Todd Bolen, Author at BiblePlaces.com

Sneak Peak: Rose Guide to the Temple

Earlier this year I expressed my enthusiasm for the Rose Guide to the Tabernacle. The quality and quantity of the illustrations led me to conclude that “I know of no better resource for an initial study of the tabernacle or for teaching it.”

Word is now out that the Rose Guide to the Temple is nearing publication. I could tell you how great it is, but you might as well see for yourself (see preview at bottom of page).

The book was written by Randall Price, and the venerable Leen Ritmeyer served as a consultant. The book includes a free poster originally published in National Geographic of the Temple Mount through history. (Thanks to a reader here, I’ve had that same poster hanging in my office for several years now.)

If they sold stock for books, I’d certainly invest in this one. I predict it will be a best-seller and an award-winner.

Amazon is taking pre-orders for $30 with a February 21 publication date. Amazon also lists three glowing endorsements. The publisher’s website indicates that you can also purchase the book for pdf download, which would make it much easier for use in the classroom.

Professors may request a desk copy.

HT: Daniel Wright

Tagged Jerusalem, Resources, Temple Mount

New Book: The Fire Signals of Lachish

Earlier this year Eisenbrauns published a collection of essays in honor of David Ussishkin, The Fire Signals of Lachish: Studies in the Archaeology and History of Israel in the Late Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Persian Period in Honor of David Ussishkin.

The book gets its name from Lachish Letter #4 in which the writer is looking for some indication that Lachish has not fallen to the Babylonians. David Ussishkin was a long-time professor at Tel Aviv University and his noteworthy excavations include the Silwan tombs in Jerusalem (1968-71), Lachish (1973-94), Tel Jezreel (1990-96), and Megiddo (1992-present).

The book includes 25 essays; the ten that I would read first are these:

Close Yet Apart: Diverse Cultural Dynamics at Iron Age Beth-Shemesh and Lachish, by Shlomo Bunimovitz and Zvi Lederman

Whole Lotta Shakin’ Going On: The Possible Destruction by Earthquake of Stratum VIA at Megiddo, by Eric H. Cline

Tel Azekah: A New Look at the Site and Its “Judean” Fortress, by Yehuda Dagan

Why Did Nebuchadnezzar II Destroy Ashkelon in Kislev 604
B.C.E., by Alexander Fantalkin

The Evolution of the 8th-Century B.C.E. Jerusalem Temple, by André Lemaire

Comparative Aspects of the Aramean Siege System at Tell Eṣ-Ṣāfi/Gath, by Aren M. Maeir and Shira Gur-Arieh

The Shephelah according to the Amarna Letters, by Nadav Naʾaman

The Persian Period City Wall of Jerusalem, by Margreet Steiner

The Waters of Shiloah (Isaiah 8:5–8), by H. G. M. Williamson

On the Toponymy of the Jezreel Valley and Adjacent Plains, by Ran Zadok

The book is now available from Eisenbrauns, and you can get more details, including a complete listing of the contents, here (pdf). The cover photo is one that I provided from the American Colony and Eric Matson Collection, volume 3.

Tagged Resources

Western Wall Plaza Excavation Results

Over the years I’ve mentioned the excavation at the “back” of the Western Wall prayer plaza. The latest issue of Biblical Archaeology Review has a report by the excavators on their discoveries at the site from 2005 to 2010. Since I expect some curious student to ask me in a couple of days about the big hole in the ground, the article arrived at a good time for me. I made a few notes as I read the article that I thought I’d share here.

The earliest remains at this spot indicate that it was used as an Iron Age quarry.

Later in the Iron Age, a four-room house was constructed here. This was a Jerusalemite’s home sometime after Hezekiah fortified the Western Hill with a new wall (part of which is known today as the “Broad Wall.”) The house may have been destroyed by the Babylonian assault in 586, but this is not certain. Several personal seals were found in the building, including one depicting an Assyrian-style archer.

Curiously, there is no evidence of occupation at the site in the Babylonian, Persian, or Hasmonean periods (586-50 BC).

