Jerusalem Archives - Page 119 of 195

Egyptian Scarab Discovered in City of David

A unique discovery in Jerusalem a couple of weeks ago was surprisingly carried by only one news source—Israel Hayom. Joseph Lauer saw the report and passed it on.

An Egyptian scarab, dating back to the 13th century B.C.E. (the era when some scholars speculate the Exodus may have occurred) was uncovered on Thursday at an excavation sponsored by the Israel Antiquities Authority at the City of David National Park.
The seal is about a centimeter and a half in length and was used to stamp documents.
It bears the name, in Egyptian hieroglyphic writing, of the sun god Amon-Ra, one of Egypt’s most important deities. It is made of soft gray stone and also bears the imprint of a duck, which was apparently one of the sun god’s symbols.
[…]
“This is the first time we’ve found a scarab of this kind in the City of David,” said archaeologist Eli Shukrun, who is directing the dig along with Dr. Joe Uziel.

The full story, with a photo, is here. I wonder why the Israel Antiquities Authority didn’t report this.

Perhaps they had already prepared their Passover story (the recovery of Egyptian coffins) and didn’t want to save it for next year. I’m curious too where they discovered the scarab. I’ll be in the City of David next week and post what I learn.

UPDATE: Aren Maeir has corrected me in the comments below. This is not the first Egyptian scarab found in the City of David. I misread Shukrun’s quote: it’s the first scarab of this kind that he has found in the City of David. The post above has been changed accordingly. My apologies for the error.

Sign at entrance to City of David National Park

Tagged Discoveries, Egypt, Jerusalem

New Book: The Walls of the Temple Mount

Eilat Mazar has released a two-volume work through her own publishing company that is now available from Eisenbrauns. The Walls of the Temple Mount has 320 pages of text in the first volume and 6 fold-out maps in the second. From the publisher’s description:

This volume comprises the most comprehensive and detailed documentation of the walls of the Temple Mount to date, and is meant to serve as an accessible, updated database for anyone taking an interest in the Temple Mount.
The walls of the Temple Mount compound—one of the most magnificent construction enterprises in all of antiquity—reflect the immense scale of King Herod’s vision of some two thousand years ago, a brilliant technological feat of vast dimensions and breathtaking beauty which continues to captivate our imagination even today. This innovative creation occupies a place of honor among the most splendid edifices of the ancient world, and in the cultural legacy of all humankind.

To judge from the $270 price tag, this work is intended primarily for institutional libraries. Given problems with Mazar’s credibility on some recent issues, I will be interested to see a review of this book by Leen Ritmeyer. (Ritmeyer is author of the best book on the Temple Mount, The Quest: Revealing the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, a more affordable volume.)

Northeastern corner of the Temple Mount, one of the highest preserved sections visible

Tagged Jerusalem, Resources

The Resurrection Tomb Mystery on TV

If you want to capture the hearts and minds of the people, you won’t do it through blogs but through TV specials. Whether or not the movie producers really want to convince people to “believe” or just buy the DVD and book is not clear to me, but the The Resurrection Tomb Mystery (aka The Jesus Discovery) puts forth claims that very few scholars have found convincing.

Some of the latest discussion is reviewed by James McGrath, and Mark Goodacre provides a simple summary of the claim.

The claim at the heart of the new documentary is that this tomb belonged to some of Jesus’ disciples, his earliest followers, probably Joseph of Arimathea himself, the man who buried Jesus. The basis for the claim is twofold: (1) One of the ossuaries is said to feature a picture of a fish, pointing downwards, that is spitting out a stick man. They interpret this as depicting the Hebrew Bible’s story of Jonah and the fish, and they suggest that this is being used as a symbol of early Christian resurrection. (2) Another of the ossuaries features an inscription that they interpret as referring to resurrection.

Goodacre is unconvinced, saying that “the case that this tomb belonged to Jesus’ disciples is very weak.” He then provides his top ten problems with the proposed interpretation.

1. Weak circumstantial evidence alone.

2. Handles on a fish?

3. Layered patterns of geometric shapes.

4. The Composite Computer-Generated Image.

5. The original excavators did not see a fish.

6. Fish in the margins.

7. The handled half-fish.

8. The Inscription Does Not Clearly Refer to Resurrection.

9. The Tomb Does Not Clearly Date to the time of Jesus.

10. Witnessing to Resurrection Does Not Make the Tomb Christian.
Goodacre’s blog explains each point. James Tabor has responded here. The spiritual “mission” of the program is to convince viewers that Jesus rose spiritually but not bodily from the grave. Though the producers obscure this by claiming to have discovered an early “high Christology,” their view constitutes a direct attack on historic Christianity as taught by the apostles until today.

