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Weekend Roundup

I am traveling this weekend, and so this edition is shorter than usual. I’ll pick up any stories I missed next weekend.

Solomon’s Pools will be renovated with a $750,000 grant from the US Consulate in Jerusalem with hopes of turning it into a major tourism site.

An ancient inscription may provide contemporary evidence for the migration of the Philistines and other Sea Peoples, if it is authentic.

“Archaeologists have unearthed a 2,000-year-old olive oil mill in the ancient city of Tripolis in southwestern Turkey.”

The latest issue of Biblical Archaeology Review includes the sad news that Hershel Shanks is retiring after 42 years and turning editorship over to Robert Cargill. Shanks is 87.

Accordance Bible Software is running a sale that includes a 25% off any one item deal. You could use it for one of their photo collections, including The American Colony Collection or Views That Have Vanished.

Wayne Stiles explains the relationship between the Pool of Siloam, the Feast of Tabernacles, and the Messiah.

“The Dead Sea Scrolls at 70” is the title of a free conference that is being held at New York University on November 16-17. Speakers include Jodi Magness, Lawrence Schiffman, and many others.

Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary is hosting a “Foothills of Judah” Conference on November 13-14. Speakers include Itzhaq Shai, Steven Ortiz, and Chris McKinny.

John DeLancey is blogging his way through his current Greece Tour.

Israel’s Good Name recently visited Sachne (aka “Heaven on earth”) and explored some interesting sites in the area.

On Monday the Israel Antiquities Authority is hosting a press conference to reveal discoveries made in the last two years underneath Wilson’s Arch in the Western Wall Tunnels. I’ll post the story on the blog when I have it.

HT: Ted Weis, Joseph Lauer, Agade

Tagged Dead Sea, Discoveries, Greece, Holidays, Judah, Lectures, Photo Resources, Shephelah, Tourism, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

New Review of the Photo Companion to the Gospels

Pastor Jimmy Reagan writes about ministry and books on The Reagan Review and he has just posted a helpful review of the new Photo Companion to the Gospels. Here’s how it begins:

Wow! I hardly know what to say about this phenomenal collection of photographs on the Gospels. Over the years, I’ve seen attractive photos in books I have and noticed the name Todd Bolen in the photo credits. I had even heard others reference a website called BiblePlaces.com and talk about wonderful photo collections that could be purchased there. Now that I have Photo Companion to the Bible: The Gospels in my hands I know what all the hype was about. For the record, the hype was fully justified. All 89 chapters of the four Gospels are covered by more than 10,000 pictures. I suppose the most common usage for this resource would be for those who want to create sharp PowerPoint presentations. For that use, there’s nothing free on the Internet that even comes close to what we have here. Putting up a slide for a sermon on some passage in the Gospels will now be greatly upgraded for those who possess this resource. I see another use for this product that may not be as often discussed…

You can read the rest of the review at his site. While you’re there, you might want to poke around and read some of his other posts, including those in the categories of archaeology, Bible atlases, and Bible history.

Tagged Photo Resources

Inside the Photo Companion to the Bible: The Labels

Last week we began this new series to highlight some new features in the Photo Companion to the Bible. We think this series will benefit both those considering purchasing the collection as well as those who already own it but have not yet seen its full potential.

One of the most useful features, we believe, is the labeling of images to identify significant landmarks on the images. Our practice with labeled slides is to include the image without labels as well so that no details are hidden. (All labels may also be individually modified or deleted.)

The slide above shows the area of Herod’s palace overlaid on top of an aerial view of Jerusalem from the west. I would guess that few visitors realize that Herod’s palace covered a large portion of the modern Armenian Quarter. Though little of his palace is visible today, the “Phasael tower” still stands on the northern side as a testimony to its former greatness.

We particularly love to label panoramas, for we know well how difficult it is for our students to see all that is out there, especially on a day that is hazy or when the sun is in your eyes. The above image was taken from Mount Gerizim overlooking the area where Jesus spoke with the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well. This perspective, with its labels, helps us to see the relationship of the woman’s hometown (Sychar) with the well and other nearby sites of significance.

Sea-of-Galilee-shoreline-Mark1-labeled_thumb[2]

Tourist buses can be so harmful to understanding the Bible. I wonder how many Christian pilgrims have failed to realize just how close the Mount of Beatitudes is to Heptapegon (Tabgha) and Capernaum. The acoustical wonder known as the “Cove of the Sower” sits right in the midst of all of these!

Pools-of-Bethesda-John5-labeled_thumb[2]

Our new collection of the Gospels provides a number of illustrations of the Pools of Bethesda, but I’ve chosen to skip the aerial views here and feature one that every visitor sees. Yet the scene is such an archaeological mishmash of ancient, less ancient (Byzantine), and almost modern (Crusader) that most people simply give up and head for the singing in the nearby St. Anne’s Church. The labeled slide above distinguishes the location of the southern pool and central portico (of the New Testament times) from the Byzantine church built on top.

