In Numbers 13, Moses sends spies to check out the Promised Land. The Scriptures do not tell us which cities the scouts visited, but we can guess they took they most common route through Canaan, and visited the biggest cities along that route. The first city the spies are likely to have reached is Arad. Arad was a prosperous and …
In the Footsteps of Abraham
Just a few verses in Numbers 13 presage a major turning point in the life of the young nation of Israel. Twelve men are chosen to be the first ones to enter the Promised Land and report back. The twelve spies left Kadesh-Barnea and went north into Canaan. They were instructed to “go up through the Negev and on into …
When is an hour not an hour?
Keeping track of the passage of time was crucial to the ancient Egyptians, especially to the astronomers and priests who were responsible for determining the exact hour for the daily rituals and sacrifices. They divided the day into two equal periods of twelve hours each. However, due to the revolution of the earth around the sun, the length of the hours …
What’s a “naja haje”?
The Egyptian cobra, also called a “naja haje,” is most likely the snake the magicians in Pharaoh’s court used in their duel with Moses. It is the most dangerous and one of the largest cobras of the African continent. When disturbed, cobras have the ability to raise the front quarter of their bodies off the ground and spread their necks …