I asked the helicopter pilot to fly to Hazor so that I could take video of the site. Before long we hovered over a modern town with houses, streets, and parks. The pilot and I exchanged awkward glances, and I clarified what I wanted: “I meant Tel Hazor.”
He still looked confused.
After five minutes of searching the area, we finally saw it. Two hundred acres huge, rising from the floor of the Huleh Basin, ancient Hazor looms as Israel’s largest tell.
I had to marvel at how times have changed. What was once Canaan’s most important city has somehow gotten lost in the weeds of contemporary minds.
How could the pilot not have known where it was?
Along the ancient international highway, geographical chokepoints required all travelers to pass well-fortified cities.
Among these, Hazor was the most important in northern Israel.
The day I was at Tel Hazor, beautiful yellow flowers grew atop the tell. It struck me strange that life would blossom where so many people in history had died.
Because of the city’s strategic location, King Solomon later fortified Hazor—as well as Megiddo and Gezer (1 Kings 9:15).
Across the street by Kibbutz Ayelet Hashahar, the Tel Hazor Museum offers explanations of the twenty-one occupation levels discovered during the tell’s numerous excavations. You can even volunteer to serve during the seasonal excavations.
As the first line of defense for the north, Hazor was also one of the first cities to fall when foreigners invaded—like the Assyrians (2 Kings 15:29).
By the first century when Jesus passed Tel Hazor on His way north to Caesarea Philippi, Hazor stood as a mere police fort.
Today, even helicopter pilots struggle to find it.
Tell me what you think: Taking a high perspective, what can we learn from the fact the most important city of Canaan is now a mere hill with weeds? To leave a comment, just click here.
Hazor on the Map: