James Tabor provides a short report on this summer’s excavations on Mount Zion. A press release is forthcoming on their discovery of the continuation of the Cardo, and a long-term goal is to create an archaeological park showcasing the first-century priestly mansion.


Haaretz reports on the tomb in northern Jordan decorated with spectacular frescoes. This is apparently a re-write of a CNRS News article.

With the beginning of a new Jewish year, The Jerusalem Post writes about discoveries of the past year.

Sergio and Rhoda have create a nice 12-minute video on the recent excavations of el-Araj (Bethsaida?).

Carl Rasmussen visits the likely pool in Jericho where King Herod had his high priest murdered.

The latest at the ASOR Blog: “Life of a Salesman: Trade and Contraband in Ancient Assyria,” by Mathilde Touillon-Ricci.

AJU’s Whizin Center and the Simmons Family Charitable Foundation’s 28th Annual Program in Biblical Archaeology includes a lecture by Michael G. Hasel on “The Age of David and Solomon: New Archaeological Discoveries for the Early Kingdom of Judah” on February 4.

Steven Notley will lecturing at Nyack College on Oct 18, 6:30 pm, on “Finding Bethsaida: Year 3 of the El Araj Excavation Project.”

The Smithsonian Magazine surveys the reviews of the “Out of the Blue” exhibit now at the Bible Lands Museum Jerusalem.

SBL is making available as a free pdf, Invention of the First-Century Synagogue, by Lidia D.
Matassa, with chapters on Jericho, Masada, Herodium, Gamla, and Delos.

On sale for Kindle: Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible ($3)

HT: G. M. Grena, Charles Savelle, Agade, Lois Tverberg, Paleojudaica

This afternoon I taught Psalm 23 in my Psalms class and when I returned to my office, I saw that Brad Gray (Walking the Text) has started a new video series today on Psalm 23, using illustrations, contextual resources, and a drone video.

The first episode focuses on the verse one and is entitled “My Savvy Shepherd.” Brad does a terrific job of shedding light on this familiar passage using the six contextual lenses that he is known for.

Some of the photos that he is using in this series come from our new Psalm 23 volume in our Photo Companion to the Bible series. Brad also lists some other valuable resources for the study of this Psalm. You can subscribe to the weekly video series with iTunes and Google Play.

Walking the Text

A sandstone statue of a sphinx was discovered in excavations at the Kom Ombo temple.

A large and outstanding Assyrian relief from the reign of Ashurnasirpal II is being auctioned in October by Christie’s on behalf of Virginia Theological Seminary.

Egypt is celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the project to save 20 gigantic monuments in the Abu Simbel complex from flooding by moving them to higher ground.

Is it safe to travel to Egypt now? Temma Ecker explains why now is the perfect time to experience Egypt.

The 21st Annual Bible and Archaeology Fest is being held in Denver on November 16 to 18.

Rémy Boucharlat will be lecturing on Pasargadae at the Asia House in London on October 3.

Eisenbrauns is having a 40%-off sale on many ANE works.

AASOR is looking for an editor. NEA is looking for an editor. BASOR is looking for a copyeditor.

Ehsan Yarshater, editor of the Encyclopedia Iranica, died earlier this month.

HT: Agade, Ted Weis

Stanford University researchers believe they’ve found evidence of the world’s oldest brewery in the Raqefet Cave, near Haifa.

Miriam Feinberg Vamosh writes about an ancient convent discovered at a possible site of Hannah’s tomb (Haaretz premium).


Haaretz (premium) has an article on the history of the pomegranate.

Aren Maeir will be teaching a MOOC entitled “Biblical Archaeology: The Archaeology of Ancient Israel and Judah” and a trailer is now out.

There is a conference today on Ctesiphon, and Ferrell Jenkins shares a photo from his visit to this city in Iraq.

Luke Chandler explains why there is an island in the Sea of Galilee now.

Leon Mauldin has written an illustrated post about the revolt of Libnah and Edom.

The Institute of Biblical Culture is offering new courses in October, including the Samaritan Pentateuch and Ancient Near Eastern Texts.

New from Oxford University Press: The Oxford Illustrated History of the Holy Land, edited by H. G. M. Williamson and Robert G. Hoyland.

HT: Ted Weis, Agade, Steven Anderson, Gordon Franz

More than 1,000 Hellenistic-era seal impressions were recently discovered in excavations at Maresha.

Underwater archaeologists are searching the sea near Dor in advance of the construction of a gas pipeline.

US military veterans are participating in excavations at Beth Shearim in a program providing therapy for PTSD.

A plan to build a cable car to transport visitors to the Western Wall in Jerusalem is not making everyone happy.

The Tower of David Museum in Jerusalem now offers a virtual reality tour that visits nine vantage points in the Old City.

The IAA is opposed to plans by the Temple Mount Faithful to hold a concert in the excavations area south of the Temple Mount.

The 12th annual conference on “New Studies in the Archaeology of Jerusalem and its Vicinity” will be held next month. Aren Maeir has posted the program.

Joel Kramer has announced the dates of his next study tour in Israel.

Carl Rasmussen links to two videos from Kathleen Kenyon’s excavations of Jericho.

The Methuselah date palm tree is male, but six more ancient date seeds have been planted in hopes of raising a female for Methuselah to pollinate.

HT: Ted Weis, Agade, Joseph Lauer

A little-advertised seminar is occurring next week in Houston, and if you’re able to get there, it should be quite worthwhile. The only thing I’ve found online about it is this registration site, but that should be the main thing you need if you want to secure a seat. The main facts are as follows:

The Lanier Theological Library presents a seminar on “Recent Evidence for Israel’s United Kingdom” on Friday, September 14th, 2:00-5:00 pm in the Stone Chapel.

2:00-2:25 Jane Cahill, “Jerusalem at the Time of the United Monarchy: The Known, the Unknown, and the Next Frontier”

2:25-2:50 Steven Ortiz, “The Westward Expansion of the United Monarchy in Light of Recent Excavations”

2:50-3:15 Chris McKinny, “Going for Gold . . . Bringing Home (mainly) Bronze: Jerusalem’s Role in the Arabah Copper Industry and the Biblical Account of Solomon”

3:30-3:55 Timothy Harrison, “Kingdoms of Idols: Israel’s Northern Neighbors and What They Reveal about the World of the Bible”

3:55-4:20 K. Lawson Younger Jr. “David’s Wars: What Can We Know about his Aramean Enemies?”

4:20-4:45 Gary Rendsburg, “The Book of Genesis as a Product of the United Monarchy”

4:45-5:00 Discussion

This looks very good, and if you haven’t been to the Lanier Library, that’s worth a visit even if no one is speaking. If they do as they’ve done in the past, we might expect that videos of these lectures will appear on their website.