Todd Bolen, Author at BiblePlaces.com

Study Trip in Jordan

If you are looking for a serious study tour of biblical and historic sites in Jordan, you can do no better than the trip this June with Dr. Ginger Caessens. I was on a similar trip some years ago and I highly recommend it. This is particularly ideal for those who

1) have already been to Israel;

2) are not looking for a “tourist” trip, but really want to learn;

3) are in reasonably good shape. You can even get credit to transfer back to grad school, college, or seminary. Here are the details from the University of the Holy Land website:

Historical Geography of Jordan

Credits – 2

A 14-day Intensive Study Tour. Nine days of field studies will immerse the student in the rich history of the area. Regions visited include Ammon, Gilead, the Madeba Plateau, Moab and Edom. Many Biblical events transpired in this region, where the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh settled. Moses died in Transjordan and the judges and prophets including Elijah, John the Baptist, Jesus, and Paul, all ministered in the area, which played a crucial role in international trade during Old and New Testament times.

Instructor: G. Caessens, Ph.D. June 2-16, 2008.

For information on cost and accommodation, contact the UHL office.

This is a short-term intensive course. Register now. Limited enrollment! (Minimum enrollment:
15; maximum: 22)

Dr. Caessens is also leading 21-day study trips of Israel in May and July.

Modern Jerash – biblical Gerasa

Tagged Opportunities

Shanks' Thoughts on Forgery Trial

Shanks has posted his current perspective on the forgery trial, including his reason for believing that the prosecution is doomed, and a list of reasons why he thinks the Jehoash Inscription is authentic.

Some of this is old new, but there were some things that I hadn’t heard before.

Tagged Forgery

One of the Gibeonite Cities

If you’re into mysteries and tracking down little details, there’s an endless supply of material in biblical studies and archaeology. George Grena latched on to one challenging and controversial issue in archaeology some years ago and he seems determined to become the world’s expert on LMLK seals. (LMLK seals were impressed on royal storejars in the time of Hezekiah. Nearly everything else about their interpretation is controversial.) Grena certainly has enriched the world with the extensive information that he has published online and in his book. That’s a little background to a recent blogpost in which he sheds some light on the little-known biblical town of Kephirah/Chephirah/Kefireh. In the time of Joshua, this was one of four cities of Gibeonites. Most people know of the treachery of the city of Gibeon, but may not recall that there were three other cities in their league, including one I saw every day for the last decade – Kiriath Jearim. Grena’s post begins with some interesting facts about Kephirah before discussing two LMLK seals.

Tagged Resources

Scroll Distribution in Dead Sea Caves

A new study suggests that the scrolls in two of the Dead Sea Scroll caves were deposited fifty years earlier than the rest of the scrolls. You can read a brief report of the study here; the full report was published here:

Stökl Ben Ezra, Daniel. “Old Caves and Young Caves: A Statistical Reevaluation of a Qumran Consensus.” Dead Sea Discoveries 14/3 (2007) 313-333.

I am curious which two caves have the older material. Based on geographical location of the caves, I’d expect 1 and 2, or 3 and 11. But I don’t have access to the article as I write.

For some photos of the Dead Sea Scroll caves, see here.

HT: Joe Lauer

Update (2/11): The link above has been corrected. In the process, I found the full article itself, plus an abstract, which answers my question above: 1 and 4. The link that Al gives in the comments below is to an earlier, abbreviated version.

Tagged Dead Sea

Excavations and Politics in the City of David

The AP has a nothing-else-to-report-today article about the Israeli excavations in the City of David, focusing particularly on the political aspects. The thesis of the article is summed up in this paragraph:

Israel says it’s reconnecting with its ancient heritage. Palestinians contend the archaeology is a political weapon to undermine their own links to Jerusalem.

The article interviews both sides, though it’s not in-depth enough to satisfy either side. My contribution to the story is a photograph of the City of David that shows the area sometime in the first half of the 20th century, but without most of the buildings.

City of David from the south
Source: Library of Congress, LC-matpc-08433

Some information and photos about ancient sites in the area can be found at these BiblePlaces.com pages: City of David, Hezekiah’s Tunnel, Warren’s Shaft, and Pool of Siloam.

Tagged Jerusalem

Forgery Trial Update (Feb 2008)

Some years ago the Israeli government began trying a case of antiquities forgery against five individuals, including Robert Deutsch and Oded Golan. The latter is/was the owner of the James Ossuary and was accused of creating the inscription (or part of it) in order to greatly increase the object’s value. Hershel Shanks now writes on the Biblical Archaeology Society website that the prosecution is winding its case down and may be finished in a few weeks.

Previous posts on this blog related to this include:

Forgery Conference Report (June 2007)

Forgery Trial Update (May 2006)

Tagged Forgery