Archeology

[phkrause]

Who Was the King of Abel Beth Maacah?

A small faience head, excavated at the site of Abel Beth Maacah in northern Israel, may depict the city’s ninth-century BCE ruler, a period when scholars are not certain if the city was controlled by Israel, Phoenicia, or an entirely different kingdom. Publishing in the Oxford Journal of Archaeology, the excavation team suggests that the head could have belonged to a large votive statuette that was used during cultic rituals.

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/ancient-cultures/ancient-israel/who-was-the-king-of-abel-beth-maacah/?

What Were the Crusades and How Did They Impact Jerusalem?

For almost 200 years during the Middle Ages, Christian Crusades wrested control of the Palestine region from the Selçuk Turks through a series of military incursions made up of Christian armies largely from Western Europe. The control that the Christian Crusades exerted over the Holy Land was tenuous at best. What were the Crusades? Why were the Crusades important? Today, when we answer this question, it is often the images of Crusades history from Hollywood that we have in mind: glorious and righteous warriors in the form of gallant knights leading the Christian Crusades, anointed by God to save the Holy Land from the infidel.

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-sites-places/jerusalem/what-were-the-crusades-and-how-did-they-impact-jerusalem/?

Where Did the Temple Menorah Go?

After quelling a dangerous revolt in the Roman province of Judea in 71 C.E., Emperor Vespasian and his son Titus returned to Rome to publicly celebrate their victory. Following an ancient martial tradition, they marched victoriously through the city center in a riotous triumphal procession, parading prisoners and spoils of the war.

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-sites-places/temple-at-jerusalem/where-did-the-temple-menorah-go/?

[phkrause]

Too Good to Be True? Not Necessarily So!

In his recent Biblical Archaeology Review article, “Too Good to Be True? Reckoning with Sensational Inscriptions,” epigrapher Christopher Rollston takes to task several recent studies of apparent paleo-Hebrew and proto-Canaanite inscriptions and criticizes some of his fellow epigraphers (myself included) for reading too much into these badly damaged and/or questionable texts. Although I agree with some of his points, with others I clearly cannot. Below I consider two of the texts discussed by Rollston in his article.

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/archaeology-today/too-good-to-be-true-not-necessarily-so/?

Was Jesus’ Last Supper a Seder?

Many people assume that Jesus’ Last Supper was a Seder, a ritual meal held in celebration of the Jewish holiday of Passover. And indeed, according to the Gospel of Mark 14:12, Jesus prepared for the Last Supper on the “first day of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrificed the Passover lamb.” If Jesus and his disciples gathered together to eat soon after the Passover lamb was sacrificed, what else could they possibly have eaten if not the Passover meal? And if they ate the Passover sacrifice, they must have held a Seder.

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/people-cultures-in-the-bible/jesus-historical-jesus/was-jesus-last-supper-a-seder/?

Love Your Neighbor: Only Israelites or Everyone?

It’s one of the most famous lines in the Bible: “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18).

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-topics/bible-interpretation/love-your-neighbor-only-israelites-or-everyone/?

[phkrause]

New DNA evidence rewrites long-told stories of people in ancient Pompeii

When a volcanic eruption buried the ancient city of Pompeii, the last desperate moments of its citizens were preserved in stone for centuries.

https://apnews.com/article/pompeii-ancient-dna-mount-vesuvius-e238247d5b24d74aaa1b8e26465bb546?

New Paintings Found at Pompeii

Archaeologists working in Pompeii have uncovered yet another house filled with magnificent wall paintings. Nicknamed the House of Phaedra, which like the rest of the city was buried under volcanic ash during the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 CE, it preserves several beautiful wall paintings. The best preserved depicts a scene from Euripides’s tragedy Hippolytus, where a barely dressed Phaedra reclines before a nude Hippolytus, with an unidentified man between them (see above). In the play, Phaedra is married to the Athenian king Theseus, but falls in love with her stepson, Hippolytus, who has taken a vow of chastity. When he rejects her advances, she accuses him of rape and commits suicide, leading Theseus to exile his son in anger. Another painting (see below) shows a satyr (half-man, half-goat) and a nymph in an intimate embrace, and a third but more damaged scene may be a rendering of the Judgement of Paris. Overall, the paintings share the themes of love, lust, and the power of the gods—each results in tragedy for the characters, as the cost for the love they experience.

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/ancient-cultures/ancient-rome/new-paintings-found-at-pompeii/?

