Eventually the city was rebuilt by the Canaanites and again ruled by another king named Jabin. For 20 years, Jabin's commander of the army, Sisera, oppressed the people of Israel. In Judges 4, we find the victorious account of the prophetess Deborah and a soldier named Barak that ended with Israel reclaiming the city of Hazor.

Many years later, King Solomon equipped the city as a defense center against Syria and Assyria.  Again years passed, and in 732 BC an Assyrian king, Tiglath-pileser III, overtook it just before the period known as The Exile.

Falling In

In the Middle East, as civilizations rose and fell, successive settlements were literally built one on top of the other. These mounds, which today roll across the landscape of the Holy Land like gentle waves, are known as "tells."

As modern-day excavators went into northern Israel to dig, the ruins of Hazor were eventually discovered (1926) and have since been confirmed.  The tell is 200 acres, the largest in Israel.

Hussein El-Heib, Director of the Hazor National Park and our guide at Hazor, stood tall, dressed in jeans and a cotton shirt.  Atop his head rested a cowboy's hat.  He was tanned and weathered, his English broken, and his passion for the land he stands over obvious. 

As he spoke to us in Hebrew, extending his arms to the upper city of what was once the great city of Hazor, we were captivated by all he had to say (interpreted by our tour guide, Miriam).

It seemed that even Mount Hermon, which rose in the distance, was paying attention to this man who loved both the God of Israel and the legacy He had left as a testament to His greatness.

Mr. El-Heib then took us into the lower city.  Like inexperienced rock climbers, we literally had to climb down, with each step moving further back in time, seeing the remains of first one civilization and then another. 

Finally we reached what Mr. El-Heib had been so anxious to show us from the beginning.  Pulling back a piece of blue tarp, he revealed a lower section of a stone wall. 

"Look at the stones," he said.  "Joshua's fire was of such intensity, when we discovered this layer of the city, we found the soot still clinging to the walls."  He then told us to lean over a short bolder and touch the wall, to feel the soot on our fingertips.

As we leaned forward, Mr. El-Heib's thick brogue rang perfectly clear: "Touch the Bible," he said with extreme reverence.