Temple-Mount-Treasury-Mark12-labeled_thumb[2]

Our last one today is very simple, but quite helpful. You can read the account of Jesus watching the widow drop her mite into the offering (Mark 12:41), but a slide like this makes it clear where all of this activity was going on. The photo above shows the Temple Mount on the first-century model at the Israel Museum, and the Court of the Women is labeled as the location of the temple treasury. (In the notes we credit the Ritmeyers’ guidebook for this identification.)

We have labeled photographs in our Pictorial Library of Bible Lands and Historic Views of the Holy Land collections, but we think they are particularly useful in the context of biblical verses as presented in the Photo Companion to the Bible.

Tagged Photo Resources

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

“The ancient city of Ephesus . . . is set to once again have a harbor on the Aegean coast, according to an ambitious new project.”

Archaeologists working at Saqqara in Egypt have discovered a portion of a large obelisk from the Old Kingdom period.

The rulers of Gaza are systematically destroying one of the earliest archaeological sites in the Gaza Strip.

“There is a growing emerging consensus among Dead Sea Scroll scholars that many of the fragments in the private collections are fakes.”

Atlas Obscura has a brief, illustrated article on the Tophet of Carthage.

“A Dartmouth-led study has demonstrated how the latest aerial thermal imagery is transforming archaeology due to advancements in technology.”

Yeshiva University Museum is hosting an international conference on “The Arch of Titus – from Jerusalem to Rome, and Back.”

Prior to its opening in November, the Museum of the Bible will be hosting a scholarly panel to “discuss evolutionary process for developing content” as well as addressing questions about disputed artifacts in their collection.

Yale students are “touring” Nimrud before it was destroyed via a new VR system. The story includes a 4-minute video.

A new free MOOC from Bar Ilan University on “The Bible in Light of the Ancient Near East” begins later this month. Some video previews are available: 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5.

Israel’s Good Name reports on his recent visit to Apollonia (Arsuf).

Kenneth Holum, whose work included directing excavations of Caesarea, died last month.

HT: Paleojudaica, Joseph Lauer, Agade

Tagged Egypt, Israel's Coast, Italy, Lectures, Mesopotamia, Technology, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Robert Mullins has written an update on the major discoveries at Abel Beth Maacah after 5 years of excavation.

A head of an Akhenaten statue has been discovered in excavations at Tel el-Amarna.

Some medieval artifacts were seized in Turkey, including a gold seal attributed to Solomon. James Davila provides some commentary.

The Jerusalem Post profiles the Temple Mount Sifting Project.

Mordechai Aviam and R. Steven Notley make a case that el-Araj should now be considered the leading candidate for the site of Bethsaida-Julias.

Appian Media has released a “sneak peek” from an upcoming upside in the “Following the Messiah” series with an acoustical experiment at the Cove of the Sower.

With the water level of the Sea of Galilee nearly at an all-time low, Ferrell Jenkins illustrates the dramatic difference with several photos of Heptapegon.

David Moster will be lecturing on “The Jordan River and the Two Half-Tribes of Manasseh” in NYC on Nov 14. (We noted some of David’s work on the Jordan River here last year.)

Ben Witherington is on The Book and the Spade talking about his newest book, A Week in the Fall of Jerusalem.

HT: Paleojudaica, Joseph Lauer, Agade

Tagged Discoveries, Egypt, Excavations, Galilee, Jerusalem, Lectures, Temple Mount, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Jordan Study Tour 2018

I’ve recommended Ginger Caessens’s study tour of Jordan in the past, and I’ve always received enthusiastic reviews from those who participated. Of course, I’m not surprised because I participated on this outstanding trip more than a dozen years ago.

The UHL website has all the details, including a full itinerary, but here’s the short version:

A ton of biblical history occurred in Jordan and if you don’t see it, you will miss it. There is no better program on the planet than that offered by UHL and taught by Dr. Caessens. If you want to see all the major biblical sites in Gilead, Ammon, Moab, and Edom, and you want to understand what you’re seeing, this is your trip. There are all kinds of people who go back to Israel their third, fourth, or tenth time and they’re not going on this trip, and I just don’t understand that. Maybe they just don’t realize that it was in the (modern-day) country of Jordan where:

Jacob wrestled at the Jabbok
The Israelites looked on the bronze serpent
The Israelites defeated the army of Sihon
Moses spoke the book of Deuteronomy
Moses viewed the land from Mount Nebo
Gideon pursued the Midianites
Jephthah fought the Ammonites (and then his daughter)
Ruth married Naomi’s son
Saul delivered the city of Jabesh Gilead
Uriah the Hittite died because of David’s treachery
David fled from his son Absalom
Ahab was killed by the Arameans
Jehoshaphat fought the Moabites
Jehu launched his coup
Elijah was born and later ascended into heaven
The prophets spoke against Ammon, Moab, and Edom
John the Baptist ministered and baptized
Herod Antipas beheaded John the Baptist
Jesus traveled through Perea

And I didn’t even mention the Medeba Map, Wadi Rum, or Petra.

You’re missing half of the story by not studying the east side of the Jordan River.

It’s worth your time, and it’s worth your money. Download an application here.

The ancient citadel of Rabbath-Ammon where Uriah was killed

Tagged Jordan, Opportunities, Tourism