Spring Geography

Tuesday, August 25, 2009 -- Week of Proper 16, Year One
Louis, King of France, 1270

Today's Readings for the Daily Office (Book of Common Prayer, p. 980)
Psalms 5, 6 (morning) 10, 11 (evening)
1 Kings 1:38 - 2:4
Acts 26:24 - 27:8
Mark 13:28-37

I got sidetracked today wondering about the geography of the story in 1 Kings. David's oldest son, and presumed heir, Adonijah had taken a group of leaders, including General Joab, the priest Abiathar, and all of the king's sons except Solomon, to sacrifice and feast "by the stone Zoheleth, which is beside En-rogel." It appears to be a celebration of Adonijah's coronation as the new king.

Back at the palace, Nathan, Bathsheba, and Zadok conspire to have Solomon named king. They manage to get David's consent, and they have Solomon ride David's mule to Gihon to anoint him king. He is accompanied by David's bodyguard.

From En-rogel, Adonijah's party could hear the sound of the tumultuous celebration for Solomon. Jonathan, the priest Abiathar's son, brings the news of Solomon's accession to the throne, and puts Adonijah's party into panic. They know the tradition -- when a king takes the throne, he kills all his rivals. Adonijah flees to the sacrificial altar to seek sanctuary.

I looked at some maps and images to get some sense of the geography. Jerusalem was founded as a hilltop city because of its accessibility to water. En-rogel and Gihon are both locations for water.

The stone Zoheleth, the serpent stone, is near the fountain of En-rogel in the village of Siloam. It is located not far outside the city walls of David's time. The fountain would have been a place where women would have drawn water for their family's daily use. It was there that Adonijah brought his colleagues to celebrate his coronation.

Gihon Spring is a very significant place in Jerusalem's history. It was the main source of water for Jerusalem. There are three water systems that brought water from the intermittent spring into the city where it could be stored, primarily in the pool of Siloam. The oldest aquaduct dates from the Middle Bronze Age (2000-1500 BCE). The succession of Solomon happened around 970 BCE. One theory says that David originally conjured Jerusalem by having Joab's troops climb through one of the tunnels built for accessing water, but recent excavations showing tower fortifications at that point make that story unlikely. A scribal error probably changed the words about the attack from "with their daggers" to the words "through the water shaft."

Around the year 700, King Hezekiah, fearing siege, had a new tunnel dug to a collection pool. That tunnel is over 1700 feet long, around 1/3 mile, and it can be walked, as tourists sometimes will do today.

The Gihon Spring is much nearer to the hill of Jerusalem than En-rogel is, and that's what got my curiosity going this morning. Where were Andonijah's men when they heard the noise of Solomon's celebration at Gihon? Seen from a map, they aren't far apart. While looking for maps and images, I came across a delightful web site created by Gayln Wiemers from Iowa who has pictures, videos and drawings of the Gihon Spring and Hezekiah tunnel. Here's the link http://www.generationword.com/Israel/jerusalem_sites/hezekiah_tunnel.html

Seeing what he's done makes me want to take some pictures and do some video when I'm on pilgrimage to Israel/Palestine next Lent. Can't wait to see these places in person.

Lowell

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About Morning Reflections
Morning Reflections is a brief thought about the scripture readings from the Daily Office of Morning and Evening Prayer according to the practice found in the Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church.

Morning Prayer begins on p. 80 of the Book of Common Prayer.
Evening Prayer begins on p. 117

An online resource for praying the Daily Office is found at www.missionstclare.com
Another form of the office from Phyllis Tickle's "Divine Hours" is available on our partner web site www.ExploreFaith.org at this location -- http://explorefaith.org/prayer/fixed/index.html


The Mission of St. Paul's Episcopal Church
is to explore and celebrate
God's infinite grace, acceptance, and love.

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worship weekly
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Lowell Grisham, Rector

St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Fayetteville, Arkansas