Scenes From the Promised Land

Joppa​—Notable Ancient Harbor

ANCIENT ISRAEL had a long, sandy coast. Yet the Israelites were not particularly known as a seafaring people. The nature of their coast may have been a factor.

It was an almost uninterrupted line of beaches and dunes, formed of sand carried to sea by the Nile River.a Had you sailed up it from Egypt’s border, you would not have found a truly outstanding natural harbor south of Mount Carmel.

But about midway up Israel’s coast you would have seen on a hill the city of Joppa. As the picture shows, a chain of offshore rocks formed a small cove. While the resulting harbor was inferior to the one farther north at Acre (Ptolemaïs), it still made Joppa notable. (Acts 21:7) Until Herod the Great built the artificial harbor of Caesarea, Joppa was the best spot along the coast for ships to dock. This illuminates some Biblical references to Joppa.

When offering to aid Solomon in building the temple, Hiram the king of Tyre said: “We shall bring [trees from Lebanon] to you as rafts by sea to Joppa, and you, for your part, will take them up to Jerusalem.” (2 Chronicles 2:1, 11, 16) These rafts may have left from the Phoenician ports of Tyre or Sidon. (Isaiah 23:1, 2; Ezekiel 27:8, 9) Passing Carmel, the cedar-tree rafts landed at Joppa. From there the cedars could be moved to Jerusalem, 34 miles [55 km] east/​southeast. Joppa was also the docking port for cedar timbers when the Jews rebuilt the temple after the exile.​—Ezra 3:7.

Perhaps workmen accompanying the timbers sailed aboard Phoenician ships, similar to the scale model. As you study it, recall that after Jehovah assigned Jonah to Nineveh, the prophet fled in the opposite direction. “[Jonah] finally came down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid its fare and went down into it, in order to go with them to Tarshish from before Jehovah.”​—Jonah 1:1-3.

Apparently, Jonah boarded this kind of seaworthy cargo ship, which was able to make the long voyage from Joppa to Tarshish (likely ancient Spain). It probably had a high carved prow, near which hung a stone anchor. Passengers, rowers, and some cargo could fit on the deck, which is not shown in this model. Below deck was a hold, where more cargo would be stored and where Jonah went to sleep. The ship was made of sturdy juniper planks and had one cedar mast to support a large linen sail. Note on each side the line of long oars (probably of oak from Bashan). Now imagine the ship at sea and threatened by a violent storm. Hear the mariners cry out to their gods for help until finally they are forced to toss Jonah overboard so that they themselves would not perish.​—Ezekiel 27:5-9; Jonah 1:4-15.

First-century Joppa was home to a congregation of Christians, some of whom may have been dockworkers or ex-sailors. A member of this bustling seaport congregation was the Jewess Dorcas (Tabitha). “She abounded in good deeds and gifts of mercy that she was rendering.” In the year 36 C.E., Dorcas fell sick and died, which caused many to weep, recalling her abundant good works. Fellow Christians brought the apostle Peter from Lydda (modern Lod, near the Tel Aviv airport) to Joppa. Peter resurrected this beloved sister, a miracle that “became known throughout all Joppa, and many became believers.”​—Acts 9:36-42.

Peter stayed in Joppa for a time at the house of Simon, a tanner. Here the apostle had a vision that led him to take some brothers of the Joppa congregation north on the coastal road to the new port of Caesarea. There Peter preached to and baptized the Roman army officer Cornelius, the first uncircumcised Gentile to become a spirit-anointed Christian. (Acts 9:43–10:48) What joy and excitement there must have been in Joppa when the brothers returned with news of this crucial development in Christian history!

Today many visitors tour Joppa, which is part of modern Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and they can easily relive Biblical events that occurred at this notable port.

[Footnotes]

[Picture Credit Line on page 16]

Pictorial Archive (Near Eastern History) Est.

[Picture Credit Line on page 17]

Pictorial Archive (Near Eastern History) Est.