Topographical visit
The first year students of theology made their weekly archaeological visit to sites on and around Mt. Scopus and Mount of Olives to the East of Jerusalem.
Mount Scopus is the site of the Biblical town of Nob; a town full of priests of God. The Bible records a number of tragic events there in the life of David (1 Samuel 21: 2-10; 22:2-23). Today it is the location of the Augusta Victoria Hospital. Looking East of Mt. Scopus is the Judean desert. Here can be seen the location of David being cursed by Shimei on account of Absalom (2 Samuel 16: 5-14; 2 Samuel 15:30-37).
From here the group visited sites of Our Lord on the Mount of Olives. These sites included the location of Jesus' Ascension'; the location of much of His preaching (the Church of the Pater Noster, noted for its many “paters” on the wall in hundreds of languages; and the Church of Gethsemane.
Two other important places include the chapel of Dominus Flavit where Christ wept over Jerusalem and the tomb of the Blessed Virgin, from where she was assumed into Heaven.
19 October 2009
The first year class took a walking excursion to the City of David. On the south-east part of Jerusalem is Mount Sion, a low mountain that David captured from the Jebusites and made into his capital (2 Samuel 5: 6-9).
Then visited was Hezekiah's Tunnel (2 Kings 20:20; 2 Chron. 32:30) dug in 701 BC in a effort to keep the Assyrian army of Sennacheribb from taking Jerusalem. The tunnel diverted water from the Gihon Spring to the Pool of Siloam, preventing the invading Assyrians from having any supply of water for the troops. Many years later, the Pool of Siloam, to which the water was diverted became the site of Jesus' cure of a man born blind (John 9:1-12).