Todd Bolen, Author at BiblePlaces.com

Conference: Olive Trees, Olive Oil, and Their Products

A conference will be held at Ben-Gurion University in the Negev (Beersheba) on January 19th, 2012. Entitled “‘In the Shadow of the Olive Trees’ – Olive Trees, Olive Oil and Their Products,” the conference is being organized by the Southern District of the Israel Antiquities Authority and the Department of Bible, Archaeology and Near Eastern Studies of the Ben-Gurion University in the Negev.

This announcement was circulated on the Agade list. Presumably all lectures are in Hebrew. For more information, contact the sponsors.

9.30-11.00 First session.

The olive and the production of olive oil.

Chairman: Dr. Gideon Avni.

Prof. Nili Liphschitz. The domestication of the olive in the land of Israel

Dr. Ianir Milevski. The barter of olives during the Early Bronze Age

Prof. Avigdor Horowitz. “I have been anointed with fresh oil” – The oil in the Bible and the Ancient Near East

Prof. Avi Faust. The Assyrians and the introduction of the olive industry from the north

11.15-12.30.

Second session.

The olive press and the products of the olive oil.

Chairman: Prof. Steve Rosen.

Mr. Yeoshua Drei. The evolution of the oil presses

Dr. Eitan Ayalon. The two screw oil presses in the land of Israel

Dr. Akiva London. Did olive tree nurseries exist during the Roman and Byzantine periods in the land of Israel?

Mr. Tawfiq Da`adli. Soap and soap factories during the Ottoman period

13.30-14.30.

Third session.

Panel and general discussion.

Prof. Nili Liphschitz, Dr. Eitan Ayalon, Dr. Yigal Israel.

14.45-16.00.

Archaeological news in the southern district.

Chairman: Dr. Peter Fabian.

Dr. Hayim Goldfus. The excavations at Horbat Zalit.

Dr. Daniel Varga and Mr. Vladic Lipshitz. Underground houses in Beersheva during the
Byzantine period

Mr. Gregory Seri and Prof. Yulia Ustinova. The excavations of Ashkelon, Neve Yam D neighborhood, and the Greek inscriptions

Dr. Gunnar Lehmann. News from the excavations at Qubur el Walaydah

Mr. Oren Shmueli. An arched building and an underground oil press at Horbat Anim

Olives in the Shephelah (late November)

Tagged Lectures

Wednesday Roundup

On Sunday the Mughrabi bridge was closed. Hamas called the closure a “declaration of religious war.” The mayor of Jerusalem called the bridge “ugly and dangerous.” Today the bridge was re-opened with a fire truck standing by.

Gordon Franz has written an detailed guide to the “Dead Sea Scrolls: Life and Faith in Biblical Times” exhibit in New York City. He has made it available for free on his blog.

The Jerusalem Post has a story and video about the solid gold menorah on display in the Jewish Quarter.

One government committee approved the construction of a hotel complex in the Timna Valley, but an Israeli cabinet minister has vowed to stop it.

It could take 100 years to restore Israel’s rivers, according to the State Comptroller. The report looks at 31 of the country’s major rivers and streams.

The Herodium reminds Wayne Stiles of the Christmas story that never appears on Christmas cards.

Antiquities thieves plundering a second-century site near Shaar HaGai (Bab el-Wad) have been arrested.

The ASOR Blog has links to news in the broader world of archaeology.

The latest issue of DigSight is online.

The Megiddo Expedition is recruiting volunteers for the 2012 excavation.

HT: Joseph Lauer

Tagged Excavations, Jerusalem, Judah, Museums, Tourism

Largest Nativity Scene in the World

From MSNBC:

MEXICO CITY – City authorities have set up a nativity scene — certified by Guinness Records as the largest in the world — as part of their Christmas festivities.
The nativity scene, which cost $2 million to create, sprawls across the parking lot of the giant Azteca stadium.
The scene, which covers 215,000 square feet — larger than four football fields, has 5,000 figures portraying 57 biblical passages related to the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem.
Organizers said that it took architects, engineers, designers and historians 70 days to create the project, which was unveiled by Mayor Marcelo Ebrard on Wednesday, 17 days before Christmas.

