Gary A. Byers
Herod’s palace complex on the north bank of the Wadi Qelt. Known today as Tulul Abu el-ʿAlayiq, it was Herod’s winter palace and the heart of New Testament Jericho.
In the same region, but not in the same location as Jericho of the Old Testament. New Testament Jericho was also associated with northern Jordan Valley’s oasis of palm trees. Utilizing both the ancient water source at Old Testament Jericho and new sources, it spread out across the Jordan Valley’s west bank. Centerpiece of the New Testament city was Herod’s royal palace.
About a mile and a half south of Old Testament Jericho (Tell es-Sultan), the oldest and lowest city in the world, is the heart of Jericho of the New Testament. It centered on a palace complex built by Herod the Great on both sides of the Wadi Qelt, the river bed which drains from the mountains around Jerusalem about 15 mi west. Known as Tulul Abu el-ʿAlayiq, it is situated in the Jordan Valley at the edge of the Judean mountains.
Old Testament Jericho was located next to a perennial spring, known today as Elisha’s Fountain (2 Kgs 2:18–22). In a region of minimal rainfall, Jericho was an oasis in a dry and barren wilderness (the “City of Palms”—Dt 34:3).
During the intertestamental period, Jericho moved off the tell and was probably located beneath the modern town. From here they would have continued to utilize Elisha’s Fountain. Cultivated land probably spread as far as the gardens and plantations surrounding the town today.
By the second century BC, the use of aqueducts became widespread in Palestine. During the Hasmonean and Herodian periods, they carried water from mountain wadi springs to the royal palaces at Jericho. It became known as a garden city, specializing in date palm and balsam cultivation. Economic development spurred the city’s growth and Alexander Jannaeus (103–76 BC) constructed the first royal palace in the area, on the northern bank of the mouth of the Wadi Qelt (Hachlili 1997: 16; Netzer 1993a: 690). The tropical summers and mild winters in the valley provided a striking contrast to the bone-chilling damp winter of Jerusalem, just 15 mi west, but 1,600 ft higher in altitude. The Hasmoneans considered it the perfect location for royal Jerusalem’s winter palace.
Hasmonean Jericho
The initial Hasmonean palace complex of mudbrick structures on the wadi’s north bank included one building 165 x 165 ft. with at least a partial second story, decorated with stucco and colorful frescoes, surrounded by a moat. Swimming pools, ritual baths, additional buildings and installations were added later (Hachlili 1997: 16). It was in one of these swimming pools that Herod had the high priest Aristobulus III drowned (Josephus Antiquities XV, 50–61, War I, 435–37). Also in this complex, in 1998, archaeologists found the oldest known synagogue in the world. Part of the Hasmonean palace complex (Rabinovich 1998), it included a small courtyard, a ritual bath and a room with a large U-shaped bench probably used for ceremonial meals. It was destroyed, along with the rest of the palace, by an earthquake in 31 BC.
Herodian Jericho
Later, Herod constructed another series of mudbrick structures including what archaeologists call his Winter Palace I (originally called the “Gymnasium”), Winter Palace II, Winter Palace III and the Hippodrome complex (Hachlili 1997: 16–17). The first palace, located on the wadi’s south bank, was probably built while Cleopatra of Egypt still ruled Jericho (35–30 BC). This rectangular structure included rooms and installations which reflected ceremonial and official functions,
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was well as pools and baths for recreational use. The Hasmonean palace on the north bank was apparently still standing and in the possession of the Hasmonean family (Netzer 1993a: 690).
After the earthquake of 31 BC and the death of Cleopatra, Herod took control of the Hasmonean palace and built his second palace over it (30–25 BC). This complex on the wadi’s north bank had a large swimming pool, elaborate gardens and a private royal villa in the south wing. The eastern wing, constructed on two levels, included a hall decorated by colorful frescoes, two swimming pools and a bathhouse. This wing was probably devoted to recreational activity (Hachlili 1997: 16–17).
Herod’s third palace, dated to 15–10 BC, was built on both sides of Wadi Qelt to maximize enjoyment of the seasonal flow of water in winter (Netzer 1993a: 690). The complex on the northern bank included a bathhouse, sunken gardens and a large pool for recreational purposes, as well as rooms for official functions. Archaeologists understand all three Herodian palaces as a single unit developed in stages (Hachlili 1997: 17), and all three probably coexisted in the final years of his reign (Netzer 1993a: 690). In design and decoration, they demonstrated Herod’s fondness for Roman architectural style. Archaeologists found in the palaces the same building traditions known from Pompeii in Italy.
Herod came here when he was suffering with his last terrible illness. He died at Jericho, five days after killing his eldest son and heir, Antipater, Josephus (War 1, 656–73) said Herod’s body was carried to another summer palace at the Herodium where he was buried (see Bible and Spade, Autumn 1997: 96). After Herod’s death, Josephus stated that Herod’s ex-slave Simeon claimed the crown and burned the Jericho palace (Josephus War 2, 57), and Archelaus, who succeeded Jericho Herod, rebuilt it (Josephus Antiquities 17: 340).
Herodium. While Josephus says Herod died at his palace in Jericho, he also says Herod was buried at Herodium. Another of Herod’s winter palaces, it was located in the Judean wilderness about 6 mi south of Jerusalem.
Herod also constructed a rectangular hippodrome (see Josephus Antiquities XVII, 175, 178, 193) and theater complex which archaeologists have identified almost half a mile south (Tell es-Samrat; see Hachlili 1997: 17). The unique construction of the racecourse combined with the theater and an additional superstructure, is unparalleled construction in the Hellenistic-Roman world (Netzer 1993b: 692).
Jericho and the New Testament
By the time of Jesus, New Testament Jericho extended from near the Jordan River to the edge of the Judean mountains on the west. Water was piped to all sectors of the community by aqueducts.
The Jericho Road (Lk 10:30) passed from here to Jerusalem. Owing to the royal nature and importance of this city, it is not surprising to read the chief of the tax collectors lived here (Lk 19:1–2). It would also be reasonable to expect to find blind men sitting on the side of the road, begging from wealthy inhabitants of the town or the numerous and influential travelers passing through (Lk 19:35). The spread-out nature of New Testament Jericho and the wide-ranging periods the area was inhabited, probably offer the best explanation for the apparent contradictions of Jesus meeting one blind man entering Jericho (Lk 18:35, 19:1) and meeting blind Bartimaeus (Mk 10:46) and two blind men leaving (Mt 20:29).
Bibliography
Hachlili, R.
1997 Herodian Jericho. Pp. 16–18 in The Oxford Encyclopedia of Archaeology in the Near East, Vol. 3, ed. E.M. Myers. New York: Oxford University Press.
Netzer, E.
1993a Tulul Abu el-ʿAlayiq. Pp. 682–91 in New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land Vol. 2, ed E. Stern. New York: Simon & Schuster.
1993b Tell es-Samarat, Pp. 691–92 in New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land Vol. 2, ed E. Stern. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Rabinovich, A.
1998 World’s Oldest Synagogue Unearthed Near Jericho. Jerusalem Post International, April 11.