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Weekend Roundup

Bryant Wood made the case that Khirbet el-Maqatir is biblical Ai in a lecture he gave at the recent symposium held at Houston Baptist University.

Biblical Archaeology Review has posted online the documentation for this month’s cover story,

“Archaeology Confirms 50 Real People in the Bible.” This is a valuable resource, and more easily accessible than the author’s monograph.

An alabaster statue of a New Kingdom princess has been discovered in excavations near Luxor. The 6-foot statue was once part of a 56-foot-tall statue that guarded the entrance to a temple.

“Iraq’s southern Dhi Qar province is ‘a global museum of antiquities,’ dotted with hundreds of unexcavated ancient cities whose archeological treasures could rival those of the great Sumerian capital of Ur, experts say.”

BibleX points to an article on the time and cost of Paul’s missionary journeys.

Israel experienced a very bad dust storm earlier this week, resulting in the closure of a number of the country’s airports.

Mark Hoffman explains how to make a custom Bible map using Accordance as well as other options.

The ASOR Archaeology Weekly Roundup links to stories about Pompeii, the Apostle Philip, and more.

I’m on this week’s edition of The Book and the Spade with Gordon Govier, discussing the upcoming summer excavations in Israel. (Here’s a direct link.)

Luke Chandler invites you to join him on a tour of Israel. At $3,300, it is one of the most affordable trips I know of.

Wayne Stiles flew out to Israel yesterday and will be blogging about his trip daily. He also will be posting new pictures on his Instagram feed. I’m heading over as well, but I don’t expect to have much time to write on this blog while I am away.

HT: Jack Sasson

Tagged Discoveries, Egypt, Excavations, Exodus-Conquest, Mesopotamia, Weather, Weekend Roundup

New Resources at Preserving Bible Times

Our friends at Preserving Bible Times have just announced a new website. In addition to the many articles and resources available, I would highlight two areas to check out:

1. 3-D Israel Topographical Relief Maps: Their collection has expanded (and the prices reduced) for an OT version, a Gospel Version, and a contemporary Holy Land version. The maps are roughly 9 x 14 inches (22 x 35 cm) and sell for $29.95 plus shipping. Check out the website for photos of the maps.

2. The Gallery section includes a series of glass slides from 1905.

You can stay up-to-date with the latest resources by visiting the “What’s New” section regularly.

3-D Topographical Relief Map of the Holy Land

Tagged Photo Resources, Resources

The Hebrew Bible for Kindle

A friend just wrote to let me know that he has just released the first Hebrew Bible designed for the Kindle. That means the vowels and cantillation marks all line up and look great! The Bible is also linked to an English translation so you can easily look up those challenging verses.

Here are a few other features:

All 39 books of the Tanak (Torah, Nevi’im, Ketuvim) [Genesis through 2 Chronicles] in Hebrew.
Crisp, beautiful, large Hebrew characters that can be resized smaller or larger, as needed.
Easy click-through navigation to other books and chapters.
Hebrew text from the Codex Leningradensis (digitized through the Westminster Leningrad Codex Tanach).
Unicode Hebrew characters.
Ability to add primary Hebrew-specific font to Kindle for use with this book.

And the cost is only $5.99! I’m trying to think of a better book I’ve ever bought for less money. Still thinking…. 🙂

There are more details and screenshots at The Bible Student. You can purchase it here.

The Hebrew Bible for Kindle

Tagged Resources

The Closing of the Tiberias Sound and Light Show

Next week I’ll end my streak of 20 years of avoiding the hotels of the Sea of Galilee’s most popular tourist city. I will miss, apparently, the Tiberium Light Show that once displayed three times each evening on the promenade along the Sea of Galilee. In the words of one website, “the Tiberium Light

Show mixes two giant screens, dozens of skittering water fountains, artistic laser lights, music and pyrotechnics to create a dazzling display of water and light.”

Four free shows presented Galilee-themed subjects:

“1. My Sea of Galilee- An Israeli show that describes the development of the Sea of Galilee, the settlement around it till this day.