Rock Giants in Noah

Who—or what—are the rock giants in Noah the movie?

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-topics/hebrew-bible/rock-giants-in-noah/?

Where Is Biblical Bethsaida?

The ancient village of Bethsaida is believed to be located on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee, but where precisely the abandoned city lies remains a fiercely-debated question among scholars. Recent discoveries at the site of el-Araj have called into question the decades-old claim that et-Tell on the eastern shore of the Jordan River is this lost Biblical city.

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/news/where-is-biblical-bethsaida/?

[phkrause]

Spy satellite images lead archeologists to the site of a historic battle in Iraq

BEIRUT (AP) — Declassified 1970s-era U.S. spy satellite imagery has led a British-Iraqi archeological team to what they believe is the site of a seventh-century battle that became decisive in the spread of Islam throughout the region.

https://apnews.com/article/iraq-archeology-battle-qadisiya-satellite-fb0c8e381828e8a535d862c7b4e6c0ba?

[phkrause]

The Megiddo Mosaic

An extraordinary mosaic from the area of ancient Megiddo in northern Israel is now on display at the Museum of the Bible. Featuring the earliest known inscription to identify Jesus as God, the mosaic adds much to our understanding of early Christian communities in the Holy Land.

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/exhibits-events/the-megiddo-mosaic/?

The Stones of Herod’s Temple Reveal Temple Mount History

Building and furnishing the Herodian Temple involved more than stone quarrying and laying, but the stones and foundations of Herod’s Temple can give us clues to Temple Mount history.

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-sites-places/temple-at-jerusalem/the-stones-of-herods-temple-reveal-temple-mount-history/?

[phkrause]

Bronze Age Temple Discovered in Kuwait

A joint Kuwaiti-Danish excavation has uncovered a 4,000-year-old temple on the island of Failaka in Kuwait. Belonging to the ancient kingdom of Dilmun, the temple is yet another archaeological find highlighting the importance of this kingdom and its role as an intermediary between Mesopotamia, Oman, and the Indus Valley.

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/ancient-cultures/ancient-near-eastern-world/bronze-age-temple-discovered-in-kuwait/?

Biblical Bread: Baking Like the Ancient Israelites

In 2015 , Dr. Shafer-Elliott wrote for Bible History Daily about an experiment in building a tannur, a type of oven, and baking bread as the ancient Israelites might have done. Please enjoy revisiting Dr Shafer-Elliott’s previous article on connecting to the ancient Israelites through that experiment. Current subscribers, read Dr. Shafer-Elliott’s article, Baking Bread in Ancient Judah,  in the most recent issue of BAR.  

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/ancient-cultures/daily-life-and-practice/biblical-bread-baking-like-the-ancient-israelites/?

Jews and Arabs Descended from Canaanites

After examining the DNA of 93 bodies recovered from archaeological sites around the southern Levant, the land of Canaan in the Bible, researchers have concluded that modern populations of the region are descendants of the ancient Canaanites. Most modern Jewish groups and the Arabic-speaking groups from the region show at least half of their ancestry as Canaanite.

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/ancient-cultures/ancient-near-eastern-world/jews-and-arabs-descended-from-canaanites/?

[phkrause]

Unwrapping Mummy Mysteries

More than just the stuff of Hollywood movies, mummies and mummified remains have been the subject of scientific inquiry for centuries. Although early studies of mummies tended to be rather destructive, technological advances have opened up new opportunities. Recently, specialists with Chicago’s Field Museum have used a mobile CT scanner to gain new insight into ancient Egyptian funerary practices and the lives of individuals who lived thousands of years ago.

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/ancient-cultures/ancient-egypt/unwrapping-mummy-mysteries/?

When Did Christianity Begin to Spread?

How old is Christianity? When did it stop being a Jewish sect and become its own religion? As reported in “Crossing the Holy Land” in the September/October 2011 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review, new archaeological discoveries of churches are crucial to helping answer those questions. But when did Christians begin to build these churches? Early Christian gathering places are difficult to identify because at first Christians met together mostly in private homes. Even as Christian populations grew, distrust and persecution by their Roman rulers forced the early church to stay out of the public eye.

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-sites-places/biblical-archaeology-sites/when-did-christianity-begin-to-spread/?

