LANDS AND PLACES
The Jericho of the New Testament was different from the Jericho that Elijah and Elisha were acquainted with. During the Hasmonean rule, about 100 years before Jesus’ lifetime, Jericho was moved from the ancient site of Tel es-Saltan, to some low mounds about half a mile south (Tulul Abu-el Alayiq). The Wadi Qelt passed through the middle of this new location to the Jordan Valley. Archaeologists have yet to thoroughly excavate New Testament Jericho.
The winter climate of Jericho is warm and pleasant, unlike Jerusalem which can be cold and even snowy. The Hasmoneans built their winter palace here, as did Herod, who also put a lot of effort into beautifying Jericho. Palaces stood at the entrance of the Wadi Qelt below the cliffs of the Judean desert. While they were used for rest and relaxation, the palaces also served as administrative centers. An aqueduct carried water from springs in the Wadi Qelt to fill reservoirs and swimming pools, water the royal garden and also irrigate the many acres of royal land where the palace staff grew dates, aromatic plants, and spices. The Doq and Cyprus fortresses, situated on the cliffs overlooking the palaces, were security posts.
The Hasmonean palace was on the north side of Wadi Qelt and architecturally reflected Hellenistic influence with its open courtyard and surrounding rooms. The elegant rooms for entertainment had colorful fresnos, and the bathrooms contained bathtubs. The presence of ritual baths (mikvehs) suggests that Herod’s palace may have had a synagogue.
Herod’s palace was more elaborate than the Hasmonean one. He built first on the south side of the wadi, with the Hasmonean palace on the north side. His palace also had an open courtyard with rooms on three sides. A large guest hall with rows of columns on three sides opened into the courtyard on its east. Herod heated his bathhouse by forcing hot air underneath a raised floor in the Roman style.
An earthquake in 31 BC destroyed Herod’s first palace. When Herod rebuilt, he did so partly on top of the Hasmonean palace. Eventually his second palace covered more than seven acres and lined both sides of the Wadi Qelt, with a bridge spanning the wadi and connecting the two parts. In addition to the palace, Herod also constructed a theater, a hippodrome (race course), and possibly a gymnasium south of Tell es-Saltan. He died in Jericho in 4 BC.
Dates grew well around Jericho. The Roman historian Pliny mentions that the date plantations along with balsam plantations made the city prosperous. Trees such as the sycamore fig (Fiscus sycomorus L.), which grows well in the Jordan Valley, lined Jericho’s streets during Jesus’ time. It must have been along one of those tree-lined streets that Zaccheus sat in Luke 19. Blind Bartimaeus may have been sitting by the road between old Jericho which Jesus was walking from (see Matt. 20:19, Mark 10:46), and new Jericho where He was heading (see Luke 18:35). Jesus’ story of the Good Samaritan took place on the road down to Jericho (Luke 10:30-37).
Jericho was the main oasis in the Jordan Valley for pilgrims traveling to Jerusalem. Jews usually tried to avoid Samaria, so one alternative for those from Galilee was to head down the Jordan Valley to Jericho, then turn west toward Jerusalem.
Meyers, The Oxford Encyclopedia of Archaeology in the Near East.
Unger, Archaeology and the New Testament.
Walker, In the Steps of Jesus.