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The Greek Orthodox and Armenian priests are at it again. From Haaretz:

The annual cleaning of one of Christianity’s holiest churches deteriorated into a brawl between rival clergy Wednesday, as dozens of monks feuding over sacred space at the Church of the Nativity battled each other with brooms until police intervened.
The ancient church, built over the traditional site of Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem, is shared by three Christian denominations: Roman Catholics, Armenians and Greek Orthodox.
Wednesday’s fight erupted between Greek and Armenian clergy, with both sides accusing each other of encroaching on parts of the church to which they lay claim.
The monks were tidying up the church ahead of Orthodox Christmas celebrations in early January, following celebrations by Western Christians on Dec. 25. The fight erupted between monks along the border of their respective areas. Some shouted and hurled brooms.

The full story is here. A video of the scene is posted online here.

HT: ShalomIL

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Wayne Stiles’ weekly column provides the best and most concise review of the significance of Bethlehem that I have read. You might bookmark this one for future lessons or sermons.

Yoni Cohen investigates some sites in Israel related to the festival of Hanukkah.

One of 107 cuneiform texts recently published depicts the great king Nebuchadnezzar.

Oded Borowski reviews Eilat Mazar’s new book Discovering the Solomonic Wall in Jerusalem: A Remarkable Archaeological Adventure.

Did the Magi give Jesus frankincense and myrrh because they cure arthritis?

Travelujah has the full run-down of Christmas services in Bethlehem and Jerusalem.

A retired professor, preaching tomorrow about Bethlehem in north Texas, has been to Israel 69 times.

The Star-Telegram tells his story.

Merry Christmas to all!

Bethlehem from north, tb092405372

Bethlehem from the north
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A Byzantine-period bathhouse has been discovered near Moshav Tarum north of Beth Shemesh.

A cuneiform inscription discovered in the Tas-Silg sanctuary on Malta is now the westernmost such inscription known.

Haaretz reports on an archaeologist who believes he is close to finding the true tombs of the Maccabees.

Preston Sprinkle asks if Jesus was born at an inn and if he was a carpenter.

Leon Mauldin shares some photos of the traditional site of Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem and of a stone manger possibly similar to one used for the newborn.

Ferrell Jenkins links to some previous posts about the birth of Jesus and Christmas.

Aren Maeir’s idea of a Hanukkah/Christmas gift is to share one letter from an inscription found at Gath.

As far as we know, he was never known as “Herod the Great” during his lifetime. Ferrell Jenkins explains why a better appellation is “Herod the Small.”

The Bible and Interpretation is sharing one of my favorite photos of Jerusalem today (click on the thumbnail for large version).

Bryant Wood will be giving a series of lectures at Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary on March 14, 2012. His topic will be “Archaeology and the Conquest: New Evidence on an Old Problem.”

The Daily Mail publishes an illustrated account of one visitor’s five-day visit to Jordan and its main attraction, Petra.

The Jerusalem Post suggests 10 things to do over Christmas in the Holy Land. For the first time ever, live-size nativity scenes will be set up in Bethlehem and Jerusalem. Item 9 explains how you can celebrate Christmas three times this season.

HT: Charles Savelle, Jack Sasson, Joseph Lauer

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From MSNBC:

MEXICO CITY – City authorities have set up a nativity scene —  certified by Guinness Records as the largest in the world — as part of their Christmas festivities.
The nativity scene, which cost $2 million to create, sprawls across the parking lot of the giant Azteca stadium.
The scene, which covers 215,000 square feet — larger than four football fields, has 5,000 figures portraying 57 biblical passages related to the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem.
Organizers said that it took architects, engineers, designers and historians 70 days to create the project, which was unveiled by Mayor Marcelo Ebrard on Wednesday, 17 days before Christmas.

The full story and a photo is here. NTD has a two-minute video news report. They expect more than one million visitors in the next month.

HT: BibleX

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Some of our Christmas-related posts from previous years may be of interest to readers who were not with us then or who may enjoy a review.

“No Room in the Inn” – there is no “inn” in the story of Jesus’ birth

The Star of Bethlehem – an attempt to explain why the church ornament has 14 points

Bethlehem Booked for Christmas – last year there was no room in the inn

Top Ten Things To Do in Jerusalem in Winter – you might also consider watching the sun rise over the Mount of Olives from atop the “Tower of David”

Watching Their Flocks by Night – a pastoral scene recalling the angelic announcement

Merry Christmas – a nativity scene from Bethlehem in the early 1900s

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In follow-ups to yesterday’s story, Nadav Shragai writes that the Mughrabi Bridge must be built. The city engineer is threatening to destroy the temporary bridge. The Muslim Waqf says that they are sovereign over all.

A preliminary report from excavations at Gezer from 2006-2009 is now online. Elsewhere excavator Sam Wolff writes that they are a season or two away from floor levels associated with the (Solomonic) six-chambered gate.

Jerusalem plans to develop an extensive archaeological site 30 feet (10 m) below the plaza at Jaffa Gate in order to share with the public a 220-foot (70-m) aqueduct, a Byzantine bathhouse, and other remains.

Haaretz’s Week’s End has an interesting article on the Cairo Geniza and ambitious plans to digitize all 350,000 fragments.

A couple of Tel Aviv archaeologists would like to move some of historic Jerusalem from the City of
David to the Rephaim Valley. Lipschits and Na’aman have proposed that the King’s Garden was located not where the Kidron and Hinnom Valleys meet but on one end of Emek Refaim Street in west Jerusalem.

The Oriental Institute in Chicago will run an exhibit entitled “Picturing the Past: Imaging and Imagining the Ancient Middle East” from February 6 to September 2, 2012.


A Biblical Chronology from Abraham to Paul is a new book by Andrew E. Steinmann. Justin Taylor has links to his OT and NT Chronologies as well as a 48-page excerpt from his book. It seems to agree with standard conservative views except that Jesus was born in 1 BC. [Note: be prepared for sticker shock. Perhaps you can ask your library to purchase a copy.]

Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has begun a list of Archaeological Excavations in 2012.

A photograph of McDonalds at Masada has prompted the site archaeologist to write an article in Haaretz. The photogapher [sic] has rejected the charges.

Thousands of people pass by the place where the ark of the covenant rested every day. Wayne Stiles explains the significance of Kiriath Jearim (and, unlike most, he gets the chronology right!).

The Big Picture celebrates Sukkot.

Israel’s prime minister and education minister are urging everyone to vote for the Dead Sea as one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature. The Dead Sea is one of 28 finalists. Voting ends on November 11.

HT: Joseph Lauer, Jack Sasson

Sunrise over Dead Sea at En Gedi, tb021906180

The Dead Sea at sunrise
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