Todd Bolen
The following report was sent to us from Israel by Todd Bolen, an instructor with the Master’s College Israel Bible Extension (IBEX) program. Prof. Bolen and a group of his April 1999 and he shares the experience with us.—Ed.
Construction is nearing completion on the “Biblical Garden” project at Moshav Yad HaShmonah. The hillside of this Israeli settlement where ABR is based during its excavations of Kh. el-Maqatir has been transformed into a landscape reminiscent of Biblical days. Grapevines are flourishing and winepresses have been built nearby. Olive trees are producing and olive presses are being set in place. A watchtower has been constructed and burial caves have been carved out of bedrock. The facade of a Galilean synagogue has been relocated to the gardens. Very soon tourists, including resident ABR dig participants, will be able to experience many of the ways of the ancient Israelite, from his fanning techniques to his worship structures to his burial practices. It is a rare opportunity to be transported back in time to see the customs of the Bible.
Some 65 km (40 mi) north of Yad HaShmonah an annual event occurs that likewise transports the modern person thousands of years back in history. The Samaritan Passover has, for over 2, 000 years, been observed on Mt. Gerizim and until today the Samaritans continue to gather there to offer the sacrifices prescribed in the Torah (Pentateuch). The Jewish people celebrate Passover each year, but since the Temple in Jerusalem was leveled by the Romans in AD 70, the Biblically mandated sacrifices have not been offered. The Samaritans, in contrast, did not give their allegiance to the Jerusalem Temple (since the days of the Exile) and held their sacrificial services on Mt. Gerizim instead. A reference to this is clear in the New Testament when the woman at the well asked Jesus if worship should be held on Mt. Gerizim or in Jerusalem (Jn 4:20). The Samaritan temple that was constructed in the fifth century BC and destroyed in the second century BC has now been excavated. Even after their temple was destroyed, the Samaritans continued to offer sacrifices on Mt. Gerizim and do so to this day.
Samaritan elders on Mt. Gerizim at the Passover celebration.
The Samaritan Passover must be one of the most worthwhile events to attend in Israel today. If you can get beyond the crowds and the noise, you can almost imagine yourself back in Second Temple period times and feel like you are actually present at the sacrifices as they used to be. Come to think of it, keep the crowds and the noise, or the experience probably would not be so close to how it really was then (but remove the flashes and video cameras!).
BSpade 14:2 (Spring 2001) p. 42
A lamb is slain for the Samaritan Passover sacrifice on Mt. Gerizim.
The Passover service is not an easy sight to observe. As it was at the Jerusalem Temple, certain areas are restricted to certain people. The priests have the most privileged positions. The Samaritan men, the heads of the households, take their place with their family’s lamb at the sacrificial trough. Surrounding them are their families. Outside the compound, visitors maneuver to get a good vantage point from which to watch the festivities. By arriving several hours early, my group was able to visit the home of the head priest of the Samaritans.1 After the visit, I staked out a post on a rooftop overlooking the sacrifice area.
The service started near the time of sunset. The Samaritan men were dressed in white garments, the leaders wore red hats and the priests were dressed in a distinctive turquoise-green garb. The Samaritans began chanting and praying, much of which sounded like the familiar wails of the Muslim call to prayer. Then the signal was given and the head of each household reached for his knife to slice the throat of his family’s lamb. As soon as the deed was done, the Samaritans all began clapping, congratulating each other and celebrating. About 35 sheep were slain, about one for each larger family unit (there are only about 600 Samaritans alive in the world today). Then the sheep were skinned and put on a pole (skewer) and carried over to one of the 2–3 m (6-10 ft) deep roasting pits to be cooked for most of the night. By this time it was possible for me to get inside the sacrificial compound and see the skinning, cleaning and skewering of the lambs at close range.
A few, maybe obvious, observations. A sacrifice is a very bloody event. The men had blood on their hands and all over their clothes. To the Samaritan or the ancient Israelite, the Mosaic statement, “the life is in the blood,” must have left a profound impression of the cost of the sin that required such a sacrifice. Christians today in the sterile environment of the church sanctuary may miss the benefit of understanding the gravity of sin that was an integral part of the life of the Israelites. The judgment for sin is death, and God allowed the substitution of animal death until he provided the substitute of his Son’s death.
The Passover sacrifice is a family affair. The children were at the ceremony, playing with the sheep beforehand. In the Old Testament the Lord commanded the Israelites to bring the lamb into the household on the tenth day of the month, four days before the sacrifice. The family would “get acquainted” with the lamb in the course of those days and the children would be especially impacted when the father put the knife to the lamb’s throat. You can imagine the cries of the children as their new pet was killed, “Why, daddy, why?’“ and the teaching moment that would have been gained.
What we saw is much like what the Samaritans have been doing since before the time of Christ. Passover was and is a central part of the Jewish calendar, and the New Testament records that Jesus was careful to attend each Passover during His ministry. Jesus would have been a part of the crowds, confusion and blood-letting. He would have seen and heard and smelled much of the same sights and sounds and stenches. Few events today so effectively transport the modem person back to the ceremonies of Biblical days.
BSpade 14:2 (Spring 2001) p. 43