The Laughlins

Waahoooooooo!!!!!! OK, so here is Beth Shemesh (finally!). We went on this little hike about a month ago. Beth Shemesh is just south of Jerusalem...a pretty short busride. Mark, Chris, Seth, and I went hiking around the hills above the Sorek Valley - the forest of Zorah. I'm going to give you the Todd Bolen summary of the biblical significance of the area (to save some time):

"Also known as Tel Bet Shemesh, Tel Beth-Shemesh, Tell er-Rumeileh, Ain esh-Shems, 'Ain Shems, Beth-shemesh, Bethshemesh, Har-Heres, Ir-Shemesh, Rabbah(?), Rubute(?), Rumeileh. A border city between Judah and Dan, Beth Shemesh was given to the Levites. Beth Shemesh was the most important Israelite city in the Sorek Valley as it watched both east-west traffic through the Sorek Valley and north-south traffic along the 'Diagonal Route.'"

"Recent excavations have shown a thriving city here from the Middle Bronze Age through the Iron II period. On the north side of the Sorek Valley across from Beth Shemesh are the ancient villages of Zorah and Eshtaol. Samson's prophesied birth was in this area (Judges 13) as was the location of his burial (Judges 16). Samson's first 'girlfriend' lived at Timnah a few miles west in the Sorek valley. His last girlfriend Delilah lived somewhere in this same valley. Samson traveled down this valley numerous times including the time when he killed the lion and later when he tied the tails of 300 foxes together. This was the vantage point of the Israelites who watched the ark of the covenant return to Beth Shemesh on a cow-pulled cart from the land of the Philistines (1 Samuel 6)."

"Israeli archaeologists recently uncovered the largest Iron Age reservoir known in Israel. With a capacity of 7500 cubic feet, this reservoir could have supplied the town's inhabitants with water to survive a three-month siege. This underground storage basin is composed of two long rooms in the shape of a cross and according to the excavators is 'one of the finest examples of water engineering and management in the kingdom of Judah.' The importance of Beth Shemesh is largely owing to its situation along the route leading south to Lachish. Known by some as the 'Diagonal Route' (no name is given in historical sources), this route was the major artery through the Shephelah in the historical periods. Travelers going south from Beth Shemesh will meet most of the major cities of the Shephelah along this route: Azekah, Moresheth Gath, Mareshah/Beth Guvrin and Lachish." Bible Places Page on Beth Shemesh

We went up the ridgeline and hiked around the Zorah area. You can see in the pictures below, the bright blue mound that is supposed to commemorate Samson's tomb and lots of views of the Sorek Valley and Beth Shemesh below.