In the New Testament period, the Lower Aqueduct ran through this area, bringing water from
“Solomon’s Pools” to the Temple Mount. The only other discovery from the 1st century was a ritual bath (mikveh).

The most impressive remains at the site are that of a monumental street. This cardo is similar in size and design to its counterpart to the west, located today in the heart of the Jewish Quarter, but the archaeologists say that the eastern cardo was constructed in the Roman period by Hadrian (whereas the southern extension of the western was built by Justinian c. 530).

All the details are presented in a much more interesting style in the January/February 2012 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review. The article, with all of its illustrations, is currently available online, no subscription required.

(Yellow box = present excavations; red box = Byzantine Valley Cardo previously revealed)

Western Wall prayer plaza with excavations, May 2008

Tagged Discoveries, Excavations, Jerusalem

Purity Inscription Discovered in Jerusalem

The process of wet-sifting debris from excavations below Robinson’s Arch on the southwestern corner of the Temple Mount has revealed a 1st-century seal impression inscribed with “pure for the Lord.” Scholars believe that this mark was used to certify offerings as acceptable for temple use. The Aramaic inscription is about 3/4 of an inch (2 cm) in diameter and has six letters.

Photo: IAA/Vladimir Naykhin

Excavation directors Eli Shukron and Ronny Reich commented on the value of the object:

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that such an object or anything similar to it was discovered in an archaeological excavation and it constitutes direct archaeological evidence of the activity on the Temple Mount and the workings of the Temple during the Second Temple period.

The full press release includes more details from the Mishnah about ritual tokens. The Israel Antiquities Authority has also released five high-resolution photos of this and related discoveries (zip file).

Photo: IAA/Vladimir Naykhin

The Jerusalem Post has a three-minute video interview with Ronny Reich. The article’s statement that the inscription was found near the Pool of Siloam contradicts the official report of the IAA that the object was found next to the Temple Mount. The story is also reported by the AP, Reuters, and Arutz-7.

Photo: IAA/Vladimir Naykhin

Tagged Discoveries, Jerusalem, Temple Mount

Weekend Roundup

Wayne Stiles’ weekly column provides the best and most concise review of the significance of Bethlehem that I have read. You might bookmark this one for future lessons or sermons.

Yoni Cohen investigates some sites in Israel related to the festival of Hanukkah.

One of 107 cuneiform texts recently published depicts the great king Nebuchadnezzar.

Oded Borowski reviews Eilat Mazar’s new book Discovering the Solomonic Wall in Jerusalem: A Remarkable Archaeological Adventure.

Did the Magi give Jesus frankincense and myrrh because they cure arthritis?

Travelujah has the full run-down of Christmas services in Bethlehem and Jerusalem.

A retired professor, preaching tomorrow about Bethlehem in north Texas, has been to Israel 69 times.

The Star-Telegram tells his story.

Merry Christmas to all!

Bethlehem from the north

Tagged Discoveries, Holidays, Judah

Vandals Destroy Antiquities Site in the Jezreel Valley

Horvat Tevet, a site with remains from the Iron Age (1200-600 BC), has been attacked and damaged by vandals. The site is located in the Jezreel Valley about 6 miles (10 km) south of Nazareth. Horvat Tevet is next to Afula Illit and along the route of a future bypass road. From the Jerusalem Post:

Vandals attacked and heavily damaged an Antiquities Authority site near Afula overnight Wednesday, destroying findings dating back to the First Temple era.
“All the signs” pointed to a group of haredi activists as the main suspects, due to their opposition to what they describe as the desecration of graves, Dror Barshad, an archeologist for the authority’s northern district, told The Jerusalem Post.
“They rioted at another archeological site nearby, at Yakuk,” Barshad said. “With no legal authority, they take the law into their own hands and try to dictate where roads and tunnels can or can’t be built.”
The same group vandalized a second archeological site near the Kinneret last month, he said.

The full story and photos are here. The Hebrew version of the Ynet article includes a photo of the site before the destruction. A report of the 2008 excavations and a photo of a Late Bronze tomb was published last month in Hadashot Arkheologiyot.

HT: Joseph Lauer

Archaeological site near Afula after attack (Photo: IAA)

Tagged Excavations, Jezreel Valley