Tel Dan is a source for an abundance of a very scarce resource in Israel… water. Water flows from snow melting in the Golan Heights into a tributary to the Jordan River.
There are several archeological sites here spoken about in the Old Testament.
- The High Place of Jeroboam – where he constructed an altar for a golden calf idol (1 Kings 12:26-31)
- Iron Age Gate – a stone gate which was the judicial center for the people. Remaining are low-walled gates, the king’s throne and a bench for the elders. Outside lies a fossilized tablet noting existence of the “House (or lineage) of David”.
- Abraham’s Gate – a full standing gate built around 1800 B.C., around the time Lot was captured (Genesis 14:14)
Mt. Hermon is the southern tip of the anti-Lebanon mountain range, a portion of the mountain range is in Israeli territory, but most resides in Syria (Psalm 133). It is possible this is the mountain where the Transfiguration took place.
Where we were standing where we could see Hezbollah territory near Lebanon and Syria, where the controlled area only moved to Israel following the 6-day war in 1967.
We ate lunch at a restaurant owned and run by Syrian Druze near Banias; the Schnitzel is excellent!
