pilgrams in the bible

For fourteen centuries, no one dared to ‘correct’ the peculiar Quranic spelling of Becca in verse 3:96, the city that had been known as Mecca for as long as its people during prophet Muhammad’s time could remember. (The advent of the Quran’s numerical str...ucture provides an important explanation, as the frequency of the letter M - Arabic script meem - is connected to it). Some have argued that Becca was the ancient name for Mecca (see for example historian Ibn Ishaq’s view, and editor Ibn Hisham’s note, in A. Guillaume’s translation The Life of Muhammad, Oxford University Press, 1967, pp. 47, 708). Now we learn that this peculiar Quranic spelling may also shed some light on an obscure Biblical passage. That Becca was indeed the ancient name for Mecca, the city of pilgrimage in which Abraham founded its shrine, bait al-Lah, the house of God - the Ka’ba. That this pilgrimage was known to the children of Israel of ancient times. “How lovely is Your dwelling place, O Lord Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young a place near your altar, O Lord Almighty, my King and my God. Blessed are those who dwell in Your house; they are ever praising You. Blessed are those whose strength is in You, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with blessings...” (Psalm 84:1-6) This psalm is also known as the psalm of the pilgrimage. It seems to reflect the children of Israel’s ancient longing for the House of God that their patriarch Abraham had built in Baca (Becca), and their ancient practice of making a pilgrimage there. In a sense, it confirms what historian Ibn Ishaq wrote in the 8th century AD about the ancient Jews who used to make a pilgrimage to their patriarch Abraham’s temple in Mecca, centuries before Ibn Ishaq’s time. They stopped the practice when the inhabitants of the city turned into “unclean polytheists.” Their setting up of idols around the Ka’ba, and the blood which they shed there, presented an insurmountable obstacle for them (Guillaume, op.cit., p.9). The Holy Scriptures of the Jewish Publication Society retained the name Baca, but used “the highways” instead of “pilgrimage” (although still in the context of the road to pilgrimage). The crucial passage is now read: ‘Happy is the man whose strength is in Thee; in whose hearts are the highways. Passing through the valley of Baca...’ The New American Bible’s 1977 edition of the Catholic church, on the other hand, kept the word “pilgrimage” but translated the proper name “Baca” using its secondary meaning “the mastic tree.” The passage read: ‘Happy the men whose strength you are! Their hearts are set upon the pilgrimage. When they pass through the valley of the mastic trees,....’ and its true meaning is irreparably lost. Indeed, in Arabic and Hebrew, the word becca/baca also means “the mastic or the balsam tree.” Another meaning of the word is “the overflowing tears.” These two meanings fit the description of Mecca as well. Mecca is a place where these evergreen trees are found in abundance (the Meccan balsam is a well known name in pharmacopeia). Furthermore, the commemoration of God’s Name - and God alone - during hajj, truly brings tears to many a pilgrim’s eyes. Despite the many versions of the Bible’s translation, a careful study by a sincere seeker will bring the true meaning of passages, verses or even a single word. God has also sent down His Final Testament - the Quran, to shed light on Biblical passages such as those quoted above. “We have revealed this scripture to you, to point out for them what they dispute and to provide guidance and mercy for people who believe .... What we revealed to you in this scripture is the truth, consummating all previous scriptures. God is fully Cognizant of His servants, Seer.” (Quran 16:64, 35:31)See More