2. An artistic presentation- An experience of sound, color and rhythm. The show is young and dynamic, with different communal aromas.

3. Past grows the Future- Integrates a huge project of the Municipality of Tiberias that participates the young generation in conserving tradition.

4. Classical show- Classical music creations with international artistic creations.” (Source: Go Galilee).

But the show’s demise is the cause of rejoicing among some of Tiberias’s residents. According to an article in Merkaz HaInyanim Zafon that was reported in the Caspari Center Media Review, the mention of Jesus walking on the water was not welcome.

The attraction caused an uproar within the religious community since it included a portrayal of “that man” walking on the water. Furthermore, the paper claims that the event was a gathering place for missionaries. The rabbis of Tiberias forbade the religious public from attending the event and asked the municipality to remove the Christian content. But when the municipality refused to do so, the hand of God seemed to take over, and the fountain began to sink into the sea. The municipality tried to save the display, but then the motor “mysteriously” disappeared as well. “It turns out,” writes Avi Yehudai, “that ‘that man’ wasn’t the only one to walk on water, as the Christians claim, but there are others who walked on the water without being noticed, and they didn’t sink, even though the precious motor was in their hands.”

Conflicts between the secular (who pursue money, and therefore tourism) and the religious (who prioritize purity) are part and parcel of Israel’s society, and vandalism by the religious community is not uncommon. In this case, an attraction that has been compared to the Fountains of Bellagio in Las Vegas and the Magic Fountain of Montjuïc in Barcelona has been lost.

Two videos capture some of the sound and light show: a 2.5-minute clip and a more impressive 12-minute version below.

Tagged Galilee, Tourism

Weekend Roundup

The Rogueclassicist finds plenty to be suspicious of in the discovery of the “Apollo of Gaza” – Part I, Ia, and Ib.

Can the Jordan River Be Saved? National Geographic asks the question in light of the increased demands caused by the Syrian civil war.

Oded Golan has another ossuary that André Lemaire considers more significant than the James Ossuary.

Japanese archaeologists have discovered a tomb in Luxor dating to 1200 BC.

The Jerusalem Post runs a travel article on Tiberias and some of the new attractions in the area.

G. M. Grena reports on a recent conference where Gabriel Barkay gave four lectures on the history and archaeology of Jerusalem.

Jerusalem’s geography can relieve your doubts – if you understand it.

Registration is now open for this year’s season at Tel Burna.

The city of Jerusalem plans to make life easier for tourists by giving English lessons to taxi drivers.

I’m on The Book and the Spade this week talking with Gordon Govier about the Iron Age water tunnel discovered near Jerusalem and some wooden temple beams that may go back to Solomon’s temple. (Direct link to mp3 here.)

HT: Charles Savelle, Jack Sasson

Tagged Discoveries, Egypt, Galilee, Jerusalem, Jordan Rift, Weekend Roundup

Artifact of the Month: Tel Dan Stela

(Posted by Michael J. Caba)

This inscribed basalt stone contains the oldest reference to King David outside of the Bible.* Being roughly a foot tall, it was written in Aramaic in the mid 9th century BC and is known as the Tel Dan Stela. The text actually refers to the “House of David,” meaning his royal family. Found during excavations in the ancient city of Dan in 1993/94, it is now located in the Israel Museum.

The artifact is particularly significant in the discussions related to the historicity of the Biblical accounts of the kingdom of David. Prior to its discovery some critics had maintained that the Biblical figure of King David was mythological in nature. However, subsequent to this finding scholarly opinion is now summed up well by Eric Cline from The George Washington University: “At a single blow, the finding of this inscription brought an end to the debate and settled the question of whether David was an actual historical person.”

It is of course true that the Bible is an ancient source in itself that can be trusted outright; still, support such as this further strengthens the case for the Bible’s reliability on historical matters.

(Photo: BiblePlaces.com. Significant resource for further study: The Context of Scripture, Volume 2, pages 161-162.)

*Possible additional references to David which are contemporaneous, or older, than the Tel Dan Stela are found on the Moabite Stone (Mesha Stela) and at Karnak Temple in Egypt (10th century BC).