The full story and a photo is here. NTD has a two-minute video news report. They expect more than one million visitors in the next month.

HT: BibleX

Tagged Holidays

Christmas-Related Posts

Some of our Christmas-related posts from previous years may be of interest to readers who were not with us then or who may enjoy a review.

“No Room in the Inn” – there is no “inn” in the story of Jesus’ birth

The Star of Bethlehem – an attempt to explain why the church ornament has 14 points

Bethlehem Booked for Christmas – last year there was no room in the inn

Top Ten Things To Do in Jerusalem in Winter – you might also consider watching the sun rise over the Mount of Olives from atop the “Tower of David”

Watching Their Flocks by Night – a pastoral scene recalling the angelic announcement

Merry Christmas – a nativity scene from Bethlehem in the early 1900s

Tagged Holidays, Jerusalem

Weekend Roundup

A new study suggests that the Dead Sea nearly dried up in the ancient past.

As of December 1, the water level of the Dead Sea was 1,361 feet (425.36 m) below sea level. The Sea of Galilee is still 27 inches (69 cm) below the red line.

A blogger reports that the Tell el-Hammam team is preparing to announce that their site must be Sodom because it was wiped out in a “heat event.”

Will Varner has posted a PowerPoint presentation of the Messianic Hope of the Hebrew Scriptures.

He utilizes a number of our Christmas-related photos and welcomes readers to use the presentation as they wish.

A 3.8 magnitude earthquake was felt in the Galilee earlier this week.

A medical doctor in western Galilee has been arrested for leading a ring of antiquities thieves.

One group is unhappy with Israel’s plans to develop a national park east of the Mount of Olives.

Leen Ritmeyer has a roundup of recent stories of Jerusalem in the news.

Wayne Stiles expected to be disappointed by his visit to Nazareth Village.

Shmuel Browns explains why hiking is a national pastime in Israel. He gives his recommendations on the best hikes.

Leon Mauldin shares a video of a potter fashioning vessels on the island of Rhodes.

The concrete of ancient Rome is weaker than the modern version, but it lasts longer. One of the secret ingredients was volcanic ash.

Claude F. Mariottini links to ten places to visit in Bethlehem. (Though worthy spots, half of them are not in Bethlehem.)

$12 will get you a beautiful 2012 calendar of the Lands of the Bible.

HT: Charles Savelle, Joseph Lauer, Jack Sasson

Tagged Dead Sea, Galilee, Italy, Jerusalem, Tourism

Boca Symposium: Jesus and the Temple

A lecture series will be held next weekend in Boca Raton, Florida, with leading scholars of the Second Temple period. The conference is open to the public and free of charge. The purpose of the meetings is described as follows:

Focal Question: How significantly and in what ways did the Temple and its cult help define the social and spiritual life of early Jews, including Jesus and his earliest followers?

Purpose: To correct the popular impression that Jesus despised the Temple and its cult because he attacked the money changers and was apparently condemned by the leading high priests [the historicity of each event must be discussed]. To raise questions which are focused on pre-70 Jews, Jesus, his followers and the Temple and to seek a new consensus on the grid questions.

Lectures include:

Leen Ritmeyer: “Imagining the Temple Early Jews Knew”

Response: Dan Bahat: “Imagining and Excavating the Temple Area”

Dan Bahat: “The Architecture of the Temple”

Motti Aviam: “Temple Symbolism and the Lives of Galilean Jews”

Lawrence H. Schiffman: “The Importance of the Temple for Early Jews”

Dan Bahat: “Worship in the Temple”

James H. Charlesworth: “Jesus, the Temple Cult, and the Temple”

Gary A. Rendsburg: “The Davidic Psalms and the Temple”

James H. Charlesworth: “Jesus’ Followers and the Power of the Temple”

Harold W. Attridge: “The Temple and the High Priestly Jesus in New Testament Texts”

Loren Stuckenbruck: “The Temple in the Jewish and Christian Apocalypses”

PANEL DISCUSSION

An extension of the symposium is being held on Dec 18-19 in Miami Beach, Florida.

Though I have serious misgivings about the stated purpose of the symposium, I would certainly attend if I was able.

Full details are here. An RSVP is requested.

Tagged Jerusalem, Lectures