[phkrause]

Manuscript Mystery

Among the most memorable accounts in the Gospels is that of Jesus’s raising of Lazarus from the dead in John 11. We learn little, however, about the character of Lazarus himself; more prominent are the sisters of Lazarus, Mary and Martha, who initially request that Jesus heal their sick brother and, after his death, bear witness to his resurrection. In her article entitled “The Mystery of Mary and Martha” in the Winter 2024 issue of BAR, Elizabeth Schrader Polczer points out that some early copies of John’s Gospel exhibit unusual treatments of the sisters of Lazarus, which together suggest that an early version circulated in which there was only one sister, Mary—sometimes thought to be Mary Magdalene—while Martha was added later.

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-topics/bible-interpretation/manuscript-mystery/?

When Was the Hebrew Bible Written?

Was the Hebrew Bible written earlier than previously thought? That’s what a 2016 study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests. The study was led by Tel Aviv University (TAU) doctoral students Shira Faigenbaum-Golovina, Arie Shausa and Barak Sober.

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/news/when-was-the-hebrew-bible-written/?

The Philistines: Urban Invaders or Emergent Immigrants?

The Philistines have long been a mysterious force in the history of the ancient Levant, with few records detailing their early years in the lands of the Bible. The organized, urban nature of Philistine sites in later periods has led some scholars to suggest that they entered the land as invaders, bringing with them a highly developed urban culture. A recent study published in the journal Levant, however, pushes back against this theory. The study, which examined archaeological finds from several Philistines cities, concluded that Philistine urbanization occurred gradually and only took place after they entered the southern Levant and were integrated with the local Canaanite community.

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/the-philistines-urban-invaders-or-emergent-immigrants/?

[Rahab]

On 7/31/2023 at 6:45 PM, phkrause said:

🏛️ 1 for the road: Nero's Theater found

People walk in the excavation site of the ancient Roman emperor Nero's theater, 1st century A.D., in Rome on Wednesday. Photo: Andrew Medichini/AP The ruins of Emperor Nero's lost theater — referred to in ancient Roman texts, but never found — have been discovered under the garden of a future Four Seasons Hotel, steps from the Vatican. Why it matters: The findings provide a rare look at a stratum of Roman history from the Roman Empire through to the 15th century. Among the discoveries: 10th-century goblets and pottery pieces that are unusual because so little is known about this period in Rome, AP reports. Archaeologists found marble columns and gold-leaf decorated plaster, leading them to conclude that Nero's Theater — referred to in texts by Pliny the Elder, an ancient Roman author and philosopher — was indeed there, just off the Tiber River. Previously only seven glass chalices from that era had been found. The excavations of this one site turned up seven more. Archaeologists had excavated deep under the walled garden of the Palazzo della Rovere since 2020 as part of planned renovations on the frescoed Renaissance building, The palazzo takes up a city block along the broad Via della Conciliazione leading to St. Peter's Square. 🔮 What's next: The portable antiquities will be moved to a museum. The ruins of the theater will be covered again after all studies are completed. The hotel is expected to be open for the Vatican's Jubilee 2025, when 30 million people are expected to flock to Rome.

Just heard about this door opening at the Vatican 2025!

seems like many things are coming together 

[phkrause]

Megastructure Uncovered at Tel Shimron

Archaeologists at Tel Shimron in Israel’s Jezreel Valley have uncovered a remarkable megastructure, so far unique within the southern Levant. Rising nearly 20 feet above the ancient mound, the cone-shaped structure is thought to have been some sort of Bronze Age monument. But what kind of monument was it and what function did it serve?

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/ancient-cultures/ancient-israel/megastructure-uncovered-at-tel-shimron/?

Who Was St. Nicholas?

The legend of jolly old St. Nicholas evolved into Santa Claus in Christmas tradition, but who was St. Nicholas? Mark Wilson, author of the Site-Seeing column “The Hometown of Santa Claus” in the November/December 2017 issue of BAR, examines below the texts and traditions related to the fourth-century bishop of Myra in Lycian Turkey. Wilson also discusses the ongoing excavations at the St. Nicholas Church in Myra and what they tell us about this popular saint.—Ed.

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-topics/post-biblical-period/who-was-st-nicholas/?

What Did Herod’s Temple in Jerusalem Look Like?

The year 2016 marked the 50th anniversary of the now-iconic model of Herod’s Temple created by Israeli historian and archaeologist Michael Avi-Yonah. The model, completed in 1966 after four years of construction, was commissioned by Hans Kroch of the Holy Land Hotel in Jerusalem. After 40 years at the hotel, in 2006 the model was restored and moved to its current home at the Israel Museum.

