The tomb of the Apostle Paul was allegedly discovered a couple of years ago and now there are reports that Pope Benedict XVI has given permission for the tomb to be opened. Apparently an endoscopic probe will be put through a hole in the tomb in order to transmit images. There doesn’t seem to be much online about this yet, but you can see this blog and WorldNetDaily for more.
The newly discovered church at Shiloh was discussed on this blog last December, but Israel Today has a little blurb online with some details I unaware of. The full story is available only by subscription to the print magazine, but this much is online:
The floor of the worship sanctuary is decorated with brightly colored mosaics and many of the inscriptions refer to Yeshua (Jesus). The original church was built in 380 AD. It was probably destroyed by a flood and later replaced by a new building, based on information gleaned from the inscriptions. Aharonovitch says one of the inscriptions is particularly unusual as it mentions the name Shiloh: “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on Seilun [Shiloh] and its inhabitants, Amen.” “This is very rare and indicates that the early Christians revered this place as a holy shrine,” Aharonovitch said.
I don’t see anything else online with more details than were initially reported.
I taught my first college-level tours in Israel when I was 21, and for the past 14 years, I have led many student groups of various shapes and sizes. Here are some suggestions that I believe make for a better tour of Israel, with varying applicability depending upon the group.
1. Do the more mentally challenging sites in the morning. Students are more ready to learn when they are less tired. For instance, if you’re visiting the sites north of the Sea of Galilee, I think it’s better to go to Hazor and Dan in the morning and drive across the Golan Heights in the afternoon.
2. 
Whenever possible, keep subject-related sites together. For instance, in the Galilee area, I find it best to group the sites related to the life of Christ together on a single day. This is preferable to bouncing back and forth between various periods. This is not always possible, as, for instance, it isn’t practical to visit En Gedi (more OT-related) and Masada (more NT-related) on different days.
3. Always prepare the group. Surprises are usually bad. Warn them the day before if the next day is going to be especially physical, or particularly late, or generally boring. Almost more important than reality are the expectations. I can almost make a lame site good just by thoroughly disparaging it in advance!
4. Don’t talk too much. If you do, they won’t hear what is important. The goal is not to show off how much you know but to help them understand.
5. Sometimes less is more. It might be better for the group to skip a site than to squeeze it in. It may be better for you to skip an explanation than to give it.
6. Skip more impressive (non-biblical) remains in favor of a less impressive site with a biblical story. I’ll skip Beth Shearim, but never Tel Jezreel. I’ll skip Sepphoris, but not Nazareth. I’ll skip Avdat, but not Arad.
7. Read the Bible where it happened. Don’t skip this for your explanation. You can’t always read every biblical story on site, but it is better to err on the side of too many than not enough.
8. Don’t be afraid to confess ignorance. If you pretend you know and are then shown to be in error, you lose credibility. If you don’t have credibility, you’re just a chauffeur.
9. Lunch breaks are for eating. When you’re done eating, get moving.
10. Do what the group does, even if you’ve done it a hundred times and hate it. If you skip walking through Hezekiah’s tunnel, or you skip watching the Qumran video, it communicates that this is your job and not your passion.
11. Try hard. They’ll see it and they’ll follow your example.
12. Leave on time. If everyone is not there, leave anyway. If you don’t, they learn that deadlines don’t matter and within a week, you’ll consistently be 15 minutes (or more) late leaving everywhere. And then you miss cool things or won’t be able to do #7.
13. Wait for the group. When you’re at a site, wait until everyone catches up before beginning the explanation. This communicates that what you say is important, and it reduces the number of questions about the things you already said.
14. Give them time to take pictures after the explanation. If you don’t, they’ll take pictures when you’re teaching and they won’t be listening.
15. Love what you do. For me this means not giving tour after tour after tour. If I do, I am not excited anymore. Many tour guides are boring because they are bored. And no wonder, when they do the same tired itinerary week after week.
16. Different guides have different priorities that define the day. Here are some of mine:
- The first view of the Sea of Galilee is from Arbel, always in the afternoon. This creates a lasting memory.
- Take a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee in the afternoon. This is a good change of pace, and afternoons need changes of pace more than mornings. In the summer, it’s a refreshing break from the heat.
