I’ve been eagerly awaiting the ESV Archaeology Study Bible for several years now, as the publisher contacted me at an early stage about including some of our photos in it. Now that the project is completed, I am very pleased to see the results. I think this will be a very useful study Bible for many.
Let’s start with the numbers. In addition to the ESV Bible text, the reader gets to enjoy:
- 2,000+ study notes
- 400+ color photographs
- 200+ maps and diagrams
- 200+ sidebars
- 15 articles
That’s a lot. To take it on a smaller scale, I counted 15 sidebars accompanying John 1–7, including Bethany and the Place of Jesus’ Baptism, Stone Vessels and Ritual Purity, The Temple Mount, Herod’s Temple, etc.
You get a sense for the helpful background information included in the sidebars by looking at those for 1 Corinthians, including Celibacy in Antiquity, Greco-Roman Sacrifice, Roman Banquets, the Isthmian Games, Meat Markets, and House Churches.
Wherever you flip in the Bible, you find abundant explanatory information. I’m doing some work on the post-exilic period and I see these helpful articles:
- Ezra: Zerubbabel’s Temple
- Nehemiah: Topography of Jerusalem
- Esther: Darius’s Foundation Record at Susa
I didn’t expect to see much for the Psalms, but I was very wrong—nearly every page is half-filled with study notes. I am very impressed.
Who is responsible for all of this?
John Currid was the editor for the Old Testament and David W. Chapman was the editor for the New Testament. They were helped by a couple of dozen scholars who wrote study notes and articles. Here are a few names that may be familiar to our readers:
- Steven M. Ortiz: Joshua, Judges, Ruth
- Lawrence T. Geraty: Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther
- Boyd Seevers: Isaiah–Daniel
- Paul H. Wright: Matthew–Luke
- Mark Wilson: Acts, Revelation
- Articles written by Barry Beitzel, Larry G. Herr, Barry Beitzel, Gerald L. Mattingly, and others
As you would expect from Crossway, the approach is generally conservative. Regarding the difficult issue of the Conquest, I think that some conservative scholars who have worked for years on this issue will be disappointed that their research was essentially ignored. It will be interesting to see what reviewers say about this.
Did I mention that there are many maps and charts? The maps are similar to the ones in the well-known ESV Bible Atlas, but of course in a study Bible like this, you get them right in the text where you need them, without the need to pull your atlas off the shelf.
Overall, I think this is a fantastic resource, and I’m very grateful that our team could contribute some of the photographs. Those who tell us that we should make our photos into a book are now going to hear this reply from me: buy the ESV Archaeology Study Bible!
- Tagged Resources
A bust of the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius was found in the Temple of Kom Ombo, in Aswan, Egypt.
The subway project in Thessaloniki has yielded over 300,000 artifacts and provided additional information about the city’s 2,300-year-old history.
New evidence shows that Mycenae was destroyed by violence, not by an earthquake (Haaretz premium).
“An eagle-eyed scholar has identified the shadowy outlines of passages from the Bible behind an eighth-century manuscript of the Qur’an – the only recorded palimpsest in which a Christian text has been effaced to make way for the Islamic holy text.”
Pierre Tallet will be lecturing on “The Discovery of the Oldest Papyri of Egypt in Khufu’s Harbor in Wadi el-Jarf (Red Sea)” at the Museo Egizio in Turin on April 30.
Students at Brown University reenacted the Battle of Kadesh between the Egyptians and the Hittites.
CyArk and Google Arts and Culture are partnering to create 3D models of ancient Corinth and other archaeological sites.
On sale for $0.99 for Kindle: Walking in the Footsteps of Jesus, by Wayne Stiles
The Agade list is archived by SBL, and you can find subscription information here.
The new ESV Archaeology Study Bible is a tremendous resource. I hope to post on it here shortly, but in the meantime, you can listen to an interview on The Book and the Spade with John Currid, watch a short video of Currid explaining why archaeology can’t prove the Bible (and doesn’t need to), or watch the publisher’s video introduction. You’ll find the best price for a couple more days at Westminster Bookstore (their genuine leather copy is about the same price as Amazon’s hardcopy; I have a leather copy and it’s beautiful).
HT: Ted Weis, Agade, Joseph Lauer, Mike Harney, BibleX
- Tagged Discoveries, Egypt, Greece, Lectures, Resources, Weekend Roundup
A symposium is being held this week in Jerusalem on “The Dead Sea Scrolls at Seventy: Clear a Path in the Wilderness.” The full program is here. The poster is here.
Brad Gray investigates the geographical connection between the leper healings of Naaman and the 10 lepers in the latest episode of The Teaching Series.
