Recently a stunning archeological discovery was made at the site of a 5th-century synagogue in Huqoq, Israel.
Several mosaics were found as part of a 1,500 year-old synagogue floor, including one that seems to depict two spies sent out by Moses to explore the land of Canaan.
In the book of Numbers, Moses sends out 12 spies to Canaan to scout out the land’s agriculture and see if any natives were living there. (Numbers 13:17-23).
They later returned reporting, “We went into the land to which you sent us, and indeed, it is flowing with milk and honey.” (Numbers 13:27).
Another mosaic, labeled “A Pole Between Two,” seems to depict the scene from Numbers 13:23, where two spies “cut off a branch bearing a single cluster of grapes … [and] carried it on a pole between them, along with some pomegranates and figs” and bring it back to Moses as proof of the abundance they found in Canaan.
According to Scripture, they named it the Valley of Eshkol for its clusters of grapes (Eshkol meaning “cluster” in Hebrew).
Two other mosaics were discovered as well, one with “Amen selah,” (“Amen forever”) and another inscribed with “A Small Child Shall Lead Them”. This one shows a child leading an animal by a rope and seems to portray Isaiah 11:6, “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.”
These mosaics are just a few of the many being discovered at this archaeological site in Huqoq, Israel.
These incredible discoveries give insight into early Jewish faith and art, which had not been previously known to contain images or scenes of figures.
Other mosaics that were found seem to illustrate Biblical passages about Samson carrying the gate of Gaza, Jonah and the whale, the construction of the Tower of Babel, the parting of the Red Sea, and Noah’s Ark.
Other interesting artifacts have also been found in recent years, including a clay seal that possibly bears the mark of the Prophet Isaiah, an extremely rare clay amulet with a blessing in Arabic, and sites that may have once been the village of Bethsaida and the ancient kingdom of David and Solomon.
The mosaics have been carefully removed from the excavation site for preservation and the site has been back-filled until next summer’s archeological excavation to protect any items that cannot be removed, such as extremely rare painted plaster columns.
“We will continue for at least four more years until we have completed the excavation of the synagogue, and then the excavations will end, and we will work on publication,” Professor Jodi Magness, Excavation Director at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, told Fox News.
Do you find these discoveries fascinating? If so, you will also enjoy Actual Site Where Jesus Turned Water Into Wine Discovered by Archaeologists from Christian Living Daily!
