Jehovah

Chapter Six

Josie was approached by several monks, who eyed her suspiciously, as she walked through the gate. The solid wood gates closed noisily behind her, and Josie felt like she was entering a different world. She quickly introduced herself in Arabic, but one of the monks stepped forward and spoke in broken English.

"Why have you come to our monastery with armed men, Dr. McDowell?"

"I've been sent by the U.S. government to retrieve a page out of an ancient manuscript."

The monk did not look at all phased by what she said. He merely posed another question.

"And why do you think that we have the page?"

"Because I have access to three of them," Josie said as she pulled out her phone and showed the monk the photographs. She watched him visibly pale and knew she was in the right place. He said something in Arabic to the other monks who started motioning for her to leave.

"They say leave now in peace and never speak of this again."

Josie shook her head, "I'm sorry I can't do that. The group you know as ISIS is also looking for the page. I have been fortunate enough to keep ahead of them, but if you think they won't march in here and take the page by force, you are wrong. Please let me take this page to safety, and you have my word I will do everything I can to keep anyone from getting ahold of the plate."

The monk spoke to the others behind him, translating what she had said. They conversed for several moments before he turned back to Josie.

"I am Brother Abram. Please follow me!" Josie hurried after the monk who moved swiftly across the courtyard and into a nearby building. Josie took a minute to check her surroundings and saw the giant bush that took up a large portion of the courtyard, historically believed to be "the" burning bush from Exodus. Brother Abram led her through several rooms before coming to what seemingly looked like a wall. Josie watched in amazement as he shifted a nail to the side and a trap door in the wooden floor opened to reveal stone steps leading down. Abram grabbed a lantern off the wall and led Josie down the steps into what she found to be a sub-basement. It was dank and chilly after hours spent in the desert, but Josie did not have long to enjoy it. The monk led her towards what seemed like another dead end but moved a small chest away from the wall to reveal a small wooden door. It was about half her height and looked ancient.

"Go through," Abram said as he handed her the lantern. Josie looked at him bewildered.

"In there?"

"What you seek, is through this door. Someone will meet you on the other side."

Josie looked at him suspiciously but took the lantern and crouched down to go through the door. The tunnel before her was pitch-black and there was no way to know what would greet her on the other side. She crawled for about twenty-five yards before coming to a hole that opened into a small chamber. Josie straightened up and held the lantern out for better illumination. The room was lined with candles and lanterns, whose light danced off the rock walls. The walls were painted with murals that depicted the building of Solomon's temple, David's ascension to the throne, and other scenes from the Old Testament. Josie was still looking at the beautiful artwork when movement caught her attention.

Two monks approached her from the back of the chamber and pointed up towards the ceiling. Josie glanced upward and saw a small chest suspended by what looked like roots. It was then that she realized she was directly beneath the so-called burning bush. One of the monks spoke to her in Hebrew.