Ten students were killed by a flash flood when hiking in Nahal Tzafit this week.
The Druze celebrated their annual pilgrimage to Jethro’s tomb in Galilee last week.
Ferrell Jenkins has written about “the Great Rift” in preparation for a series of articles about the Aravah. His post includes several beautiful photos.
Episode Five of Digging for Truth focuses on the recent excavations of Shiloh.
The site and synagogue of Umm el-Qanatir in the Golan Heights are the subject of an article in Front Page Magazine.
Timna and its copper mines are described by the BBC.
Lyndelle Webster is profiled on the Azekah Expedition blog, and she recounts how her volunteer work changed her life direction.
Israel’s Good Name shares his experience and photos from his visit to Ein Hemed.
Wayne Stiles explains the geographical and theological significance of Kadesh Barnea.
HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Paleojudaica
A German-Egyptian team has discovered thousands of fragments in old Heliopolis.
Egyptian authorities have charged 70 archaeological inspectors and security officials with looting the site of Quesna.
The March 2018 edition of the Newsletter of the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities reports the latest inaugurations, repatriated antiquities, temporary exhibitions, meetings, projects, and more.
Zahi Hawass is leading a crew of more than 100 Egyptian workers in excavating an area in the Valley of the Kings, but so far he is not revealing what he has found.
The site of Mari has suffered severe destruction as a result of the conflicts in Syria.
Carl Rasmussen shares photographs of the harbor of Troas where Paul set sail on his second missionary journey.
Mathilde Touillon-Ricci takes a look at “Trade and Contraband in Ancient Assyria.”
The lead “Jordan Codices” have been proven to be forged.
Margreet Steiner will be lecturing on April 23 at Tel Aviv University on “The Excavations at Khirbet al-Mudayna in Ancient Moab: Some Current Research Questions in Iron Age Archaeology.” The lecture will be held in the Gilman Building, Room 282 at 16:15.
Funerary portrait sculptures, created in Palmyra, Syria between the 1st and 3rd centuries AD are on display at the Getty Villa until May 2019.
Mosaics from Antioch on the Orontes were buried beneath the lawn of the Museum of Fine Arts in
St. Petersburg, Florida, several decades ago and only recently uncovered.
“A three-year renovation at the Penn Museum introduces a $5m collection of nearly 1,200 objects, many of which will be on public view for the first time.”
There is some new ancient world content in JStor.
Accordance is now hosting “April Showers of Archaeology” and they have up to 50% off on all kinds of great resources, including the American Colony Collection, Archaeology of the Land of the Bible,
Biblical Archaeology Review Archive, Bible Times PhotoMuseum, and more.
HT: Joseph Lauer, Agade, Mike Harney, Ted Weis, Keith Keyser, Steven Anderson
- Tagged Antiquities Trade, Discoveries, Egypt, Excavations, Forgery, Jordan, Museums, Resources, Syria, Turkey, Weekend Roundup
Amanda Borschel-Dan surveys the state of Israeli archaeology as the nation celebrates its 70th birthday.
Jill Katz offers a summary of “Israel Archaeology at 70.”
Philippe Bohstrom looks at Sennacherib’s 701 BC invasion of Judah, focusing on how to account for the Assyrian king’s failure to conquer Jerusalem (Haaretz premium).
By studying the dirt piles of burrowing mole rats, archaeologists working at Tel ‘Eton believe that they have found evidence of the site’s significance in the 10th century BC (Haaretz premium).
“The Palestinian government and international organizations started a major excavation to restore St. Hilarion Monastery, locally known as Tell Umm Amer, in the central Gaza Strip, Palestine’s oldest and largest Christian monument.”
In this week’s The Teaching Series, Brad Gray explains the paradox of the two major bodies of water in Israel: the life-giving Sea of Galilee and the lifeless Dead Sea.
The Temple Mount Sifting Project is inviting you to visit their research lab.
Is the Via Dolorosa in the right place? Wayne Stiles explains the controversy.
The “Sanhedrin Trail” will be inaugurated next week. This 45-mile (70-km) route connects Beit Shearim to Tiberias and hikers can take advantage of a Hebrew web app.
Ferrell’s Travel Blog has a new address. You can bookmark the new site, or subscribe to the blog by email (upper right).
Charles Savelle and Luke Chandler recommend our new Photo Companion to the Book of Ruth. The sale ends tomorrow. Shipping is free in the US and satisfaction is guaranteed.
HT: Joseph Lauer, Agade, Mike Harney, Ted Weis, Keith Keyser, Steven Anderson
