You actually can see\u00a0here\u00a0a warm\u00a0room\u00a0with the bath. \u00a0You can actually take a bath inside. Over there, you can also see the hot room, the cold room, and one\u00a0thing\u00a0here, not in any other bath house\u00a0\u2013 this is a mikveh.\u00a0 So,\u00a0they\u00a0actually\u00a0had\u00a0a kosher mikveh and took a good shower\u00a0like the Greek\u00a0king.”\u00a0<\/p>\n Herod the Great, who came to power under Roman authority in 37 BC, dramatically expanded the Jericho complex. The remains allow visitors to see the shift from a Jewish monarchy to Roman-backed kingship, showing the evolution of Second Temple architecture and culture.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat Herod the Great\u00a0built\u00a0here\u00a0is\u00a0just unbelievable,” Himof declared. “He\u00a0built\u00a0one big palace, but\u00a0it’s\u00a0built\u00a0on both\u00a0sides\u00a0of the valley. \u2018Valley? \u00a0We are in the\u00a0middle\u00a0of the desert.”<\/p>\n He continued, “If you invited someone from Rome\u00a0to your palaces\u00a0from both sides of the river with a bridge in the middle, you\u00a0can feel like you\u2019re\u00a0in Rome.\u201d<\/p>\n The trenches from the Six-Day War in 1967\u00a0show how\u00a0the issue of\u00a0security\u00a0has continued through the centuries.\u00a0 Located near the Jordan Valley, Jericho is close to key trade routes,\u00a0which\u00a0required\u00a0protection from the empires that sought the destruction of the Jewish people. Today,\u00a0Israel\u00a0maintains its security and\u00a0sovereignty while it flourishes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" JERICHO, Judean Desert\u00a0\u2013 Long before modern cities and borders, an ancient priestly family called the Hasmoneans restored religious freedom and strengthened Jewish identity. They turned Jericho into a place of power, luxury, and politics. The Hasmoneans are remembered as a Jewish priestly family who led the revolt against Greek-Seleucid rule. The Greeks had outlawed the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":27954,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[1341,9245,736,9246,1745,9248,4453,1508,9247,4014],"class_list":{"0":"post-27953","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-jesus","8":"tag-ancient","9":"tag-hasmonean","10":"tag-identity","11":"tag-jericho","12":"tag-jewish","13":"tag-preserve","14":"tag-reveal","15":"tag-ruins","16":"tag-sruggle","17":"tag-tradition"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27953","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=27953"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27953\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/27954"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=27953"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=27953"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=27953"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}