More on 1,600-yr-old Biblical Mosaics Found in Ancient Galilean Village

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Full mosaic depicting Jonah being swallowed by a giant fish in the ancient Huqoq synagogue. 

In an excavation led by Professor Jodi Magness of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a 1,600-year-old biblical triptych of mosaics made of small stone cubes (or tesserae) was found in a synagogue in the ancient Galilean village of Huqoq in Israel.

“We’ve uncovered the first depiction of the episode of Elim ever found in ancient Jewish art,” said Dr. Magness.

This comes on the heels of earlier mosaic discoveries at this site which include depictions of The Tower of Babel, Jonah, and the Giant Fish, and the Parting of the Red Sea.

Dr. Magness together with a team of researchers and students uncovered the first ancient Jewish depiction of the Elim episode from the Book of Exodus.

The mosaic depicts the experience of the Israelites camping at Elim after leaving Egypt and wandering in the wilderness without water, which is described in Exodus 15:27.

The 15th chapter and 27th verse describe the site of Elim in which exiled Egyptians sought refuge after exhaustive travel.

The parting of the Red Sea mosaic in the ancient Huqoq synagogue.

Magness said that the Elim panel “is interesting as it is generally considered a fairly minor episode in the Israelites’ desert wanderings, which raises the question of why it was significant to this Jewish congregation in Lower Galilee.”

A mosaic depicting the building of the Tower of Babel in the ancient Huqoq synagogue.

Dr. Magness told the Jewish Press, “The mosaic is divided into three horizontal strips or registers. We see clusters of dates being harvested by male agricultural workers wearing loincloths, who are sliding the dates down ropes held by other men.

The middle register shows a row of wells alternating with date palms.

On the left side of the panel, a man in a short tunic is carrying a water jar and entering the arched gate of a city flanked by crenelated towers. An inscription above the gate reads, ‘And they came to Elim.’ ”

A detail from the newly-discovered Elim mosaic.

 

Another important discovery:  “Chapter 7 in the book of Daniel describes four beasts which represent the four kingdoms leading up to the end of days,” Dr. Magness said.

“This year our team discovered mosaics in the synagogue’s north aisle depicting these four beasts, as indicated by a fragmentary Aramaic inscription referring to the first beast: a lion with eagle’s wings.

The lion itself is not preserved, nor is the third beast. However, the second beast from Daniel 7:4 – a bear with three ribs protruding from its mouth – is preserved. So is most of the fourth beast, which is described in Daniel 7:7 as having iron teeth.”