Todd Bolen, Author at BiblePlaces.com

Weekend Roundup

Anson Rainey will be lecturing in the Chicago area on “The Order of Sacrifices in Levitical Ritual” in the inaugural lecture of a new series: “The Trinity Biblical and Ancient Near Eastern Archaeology Lecture.” For more details on the Nov 15 lecture, see here.

The Albright Institute in Jerusalem is hosting a “Workshop on the History and Archaeology of the Negev and Edom in the Iron Age” on December 12. For more details, see this flyer.

Ehud Netzer was remembered in a broadcast this week on LandMinds.

A special exhibit opened at the British Museum this week entitled, “Journey through the Afterlife: Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead.” Ann Wuyts has some related information.

Atiqot has placed their two most recent issues online. Arutz-7 explains the significance of this journal.

There are a couple of new articles about the irrigation system at Ramat Rahel.
Israel’s Supreme Court has ruled against a petition intended to stop the destruction of artifacts on the Temple Mount.

If you’ve ever wondered if Jews are or are not allowed to walk on the Temple Mount, you now have your answer.

There has been some discussion online recently about Rachel’s Tomb near Bethlehem in light of UNESCO’s claim that the Jewish holy place is actually a Muslim mosque. Leen Ritmeyer has the best images and discussion, but my guess is that it probably was a Muslim shrine before it was “Rachel’s Tomb.” In any case, the biblical evidence is decisively against the authenticity of the site.

Maybe I’ll explain more one of these days, but for the real short answer, see 1 Samuel 10:2. [I now see Jim Davila’s request for an explanation, so I’ll bump it up on my priority list and try to post on it soon.

UPDATE: That explanation is here.]

HT: Joe Lauer

Tagged Jerusalem, Lectures, Museums, Weekend Roundup

New Book: Biblical Turkey

The premiere scholar on biblical sites in Turkey is Mark Wilson, and his long-awaited book has just been published. Biblical Turkey: A Guide to the Jewish and Christian Sites of Asia Minor is a 400-page work that includes “all the references to cities, regions, provinces, and natural features in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, Apocrypha/Deuterocanonicals, New Testament, and Apostolic Fathers.” Though I haven’t seen the book, I have no doubts that this is the best book on the subject and an essential reference work.

The book is published in Turkey which makes purchasing a little more work. One option is to purchase from the Turkish website for a cost of 30 euros (about $42) including delivery. A second option is to take advantage of an introductory discount (20 euros/$28) available by sending in an order form by fax or email (details below). A third option for those going to Atlanta later this month is to purchase it at the David Brown Books table at the SBL/ASOR conference (but I’d recommend you get one on the first day before they sell out their stock).

Option two details:

After preparing the list of the book you wish to order (Biblical Turkey in this case), click on “By Fax Order Form”. There you can write your credit card details, take a print out and send it as fax to us. Our Fax Number: 90 212 244 32 09.”

You can also download the form, fill it out, scan it, and send it to [email protected] for processing. For any further questions about an order, please email that same address.

Tagged Resources, Turkey

Carta Collection for Accordance

An extraordinary collection of historical and geographical works on the Bible from the Carta Publishing House in Jerusalem has been announced for Accordance Bible Software (Mac). Some of these works are the best in the field and available nowhere else electronically.

Bible Lands Atlases

The Sacred Bridge
Carta’s New Century Handbook and Atlas of the Bible
The Carta Bible Atlas
The Illustrated Bible Atlas with Historical Notes
Bible History Atlas Study Edition
The Onomasticon by Eusebius of Caesarea

Jerusalem

The Illustrated Atlas of Jerusalem
Carta’s Historical Atlas of Jerusalem
Jerusalem in the Time of Nehemiah
Jerusalem in the Year 30 A.D.

Temple

The Quest
Carta’s Illustrated Encyclopedia of The Holy Temple in Jerusalem
The Holy Temple of Jerusalem

You can purchase the entire collection for $500, but there are other less expensive packages available. All the details are here.