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-sites-places/temple-at-jerusalem/what-did-herods-temple-in-jerusalem-look-like/?

[phkrause]

Review: The Syriac World: In Search of a Forgotten Christianity

Go east across the Euphrates River and journey to meet the Syriac Christians. They are still there and continue to speak, teach, and worship in both the classical and modern dialects of their own language—Syriac. When you pack your bag, don’t forget a guidebook: Françoise Briquel Chatonnet and Muriel Debié’s The Syriac World. This book touches upon nearly every aspect of the Syriac Christian tradition, bringing its people, religious legacy, language, and history to life. By attending to the Syriac heritage, you will see the Christian tradition and its Aramaic-speaking founder (Jesus) with a fresh pair of eyes. This book is beautifully illustrated with photos and maps, providing a visual journey even for armchair pilgrims.

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/reviews/review-the-syriac-world-in-search-of-a-forgotten-christianity/?

The Adam and Eve Story: Eve Came From Where?

According to the Bible’s creation account, after making the heavens and the earth, God created humankind. The Adam and Eve story in Genesis 2 states that God formed Adam out of the dust of the ground, and then Eve was created from one of Adam’s ribs. But was it really his rib?

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-topics/bible-interpretation/the-adam-and-eve-story-eve-came-from-where/?

The Last Days of Hattusa

From his capital, Hattusa, in central Anatolia, the last-known Hittite king, Suppiluliuma II (1207 B.C.-?), ruled over a people who had once built a great empire—one of the superpowers (along with Egypt, Mittani, Babylon and Assyria) of the Late Bronze Age. The Kingdom of the Hittites, called Hatti, had stretched across the face of Anatolia and northern Syria, from the Aegean in the west to the Euphrates in the east. But now those days were gone, and the royal capital was about to be destroyed forever by invasion and fire.

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/ancient-cultures/ancient-near-eastern-world/the-last-days-of-hattusa/?

[phkrause]

DNA and Gender at Pompeii

In 79 CE, the Roman town of Pompeii was covered in volcanic ash, courtesy of Mt. Vesuvius. While the bodies of the dead decomposed long ago, their final poses remained cemented into the pumice and volcanic debris that engulfed the island. Ensuing excavations revealed nearly a thousand individuals whose bodies were cemented into their surroundings. In the late 19th century, archaeologist Giuseppe Florelli devised a system of pouring liquid chalk into the outlines of the bodies, creating casts that could then be studied.

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/ancient-cultures/ancient-rome/dna-and-gender-at-pompeii/?

A Feast for the Senses … and the Soul

Few activities in life are as seemingly mundane yet vitally important as eating. Food is one of the bare necessities of life, and everyone—man or woman, young or old, king or servant—must eat. Thus it is perhaps not so surprising that many of the Biblical stories are set within the context of a meal.

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/ancient-cultures/a-feast-for-the-senses-and-the-soul/?

When Was the First Communion?

The event described in Matthew 26:26–28 (also in Mark 14:22–25 and Luke 22:14–23) is known as the Last Supper. It was Jesus’ last meal with his disciples before his crucifixion. In that meal, which was a Passover meal, Jesus gave bread and wine—representing his body and blood—to his disciples. These were symbols of his new covenant. Further, he charged his disciples to “do this in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19), meaning Jesus’ followers were to partake of bread and wine and remember him. Jesus’ Last Supper in the Bible is the foundation for the Christian tradition of taking communion—known as the Lord’s Supper, the Holy Communion and the Eucharist.

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-topics/bible-interpretation/when-was-the-first-communion/?

[phkrause]

Young Girl Discovers Egyptian Scarab

While walking with her family at Tel Qana near Tel Aviv, a young girl made a fantastic find: a small stone in the shape of a dung beetle with a carving of two scorpions on the bottom. After the family brought it to an archaeologist with the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), it was determined that the object was an Egyptian scarab dating to around 1500 BCE, during the New Kingdom period.

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/ancient-cultures/ancient-israel/young-girl-discovers-egyptian-scarab/?

[phkrause]

The Ten Lost Tribes

“So Israel was exiled from their own land to Assyria until this day.” This is how the Book of 2 Kings summarizes the Assyrian conquest of Israel (17:23). In what was a culmination of more than a century-long confrontation between Israel and Assyria, King Sargon II captured the capital city of Samaria in 721 BCE and exiled thousands of Israelites to Assyria. A later biblical tradition recorded in 2 Kings 17 then established the myth of the “ten lost tribes” of Israel: “None was left but the tribe of Judah alone” (18).

