The Satellite Bible Atlas now has a Canadian distributor. Until now, shipping to Canada from the U.S. cost nearly as much as the book itself. The Family Christian Bookstore in Ontario now sells the atlas, and shipping charges are much more reasonable to Canadian addresses. The Bible Lands Satellite Map is also available.
SourceFlix has produced a short video illustrating Psalm 23.
Wayne Stiles has everything you want to know about Timna Park, including photos, a time-lapse video, Google Street View, and a map.
“Researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have discovered the deepest cave in Israel, reaching a depth of 187 meters below ground.”
The Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names is now online for free.
If you’re thinking about visiting the Pergamum Museum in Berlin anytime soon, read Ferrell Jenkins’ recent post.
A copper awl discovered not far from Beth Shean is now believed to be the oldest metal object known from the Middle East. The University of Haifa press release is online here.
“The Iraqi National Museum inaugurated two renovated halls adorned with life-size stone statues on Thursday.”
The new editors of BASOR have penned an inaugural letter describing their plans and offering an invitation.
Jordan’s Tourism Board has launched a new online chat service.
HT: Joseph Lauer, Jack Sasson, Charles Savelle, A.D. Riddle
I came across this notable observation yesterday when looking over some photos in Earthly Footsteps of the Man of Galilee.
The Grand Mosque of Damascus is one of the most interesting buildings in the East. It is quadrangular in form, one hundred and sixty-three yards wide, by one hundred and eight yards long. A lofty wall of fine masonry surrounds it. A few years ago the building was almost destroyed by fire.
One of the most wonderful things about this mosque is an inscription which is pointed out to the tourist. It runs over an arch in the second story. You can see even in this picture the Greek letters which form the following sentence: “Thy kingdom, O Christ, is an everlasting kingdom, and Thy dominion endureth throughout all generations.” This is the Septuagint rendering of Psalms, cxlv [145]: 13, with the simple addition of the name of Christ. What a curious inscription to find on a Moslem mosque! And yet, how true it is that the kingdom of Christ is an everlasting kingdom. To-day the power of Mohammedanism is waning.
A 2010 article in the Wall Street Journal gives the history: Muslims reused stones of the church they razed. The builder of the mosque, al-Walid, was also responsible for the construction of the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.
Unfortunately the last observation in the quotation above has proven false. But that is in accord with Scripture which speaks of the numerous enemies present on earth when Jesus returns (Ps 2; Zech 14; Rev 19).
IWH Symposium, September 1-4, 2014
IWH Hauptstrasse 242, Heidelberg
Organisation: Prof. Manfred Oeming, Dr. Omer Sergi, Dr. Izaak de Hulster
14:00-14:30: Introduction
14:00-14:10: Peter Comba, Manfred Oeming, Greetings
14:10-14:30: Omer Sergi and Izaak de Hulster, Historical Outline for Aram and Israel
14:30-15:15: Amihai Mazar, Looking for Aramaean Impact in the Beth-Shean Valley in Light of the Excavations at Tel Beth Shean and Tel Rehov
15:15-16:00: Stefan Münger, Who, When, and Why–Investigating Cultural Footprints at Early Iron Age Tel Kinrot
16:30-17:15: Nava Panitz-Cohen, Aram-Maacah? Aramaeans and Israelites on the Border: Excavations at Tel Abil al-Qameh (Abel Beth Maacah) in Northern Israel
17:15-18:00: Yifat Thareani, Enemy at the Gates? The Archaeological Visibility of the Aramaeans at Dan
18:00-18:30: Discussion
9:00-9:45: Izaak de Hulster, The Aram–Israel Border Zone: Two Comparative Iconographic Case Studies
9:45-10:30: Benjamin Sass, Aram and Israel during the Early Iron Age (12th-8th Centuries BCE): The Alphabet
11:00-11:45: Assaf Kleiman, Dating the Aramaean Campaigns to the Southern Levant: A Gradual Process of Destructions?
11:45-12:30: Aren Maeir, The Aramaean Involvement in the Southern Levant: Case Studies for Identifying the Archaeological Evidence
12:30-13:00: Discussion
14:30-15:15: Christoph Uehlinger, What are We Looking for when dealing with ‘Identity’ and the ‘Construction of Identity’ in Levantine Societies of the Iron Age? (with an Excursus on the Bethsaida Stela)
15:15-16:00: Guy Bunnens, Tradition, Innovation and Cultural Borders in Aramaean Syria
16:30-17:15: Stefania Mazzoni, Identity and Multiculturality in the Northern Levant of the 9th-7th century B.C. with a Case Study on Tell Afis
17:15-18:00: Herbert Niehr, The Power of Language:, Language Situation and Language Politics in Sam’ al
18:00-18:30: Discussion
9:00-9:45: Israel Finkelstein, Aram and Israel: Some Cultural and Historical Reflections
9:45-10:30: Erhard Blum, The ‘Borders’ between Israel and Aram-Damascus in the 9th-8th Centuries BCE according to Biblical and Epigraphical Sources
11:00-11:45: Omer Sergi, Gilead between Aram and Israel: Some Historical and Historiographical Considerations
11:45-12:30: Jutta Häser, Tell Zira’a in the Iron Age
12:30-13:00: Discussion
14:30-15:15: Manfred Oeming, “And the King of Aram was at War with Israel”– The Construction of the Aramaean as an Enemy in the Elisha Cycle 2 King 2-13.
15:15-16:00: Matthias Köckert, Jacob Cycle and the Aramaean Identity of Israel
16:30-17:15: Angelika Berlejung, Family Ties: Constructed Memories about Aram and the Aramaeans in the Old Testament – “God’s People Network”
17:15-18:00: Nili Wazana, “My Father was a Wandering Aramaean”: The Implications for Israelite Identity
18:00-18:30: Discussion
9:00-10:30: Concluding discussion
The Colloquium is supported by: Heidelberg University, Fritz Thyssen Stiftung, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
The program is available in pdf format here.
Another topic that seems relevant to this conference: Textual Witnesses to the Aramean Oppression of Israel in the Late Ninth Century. And another: Archaeological Evidence for the Aramean Route to Philistine Gath. I’ve written on both in my dissertation.
HT: Jack Sasson
Anna Moseley Gissing writes about three lessons she learned from archaeology about the spiritual life.
Haaretz reports that the appointment of Israel’s new antiquities chief is embroiled in politics.
Should the Vatican return the menorah from the Jerusalem Temple? Steven Fine assigned his class the task of refuting the notion that the Vatican has it.
Greek archaeologists excavating a fourth-century BC tomb at Amphipolis have made an “extremely important find.”
Camels Mummification existed in Egypt 1,500 years earlier than scientists have long believed.
The Egyptian government has asked the Ashmolean museum to lend it the personal collection of Howard Carter.
Brian Daniels discusses Preserving Culture in War on this week’s broadcast of The Book and the Spade.
What is the relationship between the archaeology of Jerusalem and the Book of Mormon? SourceFlix has produced a new video that answers this question.
Wayne Stiles describes two oases along the shore of the Dead Sea. (Can you guess which ones they are? Neither one ends with “Gedi.”) He includes photos, a video, and a map.
HT: Joseph Lauer, Jack Sasson
