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New Videos on the Passion Week of Jesus

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

Tagged Jerusalem, Resources, Tourism

Passover Sacrifice To Be Held in Jewish Quarter of Old City

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.

The Jewish Quarter Plaza, location of the sacrifice demonstration

Tagged Holidays, Jerusalem

Luke & Acts: Historical Reliability – 4

(Posted by Michael J. Caba)

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.

In addition, Philip reconstructed the city of Paneas (originally named for the Greek god Pan) and renamed it “Caesarea Philippi” (after Caesar Augustus and himself) to distinguish it from “Caesarea Maritima,” which was constructed by Herod the Great along the shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It was in the region of Caesarea Philippi, which is north of the Sea of Galilee, that Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” In reply, Peter proclaimed, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:13-20). The following aerial photo shows the ruins of Caesarea Philippi including the Cave of Pan (near center of photo) into which offerings to the god were placed.

By way of additional note, the 1st-century AD Jewish philosopher Philo makes reference to Philip when he says that Agrippa, “the grandson of Herod the king,” was eventually given Philip’s territory to rule (Flaccus, V. (25)).

For similar correlations between the biblical text and ancient sources, see Bible and Archaeology – Online Museum.

Weekend Roundup (The Real Edition)

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

Tagged Discoveries, Excavations, Italy, Jerusalem, Mesopotamia, Museums, Shephelah, Temple Mount, Tourism, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup

The Israel Antiquities Authority has announced a “GoFundMe” campaign in order to excavate all remaining biblical sites before the antiquity thieves do. If all funding targets are met, security officers will be hired to protect these sites for an additional three months.

All tourists desiring to visit the Western Wall will now be required to walk on the Mikveh Trail and be immersed in one of the ancient ritual baths.

Muslim authorities have recently opened the Huldah Gates so that visitors can view the ancient Jewish architecture and engravings underneath the Al Aqsa Mosque on their way to visit the site of Solomon’s temple.

Schoolkids working on an excavation in Jerusalem have discovered a golden-hued metallic headpiece inscribed with the name “Jedidiah.” Tests are now being run to determine if there’s any connection with the ancient royalty of Judah.

Archaeologists in Israel will now begin selling artifacts from their excavations as soon as they have photographed and recorded them. Roadside stands will enable visitors to purchase figurines, mosaics, oil lamps, and more, right on the spot, thus providing immediate funding to the excavation team.

New book alert: Erich Kleen’s 480-page tome, Three Sticks Make a Staff: An Old Man’s Reminiscences on Excavating Nearly Every Site in the Middle East.

Following the signing of the Tourist Recruiting Initiative, Israel, Turkey, and Egypt will now be competing to offer the largest bonus checks to visitors arriving at their respective airports.

Amen Been-Thar has announced the discovery of the Hazor archive. He found it in Yigael Yadin’s storage room at the university. The exasperated scholar exclaimed, “It just never occurred to me to look there.”

With the recent Supreme Court ruling affirming the Catholic Church’s claim of ownership of the Sea of Galilee, construction work has begun on a chapel to be built on glass stilts in the middle of the lake.

With the release of the LaserScan SuperPro, archaeologists will be setting aside their Marshalltown trowels in favor of the new handheld gadget that produces a 3-D scan of an entire tell at a resolution of nearly 16 dots per inch. Instead of excavating layer by layer, the team will now be able to pinpoint exactly where the museum treasures are, thus preserving the site from massive environmental destruction.

The British Museum has agreed to return the Elgin Marbles. Within a few months they will be on display in a new museum in Turkey, sovereign power over Athens at the time they were shipped to London.

Following a public outcry, the Jordanian government will be reducing the entrance fee to Petra from $125 to $10, effective every year on the anniversary of T. E. Lawrence’s death.

The Jerusalem Biblical Zoo has announced an expansion of their petting zoo. Visitors will now be able to better understand the life of David by personal encounters with the exhibit’s Syrian bear and Asian lion. Asked about the dangers, the zookeeper explained that the animals are fed regularly and children under the age of 4 will not be allowed entrance unattended.

The Caesarea Maritima National Park has begun reconstruction of Herod’s harbor. The design will closely adhere to the original blueprints recently discovered in the cache of Med Sea Scrolls, and funding has already been met from the tariffs assessed of every visitor to this most popular park in the nation. When complete, tourists will be able to climb the Drusus lighthouse, board a replica of Paul’s prisoner ship, and watch a live actor re-enact the gruesome death of Herod Agrippa.

A new website called www.holylandselfies.com is soon to become operational. The director, Will E. Itslegal, expects to launch customized editions of the Selfie Bible Atlas in the near future.

Young tourists are raving about the new zipline that just opened at the top of Masada. While only college students and military personnel are permitted to ride the one beginning at Herod’s northern palace, others are enjoying the zipline above the siege ramp. The mid-way line will serve seniors on days when the cablecar is not running. Engineers are currently working on the final zipline which will plunge riders directly into the Dead Sea.

Scholars have now successfully translated the genuinely authentic Jordanian lead codices, confirming that the Gospel of Jesus’s Wife proves that the famous Galilean carpenter was buried in a tomb in Talpiot.

If this silly exercise has tested your patience, you can rejoice that not until 2023 will the next weekend roundup fall on April 1.

HT: R.A.S. Macalister, Montague Parker, Moses Shapiro

Tagged April Fool's Joke

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

Haaretz (premium): “Archaeologists in Rome have uncovered the [very fragmentary] remains of a second triumphal arch dedicated to the emperor Titus and his success in putting down the Great Revolt of the Jews in the first century C.E.”

“The remains of a huge Roman temple, the size of St Paul’s Cathedral in London has been found by a Cambridge University archaeological team in central Italy.”

Philippe Bohstrom has written an interesting and well-illustrated article on the Greek site of Poseidonia (Paestum) in southern Italy.

“The location where the Greek naval forces had gathered before the historic sea battle of Salamis against Persians in 480 BC has been discovered.”

“A unique statue, possibly of Queen Tiye, the wife of King Amenhotep III and grandmother of King Tutankhamun, has been unearthed at her husband’s funerary temple in Kom El-Hittan on Luxor’s west bank.”

“The intact tomb of the brother of a 12th Dynasty Elephantine governor has been uncovered, containing a range of funerary goods.”

Antiquities dealers in the US imported $100 million in artifacts from Egypt and Turkey last year.

In order to thwart the plundering of antiquities, Syrian archaeologists have begun painting their treasures with a clear, traceable liquid.

The New York Times previews the new “Mummies” exhibit at the American Museum of Natural
History in Manhattan.

The ABWG has a roundup of links for Awards for Books in Classics, Ancient Near East, and Antiquity.

HT: Ted Weis, Charles Savelle, Steven Anderson, Agade, Joseph Lauer

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Discoveries, Egypt, Greece, Italy, Museums, New Exhibits, Syria, Weekend Roundup