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Ezra 2 (WEB)

Jericho — Healing of Blind Men on the Road to Jericho·City

It is certain Jesus traveled the road from Jericho to Jerusalem several times on his trips between the Holy City and Galilee, as Jericho was a major stop over on the way through the Jordan Valley between the two. Although by no means the easiest route, the Jordan Valley-Jericho-Jerusalem road was one of the only ways to travel from Galilee to Jerusalem without having to go through Samaria. Many Jews famously avoided the Samaritans.

The road from Jericho to Jerusalem in the first century A.D. was a steep one, rising from 770 feet below sea level to 2,500 feet above sea level in only about twenty miles, a grade of about 3%. It was also located in an arid, rugged desert with few sources of water.

The route followed the Wadi el-Qelt, running along the ridge above the canyon. Herod had built several aqueducts along the way to channel water from the springs in the wadi to Jericho, including the spring of Parat, a few miles from Jerusalem. He also built several bridges to aid travel along the wadi.

As shown by Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan, the road could be dangerous, with the wilderness areas between Jericho and Jerusalem a perfect place for brigands. The area was very difficult to patrol with so many hiding spots among the canyons and hills, and it remains so to this day. Sometime after Jesus’ time, the Romans paved much of the road and built a fort along the route, at a place referred to in the Bible as the “Ascent of Adumim” (Josh 15:7), a pass in the mountains about thirteen miles east of Jerusalem and a strategic spot on the route. As a testament to the area’s lawlessness, there has been some fortification there ever since, including a police station there today watching over the extremely politically sensitive East Jerusalem area. It was also in this area that early Christians remembered Jesus’ story about the Good Samaritan. In about A.D. 480 a monastery was built on an earlier pilgrimage site, the ruins of which are in the courtyard of the modern police station.

Also along the route is the ancient monastery of St. George. Although the monastery was built in the fifth century by John of Thebes, it was first occupied much earlier by local desert hermits. It is named for a sixth century resident of the monastery – George of Koziba. It is built into the cliffs of the Wadi el-Qelt, and is said to be the spot where Elijah stayed on his journey to the Sinai. It was destroyed in the Persian invasion of A.D. 604, rebuilt in 1179, abandoned after the Crusader era, and finally rebuilt from 1878-1901. 

See also Jericho

Jack Finegan, The Archaeology of the New Testament: The Life of Jesus and the Beginning of the Early Church, (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1992), 145, 152. Finegan discusses the road from Jericho to Jerusalem and the ruins along the way.

Todd Bolen, “Jesus’ Final Journey to Jerusalem” Jerusalem Perspective Online, March 17, 2004. Online: http://www.jerusalemperspective.com/Default.aspx?tabid=27&ArticleID=1850 (accessed April 27, 2010).

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Ezra 2 (WEB)

1Now these are the children of the province who went up out of the captivity of those who had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away to Babylon, and who returned to Jerusalem and Judah, everyone to his city; 2who came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, and Baanah.

The number of the men of the people of Israel: 3The children of Parosh, two thousand one hundred seventy-two. 4The children of Shephatiah, three hundred seventy-two. 5The children of Arah, seven hundred seventy-five. 6The children of Pahathmoab, of the children of Jeshua and Joab, two thousand eight hundred twelve. 7The children of Elam, one thousand two hundred fifty-four. 8The children of Zattu, nine hundred forty-five. 9The children of Zaccai, seven hundred sixty. 10The children of Bani, six hundred forty-two. 11The children of Bebai, six hundred twenty-three. 12The children of Azgad, one thousand two hundred twenty-two. 13The children of Adonikam, six hundred sixty-six. 14The children of Bigvai, two thousand fifty-six. 15The children of Adin, four hundred fifty-four. 16The children of Ater, of Hezekiah, ninety-eight. 17The children of Bezai, three hundred twenty-three. 18The children of Jorah, one hundred twelve. 19The children of Hashum, two hundred twenty-three. 20The children of Gibbar, ninety-five. 21The children of Bethlehem, one hundred twenty-three. 22The men of Netophah, fifty-six. 23The men of Anathoth, one hundred twenty-eight. 24The children of Azmaveth, forty-two. 25The children of Kiriath Arim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, seven hundred forty-three. 26The children of Ramah and Geba, six hundred twenty-one. 27The men of Michmas, one hundred twenty-two. 28The men of Bethel and Ai, two hundred twenty-three. 29The children of Nebo, fifty-two. 30The children of Magbish, one hundred fifty-six. 31The children of the other Elam, one thousand two hundred fifty-four. 32The children of Harim, three hundred twenty. 33The children of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, seven hundred twenty-five. 34The children of Jericho, three hundred forty-five. 35The children of Senaah, three thousand six hundred thirty.

