Ten years since the Judean Date Palm was
miraculously brought back to life following the chance discovery of seeds in
the 2,000-year-old ruins of Masada, the male date palm tree named Methuselah,
the only one of his kind, has become a father. For thousands of years, the date
palm was a staple crop in the Kingdom of Judea, as it was a source of food,
shelter and shade. Thick forests of the palms towering up to 80 feet and
spreading for 7 miles covered the Jordan River valley from the Sea of Galilee in
the north to the shores of the Dead Sea in the south . . . by 500 AD the once
plentiful palm had completely disappeared, driven to extinction . . . in 1963,
the late archaeologist Yigael Yadin began excavating Masada and unearthed a
small stockpile of seeds stowed in a clay jar dating back 2,000 years. In 2005, botanical researcher Elaine
Solowey, director of the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies at Kibbutz
Ketura in Israel, decided to plant one and see what, if anything, would sprout.
See pictures and read complete article at -- http://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/extinct-tree-resurrected-ancient-seeds-now-dad-002838
The witnesses, laying their coats at the feet of Saul, were the men that would cast the first stones at Stephen in Acts 7. Why did they all lay their coats at Saul’s feet? The Talmud contains a very interesting account of the act of stoning that may provide the answer. “When the trial was over, they take him [the condemned person] out to be stoned. The place of stoning was at a distance from the court, as it is said, ‘Take out the one who has cursed.’ [i] A man stands at the entrance of the court; in his hand is a signaling flag [Hebrew sudarin = sudar , ‘scarf, sweater’]. A horseman was stationed far away but within sight of him. If one [of the judges] says, ‘I have something [more] to say in his favor,’ he [the signaler] waves the sudarin , and the horseman runs and stops them [from stoning him]. Even if [the condemned person] himself says, ‘I have something to say in my favor,’ they bring him back, even four of five times, only provided that there is some substance to...
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