Zo Artzeinu - Joshua 1:3 Metal Print

The outline of a sandal sole contained within a map of modern Israel. Text from Joshua 1:3, "Every place on which the soles of your feet shall tread I have given you" also appears. A number of ancient foot-, or sandal-shaped, enclosures are located in the Jordan valley. These were among the first sites built by the People of Israel upon entering Canaan. The structures are thought to symbolize ownership of territory, control over an enemy, connection between people and land, and presence of the Deity. The Bible also has a number of references to the importance of the "foot" as a symbol: of ownership over Canaan, the bond between the People of Israel and their land, the link between the People and God's promise to inherit the land, defeating the enemy 'underfoot', and the Temple imaged as a foot. The sites were established at the outset of the Iron Age I (the 13th-12th centuries BCE). Based on their size and shape, it is clear that they were used for human assembly and not for animals. These sites are likely those referred to as "gilgal" in Hebrew and were used for assemblies, preparation for battle, and rituals. "Gilgal" (a camp or stone-structure), is mentioned thirty-nine times in the Bible. In at least two cases, paved circuits, some two meters wide, were found around the structures. These were probably used to encircle the sites in a ceremony. "Ceremonial encirclement of an area in procession is an important element in the ancient Near East. The origins of the Hebrew term "hag" (festival) in Semitic languages is from the verb "hug", which means "encircle" In biblical Hebrew"regel" (foot or leg) is also a "festival" or "holiday, and ascending to see the face of God. As such, the source of the Hebrew term "aliya la-regel", literally translated as "ascending to the foot" (known in English as a pilgrimage), is attributed to these "foot" sites. "Foot" constructions were used for ceremonial assemblies during the early Iron Age I (and probably later). When Jerusalem became the religious center "aliya la-regel" became associated with the city.