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-sites-places/biblical-archaeology-sites/ten-lost-tribes/?

Ancient Synagogues in Israel and the Diaspora

A synagogue is a place dedicated to Jewish worship and instruction. These buildings became the primary place of Jewish worship after the Temple was destroyed in 70 C.E. But were there ancient synagogues in Israel—and in the diaspora—while the Temple still stood in Jerusalem?

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/ancient-cultures/daily-life-and-practice/ancient-synagogues-in-israel-and-the-diaspora/?

The Origins of “The Cherry Tree Carol”

Ever since I first discovered it in college, the “Cherry Tree Carol” has been one of my favorites. Its surprisingly risqué story line shines an unexpected light on the familiar Christmas Journey to Bethlehem from Luke 2:4–5: Joseph walking alongside the donkey and Mary, very pregnant, perched on its back. Creatively building on gospel narrative, the song fills in the gaps of the brief Nativity stories in Matthew and Luke. How endearing and wholly human, that Joseph might have had trouble fully coming to terms with his wife’s mysterious pregnancy despite the angel’s reassurances (“…do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit”) in Matthew 1:20! Mary and Joseph in the cherry orchard recalls, of course, Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. There, trouble with fruit led to big trouble for humanity, trouble that the baby in Mary’s womb will set right. In this somewhat feminist counter-story, a man is put in his place by a woman—with God’s full cooperation!

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-topics/post-biblical-period/the-origins-of-the-cherry-tree-carol/?

[phkrause]

Tiny tools

Ancient artifacts unearthed at a Wyoming archaeological site helped shed light on how early Americans survived the last ice age. They found needles made from the bones of foxes, cats and rabbits.

[phkrause]

An Israelite Palace East of the Jordan?

The twin sites of Tall adh-Dhahab, located just across the Jordan River from the ancient cities of Samaria and Shechem, are often identified as biblical Mahanaim and Panuel. Although mentioned several times in the Hebrew Bible, not much is known about either site. A new proposal in the journal Tel Aviv, however, suggests that a group of previously published carved ashlar blocks uncovered during earlier German excavations may point to Mahanaim being the site of an ancient Israelite palace.

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/ancient-cultures/ancient-israel/an-israelite-palace-east-of-the-jordan/?

Scholars Identify Biblical King Balak on the Mesha Stele

One of the most exceptional biblical archaeology artifacts ever found, the three-foot-tall Mesha Stele contains a 34-line inscription celebrating the Moabite vassal king Mesha’s rebellion against the Israelites. Renowned epigrapher André Lemaire identified in line 31 of the ninth-century B.C.E. stele the phrase בת[ד]וד (bt[d]wd), or “House of David”—a tantalizing reference to King David on an artifact discovered before the famed Tel Dan inscription that also references David. Scholars Israel Finkelstein, Nadav Na’aman, and Thomas Römer have recently re-examined the inscription, however, and propose a new reading: Line 31 references not the “House of David,” but the Moab king Balak from the story of Balaam in the Bible (Numbers 22–24).

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-artifacts/inscriptions/biblical-king-balak-mesha-stele/?

Who Was St. Nicholas?

The legend of jolly old St. Nicholas evolved into Santa Claus in Christmas tradition, but who was St. Nicholas? Mark Wilson, author of the Site-Seeing column “The Hometown of Santa Claus” in the November/December 2017 issue of BAR, examines below the texts and traditions related to the fourth-century bishop of Myra in Lycian Turkey. Wilson also discusses the ongoing excavations at the St. Nicholas Church in Myra and what they tell us about this popular saint.—Ed.

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-topics/post-biblical-period/who-was-st-nicholas/?

[phkrause]

Israel’s Oldest Chinese Inscription Found on Mt. Zion

Excavators with the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) and the German Protestant Institute of Archaeology made an unexpected discovery while excavating on Jerusalem’s Mt. Zion: a small porcelain bowl fragment painted with a short Mandarin Chinese inscription.

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/news/israels-oldest-chinese-inscription-found-on-mt-zion/?

Seth in the Bible

In the story of the first man and the first woman, we are intrigued by a character about whom we are told very little.

