Lectures Archives - Page 57 of 90

2018 Institute of Biblical Context Conference

I wanted to give you a heads-up on next summer’s Institute of Biblical Context conference in Zeeland, Michigan, on June 11-13, 2018. The focus this year will be on “Shepherds, Sheep, and Shepherding.” That is such a rich and glorious topic in the Scriptures (far beyond Psalm 23!). The speakers will be pulling it apart every which way and you’ll leave knowing far more than you ever knew there was to know.

I had the privilege of being at the first annual conference this past June and it was fantastic. I’ve never been with so many speakers or participants who were so excited about biblical geography, archaeology, history, and everything that goes into biblical context. The speakers were all very well prepared, and the sessions were outstanding. I highly recommend it.

Registration is not yet open, but now is the time to put it on your calendar. (I expect registration will take place here beginning in a few months.)

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Weekend Roundup

Israel’s Tourism Ministry has approved construction of 4-mile-long cable car line connecting Upper Nazareth and the lower slopes of Mount Tabor.

Tomb raiders have vandalized the Judean desert fortress of Hyrcania.

Reader’s Digest suggests 10 sites (mostly eateries) to visit in Israel that you (probably) have never heard of before.

Leave it to Wayne Stiles to figure out a way to make good use of my photos of Horeshat Tal (and make an important application).

“All the stone inscriptions from ancient Athens in UK collections are to be presented in English translations for the first time, thanks to a new project undertaken by Cardiff University.”

The aim of Israel’s Academy of the Hebrew Language’s Historical Dictionary Project is to document and define every Hebrew word ever used.

The Times of Israel reports on Lawrence Mykytiuk’s study that confirms the historical existence of 53 individuals mentioned in the Old Testament.

The New York Metropolitan Museum has acquired a rare gold gilded Egyptian coffin from the 1st century BC.

David Moster will be lecturing on “Etrog: How a Chinese Export Became a Jewish Fruit” at Columbia University on Tuesday, 9/19.

Steven Notley will be lecturing on “Unearthing Bethsaida-Julias: Has the City of the Apostles been Found?” at Nyack College on September 28.

Aren Maeir has posted the schedule for the 11th annual conference on “New Studies in the Archaeology of Jerusalem and Its Region,” to be held Oct 18-20.

Charles E. Jones’s “Working Bibliography of Autobiographies” continues to grow.

Bible Story Map has released a new resource: Bible Story Places, a series of 12 posters of sites including Jericho, Valley of Elah, Mt. Sinai, and the Sea of Galilee.

Individual books in the Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Revised Edition, are available for Kindle for $4.99 until tomorrow.

HT: Charles Savelle, Ted Weis, Agade

Tagged Egypt, Galilee, Greece, Jerusalem, Judah, Lectures, Resources, Tourism, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

The discovery of a Neolithic model of a clay silo from Tel Tsaf is leading scholars to rethink the history of food storage.

Gabriel Barkay recently gave a tour of the Temple Mount to members of the US Congress.

John DeLancey is blogging about his Israel tour, and on Wednesday he took his group to el-Araj, a candidate for New Testament Bethsaida.

Students from Oakland University involved in the Lachish expedition this summer gained knowledge and experience.

Shmuel Browns shares some photos of sinkholes at the Dead Sea.

The Anglo-Israel Archaeological Society has posted its schedule of fall lectures.

If you’re not familiar with Solomon’s failure in establishing his 12 administrative districts, take a look at Wayne Stiles’s post and map.

I’ve been waiting for Craig Keener’s four-volume commentary on Acts to be available in digital format, and Accordance has it first, and at a great introductory sale price.

Accordance also has a sale on the NICOT and NICNT bundle at about half of what I paid for it on Logos.

Phillip J. Long has written the first full-length review of the Photo Companion to the Bible.

Two of my favorite Bible teachers, both born in 1928, died this week: Stanley Toussaint (DTS) and Robert Thomas (TMS).

HT: Joseph Lauer, Agade

Tagged Dead Sea, Discoveries, Galilee, Jerusalem, Lectures, Shephelah, Temple Mount, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

A Babylonian tablet contains a completely accurate trigonometric table more than 1,000 years before Pythagoras lived.

A donation to the Israel Museum has more than doubled the total number of gold coins on display in Israel.

James Davila has been doing a series on the Jordanian lead codices: Part 1 (the materials test); Part 2 (the inscriptions); Part 3 (the Abgar-Selaman epitaph).

Though most tour groups don’t make it to Eilat on the Red Sea, Wayne Stiles explains why it is important in the Bible.

David M. Weinberg argues that the Israeli government should fund the Temple Mount Sifting Project so that it can continue.

Carta has published some great new books (and maps) recently. I plan to recommend some of them here when I get a chance, but you can take a look at the latest offerings now.

Texas International Bible Institute has created a series of 360º videos on-site at various locations in Israel. You can start here and select from the list on the side.

Eisenbrauns has announced a forthcoming festschrift entitled Studies in the History and Archaeology of Ancient Israel in Honor of Israel Finkelstein (Nov 2017).

Eric Cline is on The Book and the Spade discussing his latest book, Three Stones Make a Wall.

The 20th Annual Bible and Archaeology Fest will be held this year in Boston.

The Routledge Encyclopedia of Ancient Mediterranean Religions is reviewed positively here (but it’s expensive; I don’t think I’ve seen a Kindle book for $408 before).

HT: Joseph Lauer, Agade

Tagged Forgery, Lectures, Mesopotamia, Museums, Resources, Temple Mount, Tourism, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

A first-century AD tomb in Irbid, Jordan, will open to the public next month. The unique tomb contains oil paintings, transcriptions, and drawings.

A Hellenistic temple and network of water tunnels has been uncovered at Gadara.

An analysis of a water pipe from Pompeii suggest that the Romans probably experienced daily problems with vomiting and diarrhea, as well as liver and kidney damage. The problem wasn’t lead, but the acutely toxic antimony. Cf. 1 Timothy 5:23.

The latest issue of Biblical Archaeology Review has a number of articles of interest, including the capital city of Samaria, Hebrew on Herod’s time, and NT figures known outside the Bible.

The William Kelly Simpson Memorial Colloquium will be held at the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History on October 7.

The Israel Exploration Society is having a clearance sale for all final reports of the Masada excavations. Each of the 8 volumes is reduced to $30 plus shipping.

Among the resources for Accordance on sale now is the three-volume Archaeology of the Land of the Bible series (by Mazar, Stern, Meyers, and Chancey).

GTI Study Tours is a unique travel agency that I’ve heard rave reviews about. They are offering a highly-discounted “Pastors and Christian Educators” Study Tour of Turkey in February with Mark Strauss.

HT: Agade, Chris McKinny, Joseph Lauer

Tagged Italy, Jordan, Lectures, Resources, Tourism, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Conference: Jesus in His Context

I’ve recommended this before, but I wanted to do so again before the early bird price ends in a few weeks. The three-day conference is being held in Zeeland, Michigan on June 12-14. You can see the faculty and conference schedule here. I expect it will be a unique conference, with lots of discussion-provoking presentations about fascinating details in the Gospels. I look forwarding to seeing some old friends and meeting others for the first time. You can register here.

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