Judah Archives - Page 37 of 40

Bethlehem Church of Nativity To Be Restored

The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem was built in the middle of the 6th century, making it more than 1400 years old. Unlike Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulcher, it escaped the Persian destruction in 614 and the Egyptian attack in 1009. The church not only suffers from age, but from the inability of its occupants to cooperate with each other. But now the Palestinian Authority has announced plans to renovate the church. From the Associated Press:

The Palestinian government announced Monday it is planning an ambitious restoration project for the ancient church that marks the traditional birthplace of Jesus, an important Christian site that draws millions of visitors.
The renovation of Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity is expected to take several years and millions of dollars, according to Ziad Bandak, an official overseeing the restoration.
Bandak said this is the first comprehensive restoration project on the church since it was completed in the fourth century. He said the roof, pillars and mosaics in the church all need work.
“Rain leaking in has caused great damage to all of those, which led us to move quickly to repair the damage,” Bandak said, adding that the project would also aim to fix general wear and tear on the centuries-old church.
The fortress-like church, built in the classic style with a long central area under a basilica lined with columns on both sides, is dark and damp. The main Christmas event, the Midnight Mass, is celebrated in the 19th century St. Catherine’s Church next door to the Church of the Nativity.
The Palestinian government has appealed to European and Arab nations to help fund the project, Bandak said. He said the three churches that administer sections of the church have agreed to the project. Officials from the Latin, Greek and Armenian churches could not be reached for comment. Their rivalries have often led to fistfights between monks at the holy site.

The full story is here. For modern photos of the church, see this Pictorial Library volume. For historic black-and-white photos, see this American Colony CD.

Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem

Tagged Judah, Tourism

Weekend Roundup

The Turkish government is building a 10-foot high wall around a cemetery along the eastern wall of the Old City of Jerusalem, according to signs posted there. The municipality has confirmed the report.

John the Baptist’s bones have been found in a monastery on a Bulgarian island in the Black Sea, according to government officials. They have everything to prove the identification except for evidence.

Extracts of the Cyrus Cylinder have been found in China carved on horse bones. The question is when the copies were made.

The French will finance a “national museum” in Bethlehem and train museographers, in a one million dollar deal signed recently. Construction is scheduled to be completed in 2012.

The Jewish Tribune has a story on the woman who discovered the Jerusalem cuneiform tablet.

Contrary to what I wrote before, the tablet was actually discovered during sifting in March. I mixed up a couple of different unannounced sensational discoveries.

Raphael Golb, accused of impersonating Dead Sea Scrolls scholars, has rejected a plea offer in Manhattan Criminal Court. For background, see here.

HT: Joe Lauer

Tagged Dead Sea, Jerusalem, Judah, Pseudo-Archaeology

Weekend Roundup

Yesterday was the first day of excavation in the history of Tell Burna (Bornat). They have already uncovered fortifications. Maybe one of these days someone will go back to Azekah. There must be treasures untold there.

Last week’s LandMinds show was entitled “Mystery: Who Built Ramat Rahel?”

The Wall Street Journal runs a brief article on the display on James Henry Breasted at the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago.

Hershel Shanks has written an autobiography, but it is entitled Freeing the Dead Sea Scrolls and Other Adventures of an Archaeology Outsider. My bet is that it’s an interesting read. Whatever you think of his ideas and approach, Shanks has had a significant impact on biblical archaeology. The NYT has a brief article in connection to the book’s release.

Logos Bible Software has a prepublication special entitled “Travels through Bible Lands Collection” (now $130). The description claims that “these fifteen volumes embody some of the best travel writing of the nineteenth century.” That could be, though I’ve never heard of the majority of the authors or titles.

Perhaps you didn’t know that you could subscribe to the BiblePlaces Blog on the Kindle. This blog is reviewed in that context at the Kindle Blog Report.

HT: Joe Lauer

Tagged Judah, Resources, Shephelah, Weekend Roundup

Merry Christmas

Nativity scene in Bethlehem, early 1900s

“And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn” (Luke 2:4-7).

The photograph is taken from the “Christmas Story” on the Traditional Life and Customs volume of The American Colony and Eric Matson Collection (Library of Congress, LC-matpc-05495).

Tagged American Colony Photos, Judah

Watching Their Flocks by Night

“And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night” (Luke 2:8).

The photo is taken from the Traditional Life and Customs volume of The American Colony and Eric Matson Collection (Library of Congress, LC-matpc-05403).

Tagged American Colony Photos, Judah

Scribe at Work in Masada Synagogue

Visitors to the Masada synagogue will be able to watch a scribe making a copy of a Torah scroll.

From Arutz-7:

A ritual scribe has begun spending his days behind a glass wall in the famous Masada synagogue – writing a Torah scroll to be installed there.
The young scribe, Shai Abramovitch, moved from the northern city of Tzfat, together with his wife and three young children, to the Negev city of Arad, in order to be able to carry out and complete the project. He will make the 45-minute Arad-Massada trek each morning after immersing in a mikveh (ritual bath) – a customary prelude to ritual scribes’ work – and will return after seven and a half hours of painstaking writing.
His glass-enclosed“office” is in the very spot used as a synagogue by hundreds of Jews who found refuge from the Romans on Masada some 2,000 years ago. Hard at work throughout the day, the scribe can be seen through the glass by the many tourists who visit the famous site.
Rabbi Abramovitch’s job “is not easy,” commented Rabbi Shimon Elharar, director of the closest Chabad chapter, Chabad-Lubavitch of the Dead Sea. “There are at least 800,000 people a year who come through that synagogue, and he will be working in a place designed somewhat like an incubator. It’s a little like working in an aquarium.”
In addition, scribe Abramovitch takes a break a few times a day to come out and explain the holy work of writing Torah scrolls, tefillin, mezuzot and more.

The story continues here.

HT: Paleojudaica

Tagged Dead Sea, Judah, New Exhibits