The Biblical Archaeology Society is sponsoring the 12th Annual Bible and Archaeology Fest in New Orleans from November 20 to 22.  A full schedule is not yet out, but a preliminary posting of speakers and lecture titles is now available at the BAS website.  The line-up is outstanding, and I’m planning on attending.  Below are the lectures that look most interesting to me.


Anson Rainey, Tel Aviv University: Whence Came the Israelites and Their Language?


Aren Maeir, Bar Ilan University: Fleshing out the Bible at Philistine Gath: The Interface of Bible and Archaeology


Avraham Faust, Bar Ilan University: The Assyrian Peace: A Reexamination


Dan Schowalter, Carthage College: Architecture and Power: Excavations of a Roman Temple Site at Omrit in Northern Israel


James Charlesworth, Princeton Theological Seminary: Should the Gospel of John be Used in Jesus Research?


James Tabor, University of North Carolina at Charlotte: Media Hype, Academic Squabbles, and the James Ossuary: Getting the Facts Straight


Jim Hoffmeier, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School: Exploring David’s Strange Antics after Defeating Goliath


Leonard Greenspoon, Creighton University: Ten Common Misconceptions about Bible Translation: How I Learned to Live with—and even Love—Modern Versions of the Bible


Mark Wilson, Asia Minor Research Center: In the Footsteps of Paul in Asia Minor: Are there Still Roman Roads to Follow?


Steve Mason, York University: The Historical Problem of the Essenes


Sean Freyne, Trinity College, Dublin: The Archaeology of Roman Galilee: What we have and have not learned about Jesus the Galilean


Yosef Garfinkel, Hebrew University: *Plenary Session Speaker*: Khirbet Qeiyafa: Not Shaaraim, but Ephes-dammim. 

Just kidding on that last title.  (If you don’t get it, you’ll have to slog through last year’s posts on the subject, especially here, here, and here.)  The true title is: Khirbet Qeiyafa: A Fortified City in Judah from the Time of King David.