And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead (1 Cor 15:14-15).

Tagged Discoveries, Jerusalem

Wednesday Roundup

The first two volumes of Harley and Woodward’s History of Cartography can now be downloaded for free from the University of Chicago Press (a value of more than $1,000). The links to the volume contents and chapter pdfs are on the left sidebar.

I always tell my class that Ramah, Samuel’s hometown, sits at the crossroads. Though it is known today as A-Ram, the geographical dynamic has not changed.

Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary has unveiled its latest acquisition of a Dead Sea Scroll, a fragment from Leviticus.

In Jerusalem and throughout Israel this is Passover/Holy Week/Spring Break:

Nearly half of a million people visited Israel’s parks and nature reserves on Sunday.
Western Christians celebrated Easter in Jerusalem on Sunday.
Large crowds are visiting ancient Aphek/Antipatris but may be unaware of its significance.
The Holy Fire ceremony is on Saturday.

Those posing as Roman soldiers outside of the Colosseum have been thrown to the lions.

Wayne Stiles reveals what Jaffa’s greatest export is.

Two items of particular interest at Christianbook.com this week:

NIV Archaeological Study Bible, Bonded Leather Red 1984, from $85 down to $30.
The Holy Land for $.99.

HT: Bill Soper, A.D. Riddle

Tagged Israel's Coast, Italy, Jerusalem, Resources

Weekend Roundup

The theme of the month at the ASOR Blog is “Fakes, Looting, and Artifacts Lacking Context” and the first few posts are up:

Buyer Beware: Shopping for Artifacts in the Holy Land, by Morag M. Kersel
The Secondary Context Workshop: A Report

At Christianity Today, Gordon Govier reviews the recent Easter archaeology stories of the Talpiot Tomb and the James Ossuary verdict.

Joe Yudin provides a history of the temple as preparation for Passover.

Ferrell Jenkins remembers the Passion Week of Jesus with posts on the Via Dolorosa and Reclining in the Upper Room.

Lois Tverberg offers a free download of “A Taste of Passover” through the end of the month.

If you didn’t sacrifice an animal at the temple yesterday, even though such is commanded for Passover, it is very difficult to understand the price that must be paid for your redemption. The Sacrifice video ($10) by SourceFlix will help.

Sacrifice of lambs at Samaritan Passover

Tagged Forgery, Jerusalem, Weekend Roundup

Wednesday Roundup

Hundreds of pilgrims celebrated Palm Sunday in Jerusalem.

Wayne Stiles visits the Jerusalem of Hezekiah’s time and writes, “I have a faith rooted in history—not mystery. The words on the pages of Scripture are supported by simple elements we can dig out of the ground. They prove nothing, but they support it all.”

The Israel Museum has joined the Google Art Project and “online users will be able to view high-resolution images of 520 pieces from the museum’s collection.” That future tense should be changed to present, as you can see the images here. Beautiful.

A restaurant in Capernaum has been accused of dumping raw sewage into the Sea of Galilee. “This is one of the most serious cases of coastal environmental damage that the Kinneret has encountered thus far,” said a prosecutor.

Cyprus and Israel are collaborating to form a database for archaeology. There is more in common between the pasts of the two countries than many people know. The article does not explain the reason for why this cooperation is occurring only now: a downturn in the relations between Israel and Turkey.

The Mughrabi Bridge saga continues with Israel’s Supreme Court ruling that planning committees have to consider the women’s prayer area as well as security issues in their decisions. An Islamic petitioner claims that the Western Wall plaza falls under the authority of the Waqf. Jordan’s crown prince made a surprise visit to the Temple Mount today to see the Mughrabi Gate.

Turkey is asking for the return of artifacts from the J. Paul Getty Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, the Cleveland Museum of Art and Harvard University’s Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection. “‘Turkey is not trying to start a fight,’ said Murat Suslu, Turkey’s director general for cultural heritage and museums. ‘We are trying to develop…cooperation.’”

The Israel Antiquities Authority recently recovered the covers of two sarcophagi smuggled out of Egypt.

For one week, the Teaching Company is offering a free video lecture by John R. Hale, “Central Turkey—Ankara, Konya, Cappadocia.”

HT: Joseph Lauer, Jack Sasson

Theater of Kourion, Cyprus

Tagged Egypt, Galilee, Holidays, Jerusalem, Mediterranean Islands, Museums, Turkey, Weekend Roundup