Tonight National Geographic TV is airing its special on the opening of the traditional tomb of Jesus in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. The episode is scheduled for 10 pm Eastern. This story from October has some of the details and images that will likely appear in the show.
HT: Urban von Wahlde
Gabriel Barkay believes that they have discovered one of the capitals from Solomon’s Colonnade on the eastern side of the Temple Mount. Leen Ritmeyer seems inclined to agree, but he clarifies an issue with a measurement.
An excavation last month of Qumran Cave 11 resulted in the discovery of an upper chamber, linen textiles, medicinal plants, and leather and wooden artifacts. An international workshop on Cave 11 will be held later this month.
An underground tunnel network from the Bar Kochba period has been discovered in the Hebron hills.
The dating of donkey dung supports a Solomonic-date for a mining camp at Timna Valley in southern Israel.
Construction has begun on the “Sanhedrin Trail,” running from Beth Shearim to Tiberias. It will be a “smart” trail that “will communicate with the hikers using an innovative, augmented reality-based application.” The project also includes the building of a visitor’s center in Tiberias.
After the Temple Mount Sifting Project sent out an urgent plea for funds, the Prime Minister of Israel stepped in to restore the lost funding. Or did he?
The Egyptian Antiquities Ministry announced the discovery of a 13th dynasty pyramid, currently being excavated in Dahshur’s royal necropolis.
A Roman bath complex has been inaugurated in Alexandria.
Magnetometers and ground-penetrating radar has been used to discover the concession stands, taverns, and souvenir shops that surrounded a Roman amphitheater in Austria. (If you substitute “NFL” for “gladiator,” it will all make perfect sense.)
“Colorising the Arch of Titus: The Spoils of Jerusalem” is a new 4-minute video that reveals the results of a recent study led by Steven Fine of the original design and colors of the famous panel.
Ferrell Jenkins shares a couple of photos of the view from Mount Nebo.
Joel Pless suggests a biblical connection in his recent interview on Pompeii and Herculaneum on The Book and the Spade.
Israel’s Good Name recently visited Solomon’s Quarries, the Jerusalem Archaeological Park, and more.
Later this month, New College of the University of Edinburgh will be hosting a conference entitled “Coins and the Bible: Understanding Ancient Coinage.”
This month, Logos is offering Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes: Cultural Studies in the Gospels, by Kenneth E. Bailey for only $1.99.
Winged Bull Press released several new titles on April 1. And their new shipping service is a hoot!
HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Mike Harney, Ted Weis, Charles Savelle, Alexander Schick
Wayne Stiles has long impressed me with his knowledge of Israel and his application of the biblical truths to our lives. He’s written three excellent books, and he has faithfully written regular posts on his blog for many years.
But I think his new project is his best yet, and I’d encourage you to take a look.
Wayne has produced a series of three videos tracing the Passion Week of Jesus, “The Week That Changed the World,” as he calls it. It is outstanding. I encourage you to check out these free videos.
It’s a perfect way to prepare for and experience the Passion Week.
See them here: www.passionweektour.com
It’s been more than 1,900 years since the Jewish people have slaughtered a Passover lamb within the walls of Jerusalem. But this one still doesn’t “count” because it’s not on the Temple Mount. From The Times of Israel:
An annual reenactment of the sacrifice for the upcoming Passover festival will be held for the first time inside the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem.
The High Court of Justice on Monday upheld a police decision to bar a group of Temple Mount activists from holding their annual ceremony at Davidson Park, an archaeological site adjacent to the Western Wall on the southern side of the Temple Mount complex.
But in an unusual move, police on Wednesday said the activists would be allowed go ahead with the reenactment on Thursday in the main square of the Jewish Quarter of the Old City.
[…]
Just like the Passover sacrifice that was offered in the time of the Temple, it will include slaughtering a lamb, flaying it in the traditional manner, throwing its blood on a model altar, and roasting and eating it.
The full article has more details including the time of the event.
This series of posts examines the historical reliability of the New Testament books of Luke and Acts by comparing these books to other ancient textual sources and the archaeological record. In addition, background information on key elements of the various narratives is also given.