HT: William Krewson

Tagged Resources

Logos Software Deal: Travels Through Bible Lands

Some months ago, I mentioned a Logos Bible Software collection of books entitled “Travels through Bible Lands Collection.” This fifteen-volume collection was listed in their pre-publication specials for $130. That collection and many others did not receive sufficient interest and so it has now been moved to “community pricing” where a large number of orders results in a greatly reduced price.

Thus you could now pick up all 15 electronic books for $20 if enough people place bids. Here are a list of titles:

The Land of Israel: A Journal of Travels in Palestine, by Henry B. Tristram (1876)
Land of Moab: Travels and Discoveries on the East Side of the Dead Sea and Jordan, by Henry B. Tristram (1876)
Early Travels in Palestine, by Thomas Wright (1848)
Discoveries in the Ruins of Nineveh and Babylon: with travels in Armenia, Kurdistan and Desert, by Austen Henry Layard (1871)
Travels in Turkey, Asia-Minor, Syria, and Across the Desert into Egypt, by William Wittman (1803)
Social Life in Egypt, by Stanley Lane-Poole (1884)
East of the Jordan: A Record of Travel and Observation in Moab, Gilead, and Bashan, by Selah Merrill (1881)
Fifty-Three Years in Syria, Vol. 1, by Henry Jessup (1910)
Fifty-Three Years in Syria, Vol. 2, by Henry Jessup (1910)
A Brief Pilgrimage in the Holy Land, by Caroline Hazard (1909)
The Unvarying East, by E. J. Hardy (1848)
Among the Turks, by Cyrus Hamlin (1878)
Through Persia on a Side-Saddle, by John MacQueen (1901)
Palestine Past and Present, by James Challen (1859)
My Winter on the Nile, by Charles Warner (1892)

The ones in bold are those I’m familiar with and believe would be worth at least $20 each. The others may be outstanding, but I have no knowledge of them. In short, for $130 this is a tough one to recommend. For $20, this would be an excellent addition to your Logos collection. If you’re interested, click on over to the Logos website and place your bid. If enough of us chip in, we all will get a fantastic deal.

In the near future I plan to suggest my own “Travels through Bible Lands Collection.” There are many books better than these and perhaps if Logos is successful with this one, they’ll do a follow-up with my favorite resources.

Tagged Resources

Clean-Up Planned for Mount of Olives Cemetery

From the Jerusalem Post:

Prominent Jewish leaders around the world have joined forces to create an international- watch committee to clean up the Mount of Olives cemetery. The leaders say the cemetery has fallen into “utter chaos” since Israel regained control of the area in 1967. The committee is planning a kick-off event to raise public awareness on Saturday night at the Great Synagogue in Jerusalem.
“There isn’t a Jewish cemetery in the world that’s as neglected,” lamented Menachem Lubinsky, a New York businessman whose parents are buried in the cemetery.
He told The Jerusalem Post that his brother Avraham hatched the idea for an international committee after visiting their parent’s grave this past spring, when he noticed eight nearby graves destroyed with a “the kind of maliciousness that defies imagination.”
In May, the State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss released a report that slammed successive governments for not providing basic maintenance and security in the cemetery. Last week, the Knesset State Control Committee, headed by MK Yoel Hasson (Kadima), said the government had agreed to refurbish 20,000 graves by the end of 2013 – about 7,000 per year. Some 200 security cameras will also be installed in, and around, the cemetery.

The full story is here.

Cemetery on Mount of Olives

Tagged Jerusalem

Moody Radio: The Land and the Book

Popular author and teacher Dr. Charlie Dyer has begun a new weekly radio show entitled “The Land and the Book.” In the first month, he has interviewed Israeli tour guide Amir Tzarfati, Charles Ryrie, Howard Hendricks, Tom Doyle, and Joel Rosenberg. Some of the interviews are more oriented to the biblical lands whereas others focus more on interpretation of Scripture. Programs also include discussion on recent events in the Middle East as well as devotions related to biblical history. You can see descriptions of each program and subscribe to the podcast here.

HT: Wayne Stiles

Tagged Resources