This page is simply an archive of all my videos; you can see which ones were recently uploaded at New Vids. The videos are all available in up to 1080 HD quality and address everything from historical sites to the Bible and political issues. They are organized into the pertinent categories with descriptions under the bulk of them.
Key:
(BB) = A "Behind the Bible" video, illustrating something about biblical geography, history, or archaeology.
(D) = Not a "Behind the Bible" video, but one in which I audibly comment. Usually in the discussions, I will point out something biblically significant.
All other videos = bare footage.
[Jerusalem]
An Overview of Jerusalem From Hell (BB)
Standing at the southern end of Old Jerusalem, I briefly point out some geographical features of the city to help you get an idea of the lay of the land. Then I discuss where the name "Hinnom Valley" came from and how it can help us understand Jesus' metaphor for hell. Annotations are included to show biblical connections as I talk.
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The Pool of Siloam Fills up After Rain (BB)
I was out walking around the city one day when I stumbled upon rainwater from the last evening spilling over and once again filling up the Pool of Siloam (Shiloaḫ). This pool sits at the end of Hezekiah's Tunnel on the southern end of the City of David. It was not discovered until 2004 by Ronney Reich and Eli Shukrun. Until then, it was thought it be located in a spot further west, but this pool has been shown to be a couple hundred years later (from the Byzantine period). The pool of Siloam is referred to in the New Testament (John 9:1-12). This is where Jesus sent a man born blind to wash after he rubbed mud on his eyes, and it is one of the seven signs in the gospel of John (2:23). My only mistake in the video is to say that Israel has a "rainy season and a wet season." Israel has a wet winter (October-April) and a dry summer (May-September). See my post on rain in Israel for more of how this affected the worldview of the biblical authors. I also found a helpful PDF with more information on the Pool of Siloam if you are interested.
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Orthodox Jews Worship at the Western Wall on Shabbat
Orthodox Jews gather at the Western Wall on Shabbat. Don’t let the video fool you; the bulk of the country is not religious but secular. Still-this is the real deal.
In this video, I explain what the Jezreel Valey is, and why Megiddo is such na important site in ancient Canaan. My only mistake is to say that King Saul was hung on the walls of Mt. Gilboa. He was killed there, and his body was hung on the walls of Beth Sha’an, a city near the slopes of Mt. Gilboa.
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A Storm Moves Over the Med. Sea and YHWH as God of the Storm (BB)
While looking over a storm on the Mediterranean Sea approaching the north coast of Israel, I explain how ancient peoples of Canaan would have viewed such an event and why Israel's God YHWH was different. At the end, I read Psalm 29, a Psalm that is describing YHWH was moving over the sea westward toward Lebanon and Mt.Hermon. The end result is the fertility of the rainfall dependent land of Israel. This is the perfect setting to discuss such a Psalm. For more discussion on rainfall in Israel, see this post.
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A Storm Moves Over the Med. Sea and YHWH as God of the Storm (BB)
While looking over a storm on the Mediterranean Sea approaching the north coast of Israel, I explain how ancient peoples of Canaan would have viewed such an event and why Israel's God YHWH was different. At the end, I read Psalm 29, a Psalm that is describing YHWH was moving over the sea westward toward Lebanon and Mt.Hermon. The end result is the fertility of the rainfall dependent land of Israel. This is the perfect setting to discuss such a Psalm. For more discussion on rainfall in Israel, see this post.
[Israeli/Palestinian Conflict]
A Walk Down Inside of the Separation Wall in Bethlehem
This is a video of the Palestinian side of the separation wall surrounding most of the West Bank. The graffiti here is a way for the people to work out their pain in art.
[Christmas Eve in Bethlehem]
Silent Night in Manger Square
(1/8/12) Inside the Church of the Nativity on Christmas Eve (D)
In Bethlehem at the Church of the Nativity on Christmas Eve, I explain a bit of the church's history and give a brief overview of what is going on that night in Bethlehem.
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Every year, thousands gather to Manger Square for Christmas Eve festivities. Before the concert in Manger Square was cancelled due to rain, I nabbed this video showing the Square with Silent Night in the background.
___________________________ Christmas Eve Midnight Mass at St. Catherine's Church
A short video of the traditional midnight mass at St. Catherine’s Church, the Roman Catholic Church attached to the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) and other Palestinian officials were there for the event.
A Look at the Great Pyramids of Giza
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A Jeep Ride to an Egyptian Temple in the Sinai desert
While we were in Egypt, Arab bedouin took us an hour into the Sinai desert in Land Cruisers. There, we hiked up a mountain to find an ancient Egyptian temple at Serbit el-Khadim. Here’s a bit of what the drive was like.
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Sunrise on Mt. SinaiAfter waking up at 2:30am and climbing the traditional site of Mt. Sinai for sunrise, this is what we saw.
___________________________ Inside a Sleeper Train to Aswan
I had no idea you could sleep on trains before my Egypt trip. What a great way to optimize travel time. This sleeper train is going from Cairo to Aswan, Egypt.
___________________________ A Nile Boat Ride to the Philae Temple
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A Walk Through the Egyptian Temple to Isis
This walk through the Egyptian temple to Isis shows some features that were common to all temples in the ancient world, including the biblical tabernacle and Solomon’s temple. God meets people where they are and uses things they are familiar with to communicate to them. Instead of inventing a new way that he would dwell among his people, he used a template Israel would have been familiar with from their world.
We start our walk outside the first pylon and move into the inner court. Then we go up a ramp and enter the ‘holy place’ before moving into the holy of holies. Notice how the temple gets progressively more narrow and secluded as move into the place where the god (here Isis) dwelt. The open air courts were public, and only the priests were allowed in the more intimate places of the temple (as with Israel).
___________________________ Pharaoh Ramses III Funerary Temple (Medinet Habu)
Taken at Medinet Habu at the funerary temple of Ramses III. All the paint you see is original, over 3,000 years old.
___________________________ Dancing with Nubians at Aswan
In the mudbrick house of a Nubian family in Aswan, Egypt. The family gave us tea and let us hold their pet crocodiles. This is some of what happened when they brought in the village musician to sing to us.
