BiblePlaces Newsletter
Vol 7, #2 - April 8, 2008


There's a lot going on in the "biblical world"; one only needs to look at the BiblePlaces Blog to see that.  And I let pass by at least half of the potential stories that I see.  If you want to stay as informed as possible, some good sources for the stories are Paleojudaica, Leen Ritmeyer's blog, Explorator, and the Biblical Archaeology Society's "breaking news" section.  Another resource that I've intended to mention for some time: Biblical Studies and Technological Tools.  This is a fantastic resource, especially for Bible teachers.  Readers of this newsletter will want to note in particular Mark's presentation on "Digital Resources for Biblical Mapping."

So far we're doing good.  With this newsletter, we've already equaled the total number of BiblePlaces Newsletters in 2007.  Our plan is to send one every other month, and for 2008, we're on schedule.  The problem isn't having great photos to share, it's the time to put it all together.  I'm now enrolled full-time in a PhD program and my slave drivers are jealous of other masters.

The featured photos this month come with a bonus.  Don't miss the last image with a link to an additional PowerPoint file.  This PowerPoint includes satellite views of Corinth, with very helpful markings of what you are looking at. 

Todd Bolen
Editor, BiblePlaces.com
 

 


News from the BiblePlaces Blog...

Golf Where Jesus Prayed - A course for the super-rich is planned for the Arbel mountain overlooking the Sea of Galilee...

New Blog: Tel Dan Excavations - The place to find updates of the summer dig, plus a few of my thoughts about the Tel Dan Inscription...

Tiberias Archaeological Park - Results of the recent excavations in this city on the shore of the Sea of Galilee are to be opened to the public...

Sea of Galilee Discovered - Reactions to such a discovery are imagined on April Fool's Day...

   
  Sunset over the Sea of Galilee  

Temple Mount Sifting Project: Video - A 5-minute overview of the "excavation" of debris illegally removed from the Temple Mount...

"60 Minutes" on the James Ossuary - If you're looking for honest reporting, try a different channel...

Iron Age Seal Found in Jerusalem - The personal "signature" of Netanyahu, son of Yaush, was found in excavations in the Western Wall plaza...

ANET for Logos - An important collection of extrabiblical texts is announced for Logos Bible Software...

Current BAR Issue Online - The entire March/April issue of Biblical Archaeology Review is available to the public online...

And more...
 


Recommended Software:
Bible Mapper

I recently worked on a project that required me to create some maps and I thought I would share a few tips for those who might be interested in making their own.

First, I'm using Bible Mapper.  This program has lots of functions which makes it easy to add and remove cities, insert labels, etc.  The program used to cost $35, but it is now free.  It does require a free registration key from the author to unlock all of the features.  (Note, however, that no technical support is available.)

Second, let's say I want to make a map of Turkey.  I only want to include certain places, and this requires that I remove some of the ones already listed.  That's easy.  Adding sites that aren't already defined is naturally a bit more work, but this too is not hard with several free resources.

Let's say I want to put Catal Huyuk on the map.  This is an important Neolithic site, but it's not already in the map program (I had to pick a lesser-known site like this one, because all of the biblical sites are already listed; if you're just teaching about the biblical sites, you may never have to do this).  To get the location coordinates for it, I go to the Wikipedia article.  If I want to get a close-up look at the site with a satellite view (or to verify the coordinates), I can then copy the coordinates to Google Earth.  Alternately, I can click on the coordinates in Wikipedia which brings me to a list of maps that I can locate the site on, including Google Earth.  It also gives the coordinates in decimal form which I can copy over to Bible Mapper.

Here's the map I made of Turkey.  It took me about 30 minutes to create this one, but it would take less time for those who don't have as many specific needs as I do.  There is a learning curve in using the Bible Mapper program, but within a few hours I was making maps like this one.  Undoubtedly more savvy individuals could make the map much nicer with all of the options available.

One day I hope to add maps like these to BiblePlaces.com so that one can click a site on the map and immediately go to the relevant page of photos. There are lots of potential uses.

But I should add - and this is a great feature of Bible Mapper - you can use the maps you create for anything!  (From the license: "No copyright restrictions are placed on any maps created with Bible Mapper.")  I'm tired of map makers who won't let you do anything with their maps except show it to your cat (one time only).  Now I have found a solution.

 


Featured BiblePlaces Photos:
Corinth

I imagine that Bible readers today have mixed reactions about a visit to Corinth.  On the one hand, Paul doesn't exactly shower the Christians here with praise in his two New Testament letters to them (see Philippians for a contrast!). On the other hand, the site is very impressive.  Corinth is one of my favorite biblical sites for a few reasons: 1) It's big.  Really big.  Unlike some ancient sites which you can fully see in 10 minutes, you can spend a day at Corinth and not see it all.  2) There are significant remains, including several structures that you can connect to the Bible, or streets that you know Paul walked on.  3) This wasn't a minor place in New Testament history.  Paul lived here - do you know how long? - yes, 18 months on his second missionary journey.  That's longer than his entire first missionary journey and longer than he was anywhere else (as recorded) except Ephesus and jail.  Plus he wrote two letters to the believers here.  Corinth is definitely worth a visit, and plan to give it sufficient time.

