Here’s another archaeology lecture series of interest, this time for those in the Chicago area. This is the 51st annual lecture series of Wheaton College, this year entitled “Greeks in the Holy Land.” Note the lecture title by Kletter gives away the “startling new discoveries” that were to be revealed in his lecture in Los Angeles. Kudos to John Monson and the guys at Wheaton for making all of the lectures free! Here are the details:

There is a long history of interaction between the peoples of the Aegean and the Holy Land. This year’s lecture series will emphasize the key points of intersection between these cultures and the impact that their interaction had upon the history, culture, and religion of ancient Israelites, Jews, and Christians. The lectures are free to the public and will be on select Tuesday evenings at 6:30 pm in the Billy Graham Center, Room 140.

Tuesday, September 26
David Chapman, Professor of New Testament and Biblical Archaeology, Curator of the W.H. Mare Institute for Biblical and Archaeological Studies, Covenant Theological Seminary
Marriage and family in the Jewish/Greek world

Tuesday, October 3
Assaf Yasur-Landau, Researcher, Institute of Archaeology, Tel-Aviv University
How the Philistines reached the Holy Land

Tuesday, October10
John McRay, Professor of archaeology emeritus, Wheaton College
Archaeology and the life of Paul

Tuesday, October 24
Gene Green, Professor of New Testament, Wheaton College
The Gospel and the Thessalonians in their cultural context

Tuesday, October 31
James Jeffers, Professor and Coordinator of Humanities MA, California State University, Dominguez Hills
Greeks, Romans, and religion in the Holy Land

Tuesday, November 7
Raz Kletter, Excavations and Surveys Department, Israel Antiquities Authority
What to do with a Hundred Cultic Stands–the Finds From Yavneh of the Philistines

Tuesday, Nov 28
Michael Graves, Visiting Professor, Wheaton College
A Roman in Greek Palestine: Jerome and the development of Near Eastern studies

The University of Judaism has announced their fall lecture series on Archaeology and the Bible. This year the series is entitled, “Archaeology and the Bible: New Discoveries, New Methods, New Interpretations, New Insights.” As in previous years, the cost to attend individual lectures is $25. Or if you register by October 6, the cost for all is $125. More information is available at the UoJ website. 

The UoJ campus is in Los Angeles, not far from the Getty Museum off the 405. The scheduled lectures are:

Christopher A. Rollston, “Fakers, Forgers, and Con Artists: How Forged Artifacts and Inscriptions Corrupt Biblical History” (Oct. 23)

Raz Kletter, “Philistine Cult and Religion: The Startling New Discoveries from Yavneh” (Oct. 30)

Tessa Rajak, “Melting Pot or Market Place? Jews, Christians and Pagans in the Cities of the Roman Empire” (Nov. 6)

Eveline van der Steen, “Bedouins and the Bible” (Nov. 13)

Avi Faust, “Biblical Archaeology, the Prophets of Israel and the Poor” (Nov. 20)

William Schniedewind, “The First Scribes in Ancient Israel and the Beginnings of Biblical Literature” (Nov. 27)

Marvin Meyer, “The Recently Published Gospel of Judas, Gnosticism, and the Jewish Connection” (Dec. 4)

Christoph Uehlinger, “Insights from Images: What Do Assyrian Sculptures Tell Us About the History of Religion in Ancient Israel?” (Dec. 11)

I think if my budget or time were limited, my first two choices would be the lectures by Faust and Schniedewind.

I’ve known about this series for sometime because I originally had scheduled Gabriel Barkay for a trip for my class, but that had to be changed because of his LA engagement. In any case, full details of Excavating in Jerusalem and the Mountains Around Her: What the New Excavations Teach Us About the City, the Bible, the People and the Temple are now available from the University of Judaism. There are 7 lectures, with an entrance cost of $25 each. A few years ago I attended some of these lectures and I believe there was a student price at that time. The top three that I would attend if I could:

Gabriel Barkay: What Does Recent Excavation Reveal About the Temple Mount Past and Present?

Beth Alpert Nakhai: An Archaeological View of Biblical Women and Their Families

Thomas Levy: King Solomon’s Mines Revisited: Archaeological Explorations in Edom and What They Mean for Understanding Biblical History

$25 is not cheap, esp. for students, but these are the scholars who have made (or are making) the discoveries. And LA is a shorter drive than Israel.