Todd Bolen, Author at BiblePlaces.com

New Book: 30 Days in the Land of the Psalms

Charles Dyer’s new book brings together two of my passions: the book of Psalms and the land of Israel. 30 Days in the Land of the Psalms: A Holy Land Devotional is an attractive, compact, hardcover book that walks the reader through 30 psalms by showing how a knowledge of the land clarifies and deepens one’s understanding of the Psalter.

In 30 days, you’ll read 30 psalms. Many of the psalms chosen are favorites for those who have spent time in Israel and Jerusalem, including 1, 22, 23, 46, 48, 84, 118, 122, 125, and 133. Each day’s meditation has one or more photos and concludes with an application.

I’ve chosen two of his meditations to give you a sense for what you’ll read.

Psalm 84 is the psalm of “the grateful pilgrim.” Dyer explains that this pilgrim is moved not primarily by the beauty of the temple buildings, but by the God who lives there. The “highways” are those that lead to God’s house, and the “valley of Baca” is a reference to the transformation of the traveler’s sorrow to joy. The conclusion underscores the impact of the pilgrim’s journey: “One day in the Lord’s courts is better than a thousand outside.”

Psalm 122 focuses on “the peace of Jerusalem,” and Dyer shows how David’s focus is on God’s selection of the city where the Lord would dwell visibly among his people. David called on the people to pray for both peace and security in Jerusalem so that they could continue to gather before the Lord. Dyer concludes by providing two ways that we can pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

You can see more in Amazon’s “read inside” feature. Here is the endorsement I wrote for the book:

For the best tour of the Holy Land, you need the right guide. In this virtual tour through the biblical land of the Psalms, Charles Dyer is a trustworthy guide, providing sound Bible teaching backed by his immense knowledge of modern and ancient Israel. He provides a feast for the senses as he leads the reader from Mount Hermon through the arid wilderness and up to Jerusalem. This beautiful companion will open up the Psalms to readers in many fresh and delightful ways.

I particularly recommend this devotional to people who have been to Israel and want to go back, as well as to those who love the Psalms and want to understand them better.

Dyer has a related book that I have not read, but that you might want to take a look at: 30 Days in the Land with Jesus: A Holy Land Devotional. Either one would make a nice gift.

Tagged Resources

Weekend Roundup, Part 3

Archaeologists have learned a lot in the first season of a renewed expedition to Masada, but they’re not saying much yet.

The tomb of an 18th-Dynasty goldsmith has been discovered on Luxor’s West Bank.

“Excavations at an ancient mound in the central Anatolian province of Kayseri shed light on writing from around 2,000 B.C.”

The Plutonium of Hierapolis is being restored so that it can be opened to tourists next year.

The ancient stadium of Laodicea is being restored.

Scholars are using new technology to read palimpsests at St. Catherine’s Monastery.

Israel’s Good Name describes two recent field trips to the Sorek Stalactite Caves and to Tel Burna.

After years of delay, the Louvre Abu Dhabi will open two months from today.

HT: Explorator, Agade

Tagged Discoveries, Egypt, Excavations, Judah, Museums, Shephelah, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

Haaretz reports on Steven Fine’s study that the reliefs of the Arch of Titus were originally painted in full color.

“The Arch of Titus – From Jerusalem to Rome and Back” is a new exhibition opening this week at the Center for Jewish History in Manhattan.

Have scientists discovered the body of Pliny the Elder?

Scientists at a university in Rome have determined what causes ancient parchments to develop purple spots and deteriorate. The journal article is here.

Mark Hoffman has created a list of free online Bible resource sites and downloadable Bible apps and programs.

Carl Rasmussen explains that the apostle Paul visited the area of modern Albania, probably on the Via Egnatia.

The Biblical Archaeology Society has a new streaming video site, with a 75%-off introductory offer.

The deadlines are approaching for many funded fellowships at the Albright Institute in Jerusalem.

Letters from Baghdad will be screened at the Oriental Institute Museum in Chicago on October 11.

The event is free, but registration is required.

Now free (pdf): The Assyrian Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago

Now free (pdf): The City of Ebla: A Complete Bibliography of Its Archaeological and Textual Remains. (Click the small pdf icon to download).

Early reviews of Lois Tverberg’s forthcoming book are very positive, including my own.