A few resources that you might find helpful in learning (or teaching) about Corinth: For commentaries, consider Garland or Blomberg for 1 Corinthians and Garland or Hafemann for 2 Corinthians.  A great guide to the ruins of Corinth and much more is Fant and Reddish, A Guide to Biblical Sites in Greece and Turkey.  If a picture is worth a thousand words, think about picking up the Greece volume of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands ($25).  It includes about 80 photos of the Corinth area, plus another 500 of Philippi, Athens, Thessalonica, etc.

This month's featured photos are recent and unpublished.  Each photo below is linked to a higher-resolution version which may be used freely for personal and educational purposes.  Commercial use requires separate permission.  You may also download these photos in a PowerPoint file (2.1 MB).  For more high-quality, high-resolution photographs and illustrations of biblical sites, purchase the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands or the Historic Views of the Holy Land collections. 

 

Corinth Meat Market


Click picture for higher-resolution version.
 

Archaeologists believe that an area of shops excavated near the forum was the location of a meat market in Corinth.  Not far from the temple of Apollos, some of these shops sold meat that had previously been offered to pagan gods.  The temple priests simply could not eat the amount of meat sacrificed, so they sold it to the local butchers for income.  Early Christians struggled with the problem of whether it was acceptable to eat meat that had been offered to idols (see Rom 14; 1 Cor 8, 10).  One of Paul's conclusions: "Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience, for, 'The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.'" (1 Cor 10:25-26).  The Acrocorinth rises in the background.

 

Corinth Shop


Click picture for higher-resolution version.
 

The ancient city center had many shops, just as modern cities do.  In one of these shops, Aquila and Priscilla had a tent-making business, probably making linen awnings for shops and atriums, among other things.  Paul worked with them for a time, before the arrival of Silas and Timothy freed him up to preach full-time (Acts 18:1-5).  The exact location of Aquila and Priscilla's shop is not known.

 

Fountain of Peirene


Click picture for higher-resolution version.
 

One of the most impressive buildings in ancient Corinth was the Fountain of Peirene.  Built over a spring, the fountain was a central attraction in the city and it was rebuilt many times.  The square courtyard in the foreground was built in Roman times and the walls were paneled with marble.  Beautiful paintings covered the interior walls.

 

Corinth Canal


Click picture for higher-resolution version.
 

While the Corinth Canal is a modern construction, it does draw attention to an important feature of life in ancient Corinth.  Just as the Panama Canal is an important shortcut for traffic, so the Corinth Canal allows (smaller) boats to avoid traveling around the Greek Peloponnese.  While ancient attempts to carve the canal failed, a paved road known as the diolkos crossed the land where today's canal runs, allowing boats to be dragged across the isthmus.  All of the traffic from boat trade contributed to the wealth of ancient Corinth.

 

Temple of Apollo


Click picture for higher-resolution version.
 

Originally built in the 6th century B.C., the Temple of Apollo was the major religious attraction in the ancient city.  The temple was surrounded by 38 columns, of which 7 are standing today.  The sanctuary was restored by the Romans in the 1st century B.C. and would have been well known (but not well liked!) by Paul and his friends.

 

Excavations and Lechaion Road


Click picture for higher-resolution version.
 

Here's a wide-angle perspective of the ruins looking towards the Acrocorinth.  The main road of the city was known as the Lechaion Road because it led to the Lechaion harbor.  A photo of the Lechaion harbor is the title slide of the Satellite Views presentation (see below).

 

Satellite Views


Click image for the Corinth Satellite Views PowerPoint file.
 

This BiblePlaces.com extra features 7 satellite images of the Corinth area, including slides both with and without explanatory markings.  Whether you've been to Corinth or not, these images will help you put all the pieces of this large site together.  We predict that you will love it!  The collection was created by A.D. Riddle using imagery from Google Earth and was contributed by him for BiblePlaces Newsletter readers.

 



FORWARD THIS NEWSLETTER

Please pass this newsletter link on to others.  They can subscribe to this newsletter here.  It is cost-free and spam-free.  Email addresses will never be used for any purpose other than this newsletter.  If you have questions about the subscription process, see this page.

To subscribe or unsubscribe to this newsletter, click here.

 

All contents (c) 2008 Todd Bolen.  Text and photographs may be used for personal and educational use.  Commercial use requires written permission.