36The priests: the children of Jedaiah, of the house of Jeshua, nine hundred seventy-three. 37The children of Immer, one thousand fifty-two. 38The children of Pashhur, one thousand two hundred forty-seven. 39The children of Harim, one thousand seventeen.

40The Levites: the children of Jeshua and Kadmiel, of the children of Hodaviah, seventy-four. 41The singers: the children of Asaph, one hundred twenty-eight. 42The children of the gatekeepers: the children of Shallum, the children of Ater, the children of Talmon, the children of Akkub, the children of Hatita, the children of Shobai, in all one hundred thirty-nine.

43The temple servants: the children of Ziha, the children of Hasupha, the children of Tabbaoth, 44the children of Keros, the children of Siaha, the children of Padon, 45the children of Lebanah, the children of Hagabah, the children of Akkub, 46the children of Hagab, the children of Shamlai, the children of Hanan, 47the children of Giddel, the children of Gahar, the children of Reaiah, 48the children of Rezin, the children of Nekoda, the children of Gazzam, 49the children of Uzza, the children of Paseah, the children of Besai, 50the children of Asnah, the children of Meunim, the children of Nephisim, 51the children of Bakbuk, the children of Hakupha, the children of Harhur, 52the children of Bazluth, the children of Mehida, the children of Harsha, 53the children of Barkos, the children of Sisera, the children of Temah, 54the children of Neziah, the children of Hatipha.

55The children of Solomon’s servants: the children of Sotai, the children of Hassophereth, the children of Peruda, 56the children of Jaalah, the children of Darkon, the children of Giddel, 57the children of Shephatiah, the children of Hattil, the children of Pochereth Hazzebaim, the children of Ami. 58All the temple servants, and the children of Solomon’s servants, were three hundred ninety-two.

59These were those who went up from Tel Melah, Tel Harsha, Cherub, Addan, and Immer; but they could not show their fathers’ houses and their offspring, whether they were of Israel: 60the children of Delaiah, the children of Tobiah, the children of Nekoda, six hundred fifty-two. 61Of the children of the priests: the children of Habaiah, the children of Hakkoz, and the children of Barzillai, who took a wife of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and was called after their name. 62These sought their place among those who were registered by genealogy, but they were not found; therefore they were deemed disqualified and removed from the priesthood. 63The governor told them that they should not eat of the most holy things until a priest stood up to serve with Urim and with Thummim.

64The whole assembly together was forty-two thousand three hundred sixty, 65in addition to their male servants and their female servants, of whom there were seven thousand three hundred thirty-seven; and they had two hundred singing men and singing women. 66Their horses were seven hundred thirty-six; their mules, two hundred forty-five; 67their camels, four hundred thirty-five; their donkeys, six thousand seven hundred twenty.

68Some of the heads of fathers’ households, when they came to Yahweh’s house which is in Jerusalem, offered willingly for God’s house to set it up in its place. 69They gave according to their ability into the treasury of the work sixty-one thousand darics of gold, five thousand minas of silver, and one hundred priests’ garments.

70So the priests and the Levites, with some of the people, the singers, the gatekeepers, and the temple servants, lived in their cities, and all Israel in their cities.

World English Bible · public domain · ebible.org

Jericho