54

SUNDAY, JANUARY 18 – 11:23 p.m. – TIBERIAS, ISRAEL

Natasha had been working around the clock.

Exhausted and edgy, she had steered clear of both Bennetts for the last day or so as she continued trying to crack the code. But now she called them both to the kitchen.

“Whoever wrote this stuff was absolutely brilliant,” she said, her eyes weary and bloodshot, when the Bennetts sat down with her at the table where her computers, notebooks, maps, and Bibles were all spread out. “Obviously, they kept the Romans from ever even finding the Copper Scroll. But even if the Romans had found and deciphered it, they’d never have found the treasure. They’d have been on a wild-goose chase. The treasure isn’t buried in sixty-three different locations. It’s only buried in one.”

“You’re sure?” asked Bennett.

“As sure as I can be,” said Natasha. “I’ve studied the scroll Jon found in the tunnel from every possible angle, and I am now convinced, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that it is the Key Scroll. This is the real thing.”

Bennett breathed a sigh of relief and turned to Erin. Over the past several hours her strength had been returning, and now a beautiful smile broke out across her face.

“What clinched it for you?” he asked.

“Pontius Pilate,” Natasha replied.

“The guy who condemned Jesus to die?”

“Exactly.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Do you know how Pilate left office?” Natasha asked.

“No,” Jon and Erin admitted.

“He was forced out.”

“Why?” asked Erin.

“Because he ordered the slaughter of a group of Samaritans who believed a great treasure was buried on Mount Gerizim.”

“Really?” said Bennett. “I’ve never heard that.”

“Josephus tells the story in The Antiquities of the Jews,” Natasha explained. “Look, I’ll show you.”

She pulled up a Web site with the complete works of Josephus and did a search for Pilate. A moment later, she found book 18, chapter 4, section 1.

But the nation of the Samaritans did not escape without tumults. The man who excited them to it, was one who thought lying a thing of little consequence, and who contrived everything so that the multitude might be pleased; so he bade them get together upon Mount Gerizzim, which is by them looked upon as the most holy of all mountains, and assured them that, when they were come thither, he would show them those sacred vessels which were laid under that place, because Moses put them there. So they came thither armed. . .  . But Pilate prevented their going up, by seizing upon the roads with a great band of horsemen and footmen. . .  . and Pilate ordered [them] to be slain.

They went on to read about how Pilate was reprimanded by his superiors for the massacre and forced to leave his post in Jerusalem. Then Natasha said, “Moses never crossed the Jordan, so obviously he could never have buried ‘those sacred vessels’ on Mount Gerizim. But what’s interesting about Josephus’s account is how strong the tradition was in the region that Temple treasures, perhaps even including the Ark, were buried on that mountain. And if that weren’t enough, there are still some six hundred or so Samaritans living in Israel today, and they are convinced that the Messiah will come one day and show them where that great treasure is buried on Mount Gerizim.”

They were getting closer.

“That’s the good news,” said Natasha. “Now the bad news.”

Confused, Jon and Erin followed Natasha as she abruptly left the kitchen and sat down on the balcony, staring out across the Sea of Galilee as storm clouds gathered over the Golan Heights in the distance.

“What bad news?” Erin asked, taking a seat on one of the cushioned lounge chairs and wrapping herself with a wool blanket.

“Gerizim was the site of a Samaritan temple—a temple long considered heretical by the Jews,” said Natasha. “What’s more, at the time the Copper Scroll and the Key Scroll were written and hidden, Mount Gerizim was the site of a Roman military stronghold, as well as a major Roman palace. The ruins are still there today.”

“And?”

“Well, why would the Jews risk burying the entire Temple treasure so close to their worst enemy? It doesn’t fit.”

“What about Mount Ebal?” Bennett asked.

Natasha sighed. “The problem there is that the Scriptures refer to Mount Ebal as a mountain of curses. It seems unlikely that the Jews who wrote this scroll would hide the Temple treasures in a mountain of curses.”

It was quiet for a few minutes, save for the sound of some birds flying over the sea. Bennett leaned back and watched the storm moving in.

Erin, meanwhile, pulled out her Bible and began studying it carefully. “Natasha, with all due respect, I think you might be mistaken about Mount Ebal,” she said a few minutes later.

“How so?”

“Well, look, you’re the expert in all these archeology matters, and I don’t pretend to understand it all—certainly not like you do,” Erin said, as diplomatically as she could. “But I’m in a women’s Bible study back in Washington, and we’ve been studying the book of Joshua. And if I remember correctly, Mount Ebal itself was never cursed.”

“Go on,” said Natasha, obviously curious.

“Well, from what I understand—and again, I realize you’ve got a lot more training and experience than I do—the Scriptures simply say that Mount Ebal is the location where the Hebrews were supposed to explain God’s curses on those who disobey. It doesn’t actually say the mountain itself is cursed.”

“Where are you getting this from?” asked Natasha.

“Joshua 8:30-34. Should I read it out loud?”

“Absolutely,” said Bennett.

“Then Joshua built

on Mount Ebal

an altar to the LORD,

the God of Israel,

as Moses the servant of the LORD

had commanded the Israelites.

He built it according to

what is written in the

Book of the Law of Moses—

an altar of uncut stones,

on which no iron tool

had been used.

On it they offered

to the LORD

burnt offerings and

sacrificed fellowship offerings.

There, in the presence

of the Israelites,

Joshua copied on stones

the law of Moses,

which he had written.

All Israel, aliens

and citizens alike, . . .

were standing on both sides of

the ark of the covenant of the LORD,

facing those who carried it—

the priests, who were Levites.

Half of the people stood

in front of Mount Gerizim

and half of them

in front of Mount Ebal,

as Moses the servant

of the LORD

had formerly commanded

when he gave

instructions to bless

the people of Israel.

Afterward, Joshua read all

the words of the law—

the blessings and the curses—

just as it is written

in the Book of the Law.”

“Did the Romans ever have a fortress or palace on Mount Ebal?” asked Erin.

Natasha shook her head. “Not that I’m aware of,” she said. “Why?”

“Humor me for a moment,” Erin replied, “but I’m just thinking, if Mount Ebal were really cursed, why would Joshua have built an altar there? Why would he have offered sacrifices to God there? Or chiseled the Word of God into stone on Mount Ebal?”

Natasha didn’t reply.

“He wouldn’t have,” Erin continued. “Which means Mount Ebal couldn’t have been cursed.”

“Where are you going with this?” Bennett asked.

“I’m just saying, what if the author of the Copper Scroll mentioned Gerizim to throw people off track, knowing full well that the Samaritans had a temple there and that the Romans had a fortress there? What if that’s why no one’s ever found anything in the caves of Gerizim—because the treasure was actually buried on Mount Ebal instead?”