Did the Walls of Jericho Have Dead Babies in Them?

[HisSparkPlug]

I've heard a number of teachings saying that one of the reasons God felled the walls of Jericho the way He did is because the people of Jericho embedded dead babies in vases into the walls of the city..?

Does anyone know anything about this or where this info is coming from or if it's true or not?
Are there scriptures pointing to this?

I found this so far but not sure if it ties into Jericho..

“Under the debris, in this ‘High Place,’ Macalister found great number of jars containing the remains of children who had been sacrificed to Baal. The whole area proved to be a cemetery for new-born babes.

Another horrible practice was that they called ‘foundation sacrifices.’ When a house was built, a child would be sacrificed, and its body built into the wall, to bring good luck to the rest of the family. Many of these were found in Gezer. They have been found also at Megiddo, Jericho and other places.”

SOURCE: Halley’s Bible Handbook, by Henry H. Halley; Joshua, Chapters 23,24, pg. 166; 1965 Edition​

from: FOUNDATION SACRIFICES

 

[Harry3142]

The remains of children have been found by archeologists in the walls of Canaanite homes. Some believe that they were put there while still alive as a means of appeasing Baal. Others think that they may have been strangled first, and then their bodies placed inside the walls as an offering to Baal. In this way the Canaanites believed that they could appease his wrath and bring prosperity on those who lived in that home.

 

[Rhamiel]

hmmm, I do not know about Jericho in particular, I know that the practice was also done by some Germanic tribes and in parts of England

it seems like this was also done in Japan
Hitobashira - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Gregory Thompson]

I've heard a number of teachings saying that one of the reasons God felled the walls of Jericho the way He did is because the people of Jericho embedded dead babies in vases into the walls of the city..?

Does anyone know anything about this or where this info is coming from or if it's true or not?
Are there scriptures pointing to this?

I found this so far but not sure if it ties into Jericho..

“Under the debris, in this ‘High Place,’ Macalister found great number of jars containing the remains of children who had been sacrificed to Baal. The whole area proved to be a cemetery for new-born babes.

Another horrible practice was that they called ‘foundation sacrifices.’ When a house was built, a child would be sacrificed, and its body built into the wall, to bring good luck to the rest of the family. Many of these were found in Gezer. They have been found also at Megiddo, Jericho and other places.”

SOURCE: Halley’s Bible Handbook, by Henry H. Halley; Joshua, Chapters 23,24, pg. 166; 1965 Edition​

from: FOUNDATION SACRIFICES

God said to the Israelites that there were detestable practices that he vomited them out of the land for . when they went into captivity they ended up doing the same thing . as far as proof that Po-Mos will accept .. no idea .

 

[By Faith Alone]

Zech 14:21 Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the Lord of hosts: and all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and seethe therein: and in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the Lord of hosts.

 

[Eretria90]

I've heard a number of teachings saying that one of the reasons God felled the walls of Jericho the way He did is because the people of Jericho embedded dead babies in vases into the walls of the city..?

Does anyone know anything about this or where this info is coming from or if it's true or not?
Are there scriptures pointing to this?

I found this so far but not sure if it ties into Jericho..

“Under the debris, in this ‘High Place,’ Macalister found great number of jars containing the remains of children who had been sacrificed to Baal. The whole area proved to be a cemetery for new-born babes.

Another horrible practice was that they called ‘foundation sacrifices.’ When a house was built, a child would be sacrificed, and its body built into the wall, to bring good luck to the rest of the family. Many of these were found in Gezer. They have been found also at Megiddo, Jericho and other places.”

SOURCE: Halley’s Bible Handbook, by Henry H. Halley; Joshua, Chapters 23,24, pg. 166; 1965 Edition​

from: FOUNDATION SACRIFICES

Many of the Canaanites, Phoenicians, and Carthaginians cremated their dead children. This means, children that died from natural causes. These burials are indeed child cemeteries (called "Tophet Burials"). In a time when infant or child mortality was rather high, it wouldn't be surprising to find entire cemeteries or burial grounds "dedicated" to infants/children. We do it today after all, though not in the same manner (we have "Catholic" cemeteries, we have "Lutheran" cemeteries, etc.).

Cremation was the standard form of burial for Canaanites/Phoenicians as well as other Mediterranean groups. While it's likely that they did child sacrifice, it's nowhere near as common as how it is sometimes portrayed by the Old Testament authors. You can find human bones or cremated remains in these "urn burials."

We need to stop thinking that child sacrifice was a common practice in the eastern Mediterranean because it wasn't.

