Todd Bolen, Author at BiblePlaces.com

Weekend Roundup

Gordon Govier has an excellent article on Eilat Mazar and her work in Jerusalem over the last 20 years. Though sympathetic to this secular defender of the Bible, Govier cites some of her detractors and describes the latest twist.

According to provisional results, the Dead Sea did not receive enough votes to be named one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature.

Donald Brake is writing a series of articles on the life of Jesus in the Holy Land. This week’s article in the Washington Times explains how one can evaluate the accuracy of tradition, specifically in connection with the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.

Joe Yudin has a good column this week on Mount Gilboa, though I cannot agree that the witch knew the future.

This week’s radio program LandMinds with Barnea and David features interviews with the president of ASOR Tim Harrison, Yisrael “Winky” Medad, and Israel Finkelstein.

Forward reviews the Dead Sea Scroll exhibit currently in New York City.

Dan Bahat explains the political nature of archaeology in an interview with the Canadian Jewish News.

The Hagia Sophia may become a mosque again.

Every day 35,000 tons of raw sewage flow down the Kidron Valley from Jerusalem, according to a video report in the Jerusalem Post.

Israeli scientists are growing trees in the Arabah in order to improve the environment.

The Biblical Archaeology Society has announced its 2011 Publication Awards Winners for Best Scholarly Book on Archaeology, Best Popular Book on Archaeology, Best Book Relating to the Hebrew Bible, and Best Book Relating to the New Testament.

HT: Jack Sasson, Joseph Lauer

Tagged 10th Century, Dead Sea, Jerusalem, Tourism

13th Annual Batchelder Conference for Biblical Archaeology

The conference began yesterday and runs through tomorrow. From the Omaha World-Herald:

The University of Nebraska at Omaha is hosting the 13th annual Batchelder Conference for Biblical Archaeology on Thursday through Saturday at the Thompson Alumni Center.
James Charlesworth, professor of New Testament Language and Literature at Princeton Theological Seminary, will deliver the key address Thursday at 7:30 p.m. Charlesworth will describe how researchers continue to uncover mysteries in the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Since 1990, UNO has led a group of institutions in uncovering and studying artifacts at the ancient city of Bethsaida on the northeast shore of the Sea of Galilee. It is one of the most frequently mentioned towns in the New Testament. At least three apostles were born there, and it is purported to be the site where Jesus performed several miracles.
Rami Arav, the archaeologist who discovered the site and directs the excavation each summer at the 20-acre site, will speak Friday night at 7:30. Arav teaches in the Department of Philosophy and Religion and the Department of History at UNO.
The addresses by Charlesworth and Arav, as well as 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. sessions Friday and Saturday, are open to the public. A $5 donation is suggested at the door.

Did Arav discover the site of et-Tell, or should this read that Arav is the most vocal proponent of its identification with Bethsaida? The NEAEH article, written by Arav, says that “Bethsaida was first identified with et-Tell…by…U. J. Seetzen…and again in 1838 by E. Robinson” (5:1611). The imprecise wording must originate with the newspaper and not the University.

The full schedule of the conference is available as a Word document.

Tagged Galilee, Lectures

Egypt Closes Giza Pyramids on 11/11/11

From the AFP:

Egypt will close the Great Pyramid of Giza on Friday to avoid any rituals by a group rumoured to have plans to mark the date of 11/11/11 at the site, an official said.
The decision came “after much pressure” from Egyptian Internet users that strange rituals were going to be held “within the walls of the pyramid on November 11, 2011,” Atef Abu Zahab, head of the Department of Pharaonic Archaeology, told AFP.
The Supreme Council of Antiquities confirmed the closure Friday of the tourist site, in a statement that only referred to the need for maintenance following a busy period during Muslim holidays.
[…]
Some attribute the number 11 to paranormal powers that provide a channel of communication with the subconscious, others see a mystical connection between the number and disasters, like the 9/11 attacks on the United States.

The full story is here. The AP covers the story here.

The pyramids of Cheops and Chefren in Giza

Tagged Egypt

Newsletter Glitch

I missed a checkbox in sending out the November issue of the BiblePlaces Newsletter yesterday and the result, as one reader put it, was “gobblidigook.” A corrected edition was sent shortly thereafter, but some readers did not receive it. Those who prefer not to translate HyperText Markup Language (html) in their head can read the newsletter online here. I apologize for the error.

Wednesday Roundup

ABR is putting the word out for volunteers to join them for the 10th season of excavations at Khirbet el-Maqatir, a possible location of Joshua’s Ai.

IBEX students discovered a beautiful seal this week in excavations at Tel Burna (Libnah?).

Excavations have resumed in Egypt at Tell el-Amarna.

One place that most tourists to Israel never visit is the southern wilderness where the Israelites wandered. Wayne Stiles gives his readers a good feel for the landscape, with several scenic photographs, in his weekly column at the Jerusalem Post.

CITYsights takes viewers on a four-minute video tour of the Herodium in search of Herod’s tomb.

Satellite imagery is being used to identify ancient settlements in the Libyan desert.

Elsewhere in Libya, thieves drilled through a concrete ceiling in the National Commercial Bank and carried off the Treasure of Benghazi. An expert described the loss as “one of the greatest thefts in archaeological history.”

Carl Rasmussen has been uploading photos from his excellent Zondervan Atlas of the Bible to the Holy Land Photos website where they can be downloaded for free.

The Book and the Spade radio program features an interview with Eilat Mazar (and a forthcoming profile in Christianity Today). To listen, go here.

A hyena was caught in an illegal trap near Modiin (about halfway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv). Aren Maeir has the details, a video and some advice.

Now that it has been admitted to UNESCO, the PA is going to sue Israel “for systematically destroying and forging Arab and Islamic culture in Jerusalem.”

It’s been a year now since the American consulate in Jerusalem relocated from East Jerusalem, but since I missed it, someone else may have also. If you lose your passport or need a birth certificate, you’ll need to head to the new facility in Arnona, south of the Old City not far from Ramat Rahel.

Friday (11/11/11) is the last day to vote for the Dead Sea as one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature. The lowest and saltiest body of water on earth is in the top ten but the Israeli Tourism Ministry is asking everyone to vote.

HT: Jack Sasson, Joseph Lauer

Tagged Dead Sea, Discoveries, Excavations, Herod's Tomb, Tourism, Weekend Roundup

New Book: Verse by Verse Trip through the Holy Land

More than once I’ve been asked to put together a book with my photos. Even if I had the time, I could not do better than others have done. The most recent work features 200 photos from my collection in A Verse by Verse Trip through the Holy Land. Written by Rob and Lisa Laizure, this new book takes the reader on a tour of 27 sites in Israel, guiding them with interesting facts, large doses of Scripture passages, and 1-3 photos on nearly every page. The reader is taken as far north as Caesarea Philippi and as far south as En Gedi, from Capernaum to Bethlehem. Jerusalem is given extra attention.

The book is available from www.ConnectingTheDotsMinistries.com for $25. Those leading a tour can purchase larger quantities at a discount.

Tagged Resources