At early dawn a barefoot woman teacher clad in a white wool robe ran down smooth stone steps to the underground rooms of Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem. The vast substructure housed not only armed guards, priests, Levites, musicians and women teachers, but also the twelve virgins from royal families.
Inside in one of the many cubicles, rested Anna, age fifteen, the oldest of a group dedicated to the temple service of Yahweh. Her close temple friends expected to remain in service to the temple for life, but Anna was experiencing reticence about her future. These feelings disturbingly drew her away from the safety and cloister of temple life. As she had done every morning for some time, she began her prayers by asking for guidance. A soft rap came on her door. Opening it, she faced her agitated teacher, Susanna.
“Anna,” the teacher whispered quietly. “Your father, Stolan, is here to take you home to Nazareth.”
The news stunned Anna. “But I was not to leave for at least two weeks yet. I haven’t completed my full ten years of service. Why am I leaving early?”
“A Parthian army is moving South across Samaria,” an excited Susanna warned. “It’s said they’ve poisoned our ruler, Antipater, and intend to murder his sons, Herod and Phasael. A puppet king will rule our Judaea. This pagan army kills and rapes as they go. Jerusalem is in terrible danger, so hurry and pack your belongings. Your father is waiting.”
Knowing how strict and impatient her father could be, Anna quickly gathered her modest personal effects. Turning to Susanna she said “I’m ready now, but I do wish I had a chance to say good-bye to everyone. Please say farewell for me. I’ll just carry this warm cloak.”
As she hurriedly wrapped a scarf over luxuriant auburn hair, Anna followed Susanna up the steps to the open court where her father, Stolan, and several priests were waiting. Stolan was well known among the temple Pharisees, as he was a former member of the powerful Sanhedrin tribunal. Four years earlier, he had rebelled against the Temple’s strict control of its priests and the constant petty power-struggling wars. Along with Anna’s mother, Emerentiana, and her two sisters, Sobe and Esmeria, he had moved north to a less threatening life in Galilee.
Anna had never seen this new home. She had been born in Bethlehem and entered into temple service at the age of five. Her relationship with her father had always been a little tenuous because he rarely visited her.
Today, Anna approached him with mixed emotions. She was a little fearful but very respectful of this pale, bald man with the vast forehead and a striking salt-and-pepper beard. Anna regretted that she didn’t know him better. She was much closer to Stolan’s best friend, Ezra, a gentle man who generously took time to accompany Emerentiana to Jerusalem during her regular monthly visits to Anna.
Anna embraced her father dutifully, then said, “I have few things of value to take with me father, so I am ready now.”
Stolan was startled by his daughter’s radiant beauty, and felt he was seeing her for the first time. He studied her wide-set topaz eyes and almost-perfect nose, set in a heart-shaped face with a dimpled chin.
“I truly had forgotten how you’ve grown,” he said with an appreciative look. “You have your mother’s loveliness. But come we must hurry, Anna. The road to Jericho may become impassable soon with pilgrims coming to the Passover. I have rented fresh donkeys for us. They’re at the north gate.”
Because of the milling and excited crowd, the quickest choice for father and daughter was to thread their way over the temple grounds, through the Court of Gentiles. A deafening din of voices prevented further conversation. Already, thousands of worshippers pressed toward the booths of eager money-changers, to replace pagan currency for ritually clean shekels. Laymen clustered around solemn priests to argue application laws of holy scriptures. Crowd-jostled rich men on lavish litters screamed ahead to clear the way for their bearers, while sellers of sacrificial animals busily hawked their helpless merchandise.
Anna shuddered. She knew that the lowing and bleating of these terrified creatures would soon be replaced by the smell of disemboweled animals and the stench of burning fat, and that no matter how much onyx, glabanum, and storax were afterward burned on the incense altar, the fragrance could never overcome the smell of the animal holocaust.
