Sample BiblePlaces Newsletter Vol 5, #3 -
September 6, 2006
I am frequently asked if life is exciting in Israel. It is, but
usually not for the reasons one might think from watching CNN.
While the recent war with Lebanon greatly affected life in the
northern part of the country, most of the country including Tel Aviv
and the Jerusalem area (where I live) was undisturbed. Political
opinions abound as to the cause and results of the war, but I think
most are agreed that difficult days are ahead for this region, given
the increasing enmity between Israel, Lebanon, Syria, and Iran.
This month's featured photographs are from the Istanbul
Archaeological Museum. A large part of this museum (including the
Syria-Palestine wing) was closed for many years, but now everything is
open to the public. If you're surprised to find so much of
relevance to the Bible in Turkey, remember two things: 1) Most of Paul's
missionary journeys were in modern Turkey; 2) The Ottoman Empire
controlled Palestine until World War I, and thus many important finds
were taken from the Holy Land to the capital. I highly recommend a
visit, but plan at least one full day to see the large and impressive
collection. For some free photos of important artifacts, see
below.
Todd Bolen
Editor, BiblePlaces.com
Assoc. Professor, The Master's College
Israel
Bible Extension (IBEX), Judean
Hills, Israel
BiblePlaces now speaks French.
It's taken about a year, but thanks to the heroic efforts of Mr.
Philippe Viguier, BibléLieux is
now ready to share the best photos and descriptions of biblical sites to
readers in France, Algérie, Bénin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroun, Cap
vert, Centrafrique,
Comores, Congo Brazzaville, Côte d'ivoire, Djibouti, Gabon, Guinée,
Guinée-Bissau, Guinée-Equatoriale, Haiti, La Réunion, Les Seychelles,
Madagascar, Maurice, Mali, Maroc, Mauritanie, Monaco, Niger, République
démocratique du Congo, Rwanda, Sénégal, Suisse, Tchad, Togo, Tunisie and
Québec.
If you're a French speaker, hop on
over and explore the biblical world.
If you're an English speaker, you can do one of the following:
Practice your French and
see beautiful pictures at the same time.
Tell all of your Canadian, African and French friends about it.
Take a few minutes to learn something (in English) about a
biblical site that you don't know much about, such as
Chorazin,
Michmash, or
Gezer.
The Best, and More of It
This summer we have significantly improved the
ordering features of BiblePlaces.com. For instance,
1. All regular U.S. shipping is free, regardless of quantity
ordered! (Beat that, Amazon!) Prices for priority shipping are
reasonable.
2. The prices on the Pictorial Library CDs have been reduced.
3. You can now order CDs from the Pictorial Library and the Historic
Views collection together, in a single order.
4. For the first time ever, the Pictorial Library is now available on
2 DVDs (better than 10 CDs if you have a DVD drive on your
computer).
5. The best helicopter footage of Israel is now available through
BiblePlaces.com. Produced by Preserving Bible Times, Inc., the
4
Above Israel DVDs have fantastic videos of the biblical sites
from the air. And we have the best price and service in the world
(and free shipping).
6. The collections are now available in bundles, for the greatest
savings ever. The "Ultimate Teaching Kit" includes
everything we've got (22 volumes) for 40% off.
If there's anything we're missing, let us know. We think we've
got it all covered and there's no reason to order anywhere else.
As always, everything has a satisfaction guarantee, no questions asked,
no strings attached.
Featured BiblePlaces Photos:
Istanbul Museum
The Istanbul Archaeology Museum contains a wealth of artifacts
related to the Bible and biblical lands. The significance of its
collection for biblical studies is only behind the Israel Museum in
Jerusalem and the British Museum in London. Founded in 1891, some
wings of the museum show their age and other parts are newly renovated
with a beautiful display of the artifacts.
Each photo is linked to a higher-resolution
version which may be used freely for personal and educational purposes.
Commercial use requires separate permission. These photos, plus a
bonus, are also
available for download 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 series.
Code of Hammurapi
Click picture for higher-resolution version.
Famous as an early law code with parallels to the
Mosaic covenant, the Code of Hammurapi (also Hammurabi) was written
in the first half of the 18th century B.C. by the king of Babylon.
This clay tablet was found in Nippur and dates to approximately 1790
B.C. A complete text of the code was discovered on a stela in
Iran and is now on display in the Louvre Museum, Paris.
Gezer Calendar
Click picture
for higher-resolution version.
One of the oldest Hebrew inscriptions
from Israel, the Gezer Calendar is a limestone tablet approximately 4
inches (10 cm) tall. The inscription describes the agricultural
cycle by months, and dates to the time of Solomon (mid-10th century
B.C.). Evidence of erasing suggests that this tablet was used for
writing practice by students.
Cylinder Annal of Nebuchadnezzar
Click picture
for higher-resolution version.
Most famous to Bible readers as the
Babylonian king who destroyed Jerusalem and the first Temple,
Nebuchadnezzar II described some of his temple construction projects on
this cylinder. Inscribed in the first half of the 6th century
B.C., the cylinder mentions Nebuchadnezzar's building works at temples
for the gods Marduk, Nabu, Shamash, and Ishtar at the cities of Babylon,
Borsippa, Larsa, and Sippar.
Emperor Augustus
Click picture
for higher-resolution version.
This bust of Emperor Augustus was found at Pergamum, one of
the cities that received a letter in the Book of Revelation. Augustus
(formerly known as Octavian) ruled the Roman empire from 27 B.C. to 14 A.D.
and was mentioned by Luke in the narrative of Jesus' birth. Augustus
is generally viewed as a brilliant but brutal ruler.
Altar to Nameless God
Click picture for
higher-resolution version.
On his visit to Athens, Paul commented on an altar he had
seen dedicated "to an unknown god" (Acts 17:23). The above-pictured
altar was found at Palmyra and dates to a later time (2nd-3rd centuries
A.D.), but it was dedicated to the "nameless god." The polytheistic
society of that time feared failing to worship one of the deities, thereby
incurring his wrath.
A Warrior's Armor
Click picture for
higher-resolution version.
Paul describes the armor of a warrior in his letter to the
Ephesians (chapter 6), and this gravestone from the 1st century B.C. gives
us an idea of the battle gear of the New Testament times. The tomb
belonged to Ariston the Warrior and his wife Gykeia and the relief displays
personal possessions of the couple.
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A newsletter on subjects related
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All contents (c) 2006 Todd Bolen. Text and
photographs may be used for personal and educational use.
Commercial use requires written permission.
