Passages Lecture Series

The Passages exhibit recently opened in Santa Clarita, California, and together with the Green Scholars Initiative they are hosting a monthly lecture series. Admission is free, but reservations are required (888-297-8011).

Apr 28, 2015, Visualizing the Bible: Using Sophisticated Technologies to Reclaim Biblical Texts, Marilyn Lundberg

May 26, 2015, Why Is there No Standard Shape to the Book of Psalms?, Bill Yarchin

Jun 30, 2015, The Reel God: Why Cinema Struggles to Depict the Divine, Thomas Parham

Jul 28, 2015, In the Beginning Were the Words: The Origins of Writing and the Alphabet, Chris Hays

Aug 25, 2015, Tel Abel Beth Maacah: Uncovering the Secrets of a Biblical City, Robert Mullins

Sept 29, 2015, Reconstructing Dead Sea Scrolls Letter-by-Letter, Bruce Zuckerman

Oct 27, 2015, How the Flood Became a Children’s Story, Chris Heard

Dec 8, 2015, Whose Gospel? The Kingdom of God vs. the Empire of Rome in the New 
Testament, Adam Winn

Jan 26, 2016, From Scrolls to Scrolling: Scripture, Technology, and the Word of God, Michael Holmes

Feb 16, 2016, New Witnesses to the New Testament Text: Deciphering the Oldest Manuscript of Romans 4-5, Randall Chestnutt and Ron Cox

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Weekend Roundup, Part 2

Of the latest concerning “the tomb of Jesus,” the evidence doesn’t add up, according to professors at Yale and Notre Dame. Other scholars agree.

Jeffrey Zorn’s talk on Storage Bins at Tell en-Nasbeh (biblical Mizpah) is now online (20 min).

Archaeologists from the University of Manchester are busy excavating a site in Iraq in an effort to save history from ISIS terrorists.

In fear of ISIS’s advance, monks at the Mar Matti Monastery in Iraq hid their collection of ancient manuscripts.

An opinion piece in the New York Times calls on the world to use force to stop ISIS’s campaign against historic sites and artifacts.

Should antiquities be repatriated to countries unable to protect them?

The latest podcast from Exploring Bible Times focuses on the Hill of Moreh.

Yossi Garfinkel’s talk from last fall at Florida College is now online.

HT: Agade

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Weekend Roundup, Part 2

What does a field archaeologist carry in his dig bag? I like Eric Welch’s answer.

After a porcupine uncovered a Byzantine oil lamp in Emek Hefer, the Israel Antiquities Authority was up in arms. “The IAA calls on all porcupines to avoid digging burrows at archeological sites and warns that digging at an archeological site without a license is a criminal offense.”

Why did people stop eating pork in the ancient Near East around 1000 BC? A new study suggests one answer.

A new video from the Museum of the Bible reveals some of the work of the Green Scholars Initiative and the associated educational tools being developed for use in Israel and the U.S.

“Visual data about cultural heritage sites within conflict zones in near real-time has become possible with new technology, particularly satellite imagery.” This article considers the ethical questions.

BBC Magazine: The men who uncovered Assyria.

Three Jordanians who floated to the Israeli side of the Dead Sea were returned to Jordan.

The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago has several courses and workshops scheduled for the coming months.

Now free at The Bible and Interpretation: the first two chapters of Ancient Israel’s History: An Introduction to Issues and Sources, edited by Bill T. Arnold and Richard S. Hess.

Sad news: William W. Hallo died on Friday. A funeral service is scheduled for 1:00 pm, Monday,
March 30, at Mishkan Israel, 785 Ridge Road, Hamden, Connecticut.

The Agade list is now being archived at the SBL website.

HT: Agade

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Weekend Roundup

The largest treasure of gold coins ever found in Israel was recently discovered in the harbor of Caesarea. Most of the coins date to the Fatimid period (ca. AD 1000). There’s a close-up of a well-preserved coin here. Seven high-res images are available here.

The Jerusalem Post has photos and a video of the recent snowfall in Israel. Record snowfall was recorded in Istanbul, and the snow was heavy in Lebanon and Jordan. Yahoo has more photos of Jerusalem here. And Shmuel Browns has some photos from his neighborhood in the German Colony.
Leen Ritmeyer suggests that some paving stones on the Temple Mount pre-date the Roman destruction.