This was one reason Anna was not unhappy to be leaving the temple at this time. She had privately wondered why the truculent Yahweh wouldn’t accept flour cakes, oil, or even scented offerings as expiatory sacrifices. She had learned from Susanna and gentle Ezra that these kinds of offerings were a custom with the Essene sect, a group of devout Jews.
Father and daughter made slow progress down Mount Moriah over the narrow, cobbled streets. They were going against a human tide, as well as competing with sheep and cattle being herded to the markets. At times, Stolan tried what appeared to be less-crowded alleys, but they often had to retrace their steps when the alley ended in closed courtyards.
Finally, they reached the Fish Gate, one of twelve fortified entrances into the temple area. Here, they met even more confusion head-on, as thousands of tired worshippers funneled through the city gates from various routes. There were travelers from Persia, with elegant silver-and-gold-embroidered cloaks; pilgrims from the plateaus of Asia Minor, in homespun goat’s hair garb; somber priests in flowing black robes from Babylon; and Phoenicians in many-colored, striped tunics.
Anna and Stolan found it almost impossible to cross this milling human river to get to their waiting donkeys. They stood, immobilized by the crowds, until a pair of horse-mounted Numidian auxiliaries in crested helmets, leather cuirasses, and short red capes spotted their plight. As hirelings of Rome, the African auxiliaries’ job was to control the rowdy Passover crowds. Anna’s distressed young face brought them into action. Forcefully, they cleared a path for the two and were quickly rewarded with a radiant smile from one and a grateful nod from the other.
Outside the wall, activities were substantially less hectic. Guards were stationed at intervals of a hundred cubits—less than a spear’s throw—to control recent arrivals into the city. Since the weather in the spring month of Nissan was mild, many of these newly-arrived visitors had set up tents in adjacent fields, commonly claiming pieces of ground by merely marking them with loose branches.
Anna sighed in relief as they reached the waiting animals. A young stalwart, whom Stolan had paid well, guarded them. The lead pack-donkey bore panniers of large wicker baskets filled with blankets, dried fruits, nuts, flat cakes of bread, and skins of balsam water. Stolan had planned carefully to make the pair’s journey comfortable, even outfitting Anna’s animal with a footrest.
As they quickly mounted the animals and cleared the crowds, Anna turned to her father and asked, “Will we reach Jericho tonight?”
Stolan shook his head slowly. “Not with the crowds on this caravan route. We have to be watchful, as we undoubtedly will encounter a motley mix of travelers. There could be dangerous runaway slaves or brigands intent on robbing some of these rich Persian traders of their silks. Most likely, the inns on the road will be full. But don’t fear, I’ve arranged for us to camp. Tomorrow we’ll follow the Jordan valley north through Samaria into Galilee, where we should be safe.”
“Before we left Jerusalem, my teacher, Susanna, said that the Parthians plan to install a puppet king in Judea. Do you think Rome will agree to this?”
“Probably not,” Stolan answered thoughtfully. “The oppressive Romans have fought too many wars with the Parthians over control of the Red Sea. I’m afraid a tempest is about to break over Jerusalem, and when it does Rome will move fast. That’s why I felt I had to get you out early, my child.”
As her donkey plodded along, Anna wondered about her new life and home. She had been away from the family many years and knew only her mother intimately. Her older sister, Sobe, rarely came to Jerusalem to visit, and when she did, their conversations ended in sibling arguments. Sobe, Anna thought, considered herself an authority on all subjects. Her middle sister, Esmeria, had married and now lived in a village west of Jerusalem. Anna wondered about her sister’s safety. She had not had to worry about safety in the past. Her own safety in the temple had been guaranteed for the last ten years.
Stolan interrupted Anna’s thoughts. “I’ve been thinking on a matter, Anna. I had earlier thought you would be the one to stay in temple life, but with the growing turmoil in the countryside, I believe in a year or two it would be better to find a good husband for you. In the meantime I’ll instruct Sobe to teach you how to be a good housewife and mother of many grandchildren for your mother and me. I know your studies have taught you Greek and Hebrew, but Sobe can also help you polish up your Aramaic.” He smiled comfortably, satisfied with his plans for his daughter’s future.
