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Simon says: "Let's find out about Sheep in Israel. the most referenced livestock in Scripture."

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#ImagineIsraelTours #SimonOsterTourGuideIsrael Sheep in Israel Wealth, sacrifice - & the image attributed most often to Jesus of Nazareth, the shepherd and the flock. In the ancient Near East, a man's wealth wasn't counted in coins. It was counted in sheep. The flocks of Avraham, Yitzchak, Yaakov were their fortune. When the Torah describes the patriarchs as wealthy, it measures that wealth in livestock. When the Temple stood, the daily offering was a lamb. Twice a day. Every day. Plus every festival, every sin offering, every act of thanksgiving. The altar ran on sheep. Sheep are everywhere in Israel. They graze on the limestone hills of the Judean lowlands, the same hills we walk on our tours. You hear them before you see them - the bells, the bleating, the sound of a flock moving across a landscape that hasn't changed in thousands of years. When you walk the Land of Israel, the Bible stops being a book and becomes a map. The shepherd and the flock aren't a metaph...
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Simon says: "Let's discover the secrets of Hyssop" - the herb used to make za'atar.

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#ImagineIsraelTours #SimonOsterTourGuideIsrael Hyssop Psalm 51:7: "Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean." This small, unassuming plant, with clustered flowers & aromatic leaves shows up again & again in the Bible. In the ancient world, hyssop was a tool of purification, to sprinkle, to cleanse, to mark. It appears in the Exodus story, in the laws of purification & in the Psalms as a symbol of inner washing where it becomes a metaphor for something deeper: the longing to be made clean from the inside out. It grows wild on the limestone hills of the Judean lowlands. The same hills we travel for our 'Tastes & Flavours' tour, where we explore how the landscape has influenced the edible plants that thrive in the region. We tour a gin distillery, visit Beit Guvrin National Park Tel Lachish / Tel Azekah, Soreq Cave & join a coffee workshop. Next time you see hyssop, remember: this is the plant the Psalmist reached for when he wanted to describe what...
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Simon says: "Let's meet The Common Chameleon (Chamaeleo chamaeleon)"

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The Common Chameleon (Chamaeleo chamaeleon) #imagineisraeltours #simonostertourguideisrael Leviticus/Vayikra 11:30 lists the chameleon among the "unclean creeping things" - animals the Israelites were not to eat. The Hebrew word translated "chameleon" in this verse is tinshemet. Biblical lexicons & modern zoologists generally identify it as the chameleon, the creature famous for changing colour. The word may come from a root meaning "to pant" or "to blow" perhaps describing the puffing sound chameleons make when threatened. So this small, colour-shifting lizard shows up in one of the most detailed lists in the Torah! A reminder that even the smallest creatures had their place in the biblical world. 🌿 Want to visit the land where these creatures live? 📩 imagineisraelenquiries@gmail.com 📲 Phone/WhatsApp: +972 54 2390412 🌐 https://imagineisrael-tours.com/ Reviews: https://www.tripadvisor.com/UserReviewEdit-g293983-d25277286-Imagine_Israel_...
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Simon says: "Is this the Eagle of the Bible?

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The Griffon Vulture (Gyps fulvus) #ImagineIsraelTours #SimonOsterTourGuideIsrael When the Bible speaks of the Nesher (נשר) most English translations say "eagle." But modern scholars & Israeli ornithologists believe the biblical Nesher was actually the Griffon Vulture! Why the Griffon Vulture? The Griffon Vulture matches every biblical description of the Nesher: *A wingspan of almost 3 metres, it soars over vast distances - just as Scripture describes *The Bible repeatedly mentions the Nesher feeding on dead flesh - exactly what vultures do *Griffons gather by the hundreds around carcasses, unlike solitary eagles *They nest high on rocky cliffs, fitting biblical imagery perfectly *"Bald" Head: The Griffon has a featherless head, matching descriptions of the Nesher What About "Real" Eagles? Most eagles spotted in Israel are only migrating through; the Golden Eagle is extremely rare in Israel with historically, no more than 4 breeding pairs. Griffon Vultu...
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Simon says: "What is the first fruit mentioned by name in the Bible?" (No, not an apple!)

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#ImagineIsraelTours #SimonOsterTourGuideIsrael The fig “They sewed fig leaves together & made themselves loincloths", Bereshit/Genesis 3:7. When Adam & Eve eat from the Tree of Knowledge & realise they are naked! From the very beginning, the fig has had a special place in the biblical story of the Land of Israel. The fig is one of the Seven Species that blessed the Land of Israel Devarim/Deuteronomy 8:8. The prophet Hosea compared the young nation of Israel to "the first fruit on the fig tree, in its first season" Hosea 9:10; a symbol of G-d's delight, promise & high expectation It is also a symbol of peace "Every man under his own vine & fig tree" 1 Kings 4:25, it became the ultimate symbol of dwelling safely in the Land. A symbol of judgement The prophets used the fig tree to represent destruction & desolation Sustenance & Healing: a fig compress was used to heal King Hezekiah, 2 Kings 20:7. The honey of figs was so prized that...
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