- Visit Mount Carmel (Muhraqa) in the afternoon. It is one of the top three views in the country and there is often poor visibility in the morning.
- I never skip the Cove of the Sower, even though it’s become more difficult over the years. There’s less traffic early in the morning.
- I like to visit Cave 1 at Qumran, especially since very few people know where it is.
- Tagged Travels
The Biblical Archaeology Society is having a summer sale on DVDs that looks pretty good. For instance, the BAS Lecture Series Deluxe Set I is $80 and includes 9 DVDs with 15 lectures. Some of the lecturers are leaders in the field, including William G. Dever, Michael D. Coogan, Bart Ehrman, James Tabor, Aren Maier, and Shelley Wachsman. A bonus lecture by Dever includes his personal memories of famous archaeologists. I haven’t seen these, but good lecture series usually require a plane ticket and an entrance fee of $25 and up. There’s a second series for $62 which includes 12 lectures. Some of the topics seem a bit esoteric, and some of the lectures I don’t think you’d want to show to a church group, but for many who can’t go to grad school, this is one option.
- Tagged Resources
I have been alerted to a couple of articles related to Paul’s shipwreck on Malta. These are largely in response to a recent popular theory by Robert Cornuke. According to the author, Mark Gatt:
My greatest concern now is a relatively new thesis that the shipwreck occurred on the Munxar reef near Marsascala. Just because 4 or 6 roman anchors were found near the Munxar reef, a myth has been fabricated claiming a completely different site and totally ignoring our traditions. In his book The Lost Shipwreck of Paul, Robert Cornuke has traced the finding of such roman anchors and has unconvincingly created this myth. I have no archaeological or scholastic pretences, I am an avid scuba diver and my knowledge is limited to these islands, both above and below sea level, local tradition and The Acts of The Apostles. With this limited arsenal of knowledge I shall attempt to rebut the cause for Munxar as described in this book.
The articles are:
St. Paul’s Lost Shipwreck: Has the site been truly discovered?
Lead Anchor Stock Discovered: Could this anchor have come from St. Paul’s Shipwreck?
At the beginning of this year, Hershel Shanks of the Biblical Archaeology Society sponsored a conference in Jerusalem on the matter of recent alleged forgeries. This was a private, by-invitation-only meeting for scholars to speak freely on very controversial matters. I knew about it but expected to never see anything about it, because of the subject’s sensitivity. But Shanks has just released a very detailed report from the conference that is, in my opinion, absolutely fascinating. The subject is of interest to me because
1) everyone loves a good cat fight;
2) some of the challenged inscriptions have biblical relevance;
3) you learn about a lot of other things in the process;
4) the way in which the IAA handled the issue was deplorable;
5) the most vocal on this subject have been the nay-sayers. Thus some have declared that “everyone” thinks all of the questioned artifacts are fakes. I don’t personally care if any or all are fakes; they don’t change my view of the Bible or archaeology. But I have been disturbed by those who claim to know scholarly opinion but who do not. This record gives a more balanced perspective, showing where there is broad agreement (James Ossuary inscription is authentic) and where there is not (Jehoash Inscription).
You can get this report for free, and I consider this a nice present from BAS, which went to no small expense to hold the proceeding and then to compile the report. You have to submit your email address in order to get the link, but you can always unsubscribe to the newsletter later. There are three separate items available.
1. The Report: This 30-page document gives the background of the conference, including who came, who wanted to, and who didn’t respond. Then five inscriptions are reviewed, with relevant comments from the attending scholars.
2. The Report’s Appendix: At 84 pages, this work primarily consists of abstracts by conference participants (plus a few who couldn’t make it). Another section looks at a photo
of the alleged forger (Oded Golan) from the 1970s which shows the inscribed ossuary in his home.
3. A 30-minute talk by Gabriel Barkay on ten points scholars should agree on. This is also available in printed form at the end of the Appendix. The mp3 file does not require registration.
This isn’t the final word on the subject, but it’s certainly a step in the right direction. There are many good nuggets in the report, but since the report is free and time is short, I’ll let you discover them for yourself. Perhaps some other bloggers will discuss the report at greater length.
- Tagged Forgery
