Researchers have
found mosaics in
Israel, including
one that appears to depict the two scouts
Moses sent to explore Canaan.
The mosaic depicts two men carrying a
pole with a cluster of grapes. In Hebrew is
inscribed: “a pole between the two.”
The University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill announced this week the discovery of
the mosaics at the Huqoq site in Galilee.
The mosaic of Moses’ scouts appears to
refer to the book of Numbers, where the
men were sent to the land of Canaan after
their exodus from Egypt. According to
Numbers 13:23, the men “cut off a branch
bearing a single cluster of grapes” and
returned to Moses.
“We went into the land to which you sent
us, and indeed, it is flowing with milk and
honey,” Numbers 13:27 reads.
Previously, Israeli officials and
researchers have uncovered other
mosaics, including ones showing Samson
carrying the gate of Gaza, Noah’s Ark,
Jonah being swallowed by a fish, the
parting of the Red Sea and the
construction of the Tower of Babel.
“The discoveries indicate villagers
flourished under early fifth century
Christian rule, contradicting a widespread
view that Jewish settlement in the region
declined during that period,” UNC-Chapel
Hill said in a statement.
UNC-Chapel Hill professor Jodi Magness
is leading the research teams. She has
participated in some 20 different
excavations in Israel and Greece. She is
also president of the Archaeological
Institute of America.
"The mosaics decorating the floor of the
Huqoq synagogue revolutionize our
understanding of Judaism in this period,”
she said.
"Ancient Jewish art is often thought to be
aniconic, or lacking images. But these
mosaics, colorful and filled with figured
scenes, attest to a rich visual culture as
well as to the dynamism and diversity of
Judaism in the Late Roman and Byzantine
periods."
The mosaics have been removed from the
site for conservation and excavations will
continue in the summer of 2019.
*Photo courtesy: ©Thinkstock/Lastovetskiy*
found mosaics in
Israel, including
one that appears to depict the two scouts
Moses sent to explore Canaan.
The mosaic depicts two men carrying a
pole with a cluster of grapes. In Hebrew is
inscribed: “a pole between the two.”
The University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill announced this week the discovery of
the mosaics at the Huqoq site in Galilee.
The mosaic of Moses’ scouts appears to
refer to the book of Numbers, where the
men were sent to the land of Canaan after
their exodus from Egypt. According to
Numbers 13:23, the men “cut off a branch
bearing a single cluster of grapes” and
returned to Moses.
“We went into the land to which you sent
us, and indeed, it is flowing with milk and
honey,” Numbers 13:27 reads.
Previously, Israeli officials and
researchers have uncovered other
mosaics, including ones showing Samson
carrying the gate of Gaza, Noah’s Ark,
Jonah being swallowed by a fish, the
parting of the Red Sea and the
construction of the Tower of Babel.
“The discoveries indicate villagers
flourished under early fifth century
Christian rule, contradicting a widespread
view that Jewish settlement in the region
declined during that period,” UNC-Chapel
Hill said in a statement.
UNC-Chapel Hill professor Jodi Magness
is leading the research teams. She has
participated in some 20 different
excavations in Israel and Greece. She is
also president of the Archaeological
Institute of America.
"The mosaics decorating the floor of the
Huqoq synagogue revolutionize our
understanding of Judaism in this period,”
she said.
"Ancient Jewish art is often thought to be
aniconic, or lacking images. But these
mosaics, colorful and filled with figured
scenes, attest to a rich visual culture as
well as to the dynamism and diversity of
Judaism in the Late Roman and Byzantine
periods."
The mosaics have been removed from the
site for conservation and excavations will
continue in the summer of 2019.
*Photo courtesy: ©Thinkstock/Lastovetskiy*
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