Anna frowned, then burst out, “Please, Abba, I cannot do what you suggest. I don’t want to marry—ever. Each day for the last ten years, I’ve heard the agonizing cries of the dying, the lepers, the crippled, and the starving poor who huddle around the temple gates. I have been tortured by their pain and misery. I feel I need to heal rather than marry, father. I have made a promise to God to devote my life to healing. Let Sobe and Esmeria bear you the grandchildren you want.”
Stolan’s cheeks paled, and his eyebrows arched at the shock of Anna’s heresy. He thundered, “Only Jehovah is a healer! Who are you to play at being God? Who do you think you would heal?”
In a low but steady voice, Anna replied, “Everyone who needs my help.”
An exasperated Stolan fumed, “Everyone? Would you heal even pagans or Romans? Remember,” he continued, “It was not long ago that the savage Governor Herod of Faille killed thousands of our people during a revolt. Could you possibly succor those who would destroy us?”
Anna fought back burning tears. Although she knew he loved her, she also knew her father to be an inflexible man, intent on preventing any deviation from what he considered the Law of their religion. He could force her to marry anyone he chose. She needed to take away the force of his anger and managed to answer quietly, “How can it be wrong to relieve suffering?”
A mollified Stolan, surprised by her continued resistance, changed his tactic. His voice grew less harsh. “Have your years in Judea made you forget your family’s position among the elite circles in Nazareth? Your mother is descended from the royal line of David, through King Solomon, and I come from nobility, through the princely line of Judah. Great responsibilities are a part of our daily life. They are also a part of our family honor and pride. You must remember, daughter, that every act of yours reflects on our entire family. I expect you to be a model of the Law.” Stolan waited silently for Anna’s reply.
As he dismounted from his donkey he came to her side. Taking one of her hands he pressed it tenderly to his cheek. In a quavering voice Anna said, “I’m proud of my lineage, father, and I’ll always be your devoted daughter. I do feel, however, that I have a power within that comes from a God of love, and not from a vengeful Yahweh.”
Stolan stepped back frowning. “There is only one God! You cannot call him either loving or vengeful.” With a sweeping motion Stolan removed his hat and ran his hand over his bald pate in helpless frustration. “Where did you get these independent notions, my child?”
Anna took advantage of the moment to say quietly, “Abba, I’ve thought on this a great deal. My temple teachers taught that if someone destroys one life, it in effect destroys a portion of the whole world.”
Stolan raised an eyebrow questioningly. “So?”
“Then wouldn’t the opposite be equally true?” Anna asked. “If it is possible for me to save a life, wouldn’t it be as if I had saved a part of the whole world?”
The renowned expert on the Torah was stunned by his beautiful, strong-willed daughter’s reasoning. She had turned the Law’s words to her advantage. Among equals, Stolan was considered famous for his skill in settling disagreements, but his hesitation in answering told Anna he was hard-pressed to refute her logic.
Stroking his thin beard, Stolan made a final argument. “Remember, daughter, evil in any form delays the coming of our Messiah. Our people have waited thousands of years for him. By healing a Roman, Phoenician, or any pagan for that matter, you may make it possible for them to do further evil. This could postpone the Promised One’s appearance. Do you want to be responsible for that?” Anna made no reply. It was enough for right now that Stolan would think about the thoughts she had expressed.
She signaled her donkey to move on through the rugged, uninhabited country. Its hills and valleys challenged even the most sturdy wayfarers. As they plodded along they passed many weary pilgrims calling out to each other the traditional greeting, “Shalom alekh hem! Peace be with you.”