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/people-cultures-in-the-bible/people-in-the-bible/seth-in-the-bible/?

Christmas Stories in Christian Apocrypha

One of the most familiar images of the Christmas season is the nativity scene—the well-known depiction of Jesus’ birth—displayed in an array of public and private settings, including churches, parks, store windows and on fireplace mantles.

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-topics/bible-interpretation/christmas-stories-in-christian-apocrypha/?

[phkrause]

The Prequel Gospels

Among other things, the Christmas season is often synonymous with movies and television specials. Sprinkled among the plethora of Christmas classics, one is sure to find an on-screen telling of the Nativity story, such as Netflix’s new epic biopic Mary. Viewers will quickly realize that it is unlike the typical Nativity story, as it begins with Mary’s miraculous birth to childless parents Joachim and Anne. Soon after, the film goes into Mary’s early childhood as a virgin dedicated to service in the Jerusalem Temple before being chosen to bear the Christ-child.

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-topics/new-testament/the-prequel-gospels/?

The Betrothal of Mary and Joseph in the Bible

With Christmas around the corner, many people read the Nativity stories in Matthew 1–2 and Luke 1–2. Tucked into these narratives are the engagement and marriage of Mary and Joseph in the Bible (Matthew 1:18–25; Luke 1:26–27; 2:5). Any reader would recognize immediately that elements of their courtship were extraordinary. Yet other aspects were quite ordinary, reflecting the cultural norms of that time, people, and place—first-century Jews in Galilee.

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-topics/new-testament/mary-and-joseph-in-the-bible/?

Arguments Against Locating Sodom at Tall el-Hammam

This piece was originally published by professor Todd Bolen on the BiblePlaces blog. Bolen comments on Steven Collins’s BAR article suggesting that Biblical authors located Sodom at the site of Tall el-Hammam. We invite our readers to continue the discussion in our comments section below. All material republished with the permission of Todd Bolen.

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-sites-places/biblical-archaeology-sites/arguments-against-locating-sodom-at-tall-el-hammam/?

[phkrause]

Masada: History and Archaeology

Masada—for many, the name evokes the image of a cliff rising dramatically above an austere desert landscape. The name is famously associated with the Masada siege, the final stand between the Jewish rebels and the relentless Roman army at the end of the First Jewish Revolt in 73 C.E. Trapped in the desert fortress-palace Herod built in the previous century, the rebels chose—as Jewish historian Josephus tells us—to commit mass suicide rather than be captured and enslaved by the Romans. Discover what archaeology can tell us about Herod’s fortress-palace, the Roman siege, and the rebels’ final moments in a BAS Library special collection of Biblical Archaeology Review articles selected specially for BAS Library members.

https://library.biblicalarchaeology.org/collections/masada-history-and-archaeology/

[phkrause]

Identifying Pi Ramesses

Mentioned in the Hebrew Bible as one of the two cities in which the Israelites labored during their servitude in Egypt, Pi Ramesses—biblical Raamses (Exodus 1:11)—is fascinating for a several reasons, not the least of which is that it could help date the period of the Exodus. At least, that is what some archaeologists think.

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/ancient-cultures/ancient-egypt/identifying-pi-ramesses/?

Did Jesus Exist? Searching for Evidence Beyond the Bible

After two decades toiling in the quiet groves of academe, I published an article in BAR titled “Archaeology Confirms 50 Real People in the Bible.”^a The enormous interest this article generated was a complete surprise to me. Nearly 40 websites in six languages, reflecting a wide spectrum of secular and religious orientations, linked to BAR’s supplementary web page.^b Some even posted translations.

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/people-cultures-in-the-bible/jesus-historical-jesus/did-jesus-exist/?

Bible Scholar Brent Landau Asks “Who Were the Magi?”

Who were the magi, those gift-bearing wise men from the east who are so central to the traditional telling of the Christmas story? Bible scholar Brent Landau believes he has found at least one answer to this age-old question.

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/people-cultures-in-the-bible/jesus-historical-jesus/bible-scholar-brent-landau-asks-who-were-the-magi/?

[phkrause]

Did Archaeologists Discover an Ancient Seal of the Twelve Tribes?

Is a 3700-year-old Egyptian bulla one of the greatest archaeological finds of all time or a typical item of its era?

https://aish.com/did-archaeologists-discover-an-ancient-seal-of-the-twelve-tribes/?

