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Inside the Photo Companion: Cultural Scenes

When we started taking photos in the Holy Land, our gaze was mostly fixed on the sites. That, after all, is the basis for most tour itineraries. This was reflected in our earliest photo collections, as they were organized by country, region, and site.

But as we began thinking about illustrating each verse of the Bible, we knew that we would need much more than photographs of piles of rocks at various sites. In this post we want to draw your attention to some of the many cultural scenes that we have illustrated in the new Gospels volumes of the Photo Companion to the Bible.

This scene shows a farmer plowing his field with his donkey. We captured this scene one day as we were passing through the Michmethath Valley on the way to Mount Gerizim (visible in the distance).

While certain elements like the headdress differ from the biblical period, we’re still amazed that we can see scenes like this that are so similar to ancient times.

I was walking through the suq (market) in Nablus last year (my first-ever visit there) and I saw through one doorway a father and son working on a carpentry project. This brought to mind another famous pair of father-son carpenters and I snapped a couple of pictures. While this scene too differs from what first-century Nazareth looked like, it’s still helpful to me in imagining how Jesus worked together with Joseph.

Some scenes are just difficult or impossible to capture today. The scene above was taken by an American Colony photographer in 1940, showing a scene of men gathered in a traditional village.

There are a number of biblical passages this could illustrate, but we’ve used it here to illustrate the story in Luke 15:1-7 where the rejoicing shepherd returns home to tell his neighbors that he has found his lost sheep.

When the prodigal son returned home, his father held a lavish feast, even slaughtering the fattened calf in his son’s honor (Luke 15:27). This American Colony photograph, taken in 1935, shows a group of Bedouin men preparing an animal for the fire. This image will also serve to illustrate other passages, including Abraham’s killing of a choice calf when three “men” came to visit (Gen 18:7).

I’ll close with a favorite. I took this picture at the Qatzrin Village in the Golan Heights (a worthwhile stop if you haven’t been). This display illustrates well the verse about the woman who lost one of her coins and in an effort to find it lit an oil lamp and swept the house (Luke 15:8). Many children (and adults) today would be hard pressed to picture what an oil lamp and a broom looked like in the time of Jesus.

It is a lot of fun to photograph these scenes or to find just the right image to illustrate a verse or concept. In creating the Photo Companion to the Bible, we intend to make Scripture not only more understandable but also more engaging and exciting.

Tagged Photo Resources

Roman Theater Discovered Next to Western Wall

Archaeologists working in Jerusalem today announced the results of the last two years of excavation underneath Wilson’s Arch next to the Western Wall. The most exciting find is a small Roman theater.

The story is being reported by a number of news sources. The quotations below are from The Times of Israel. The article includes several photos.

“Israel Antiquity Authority archaeologists announced Monday that for the past two years they have been excavating and exposing a massive eight-meter deep section of Jerusalem’s Western Wall, unseen for 1,700 years.
And in the course of their work, which has been quietly proceeding directly beneath Wilson’s Arch — the area immediately adjacent to the men’s section of the Western Wall — they unexpectedly discovered a small Roman theater.
[…]
The work is set to continue for another six months, and the expectation is that First Temple-era findings will be uncovered. When the work is completed, the site will be opened to the public.

The findings of the archaeologists are interesting, and as is often the case, not entirely clear or consistent. Here are a few highlights:

The dating of the theater is not clearly stated, but it appears that it was built after the destruction of the temple in AD 70.
The theater went out of use following an earthquake in 360.
The construction of the theater was never finished.
The theater seated 200-300 people.
The theater may have been used as a bouleuterion or as an odeon.
Wilson’s Arch served as the roof for the theater.
Excavations will continue below the theater with hopes of discovering remains from the First Temple Period.
The archaeologists will present more of their findings at a conference this week at Hebrew University.

Read the full story here. High-resolution photos are available here.

HT: Joseph Lauer

Roman theater with archaeologist Joe Uziel Photograph: Yaniv Berman, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority

Tagged Discoveries, Excavations, Jerusalem, Temple Mount

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