The pair made camp for the night at a wayside shelter that had ample water and grass for the animals. Due to Stolan’s planning, they ate well from the food in the panniers and slept undisturbed all night. At the first light of dawn, they mounted their animals and were again on their way to Jericho.
Traveling through woods in full leaf and flower was a wondrous experience for Anna. It was especially pleasurable since she had been confined within the temple walls for most of her young life. She eagerly enjoyed the mountain streams that strained their banks. With the morning, Stolan was in better humor and called Anna’s attention to the spring migration of birds and the patterns they formed in the clear sky. Occasionally they would see young gazelle fawns learning to walk close to their mothers. Hares and conies leapt through sweeps of orchids.
Determined to get along better with her serious father, Anna said to him,. “I look forward to being home again. How is mother?”
“She waits impatiently for your return,” he replied. “I probably should not tell you this, but you’re her favorite child, you know.”
Before Anna could reply, Stolan exclaimed, “Look, Anna! We’re coming into Jericho—the revered city that was visited by the great prophet, Elijah.”
Anna smiled. Her erudite father found it difficult to make small talk. An unchanging man, he viewed each area and village they passed in terms of biblical history. She stubbornly returned to conversation.
“I’ve heard it said our Roman rulers are encouraging us to live without hatred toward foreigners and Gentiles,” she said provocatively. “How do you feel about that?”
Stolan stopped his donkey to make a thoughtful reply. “My work as a scribe required me to insist on the strict observance of Hebrew law. The Romans are suspicious of us. They’d like to penetrate our rituals and ferret out a means of destroying our faith in Yahweh. That is why I’m against helping them any more than necessary and why I hope you will forget about healing such people. I did not provide them years of money keeping you in temple training to turn you into a healing sorceress.”
Anna smiled. “But what if it’s not me but love that can perform miraculous healing? Would that be permissible?”
Stolan looked at Anna resignedly. “No more of those kinds of arguments for awhile, daughter. I believe it was well to have you removed from temple life so that some of this type of learning will be forgotten. You need other things in your life. Soon you’ll see how attractive young men are. I’m sure then your notions of being a healer will leave your pretty head.”
Anna realized it was now her turn to change the subject. “Abba, I have heard our people referred to as Hebrews, Israelites and Jews. Which are we?”
Stolan smiled. “The truth of the matter, daughter, is that all three names are correct. Of Noah’s three sons—Shem, Ham and Japheth—our people trace our descendants through Shem. Shem’s great-grandson was named Heber, and from him the tribal name of Hebrew developed.
“Then what about the names Jews and Israelites?” asked Anna.
Stolan adjusted his weight on the donkey before continuing. “Before our captivity by the Assyrians, the term Jew was mostly applied to those in the southern kingdom of Judah who worshipped Yahweh in Jerusalem. The ten tribes of the northern kingdom called themselves Israelites. Following the revolt of King Rehoboam against the Assyrians, most of the northern Israelites were taken into captivity and forced to go to Damascus. Later, Jews from the southern kingdom were also taken into captivity. When members of the twelve tribes were free to return home, they were referred to as Jews.”
Anna enjoyed listening to her father as much as he enjoyed instructing her. Looking at the countryside through which they passed, she begged, “Tell me, Abba, about the history of this area.”
Beaming with pleasure, Stolan spoke. “This was King David’s country. Our great prophet, Elijah, traveled these same twisting roads to the Jordan River. We could very well be gazing down on the spot where the prophet parted the waters and he and Elisha walked across on dry ground.”
Then with a dramatic upthrust of his arms, “Just visualize Elijah’s going to heaven in a chariot of fire and leaving his holy spirit to Elisha. Keep faith in our great prophets, Anna. I often call on them for help when making important decisions. If ever you are in a dilemma, remember to call on Elijah.”
Seeing tears of emotion growing in her father’s eyes, Anna felt the holiness of the surroundings. The pair continued into the valley below.
