My next travel destination: The Greek Orthodox Church of St. George, in Jordan, is built on the foundations of an ancient Byzantine church - home to the Madaba Map - the oldest, famous mosaic map of biblical Israel. Only 25 square meters are preserved from what once a 95 square meter wall to wall floor likely created in the 6th century CE. The stunning artwork is precise and accurate and one of its mysteries is a site called Galgala, in the Jordan valley, next to it in Greek the words “Twelve Stones’ - that have excited and confounded many scholars and archeologists ever since the map’s discovery in the 19th century.
The twelve stones are the centerpiece of today’s chapter although their original purpose, existence and whereabouts remain a mystery.
The elaborate ceremony that marks the crossing of the Jordan river into Canaan was designed by Moses and takes several chapters for its completion - led by Joshua. Central to the drama is the Ark of the Covenant, carried by the priests, followed by the people. The power of the ark splits the river in two, Exodus style, and the people are then able to cross on dry land. But before the river resumes its course, Joshua is instructed from above to designate twelve delegates from each of the twelve tribes, each of them is to pick up a pebble from the middle of the river, and carry it along to the other side. Only when these twelve stones are collected will be the priests keep carrying the ark to the safe shores of the holy land and the Jordan will get back to business. Joshua’s first stop is Gilgal, later known as Galgala, where the stones are displayed as a monumental sculpture commemorating the crossing:
וְאֵת֩ שְׁתֵּ֨ים עֶשְׂרֵ֤ה הָֽאֲבָנִים֙ הָאֵ֔לֶּה אֲשֶׁ֥ר לָקְח֖וּ מִן־הַיַּרְדֵּ֑ן הֵקִ֥ים יְהוֹשֻׁ֖עַ בַּגִּלְגָּֽל׃
וַיֹּ֛אמֶר אֶל־בְּנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל לֵאמֹ֑ר אֲשֶׁר֩ יִשְׁאָל֨וּן בְּנֵיכֶ֤ם מָחָר֙ אֶת־אֲבוֹתָ֣ם לֵאמֹ֔ר מָ֖ה הָאֲבָנִ֥ים הָאֵֽלֶּה׃
And Joshua set up in Gilgal the twelve stones they had taken from the Jordan. He charged the Israelites as follows: “In time to come, when your children ask their fathers, ‘What is the meaning of those stones?’
The pedagogical device here is reminiscent of the instruction in the books of Torah to repeat the rituals of the Exodus, making Passover into the holiday on which children get to ask - why are we doing this? And get a history and theology lesson.
But unlike the Seder which is still pretty popular, these twelve stones are gone and most kids have no idea that they ever existed.
Does the Madaba inscription indicate that they were actually once known? Or was that only a whispered story?
There’s more to say about the number twelve and the debate about whether there ever were twelve tribes and why this book is so adamant about trying to preserve some sort of unity between sub national groups that may not have worked together too well never mind build collective art projects. But the big story is that at some point in our history big rocks or river pebbles became the altars of the sacred union between people and place, past and present. Perhaps these twelve missing stones match up the mysteries of Stonehenge and Easter Island, rock formations and ancient pillars whose meaning may have been clear to our ancient ancestors but today become travel destinations and archaeological digs seeking secrets that we may never know and our children may still be asking about, generations from now - just like in today’s chapter - what are these stones all about?
More rocks tomorrow, and these ones will be sharp.
Below the Bible Belt: 929 chapters, 42 months, daily reflections: Join Rabbi Amichai’s 3+ years interactive online quest to question, queer + re-read between the lines of the entire Hebrew Bible, with daily reflections, weekly videos and monthly learning sessions. January 2022-July 2025
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