[phkrause]

Digs 2025

Join an excavation to unearth the biblical past

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/archaeology-today/digs-2025/?

[phkrause]

The Oldest Alphabetic Writing Ever Found?

Discovery may move alphabet’s origins back 500 years

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/ancient-cultures/ancient-near-eastern-world/the-oldest-alphabetic-writing-ever-found/?

Herod’s Death, Jesus’ Birth and a Lunar Eclipse

Both Luke and Matthew mention Jesus’ birth as occurring during Herod’s reign (Luke 1:5; Matthew 2:1). Josephus relates Herod’s death to a lunar eclipse. This is generally regarded as a reference to a lunar eclipse in 4 B.C. Therefore it is often said that Jesus was born in 4 B.C.

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/people-cultures-in-the-bible/jesus-historical-jesus/herods-death-jesus-birth-and-a-lunar-eclipse/?

Borrowing from the Neighbors

Living in the Greco-Roman world, early Christians were able to draw from a set of rich artistic paradigms when they set out to depict their stories and beliefs in decorative contexts. This often led to the assimilation of well-established pagan artistic styles and images into early Christian art. The sculptors, fresco painters and mosaic artists who created Christian images did so by using the prolific examples of art and decoration that shaped their artistic landscape.

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/ancient-cultures/ancient-near-eastern-world/borrowing-from-the-neighbors/?

[phkrause]

We Have Seen His Star in the East: What Was the Christmas Star?

Millions around the world viewed the “Great Conjunction” of Jupiter and Saturn in the southwest sky Monday, December 21, 2020 as Jupiter “caught up with” and passed Saturn, appearing as one bright star from our earthly vantage point even though their orbits are millions of miles apart. This close a conjunction between the two has not happened since 1623–four hundred years ago–and it has been over 800 years since the “Great Conjunction,” as Galileo called it, has happened at night, visible to the entire world, weather permitting. NASA has a nice article with photos at their site, see “The Great Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn.”

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/we-have-seen-his-star-in-the-east-what-was-the-christmas-star/?

Nativity—A Tale of Two Stories

In the month of December it isn’t hard to come across a Nativity scene. Be it in your neighbor’s yard or A Charlie Brown Christmas, the story of the birth of Jesus is at the center of the Christmas season. However, when one actually reads the birth narratives found in the Gospels, it doesn’t take long to notice that the commonly portrayed Nativity story isn’t actually there. In fact, it seems as though someone has taken two completely different stories and cleverly spliced them together to paint a bigger picture. Such a practice certainly sells more Christmas decorations, but it shortchanges the visions of the gospel writers.

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-topics/new-testament/nativity-a-tale-of-two-stories/?

December 25th and Christmas

When did December 25 become the date for Christmas? In the Winter 2022 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review, T.C. Schmidt argues for an early association of Jesus’s birth with December 25 in his article, “Calculating Christmas: Hippolytus and December 25th.” He explains why this date was selected. We also caught up with Schmidt later to ask him a few questions about his article.

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-topics/new-testament/december-25th-and-christmas/?

[phkrause]

Archaeologists Find Rare Lamp Decorated with Temple Menorah

1,700-year-old lamp uncovered in Jerusalem

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/ancient-cultures/ancient-israel/archaeologists-rare-lamp-temple-menorah/?

Hanukkah, 1 and 2 Maccabees, and the Apocrypha

Every year, Jewish families the world over celebrate the festival of Hanukkah. And how dramatic it is: Just as the nights are starting earlier and earlier, and just as it is getting colder and colder, Jewish families gather in their own homes, light candles, and watch them burn in commemoration of extraordinary events that occurred long ago. No wonder the ritual is so popular. Fortunately, the most central, beloved ritual of this holiday—lighting that special lamp with nine candles—is rather amenable to the COVID-19 era.

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/hanukah-maccabees-and-apocrypha/?

Locating Zoar

Steve Collins’s interpretation of the location of Zoar^* on the Madaba Map is faulty. The Zered River, which drains into the southeastern part of the Dead Sea is depicted and clearly labeled on the Madaba Map. Zoar is located south of the mouth of the Zered River. The Madaba Map is not depicting only the “northern half” of the Dead Sea, as Collins asserts. Nor is the Lisan (Tongue) missing from the map because of “low water levels.” Perhaps exactly the opposite is true—the Madaba Map depicts no Lisan because of high water levels.

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/archaeology-today/biblical-archaeology-topics/locating-zoar/?