Masada
Don't look for "Masada" in your concordance, for you won't find it there. Masada is not a place that is mentioned in the Bible. It is proximate to the biblical story, however. And it is a fascinating place to visit when you are in the Holy Land and to read about when you are not.
Look at a map of Israel, and move your finger about two-thirds of the way down the length of the Dead Sea. Then move a little to the west, and there you'll find Masada. It is an imposing plateau in the middle of the hot and barren wilderness of the Dead Sea region. Herod the Great, who was a prolific builder, established a considerable fortress and winter palace for himself atop Masada. To this day, visitors can see the discovered evidence of the opulence that Herod built into this setting for himself. Yet Masada's real claim to fame comes after the time of Herod. In A.D. 66, a group of Jewish patriots endeavored to revolt against Rome and overthrow the Roman occupation of their land. The result was a devastating defeat for the Jews. The Romans squashed the revolt, and in the process they destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem (A.D. 70). The Temple that had been built on that spot by Solomon nearly a thousand years earlier, then rebuilt in the days of the post-exilic prophets Haggai and Zechariah, and further refurbished by Herod the Great just before the time of Jesus, was now gone. There hasn't been a Temple since. The Romans pursued the fleeing Jewish rebels down toward the Dead Sea, eventually surrounding them at Masada. The physical attributes of Masada made it a natural refuge, and the Jewish patriots were able to survive there for some time against the Roman siege. Nearly 2,000 years later, evidence of the Roman military camp and assault are still visible there in the desert. The ancient Jewish historian Josephus offers detailed account of the Jewish revolt and the Roman response. In his famous account, when the Romans were finally successful in overtaking Masada, they found their Jewish enemies all dead. Evidently the patriots thought it better to kill themselves and one another than to fall into the hands of the Romans. |
The photo from Masada is compliments of BiblePlaces.com.
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