By Becky Schlofner
To truly understand Jericho, you have to look past the stone walls and the Roman villas into a time when humanity was first learning how to be “civilized.” Long before the patriarchs of the Old Testament ever set foot in Canaan, Jericho was already a thriving hub. Around 9000 BC, as the last Ice Age was fading, a group of Natufian hunters and gatherers realized that Elisha’s Spring (ain es-Sultan) was a permanent goldmine. They stopped wandering and started planting. This was the dawn of the Neolithic Revolution.
These early people weren’t just survivalists; they were innovators who invented the “neighborhood.” They built round houses out of sun-dried mud bricks and, eventually, that famous stone tower that stood as a marvel of the ancient world for millennia. Their culture was deeply spiritual, centered on the home and the earth, often burying their dead beneath the floors of their houses to keep their loved ones close.
As the centuries rolled into the era of the Old Testament, the society transformed from a collection of farmers into a powerhouse city-state. This is the Jericho most people know—the one with the formidable, layered walls and the high-stakes drama of the Israelite conquest of Joshua at the Battle of Jericho. The people of this era were Canaanites who lived in a constant state of high alert. Their city was a massive storehouse for the region’s wealth, filled with jars of grain and expensive oil. The biblical story of Rahab gives us a peek into the social fabric of the time; she lived in a house built into the city’s outer wall, suggesting that space was at a premium and the city was packed to the rafters. When the walls famously came down and the city was burned, it left a scar on the land that lasted for centuries, turning the site into a “tell”—a mound of ruins that served as a silent monument to a fallen civilization. Despite this destruction Elisha’s Spring remains intact. It is the same Spring from 2 Kings 2:19-22: 19 Healing the Water. The men of the city said to Elisha, “Behold, this city is in a pleasant location, as my lord sees, but the water is bad and the ground is barren.” 20 He said, “Bring me a new bowl, and put some salt in it.” So, they brought it to him. 21 He went out to the spring of water, and he threw the salt into it, saying, “Thus says the Lord: I have healed these waters. They shall never again produce death or make the land barren.” 22 The waters have remained healed up to the present day, just as Elisha had declared.
By the time the New Testament era arrived, the city had undergone a total transformation and moved slightly away from the ancient ruins. It evolved into a sophisticated, bustling urban center that functioned as the winter capital for the Judean elite. King Herod the Great poured money into the city, building sprawling palatial complexes with Roman-style baths, swimming pools, and lush gardens that took full advantage of the oasis climate. The society was a vibrant, if tense, mix of Roman officials, wealthy Jewish aristocrats, and a large population of priests who traveled back and forth to Jerusalem.
This New Testament Jericho was the setting for deeply personal encounters that bridged the gap between the rich and the marginalized. It was here that Jesus met Zacchaeus, a wealthy but socially isolated tax collector who had to climb a tree just to see over the crowds, showing that even in a city of luxury, people were searching for something more. The city was also home to people like the blind beggar Bartimaeus, who sat at the gates hoping for mercy from the crowds of pilgrims heading up to Jerusalem. The road connecting the two cities was the backdrop for the Parable of the Good Samaritan, a story that would have felt incredibly real to the locals who knew the dangerous, winding path through the Judean wilderness.
From its prehistoric origins to its current day city Jericho has lived and grown and died again to only be brought back to glory.
RESOURCES:
World History Encyclopedia
UNESCO
Archaeology of the Bible