As they moved ahead, Anna realized that she had gotten off to a bad start with her father. Her devout mother, Emerentiana, would probably understand her deep yearnings. It was certain that her sister, Sobe, would not. Sobe had two sides. One minute she could be a caring and loving person; the next, tyrannical and jealous. Anna needed someone in whom to confide, but it couldn’t be Sobe or her father.
Suddenly Anna thought of Ezra. He, like Stolan, had moved from Judea to Galilee to escape the tyrannical dictates of the temple. Instead of becoming a scribe, however, he laid aside the tallith and phylacteries of temple life to put on the white garment of an Essene. Despite this, he and Stolan remained blood brothers, each following the precepts of the Torah in their individual ways. While Stolan busily solved the spiritual problems of the community, Ezra listened patiently to the everyday problems in Emerentiana’s life. He would be the logical one to support Anna in her healing mission goal.
Her preoccupation with the future allowed her donkey and pack animal to slow their walk. She realized suddenly that her father had disappeared ahead. She dismounted, hoping that, on foot, she could hurry the animals along and catch up to him. They had passed no travelers at this early hours, so she was shocked to hear a harsh voice demand, “Give me that pack animal, or I’ll put a knife in you!”
Anna whirled to face an unkempt brigand brandishing a vicious looking dagger. He was visibly surprised to see he was facing a lovely girl instead of an old woman. “Well, what luck,” he cried showing a mouth of missing teeth.
Anna froze in terror. Her father was out of sight. She tried to scream for his help, but no sound came from her throat. As the bandit advanced menacingly she ran to the opposite side of her donkey, using the animal as a shield. The bandit leapt forward. She eluded his grasp and ducked between the two animals. Back and forth between them, she led the chase. Irritated by her ability to avoid his reach, the attacker skirted the rear of the pack animal too close, and the wild-eyed, panicky animal struck out with a vicious kick.
Sprawled on the ground, the thief jumped up in a daze, shouting an angry oath. Anna thought of mounting her donkey and trying to escape without the pack animal, but her attacker was too agile and would quickly overtake the slow-jogging creature.
Both donkeys, confused by the racing and yelling, began to bray and spin. It seemed there was no way she could elude this bandit for long.
Suddenly Anna remembered the recent advice of her father. If in need of help, call on Elijah. This could be the hallowed ground where Elijah’s spirit had gone to heaven. Would he hear her cry for help? Shouting toward the sky, she begged, “Great prophet, Elijah, save me! Save me!”
The highwayman looked startled then laughed loudly at her plea. He confidently advanced toward her with outstretched arms. Unexpectedly, he found himself being flung back as if he had struck an invisible wall. Upon regaining his feet, he stood confused for several moments. Shaking the cobwebs from his head, he again came at Anna, who eluded him by jumping behind one of the donkeys. “Don’t try any more tricks on me!” he yelled, rushing toward her.
But as before, he hit an unseen barricade and went sprawling. Furious at his failures, he rolled upright off the ground, debating his next move. By now, Anna realized she had an invincible ally. “Don’t kill him, Elijah,” she yelled confidently, pointing with an outstretched arm. “Let him live!”
A look of absolute terror crossed the brigand’s face. He turned, then ran down the road and disappeared in a nearby ravine.
Anna threw her arms around her donkey’s head, sobbing with relief as she steadied herself. As her breathing returned to normal she said, “Oh, Elijah, thank you, thank you, thank you for saving me.”
Quickly gathering the two animals, she continued down the trail. She would not tell her father of this dangerous encounter because he would blame himself for not being more protective. At a later time, she would tell her understanding mother of the supernatural intervention by the prophet. Her father had said that Elijah neither died nor was buried and still moved about the earth, unrecognized and ethereal, helping those who believed in his loving power. Could the dramatic rescue mean there was a special purpose planned for her life? She felt strongly guided toward helping others and now believed even more that nothing would stop her from her healing goal. She had made contact with the Unseen World.