I've never heard anything remotely similar to the last paragraph. Why does it seem so foreign that perhaps, a child who died from natural causes would be "buried" in his/her home? That, or the house was built first, and then the child was "buried" in the house later.

There is a Neolithic site in Cyprus called Khirokitia. Infant mortality rates were extremely high in this settlement. Family members were buried under the floors of the houses; in other words "home cemeteries." Not really the same as the Tophet burials of the Canaanites/Phoenicians, but the idea of setting aside a part of your home or perhaps your settlement for burial is similar.

At least this is what I remember from my upper-level archaeology classes, anyway.

 

[HisSparkPlug]

Thank you everyone for your insights and thoughts on the matter. There is much we still don't know. Seems it is possible this did happen in Jericho.

I've not been able to find info regarding excavations of the ruins of Jericho finding such things. This isn't very surprising however considering the fact that the government in that area has been proven to attempt to disprove the bible. It's hard to find such biblical truths in the face of these.

 

[HisSparkPlug]

Zech 14:21 Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the Lord of hosts: and all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and seethe therein: and in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the Lord of hosts.

This is an interesting scripture, can you tell us what you think it may be eluding to? Do you think it has something to do with what Harry 3142 mentions in the following quote?

The remains of children have been found by archeologists in the walls of Canaanite homes. Some believe that they were put there while still alive as a means of appeasing Baal. Others think that they may have been strangled first, and then their bodies placed inside the walls as an offering to Baal. In this way the Canaanites believed that they could appease his wrath and bring prosperity on those who lived in that home.

 

[SG9]

I've heard a number of teachings saying that one of the reasons God felled the walls of Jericho the way He did is because the people of Jericho embedded dead babies in vases into the walls of the city..?

Does anyone know anything about this or where this info is coming from or if it's true or not?
Are there scriptures pointing to this?

I found this so far but not sure if it ties into Jericho..

“Under the debris, in this ‘High Place,’ Macalister found great number of jars containing the remains of children who had been sacrificed to Baal. The whole area proved to be a cemetery for new-born babes.

Another horrible practice was that they called ‘foundation sacrifices.’ When a house was built, a child would be sacrificed, and its body built into the wall, to bring good luck to the rest of the family. Many of these were found in Gezer. They have been found also at Megiddo, Jericho and other places.”

SOURCE: Halley’s Bible Handbook, by Henry H. Halley; Joshua, Chapters 23,24, pg. 166; 1965 Edition​

from: FOUNDATION SACRIFICES

IMHO, too often are the scriptures taken far too literal, and it sounds as if this is mixing metaphors with literal 'works' described.

“Under the debris, in this ‘High Place,’ Macalister found great number of jars containing the remains of children who had been sacrificed to Baal. The whole area proved to be a cemetery for new-born babes."

The 'debris' and 'High Place' are significant clues to the interpretation, being the debris suggests an annihilation and in a High Place; our battle is not of flesh and blood but of the spirits in High Places. meaning plural, more than one. This is a parallel that models the human head as the Epicenter where this is a spiritual event. Those in Christ/YHWH are as babes, and each jar is an individual mind/spirit where the baby is enclosed, and the jar as the head. I'm sure that you have heard of the slang to this, "Jar-head"?

Well, it's very detailed and I can only touch on some points. Yes, when any soul is lost it is as a sacrifice to Satan. A human may live temporarily in flesh and not know their true condition and yet, they are as good as dead.

There may even be a parallel model to the DSS in jars found in caves, just my guess at this moment of thought to add. It's just another clue for me to investigate in time.

Anyway, the works of man are determined by the spirit that he has within, and it be either as an Upright Cross (take UP your Cross) or as an inverted Cross that is a symbol for death. The human obeys either of two laws, the law of YHWH or the law of themselves that they reform from the Upright so to invert it within their conscience/mind/spirit. [Romans 2:14]

 

[Rhamiel]

Eretria pointed out that we can not really tell if the dead bodies found in ancient walls were sacrificed to gods, or if they were just ritually buried there
remember, ancient times had very high infant mortality rates

 

[Eretria90]

Also HisSparkPlug, you probably should be wary of information in older Bible handbooks simply because archaeology is a constantly changing science. The science itself is also heavily biased depending on one's background; in other words, "if you go looking for something, you'll find what you're looking for."

The entry from that handbook dates from 1965 (I think I know which handbook the entry is referring to; I see them at the used book store all the time). You should probably try looking for newer handbooks or avoiding them all together. Or you can check Google Scholar to see if any free journal articles exist that are more "recent." And then compare that to the information you have in the handbook. It always helps to go to multiple sources and actual case studies. You can also avoid websites that quote "old" information, especially if newer material exists that contradicts the old info.

