Todd Bolen, Author at BiblePlaces.com

Registration Ending for My History Course

Registration for my course on The History of Israel’s United Monarchy closes on Friday, and the class begins on Monday. The time commitment is minimal (90 minutes a week), and the cost affordable ($189).

My goal is to deepen your understanding of the century or so when all twelve tribes were united under a single king. To do that, I’ll be drawing on archaeological discoveries, geographical insights, and extrabiblical sources to supplement what the Bible records.

My interest goes beyond decades of teaching a related course and leading “life of David” field studies around Israel to writing a (forthcoming) book and creating photo collections for 1-2 Samuel and 1-2 Kings. I’ll be bringing the best of everything to this homework-free course.

The class meets on six successive Mondays, from May 13 to June 17, from 8:00-9:30 pm (Eastern Time). Everyone who registers will receive the valuable course materials along with access to the lecture recordings.

The course is one of three offerings in the Jerusalem University College Online Summer Institute. The other two are: Edible Landscapes of the Biblical World, taught by Chandler Collins on Tuesdays, and Jesus the Galilean, taught by Wave Nunnally on Thursdays.

Registration closes on Friday.

Tagged 10th Century, Lectures

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

“Newly-deciphered text from ancient scrolls may have finally revealed the location of where Greek philosopher Plato was buried, along with how he really felt about music played at his deathbed.”

Marek Dospěl provides a quick primer of the ancient Egyptian language.

Bible History Daily explains why Egeria’s Travels is such a valuable “source of geographical and historical information.”

Ruth Schuster explores the history of the pomegranate.

The Yale Babylonian Collection has a permanent exhibition space in the Yale Peabody Museum for the first time.

A virtual one-hour tour of Pompeii is being offered on May 23.

Titus Kennedy is a guest on Digging for Truth to discuss archaeological sites in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Persia.

Free this month from Logos: Warfare in the Old Testament: The Organization, Weapons, and Tactics of Ancient Near Eastern Armies, by Boyd Seevers

Bible Mapper Atlas has just produced a poster map of Paul’s travels.

HT: Agade, Gordon Franz, Ted Weis, Arne Halbakken, Joseph Lauer

Tagged Discoveries, Egypt, Greece, Museums, Resources, Tourism, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

An Israeli team believes that they have established an absolute chronology for Jerusalem in the Iron Age based on a study of 100 samples of organic material. One upshot is that Jerusalem was larger and more urban in the time of David and Solomon. Another conclusion is that the Broad Wall was built not by Hezekiah but by Uzziah. The underlying journal article is not free, but the 84 pages of “supporting information,” including pictures, is free.

A related lecture will be given at the Albright and on Zoom on May 16: “Radiocarbon Chronology in Historical Jerusalem and the Challenges to Reconstruct Its Urban Development,” by Elisabetta Boaretto

“Archaeologists have uncovered rare evidence of burial practices at a rural cemetery in the Jezreel Valley, where more than 3,000 years ago the dead were honored with rituals that involved the use of fire and beeswax.” They are not sure if the occupants were Israelites, Canaanites, or other.

Tuvia Pollack explains why there are two Golgotha sites.

Israel365 has a well-illustrated article about the site of Magdala.

A Final Conference will be held on May 31 and June 1 for the “Stamp Seals from the Southern Levant” project.

New release: Judah in the Biblical Period: Historical, Archaeological, and Biblical Studies, by Oded Lipschits (De Gruyter, $145; Amazon)

Accordance Bible Software is offering users three free books by Alfred Edersheim:

Three other books by Edersheim are on sale for only $4.99 each:

Bryan Windle surveys the top three reports in biblical archaeology in the month of April.

HT: Agade, Gordon Franz, Ted Weis, Arne Halbakken, Joseph Lauer

Tagged Discoveries, Galilee, Jerusalem, Lectures, Resources, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

Archaeologists believe they have found a villa belonging to Emperor Augustus near Mount Vesuvius.

The city of Anqa is said to be “a near mirror image of Dura-Europos, of the same size, comparable composition, and potentially equal value to scholars of the region.”

A new study suggests that “wine produced around the Mediterranean during the Roman era may have been just as complex and flavorful as wine produced today, in contrast to what is commonly assumed.”

