User:W. C. Minor/Bible Hill

The Bible Hill is an exposed undeveloped hill and archaeological site near the Old City of Jerusalem. The Church of St. Andrews is situated on the northern slope of the hill as well as a complex of burial caves from the the First Temple period.

Nature
The hill is situated on Jerusalem's topographic drainage divide line - The Valley of Refaim leads to the Mediterranean Sea on the west and the Ben Hinnom Gorge and Kidron vallety flow to the Dead Sea on the east. From the top of the hill there is a spectacular view towards the Judean Desert, the Mount of Olives, Mount Zion and the Old City.

The hill is an urban nature site, home to many blossoming wild flowers; in September the common sedge, following the first rain the meadow saffron, in February common anemone and Senecio vernalis and in March common sedum. In summer the hill turns yellow and is filled with thorns, including blue Echinops. The hill attracts a variety of animals such as butterflies and songbirds including swallows and mountain partridges.

History
The archaeologist Gabriel Barkai discovered the Ketef Hinnom scrolls in the burial cave complex from the First Temple period at the foot of the hill. It was Barkai who gave the site the name "Shoulder of Hinnom" based on the verse in the book of Joshua (15:8) describing the borders of the tribe of Judah: "And the border went up the valley of the son of Hinnom along the shoulder of the Jebusite southward, which is Jerusalem, and the border went up to the top of the mountain which faces the valley of Hinnom westward, which is at the end of the valley of Rephaim northward".

At the top of the hill are several remains of buildings that were probably used by the nearby train station in the time of mandatory Palestine.

The name Bible Hill, first appeared in the 1960s following a prpspoal by the Society for the Study of the Bible in Israel and the World Jewish Bible Society, with the support of David Ben-Gurion, to build an international center for the Bible on the hill. The plans to establish a Bible center were not realized due to financing difficulties.