Or avoid handbooks all together. That link you provided looks like a shoddily put together website. I'm only stating that that link does not look legit to me with regards to the subject you were questioning.

Oh I do miss the days of getting those archaeology journals from the school library for "free;" I can no longer access such information.

 

[HisSparkPlug]

Also HisSparkPlug, you probably should be wary of information in older Bible handbooks simply because archaeology is a constantly changing science. The science itself is also heavily biased depending on one's background; in other words, "if you go looking for something, you'll find what you're looking for."

The entry from that handbook dates from 1965 (I think I know which handbook the entry is referring to; I see them at the used book store all the time). You should probably try looking for newer handbooks or avoiding them all together. Or you can check Google Scholar to see if any free journal articles exist that are more "recent." And then compare that to the information you have in the handbook. It always helps to go to multiple sources and actual case studies. You can also avoid websites that quote "old" information, especially if newer material exists that contradicts the old info.

Or avoid handbooks all together. That link you provided looks like a shoddily put together website. I'm only stating that that link does not look legit to me with regards to the subject you were questioning.

Oh I do miss the days of getting those archaeology journals from the school library for "free;" I can no longer access such information.

hi Eretria90, thanks for your comments. I'm not sure what you mean by a bible handbook, could you explain further? I don't have any handbooks - just the bible and the internet which I use for searching out info.
I agree though, we can find whatever we "want" to find to agree with our stance on things. That truth is clear and apparent just by reading through the threads on GT! ha!

 

[HisSparkPlug]

IMHO, too often are the scriptures taken far too literal, and it sounds as if this is mixing metaphors with literal 'works' described.

“Under the debris, in this ‘High Place,’ Macalister found great number of jars containing the remains of children who had been sacrificed to Baal. The whole area proved to be a cemetery for new-born babes."

The 'debris' and 'High Place' are significant clues to the interpretation, being the debris suggests an annihilation and in a High Place; our battle is not of flesh and blood but of the spirits in High Places. meaning plural, more than one. This is a parallel that models the human head as the Epicenter where this is a spiritual event. Those in Christ/YHWH are as babes, and each jar is an individual mind/spirit where the baby is enclosed, and the jar as the head. I'm sure that you have heard of the slang to this, "Jar-head"?

Well, it's very detailed and I can only touch on some points. Yes, when any soul is lost it is as a sacrifice to Satan. A human may live temporarily in flesh and not know their true condition and yet, they are as good as dead.

There may even be a parallel model to the DSS in jars found in caves, just my guess at this moment of thought to add. It's just another clue for me to investigate in time.

Anyway, the works of man are determined by the spirit that he has within, and it be either as an Upright Cross (take UP your Cross) or as an inverted Cross that is a symbol for death. The human obeys either of two laws, the law of YHWH or the law of themselves that they reform from the Upright so to invert it within their conscience/mind/spirit. [Romans 2:14]

hiya SG9 (what does that stand for, "star gate 9"? )
I'm afraid you lost me a bit.. are you saying the term "jar head" is somehow tied into human babies being embedded in walls? ... Or are you speaking on a purely symbolic level? - Could you explain what you've said in more layman's terms?
What's DSS?
Sorry, having a little trouble understanding what you're saying exactly..

 

[Kory Tu]

Joshua 6:26 And Joshua adjured them, saying, cursed be the man before the Lord, that riseth up and buildeth this city Jericho that he shall lay the foundation thereof in his firstborn, and in his youngest son shall he set up the gates of it.
THEN
1 Kings 16:34 In his days did Hiel the Beth-elite build Jericho that he laid the foundation thereof in Abiram his firstborn, and set up the gates thereof in his youngest son Segub, according to the word of the Lord which he spake by Joshua, son of Nun.

 

[ByMartinLandau044]

Dead babies in the walls of Jericho?

My Bet is on it being Yahweh. Why such a morbid fascination with wanting to keep going back there? Doesn't it sound too much like a Columbo mystery. Where the Murderer keeps coming back to the crime scene. This is degrees worse than the Medieval era and the protestantism and catholicism wars. This is a stress test on humans.
When I see those egg shells on the eyes I can't help but think of hololens. Mindleap.
Yeash.
Yeah I mean Yahweh is a real macho God. Comes back to Jericho about six or seven thousand years later. After the atrocities. Mission Accomplished — George Bush. Sounds like we have done this before.
I would like to see the Jericho on another planet that has been hit by these gangs. It's an itinerary. What option do we have but to worship them.
We do know he was playing around with human experiments, says Claudia Rossett.