“Egypt welcomed home a 3,400-year-old statue depicting the head of King Ramses II after it was stolen and smuggled out of the country more than three decades ago.”

We don’t know much about Shalmaneser V, but Bryan Windle still managed to create a pretty extensive illustrated archaeological biography.

Webinar on May 9: “Sensing the Past: Sensorial Experiences in Ancient Mesopotamia,” by Allison Thomason

The Albright Institute posts videos of their special lectures on their YouTube channel. Recent lectures include:

“The Iron Age II Tombs from Mamillah, Jerusalem,” by Ronny Reich
“Jews and Palestinians between Istanbul and Jerusalem,” by Louis Fishman
“The Archaeology of Olive Oil: Excavating a Bronze Age Olive Oil ‘Factory’ in Jordan,” by Jamie Fraser

Chris McKinny and Kyle Keimer conclude their series of the best archaeological finds of 2023 on the Biblical World podcast.

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Gordon Franz, Paleojudaica

Tagged Discoveries, Jerusalem, Jordan, Lectures, Mesopotamia, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

An inscription in the synagogue of Susya in the Judean hills may suggest that a messianic community worshipped here.

“The arched stone-built hall in Jerusalem venerated by Christians as the site of Jesus’ Last Supper has been digitally recreated by archaeologists using laser scanners and advanced photography.”

Scott Stripling discusses archaeology related to the Judges on the latest episodes of Digging for Truth (Part 1, Part 2).

Ken Dark: “How Much Did They Really Know? Long-Term Memory, Archaeology and The Topography Of Nazareth”

A new ERETZ issue on Caesarea: Queen of the Sea provides an 184-page guide with detailed maps of Herod’s port city.

New release: Ancient Synagogues in Palestine: A Re-evaluation Nearly a Century After Sukenik’s Schweich Lectures, by Jodi Magness (Oxford University Press; £76; allegedly open access, but it doesn’t appear to be available as such yet)

The Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library allows you to view high-resolution photos of the scrolls, organized by site, language, and content.

Abigail Leavitt describes what it’s like in Jerusalem these days. She also has traveled recently to Migdal Tzedek, Caesarea, and Tel Dor. Both posts have lots of photos.

Israel’s Good Name recounts his visit to the Te’omim Cave in the Shephelah.

I am grateful for the kind words about the new Genesis photo collection from Luke Chandler, Leon Mauldin, and Charles Savelle.

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Gordon Franz, Paleojudaica

Tagged Dead Sea Scrolls, Israel's Coast, Judah, Resources, Shephelah, Technology, Tourism, Weekend Roundup

My JUC Summer Institute Course

Jerusalem University College is offering three online courses this summer, and I am teaching one of them. I’d love to have you join me on a six-week study of “The History of Israel’s United Monarchy.”

We’ll meet every Monday from 8:00 to 9:30 pm Eastern Time, from May 13 to June 17. The lectures will be recorded, so you can review them later or watch for the first time if you’re unable to attend some/all of the sessions live. This is a Summer Institute course that is offered for $189 per study, and no credit is offered. No homework will be required either, but I will providing you with some recommended readings, including some of my own research, both published and (yet) unpublished, along with some free photo resources.

My goal is to help you understand what was going on in Israel when Saul, David, and Solomon reigned over the twelve tribes. Our primary source is the biblical text, but we can learn a lot from extrabiblical texts, geographical studies, and archaeological excavations. I will bring lots of charts, maps, and photos to help make sense of it all. I have been teaching this subject for (exactly) 25 years, and I love it. (I’m teaching it at my university right now, but you get it at a much cheaper cost, and without having to write a research paper!) This course will be the first I have ever taught that is open to the public, and I’m looking forward to the adventure!

The JUC Summer Institute includes two other excellent courses that meet at other times, so you don’t have to choose between them:

Chandler Collins, “Edible Landscapes of the Biblical World,” Tuesdays, 8:00-9:30 pm Eastern

Wave Nunnally, “Jesus the Galilean,” Thursdays, 7:00-8:30 pm Eastern

You can get all the details and register here.

Tagged 10th Century, Jerusalem, Lectures