A Visit to Biblical Lachish Last Month

In May, I visited Israel again — Yes, the third visit during the war since October 7, 2023! Because so much was happening after I returned, I have waited until now to begin posting about the trip.

I volunteered to work at the archaeological dig in Shiloh, but on our days off, we visited several places with the archaeologists. Lachish was one of those places.

Lachish borders on the Wadi Lachish and is considered one of the most important archaeological mounds in the Judean mountains. It overlooks the ancient road from the lowlands to the mountains. In the Canaanite period and at the time of the kingdom of Judah, Lachish was a key city in the region.

Among the most important finds on the mound were an Assyrian siege ramp, a Judahite palace, and a Canaanite temple. Below the site are vineyards which preserve the cultural landscape.

Biblically, you may recognize “Lachish” from the First Temple period with the conquest by the Assyrian King Sennacherib in 701 BCE against King Hezekiah (2 Kings 18 and 19). Another time Lachish is mentioned was the Babylonian conquest by Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BCE, which led to the destruction of the First Temple in Jerusalem and the end of the Kingdom of Judah.

We came upon a place with a lot of thrones and stopped to see what that was all about. There was a sign that explained that these were the Royal Thrones of Judah. The thrones had the names of the monarchs according to the order of their reign, who ruled in Judah after the division of the united monarchy, in 928 BCE, and until the destruction of the First Temple. The height of the throne’s back symbolizes the length of the reign. Who had the longest reign? The winner: Manasseh—56 years.

The flower is from a Caper bush, which is popular all over Israel.

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