Todd Bolen, Author at BiblePlaces.com

Great Study Program in Jordan

Today a river separates Israel from Jordan leading many to assume that the east side includes little of interest to biblical studies. In ancient times, Israel lived on both sides of the river and many biblical characters traveled in what is now the country of Jordan, including David, Jacob, Ruth, Jephthah, Elijah, John the Baptist, and Jesus.

The best study program in Jordan is that led by Dr. Ginger Caessens. I participated in the course ten years ago and I learned a lot. I highly recommend it.

The course is entitled Historical Geography of the Bible II, Jordan, and it is offered through the University of the Holy Land. I believe that you have the option of taking it for graduate credit or for pleasure. The cost is very reasonable: $2,200 for two weeks with full board sharing a double room.

All of the information, including a detailed itinerary, is available at the UHL website.

Jabbok River with possible site of Penuel near ford where Jacob crossed (Gen 32:22).

Tagged Jordan, Resources

Wednesday Roundup

For last year’s Water in Antiquity Conference, Chris McKinny provided some brief notes. Now the papers and PowerPoints are available for many of the presentations.

Archaeologists in Turkey are claiming to have found a long-lost city where Abraham lived.

Carl Rasmussen considers why Paul skipped the ship and walked to Assos. The photo of the Roman road is available for download. Mark Wilson interacts with the discussion in the comments.

Leen Ritmeyer has the scoop on where and when the Jerusalem IMAX movie will be showing.

The Ancient Near East Today, produced by Friends of ASOR, is a good resource for staying up-to-date. You can sign up for free here.

HT: Jack Sasson

Tagged Jerusalem, Lectures, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

7th Century BC Inscription Found in City of David

Archaeologists working in the City of David have discovered an inscription from the 7th century that may have had the name of Zechariah the son of Benaiah (2 Chr 20:14). The inscription was found in a layer of thousands of pottery sherds, oil lamps, and figurines near the Gihon Spring.

From the IAA press release:

While not complete, the inscription presents us with the name of a seventh century BCE figure, which resembles other names known to us from both the Biblical and archaeological record (see examples below) and providing us with a connection to the people living in Jerusalem at the end of the First Temple period. This fascinating find will be presented at Megalim’s Annual Archaeological Conference which will take place on Thursday, August 29th in the City of David.
The most similar name to our inscription is Zechariah the son of Benaiah, the father of the Prophet Jahaziel. The name Zechariah the son of Benaiah appears in 2 Chronicles 20:14 where it states that Jahaziel, son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, prophesized before the Biblical King Jehoshaphat before the nation went off to war against the ancient kingdoms of Ammon and Moab.
Israel Antiquity Authority archaeologists Dr. Joe Uziel and Nahshon Zanton, who discovered the bowl while excavating remains associated with the First Temple period destruction, explained that the letters inscribed on the shard likely date to the 8-7th centuries BCE, placing the production of the bowl sometime between the reign of Hezekiah and the destruction of Jerusalem under King Zedekiah. The archaeologists also explained that the inscription was engraved on the bowl prior to firing, indicating that the inscription originally adorned the rim of the bowl in its entirety, and was not written on a shard after the vessel was broken.

The press release also includes an analysis of the inscription. Three high-resolution images are available here. The story is reported by the Jerusalem Post, The Times of Israel, and others.

Details about the City of David 14th Annual Archaeological Conference are here.

Pottery sherd with inscription “ryhu bn bnh”

Figurine heads, oil lamps, and seal impressions from the debris in which the inscription was found. Photos by Clara Amit, Israel Antiquities Authority.

Tagged Discoveries, Jerusalem

Weekend Roundup

Fortifications from the 8th century BC were discovered in the first season of excavations at Ashdod-Yam, the harbor city of Philistine Ashdod. The official website is here.

Gordon Govier and I talk this week on The Book and the Spade about the latest archaeological discoveries in Israel, including the Samson mosaic at Huqoq and the Sphinx fragment at Hazor (direct link here).

The Israel Exploration Society recently observed its centennial, an event celebrated by an op-ed in the Jerusalem Post.

Amnon Ben-Tor reviews the finds from the controversial tenth century BC at Hazor.

Ferrell Jenkins describes Assyrian ruins that will soon be flooded by the Tigris River.

Exploring Bible Lands has a break-down of places shown in the Jerusalem IMAX 3D trailer. The
movie opens in theaters next month.

Neo-Assyrian Bronze Palace at Ziyaret Tepe
Photo from Eastern and Central Turkey

Tagged Excavations, Galilee, Jerusalem, Philistines, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Wednesday Roundup

The Preliminary Report of the 2013 Jezreel Expedition Field Season has been posted at The Bible and Interpretation. Three areas were excavated in the inaugural season.

Aren Maeir and Jeffrey Chadwick discuss a recent suggestion to date Hezekiah’s Tunnel to Manasseh. They note that the four years that geologists claim would have been required for construction would fit between Hezekiah’s revolt in 705 and the arrival of Sennacherib in 701.

The Biblical Archaeology Society has announced its 2013 Publication Awards Winners. They include works on Ashkelon, Gath, and Isaiah.

A summary of the contents of the latest issue of Biblical Archaeology Review is now online.

Wayne Stiles proposes the best way to use your time in Jerusalem after the sun goes down.

BibleX has a preview of a four-part series by National Geographic entitled “The Lost Faces of the Bible.”

Pedestrians won’t have to compete with motorists when visiting the Roman Forum and Colosseum.

The Colosseum of Rome
Photo from Pictorial Library of Bible Lands

Tagged Italy, Jerusalem, Jezreel Valley, Resources, Temple Mount

The IAA and the Jehoash Inscription

Nir Hasson reports in Haaretz on the continuing saga of the Jehoash Inscription.

The Jehoash Tablet is a stone bearing an inscription in ancient Hebrew describing the renovation of the First Temple by the Jehoash, King of Judea. If it is authentic, it is one of the most important archaeological discoveries of the last century. But for many years, in one of the most complex cases ever to come before an Israeli courts, the state has claimed that it was a fake.
The Jerusalem District Court has ruled that the state failed to prove that the tablet was a fake, paving the way for the defendant, antiquities collector Oded Golan, to be cleared of most of the charges against him. But the state has gone to the Supreme Court to seek possession of the tablet – perhaps because maybe, just maybe, it’s real after all.
[…]
Over the course of seven and a half years, the court heard testimony from 130 witnesses, including dozens of Israel’s most prominent experts in geology, chemistry, microbiology and ancient scripts. In the end, Judge Aharon Farkash ruled that the state had failed to prove its case.
The state did not challenge most of the exonerations, but as for the Jehoash Tablet – that’s another story. The state wants it.
The state still claims that the tablet is a forgery because the letters of the inscription did not have a patina that was consistent with its purported age.
But that is only one element in which the court must be persuaded beyond a reasonable doubt, Golan and his attorney, David Barhum, stated in their response. It must also be persuaded that “scratches on the tablet [which the state claims are signs of forgery] are indeed ‘fresh,’ and that the collective opinions presented to the court, that it impossible for this inscription to have been made in the past 50 years, are baseless and mistaken.”

Go to Haaretz to read the full story (registration required). Matthew Kalman reported on the story earlier this month.

HT: Jack Sasson

Tagged Forgery