12.03.13 Jn. 11:54 Ephraim
JESUS GOES TO EPHRAIM[1]
54 Therefore Jesus no longer walked openly among the Jews but departed from there to the countryside near the wilderness, to a town called Ephraim. And He stayed there with the disciples.
[1]. Scholars have long questioned where was the location of Ephraim. The Christian West Bank village of Taybet (pronounced Tie-bay) claims to be the ancient village. It is located 18 miles northeast of Jerusalem and 7 miles west of modern Ramallah. But the village has no archaeological evidence to its claim. However, nearby is Khirbet el-Maqatir (the biblical Ai), an archaeological site since 1995 examined by the Associates for Biblical Research. While attempting to uncover possible evidence that it is the ancient city of Ai, a first century village was discovered with evidence that suggests it might be the first century village of Ephraim. See Gordon Govier “The Mysteries of Khirbet el-Maqatir” Artifax 29:3 (Summer 2014) 3; and Clyde Billington “Christian Village Holds Tradition of Jesus’ Visit” Artifax. 29:3 (Summer, 2014) 3, 6. See also Scott Stripling, “Have We Walked in the Footsteps of Jesus?” Bible and Spade. 27:4 (Fall, 2014) 88-94, and Bryant G. Wood, “Remarkable New Discoveries at Ai.” Bible and Spade. 27:4 (Fall, 2014) 95-98 for further details. On a side note, Joshua 10:1-4 suggests a close relationship between the ancient city of Ai and Jerusalem, possibly because it was a border fortress for the city-state of Jerusalem.