Pony Express and Couriers in Bible Times

American Western movies used to create the idea that the earliest mail delivery was carried out by the hardy pony express riders who raced across mountains, deserts, and prairies fighting treacherous weather, outlaws,
and  hostile Indians to deliver the mail and messages for the government sand private citizens -- but they were actually only continuing a long tradition began in the Middle East.

Many of these couriers in ancient Israel and other nearby countries were working unofficially being family members, friends, soldiers, or merchants  who were travelling to the desired city or town.

The Apostle Paul, for instance, gave some of his letters to fellow Christians as Tychicus to deliver to the Ephesians. Obviously, depending on the nature of the letter or message such couriers would be selected carefully to ensure confidentially and delivery.

Governments, however, had more organized mail delivery systems. Esther 8:10, for example describes how Mordecai had a letter with King Ahasuerus official seal delivered by a royal courier riding, "sons of speedy mares."

And the Roman government also had such an official courier service for military and administrative mail or messages despatched  throughout the Roman Empire.

So although the American mail delivery system might have begun with the Pony Express by then it was by then merely carrying on a long tradition of mail delivery by horseback (and other) couriers.

Retail Centers and Inflation Not Unique to Modern Times

Retail centers and inflation were well known in Bible times.

Not unlike modern cities  merchants like to  establish their business in areas where there was a lot of traffic. The Bible mentions  markets at various city gates in ancient Jerusalem such "The Fish Gate," The Sheep Gate, and the "Gate of Potsherds."

There was even a "street of the bakers according to Jeremiah 37:21

Naturally such names referred to the type of goods sold at each of these gates and commercial centers  -- mentioned in Nehemiah 3: 1,3 and Jeremiah 19:2 just as some street names in modern cities suggest the type of commercial activity carried on there -- such as Fleet or Wall Streets in England and the United States.

Like our modern era goods were sold through bartering as well as money and customers had to cope both a variety of prices  as well as inflation down through they years.

For example at the time that Joseph's brothers sold him into slavery in the 18th century B.C.E. in a jealous rage all they received for him was 20 silver pieces -- possibly a shekel. But 300 years later the price for a slaver shot up to 30 shekels according to Exodus 3: 32 and by the eighth century B.C.E. the price for a slave was 50 shekels as described in the 2 Kings 15:20 account. And 200 years after this the asking price for a slave was 90 shekels -- or more.

So both shopping at the local market or mall and having to pay ever more for  food and other items seems to be common  to both Biblical and  our modern worlds.

Did the Pool of Siloam Actually Exist?

Remember how Jesus told the blind man, after putting softened clay on his eyes, " Go wash in the pool of Siloam."? The did what Jesus says, the Bible account at John 9: 6,7 says, and came back seeing.

But, did this pool actually exist? Many tourists in modern times have bathed in a pool found at the end of the 530-metre-long tunnel  King Hezekiah constructed at the end of the eighth century B.C.E.

It was later discovered that the pool found here was built by Byzantine Christians in the fourth century C.E. long after  Jesus' time.   Apparently they thought the original Pool of Siloam would have been at the end of this tunnel and so decided to reconstruct the pool there.

The true Pool of Siloam has been discovered, however. In 2004, archaeologists found the remains of another pool 100 meters  southeast of the Byzantine pool and concluded that this was actually the site of the original Pool of Siloam.

This was discovered accidentally by an alert archaeologist watching workers repair a sewer main. When the work was halted an archaeological team went in and discovered the pool of 70 meters long.

It had fallen into disuse after the Romans destroyed Jerusalem in 70 C.E. and had gradually filled in with mud washed down the nearby v alley during winter storms. 

The archaeological discovery  proves the accuracy of the Gospel account of Jesus restoring the eyesight of the blind man.

Trusted Genealogists

Great care was taken with these genealogies by the government and private families: Because accurate genealogies were so critical special officers were assigned to keep such family histories according  Flavius Josephus and the editors of The Jewish Encyclopedia.

Special steps were taken to ensure the accuracy of these public records  of royal, priestly, and Levitical families. First of all the  character of these historians was carefully checked  to make sure they were ethical and diligent workers. And their work was  examined in detail by a court of inquiry established in Jerusalem. 

Their work  proved priceless:  Through these genealogies Gospel writers such as Mathew, Mark and Luke were able to trace the ancestry of Jesus all the way back to King David -- as could other prominent religious leaders of Jesus" time  such as rabbi Hellel. And even Flavius Josephus could prove that he was of royal blood on his mother's side.

Because  such genealogies were also need to  proved  family ties and inheritances and other rights  families also  appointed one family members or members to preserve an accurate family history down through the years

Genealogies Critical to Israelites

Many persons today go to extraordinary lengths to trace their family ancestry sometimes to be able to share in inheritances, but often just for personal satisfaction.  To the ancient Israelites, however, it was a much more serious matter.


The keeping of accurate genealogies played a number of critical roles for individuals as well as the nation as a whole.


First of all, in order to exercise any civic rights  an Israelite man had to prove his pure connection to one of the tribes -- with no fleshly connection to the Ammonite or Moabite race for instance, according to Deuteronomy 23: 2,3, according to scholar Joachim Jeremias. Beyond that accurate geanologies were also critical in establishing, "tribal and family relationships and determining land divisions and inheritances.


And on a national level, according to Jeremias such family records were also critical  to protective the purity of the hereditary line of Levites and Aaronic priests. "It was imperative that the purity of line remain unblemished," says Jeremias.


They went to great lengths to achieve this goal such as insisting that women wanting to marry into priestly families had to prove  their hereditary background was pure and disqualifying entire families claiming a Levitical history in Nehemia's day after Cyrus freed them from Babylonian captivity when these families  could not produce genealogical proof of their claims.


The Bible is perhaps one of the best example of an accurate genealogical record proving without a doubt that Jesus was the promised Messiah a descendant of the line of King David of the Tribe of Judah the Bible said he would be.


(See "Evidence All Around us" Below)

Evidence All Around Us

I believe it was the Apostle Paul who wrote them we have no reason for doubting the existing of God because of the evidence all around us in nature.

And nature does tell a compelling story of his existence when we observe its beauty and think about the marvelous skills these plants and animals have.   Only a fool would think that something as marvelous a the Space Station requires careful design and construction techniques, but our marvelous earth with its diverse forms of life and their intricate designs and skills -- which humans often try to mimic -- all happened by accident. 

Look up "Box Fish" for instance, either on line or in a print publication and you will see an example of such creations we are surrounded by.

Do you really think such crations just popped up by blind chance through the forces of "Mother Nature"?

Excitement Over God Particle

Now there is lot of excitement in the scientific world about the supposed discovery of the "God Particle" -- that some claim will help them to understand how the universe began.


Don't get too excited about this though. How do we know that  the self-appointed "scientific clergy" are going to be able to  correctly -- s or honestly -- interpret what they find?


When you stop to think about think  about the number of times scientists have changed their minds about such relatively minor things like whether or not coffee is good or bad for you -- the number of different theories about the "Big Ban" that allegedly started the whole universe growing -- or the number of times you hear about dishonesty in scientific discoveries any claims about how the universe just happened by accident have to viewed for what they are --more desperate attempts to prove that God is not necessary.