Todd Bolen, Author at BiblePlaces.com

Why Is There Little Evidence for David’s Kingdom?

Several dozen helpful articles are included in the recent work edited by James K. Hoffmeier and Dennis R. Magary, Do Historical Matters Matter to Faith?: A Critical Appraisal of Modern and Postmodern Approaches to Scripture. In one of the articles, Michael G. Hasel addresses the lack of evidence for the United Monarchy in Israel. I thought that the points were worth sharing.

1. The heartland of the kingdom of David and Solomon is largely inaccessible to archaeologists because of the political situation in Judea and Samaria (the “West Bank”).

2. Of the sites excavated, many have not been fully published. Jerusalem is one such example.

3. Archaeological remains have faced massive destruction over the centuries.

4. The ancient peoples left limited texts to help us assess what they left behind.

5. Interpretations are tentative and can change within a season. Hasel cites the discovery of the Tel Dan Inscription against those who were then claiming that David and his kingdom were mythical.

For development of each point, see “New Excavations at Khirbet Qeiyafa and the Early History of Judah,” pages 477-96 in the book. For a full list of articles, see this previous post. The paperback sells for $23, and the Kindle version is under $10.

Tagged Resources

Weekend Roundup

Shmuel Browns has a roundup of interesting items he has discovered as a guide this week, and he’s soliciting suggestions for a name for the series.

Seth Rodriquez illustrates each region of the land of Israel.

The presentations from “Managing Archaeological Data in the Digital Age: Best Practices and Realities” are now online.

Nearly $2 million has been spent to restore the archaeological remains of the Nabatean city of Avdat after vandals attacked it.

The Cyrus Cylinder will make its first appearance in the U.S. on March 9 at the Smithsonian.

GigaPan has some extremely high-resolution panoramic images of Jerusalem.

HT: Jack Sasson, Michael Oliver

The Nabatean city of Avdat
Photo from the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands

Tagged Jerusalem, Museums, Technology, Tourism, Weekend Roundup

Video below the Temple Mount

After reading Seth’s post yesterday on the interior passageway of Barclay’s Gate, Daniel Wright went looking and found some video taken in the same room.

This first video is a short clip of just that room, today the Mosque of Buraq (Muhammad’s horse).

This second video is a little longer and goes through other rooms underneath Al Aqsa Mosque. Here again the ancient spaces are put to use. In some places you can see Herodian stones. The video ends, I believe, with a walk through the “Double Gate” passageway.

These videos are valuable because very few non-Muslims are allowed to see these places.

Note: Those receiving this by email will need to click through to view the videos.

Tagged Jerusalem, Temple Mount

Wednesday Roundup

Mark Hoffman comments on BibleX’s picture-taking tips and adds some suggestions of his own.

Time is reporting on Simcha Jacobovici’s lawsuit against Joe Zias. Aren Maeir isn’t happy with the article’s title: “A Feud Between Biblical Archaeologists.”

The Sea of Galilee is up to within 6 feet of capacity.

Raphael Golb’s appeal resulted in the vacating of one count and the affirmation of 30 other counts.

The NY Times is calling it “The Great Giveback,” as American museums hand over prized antiquities due to threats by foreign governments.

You can take a “virtual tour” of the tabernacle at the Creation Museum website. Click on this link and then select “The Tabernacle.”

The Dead Sea Scrolls are headed for Boston.

HT: Joseph Lauer, Jack Sasson, David Coppedge

Tagged Galilee, Museums, Weekend Roundup

More Recent Excavations in Jerusalem

Binyanē Ha-Umma (South): Finds included cooking pots from the first century, brick and roof tile debris from the Tenth Legion pottery workshop, and four coins.

Shu‛fat: A survey a couple of miles north of Damascus Gate identified 64 sites including an Iron II farmhouse, two Second Temple period tombs (one with a Latin inscription), nine tumuli, a Roman road, a large quarry, and more.

Mount Zion: An excavation was conducted in the courtyard south of the building that houses David’s Tomb and the Upper Room. The five strata excavated date from the Byzantine to the modern period.The excavation was prematurely halted at a depth of 5 feet when the archaeologists reached bones. “Further excavations will clarify if a massive wall from the fourth century CE was indeed exposed at the bottom of the trial square.”

The Old City, IDF House: Located along the Street of the Chain to the west of the Western Wall prayer plaza, this excavation identified primarily remains from the Ottoman period.

Quarry in Shu’fat. Photo by IAA.

Tagged Excavations, Jerusalem

New Resource: Satellite Bible Atlas

There is a fabulous new resource available that I’m delighted to be the first to tell you about. For the last four years when teaching seminary and church groups in Israel, I’ve had as the class guide an outstanding resource that nobody else could buy. I joked with my last group that this book cost $3,640 because they could only get it by coming with me on the trip. The other option was to enroll as a student in one of the short- or long-term study programs at The Master’s College’s campus in Israel for even more money. Today, for the first time ever, you can purchase your own copy of the Satellite Bible Atlas. This new work by Bill Schlegel replaces the venerable Student Map Manual but is superior to it in many ways. One obvious advantage is that you don’t have to spend 60+ hours marking it before it is usable! All the historical markings are printed in bright colors on top of satellite map imagery. Another advantage is that the commentary is on facing pages with the maps, so you have easy access to everything that is going on. If you want more, you can download the free, 200-page expanded commentary, The Land and the Bible: A Historical Geographical Companion to the Satellite Bible Atlas. This resource is ready for personal use, classroom use, and field trip use. The author, Bill Schlegel, has been teaching college and seminary students in Israel for 25 years. Everything in the Satellite Bible Atlas is field-tested by a professor who knows God’s land and loves God’s Word. Here are 7 more reasons I love the Satellite Bible Atlas: 1. The maps are full-size, full color, and full of rich detail of the hills, wadis, plains, and passes. 2. There are 85 maps which means that every major historical event is covered, from Abraham to Paul. Too often the New Testament gets short-changed in atlases, but not here: the Satellite Bible Atlas has 9 maps for the life of Christ and 6 for the apostolic period. 3. The Satellite Bible Atlas includes 17 detailed topographical maps without historical markings. These are ideal for getting the best view of the terrain as well as both ancient and modern sites. 4. I fully trust the markings and the commentary. There are not many works in this field for which I can say that. 5. The north-orientation of the maps means there is no immediate learning curve as there was with the previous atlas we used which put east at the top. I put this atlas in the hands of my church group last year and they were immediately off and running. Several have commented to me in the last few weeks that they regularly use the Satellite Bible Atlas as they read the Bible. 6. The atlas comes with a free copy of all the maps in digital (jpg) format. You will receive a link to download the maps with your order confirmation. 7. For $30, plus $3 shipping and tax where applicable, you get an excellent atlas at an outstanding price. (For an additional discount on purchases of 10 or more copies, contact us.) Check out the sample maps, the table of contents, endorsements, teaching videos, and the free downloads. You can order here.

Tagged Historical Geography, Resources