The next stop for the Passages exhibit is the happy town of Santa Clarita, California.

Some of the Dead Sea Scrolls are coming to the California Science Center next month, along with the Jerusalem IMAX movie.

Ever wanted to volunteer in Israel? Wayne Stiles suggests 15 volunteering opportunities.

James Pritchard’s HarperCollins Atlas of Bible History is not the best atlas out there, but it’s currently only $3.99 for Kindle. As one reviewer notes, the text may be more useful on the screen than the maps.

This week on the Book and the Spade: Herod’s palaces and ancient olive oil, with Clyde Billington.

Ferrell Jenkins explains how Pilate used coins to promote the emperor cult.

Codex Vaticanus is now online.

Aren Maeir’s recent lecture at GVSU is now posted on Youtube.

Eric Cline will be lecturing at the Oriental Institute in Chicago next week.

Gabriel Barkay, Zachi Dvira, and others involved in the Temple Mount Sifting Operation are coming on a fundraising tour in April and May. Check out their blog to learn how you can arrange talks or dinners with them.

The Islamic State is reportedly looting ancient sites “on an industrial scale.” Some people are trying to stop it.

HT: Ted Weis, Joseph Lauer, Charles Savelle, Jock Stender

Gold coins discovered in Caesarea harbor
Photo copyright: Clara Amit, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority
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Weekend Roundup, Part 2

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the Palestine Exploration Fund. This post shares interesting items from the 100th anniversary exhibition. A calendar of coming lectures is also available.

After a flub over a mummy graveyard, a BYU researcher restores ties with the Egyptian authorities.

An upcoming CBS miniseries follows four female survivors of Masada. Trailer here.

Aren Maeir announces the 2015 Ackerman Family Annual Workshop in Biblical Archaeology. The topic is Southern Canaan in the Late Bronze Age.

Excavators working at Macherus have restored the site according to the principle of anastylosis, using only original architectural elements.

Matti Friedman: The Sistine Chapel of the Jews Is Restored to Life in Jerusalem.

Jack Sasson, curator of the Agade list which provides us with many stories each week, has retired from Vanderbilt.

Pre-pub at Logos: Charlesworth, Jesus and Temple: Textual and Archaeological Explorations, $20

Mari Had a Little Lamb is one of several Assyrian coloring pages.

We are now on twitter @BiblePlaces.

HT: Agade, Charles Savelle

Macherus from southeast, tb061204081
Macherus from the southeast
Photo from the Jordan collection
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Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Archaeologists working at Bethsaida have discovered a possible escape tunnel from the time of the Israelite monarchy.

Leen Ritmeyer explains the recent construction work on the Temple Mount and its potential significance for archaeology.

“The Egyptian Antiquities Ministry recently announced the excavation of a 3,000-year-old fortress at the site of Tell el-Habua (also known as Tel Habuwa and Tell Huba) near the Suez Canal in Egypt.”

Egypt’s Prime Minister recently visited the Grand Egyptian Museum to check on its progress for a slated August 2015 opening.

The works of the famous glass maker Ennion are now on display at the Met.

The Museum of Biblical Art in Dallas is hosting a temporary exhibition of old maps of the Holy Land. Wayne Stiles shows a few photos from his visit and explains the value of using maps in your
Bible study.

Monday lecture at the British Museum: Rupert Chapman, Ahab’s Ivory House: When Was It Destroyed?

Plans are underway to allow visitors inside the Erechtheion of the Acropolis.

The most visited museum in 2014 was the Louvre, with 9.3 million visitors.

HT: Explorator, Agade

Ennion's blue glass jug, 1st c AD, tb031114560
Blue glass jug made by Ennion, first century AD
From the Eretz Israel Museum
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About the BiblePlaces Blog

The BiblePlaces Blog provides updates and analysis of the latest in biblical archaeology, history, and geography. Unless otherwise noted, the posts are written by Todd Bolen, PhD, Professor of Biblical Studies at The Master’s University.

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