HT: Joseph Lauer, Agade

Tagged Italy, Mesopotamia, Movies, Resources, Syria, Technology, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

The discovery of a Neolithic model of a clay silo from Tel Tsaf is leading scholars to rethink the history of food storage.

Gabriel Barkay recently gave a tour of the Temple Mount to members of the US Congress.

John DeLancey is blogging about his Israel tour, and on Wednesday he took his group to el-Araj, a candidate for New Testament Bethsaida.

Students from Oakland University involved in the Lachish expedition this summer gained knowledge and experience.

Shmuel Browns shares some photos of sinkholes at the Dead Sea.

The Anglo-Israel Archaeological Society has posted its schedule of fall lectures.

If you’re not familiar with Solomon’s failure in establishing his 12 administrative districts, take a look at Wayne Stiles’s post and map.

I’ve been waiting for Craig Keener’s four-volume commentary on Acts to be available in digital format, and Accordance has it first, and at a great introductory sale price.

Accordance also has a sale on the NICOT and NICNT bundle at about half of what I paid for it on Logos.

Phillip J. Long has written the first full-length review of the Photo Companion to the Bible.

Two of my favorite Bible teachers, both born in 1928, died this week: Stanley Toussaint (DTS) and Robert Thomas (TMS).

HT: Joseph Lauer, Agade

Tagged Dead Sea, Discoveries, Galilee, Jerusalem, Lectures, Shephelah, Temple Mount, Weekend Roundup

Dozens of Bullae Discovered in City of David

Several dozen seal impressions have been discovered in excavations in the City of David. These bullae date to the period after the fall of the northern kingdom in 722 BC and the archaeologists suggest that the names on them may belong to refugees who immigrated to Jerusalem at that time.

The IAA press release is here, and the story is reported in a number of news sources. The Times of Israel incorporates many photographs and one video into its story.

The dozens of clay imprints were used on letters and documents which were bound by string and sealed by wet clay pressed with the sender’s mark or name. The impressive trove was discovered at recent digs uncovering three Late Iron Age buildings frozen in time by the destruction caused by the 586 BCE Babylonian siege. The discovery was made by a team of Israel Antiquity Authority archaeologists led by co-directors Dr. Joe Uziel and Ortal Chalaf.
Among the dozens of bullae is a rare find of an intact sealing, bearing the name “Ahiav ben (son of) Menahem,” referring to two kings of Israel but found in the capital of the Kingdom of Judah, Jerusalem.
[…]
According to co-director Ortal Chalaf, these Israelite names and other findings point to the possibility that after the destruction of Israel, refugees fled the Kingdom of Israel for the Kingdom of Judah, and settled in Jerusalem. After settling, the use of their names on official correspondence shows that these Israelites gained important roles in the Judaean administration, said Uziel.
“These names are part of the evidence that after the exile of the Tribes of Israel, refugees arrived in Jerusalem from the northern kingdom, and found their way into senior positions in Jerusalem’s administration,” according to the two co-directors.

The full story is here.

Tagged Discoveries, Excavations, Jerusalem

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

An ancient cemetery has been discovered on the west bank of Luxor.

Jared Owen discusses the identity of a pharaoh’s head discovered in 1995 at Hazor.

A 2-minute video explains how Petra declined.

Underwater ruins of the lost Roman city of Neapolis, found off the coast of Tunisia, confirm its destruction by a 4th AD tsunami.

Haaretz: “Scientists have debunked the claim that prehistoric peoples living in central Turkey 8,500 years ago invented copper smelting, putting an end to one fierce controversy.”

A Turkish writer laments the situation in the land of the ancient Hittites with the lack of tourists, expulsion of German archaeologists, and deterioration of ancient sites.

The San Antonio Museum of Art examines in depth its statue of Antinous, a favorite of Roman Emperor Hadrian.

Carl Rasmussen has revised his interpretation of the “farmer’s sarcophagus.”

Most of the convictions of Raphael Golb for impersonating Dead Sea Scrolls scholars were upheld in appeals court.

The Jordan Times profiles the work of the Spanish Archaeological Mission in Jordan for the last 60 years.

Ferrell Jenkins notes the latest books published by Carta Jerusalem. All three look great!

HT: Ted Weis, Charles Savelle, Joseph Lauer, Agade

Tagged Egypt, Galilee, Jordan, Museums, Resources, Turkey, Weekend Roundup