One of the persons mentioned in Luke 3:1-2 is “Philip, tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis.” In addition to this biblical reference, the 1st-century AD historian Josephus also refers to Philip and notes that he was the son of Herod the Great and Cleopatra of Jerusalem (Antiquities 17.1.3). Having been born in c. 22 BC, Philip was assigned a portion (i.e., Iturea and Traconitis) of his father’s kingdom when the later died in 4 BC. Philip ruled until he died in his own turn in AD 34, and Josephus refers to Philip as a “person of moderation and quietness in the conduct of his life and government” (Antiquities 18.4.6).
Interestingly enough, despite his apparent affinity for “moderation and quietness,” Philip married Salome, a woman with at least one episode in her life that was anything but moderate and quiet. By way of pedigree, Salome was the daughter of Philip’s half-brother Herod (tetrarch of Galilee) and Herod’s stolen wife Herodias. Further, as a younger woman she is actually the one who danced for this same Herod and his dinner guests, which, as many are aware, led to Herod’s ill-advised promise to give her “up to half” of his kingdom, which in turn led to the violent death of John the Baptist. The sordid details of the event (including the reasons for the death of John the Baptist) are recorded in Mark 6:14-29, and this rather interesting (to say the least) collection of behaviors has ever after been the inspiration for much drama and art, among which is the following work produced by Titian, the Venetian Renaissance master, in c. 1515.
For similar correlations between the biblical text and ancient sources, see Bible and Archaeology – Online Museum.
High school students excavating in Ramat Beit Shemesh have uncovered remains of a Jewish village from the first century AD.
Aviva and Shmuel Bar-Am describe the recently opened Mikveh Trail south of the Temple Mount.
“Did archaeologists find the royal banqueting complex of King Herod the Great in Jerusalem?”
Carl Rasmussen shares an unusual photo of a cross in Jerusalem.
The predators center (walk-through exhibit) at Hai Bar Yotvata is now closed.
Israel’s Good Name recently paid a visit to the Jerusalem Bird Observatory.
John DeLancey has a wrap-up of his latest Israel tour. You may resonate with some of his concluding observations.
This week on The Book and the Spade, Clyde Billington and Gordon Govier discuss the Jebusite and Roman walls of Jerusalem.
Simon Gathercole lectured recently on “The Journeys of Jesus and Jewish Geography” at the Lanier Theological Library.
Gary Shogren suggests his favorite 5 New Testament archaeological discoveries of recent years.
Appian Media is getting closer to reaching its fundraising goal so they can finish the “Following the
Messiah” series.
Douglas Clark of LaSierra University will be leading a team of scholars to create the Madaba
Regional Archaeological Museum.
Construction workers have discovered a tomb from the Neo-Assyrian period in Erbil, Iraq.
Restoring the Mosul Museum will not be easy without any remaining artifacts.
A new walking trail and viewing terraces have been created to attract more tourists to the Titus Tunnel near the ancient port of Seleucia.
Archaeologists have discovered 38 graves in an ancient Jewish cemetery in Rome.
The tourist company Roma Experience now offers visitors to Domus Aurea an augmented reality experience with 3-D glasses that brings to life Nero’s palace as it was in the first century.
In a new article “The Old Testament and the Ancient Near East: Profits and Losses” published on the ABR website, Eugene Merrill identifies “five clear profits,” “three claimed profits,” and “two mixed blessings.”
The National Post loves Eric Cline’s 480-page tome, Three Stones Make a Wall: The Story of Archaeology. An illustrated excerpt discussing the antiquities trade has been posted on the ASOR Blog. The Bible and Interpretation has posted his Megiddo chapter.
Karl Katz, the first curator of the Israel Museum, has written an autobiography entitled The
Exhibitionist, which is reviewed by Asher Weill.
Eisenbrauns has published another valuable study (at a much more affordable price than many academic publishers): The Shephelah during the Iron Age, edited by Oded Lipschits and Aren M. Maeir, with articles about Gezer, Beth Shemesh, Azekah, Qeiyafa, Gath, Zayit, Burna, and Halif. Maeir’s chapter on Gath is online.
William Kelly Simpson and Louis H. Feldman died recently.
HT: Agade, Ted Weis, BibleX
