Movies Archives - BiblePlaces.com

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

“A collection of painted sarcophagi and papyrus scrolls dating to Egypt’s Third Intermediate Period (c. 1077–664 BCE) was discovered during excavations in Seneb’s tomb in the Kurna area on the west bank of the Nile River near Luxor.”

“A temple dedicated to the local god Pelusius has been unearthed after six years of excavations at Tell el-Farma in the city of Pelusium in the northern Sinai.”

“The oldest ruins of the ancient Egyptian city of Buto, dating to approximately 2,600 years ago, have been rediscovered by archaeologists testing new technology meant to aid in locating structures buried deep beneath the surface.”

Hybrid lecture on April 22: “Revisiting the Peoples of the Hills: the Legacy and Afterlife of Charles Burney’s Research in Anatolia and Iran,” by Roger Matthews

New release: Archaeology & Artificial Intelligence, by Lorenzo Nigro (Sapienza Università di Roma; open-access)

New release: A Bestiary of Ancient Nubia, edited by Marc Maillot (Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures, $40; free pdf)

The latest issue of Buried History is now available (open-access).

John DeLancey hiked up Mount Olympus and made a video of the experience.

Accordance has a big sale on all of their graphics collections.

The Study of Antiquity and the Middle Ages has released a video about the Behistun Inscription of Darius the Great (43 min).

National Geographic Travel has released an Easter and Passover special with three episodes from the Lost Treasures of the Bible series about Nineveh, Noah’s flood, and the exodus.

HT: Agade

Tagged Discoveries, Egypt, Greece, Lectures, Movies, Photo Resources, Resources, Technology, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup

A study of sheep and goat teeth indicates that shepherds traveled with their flocks between Galilee and the Golan Heights during the 10th to 8th centuries BC, despite ongoing conflicts between the Israelites and the Arameans.

The Times of Israel reports on the mass grave for children discovered at Azekah.

A Byzantine church in Nahariya was hit by a Hezbollah rocket but the large mosaic floor was not damaged.

Yana Tchekhanovets writes about the site of Nessana, a “a prominent Christian center and a vital caravan hub, facilitating travel to Sinai and the Egyptian monasteries” in the Byzantine period.

BibleStock’s first reading plan is now live on the YouVersion Bible App. This is the first reading plan on the app that features video from Israel. The 50-day plan takes you through the Gospel of Mark.

The first five episodes of The Sacred Thread: Season 1 have been released, and the final two will be released by the end of the month. The season finale will be celebrated with a special livestream event on Sunday, April 26 at 8:00 pm Eastern.

Available for pre-order: Archaeology, Jesus, and the Gospel of John: What Recent Discoveries Show Us, edited by Paul N. Anderson (Eerdmans, 650 pages, $100)

Jerusalem University College has announced its Summer Institute Online Series:

Treasures in the Book of Joshua, taught by Hélène Dallaire
The Land and the Logos, taught by Petra Heldt
Biblical Women in Jewish and Christian Art, taught by Shulamit Laderman
The Ark of the Covenant: A Biography, taught by Chris McKinny
Finding Bethsaida: An Exemplar in New Testament Historical Geography, taught by Steve Notley

Gary Byers discusses the history of the tabernacle on Digging for Truth.

On the Biblical World podcast, Chris McKinny and Kyle Keimer discuss the best archaeological finds of 2025 (part 2).

New maps have been created by Bible Mapper Atlas, including:

HT: Agade

Tagged Discoveries, Galilee, Golan Heights, Lectures, Movies, Negev, Resources, Shephelah, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

The Israel Museum will open to visitors on Monday, but the Great Isaiah Scroll exhibition is temporarily closed. Holy sites in Jerusalem re-opened this week.

Haaretz reports on the Great Isaiah Scroll exhibit that lasted not four months but four days. The article gives the history of the scroll since its discovery in 1947.

Legends of the Lost Ark, a docudrama with Chris McKinny, is in theaters for only three days: April 12, 14, and 15. Click here for showtimes in your area, tickets, and a link to the trailer.

Ran Silberman writes about the search for the ark of the covenant, and he asks if new technology might help to locate it underneath the Temple Mount.

Jerusalem Tracker 14.2 identifies the latest resources about Jerusalem in blogs, audio, video, and more.

New release: Jacob: The Story of a Family, by Jonathan Grossman (Koren, 769 pages, $35; Amazon)

Online lecture on April 23: “Hidden Treasures: Cryptic Cherubim in the New Testament,” by Chris McKinny. Chris will also be teaching a summer online course entitled “The Ark of the Covenant: A Biography.”

Zoom lecture on April 29: “New Excavations at Nessana, Negev: Late Antique Pilgrimage Hub on the Desert Fringe,” by Yana Tchekhanovets

Sy Gitin’s The Road Taken: An Archaeologist’s Journey to the Land of the Bible has dropped in price from $30 to $11.

HT: Agade, Alexander Schick, Explorator

Tagged Dead Sea Scrolls, Jerusalem, Lectures, Movies, Museums, Resources, Weekend Roundup

Next Week: Legends of the Lost Ark

I can’t count how many times I’ve been asked: where do you think the ark of the covenant is now? The group usually laughs when I say I’m pretty sure I saw it being hidden away in a warehouse in New York.

I usually then tick off the leading theories: the ark is hidden underneath the Temple Mount, the ark was taken to Mount Nebo, the ark is now in a church in Ethiopia, the ark was destroyed by the Babylonians.

But now there is a much better, and much more entertaining, answer to this perennial question. Archaeologist Chris McKinny, a longtime friend and partner on various BiblePlaces projects, has spent years researching the subject, and Gesher Media has produced a beautiful new docudrama that travels the world to bring the best evidence to light.

Legends of the Lost Ark is the perfect combination of academic scholarship and cinematic excellence, pulling the reader into the intrigue of where the symbol of God’s presence went after the Jerusalem temple was destroyed. Legends of the Lost Ark presents dramatic footage with expert analysis, including on-site reenactments, interviews with scholars, and a cast of more than 100 actors. The movie has already received the 2025 Silver Crown Award for Best Limited Theatrical Release at the ICVM (International Christian Visual Media) meeting.

“The Ark was not only lost — its story and significance have largely been forgotten,” said Dr. McKinny. “What happened to the Ark remains one of the most fascinating mysteries in human history. This film charts new territory in investigating the most ancient legends surrounding its disappearance.”

For the first time, three enduring legends surrounding the Ark’s disappearance are scrutinized through textual analysis, archaeological exploration, and expert theological debate. Through cinematic reenactments, the film vividly portrays the prophet Jeremiah’s desperate mission to safeguard the Ark during Jerusalem’s fall, placing audiences inside a pivotal moment in biblical history.

The movie will be in theaters for three days next week: April 12, 14, and 15. Tickets are available here. You can read more about the movie (here and here) and watch the trailer (here).

I hope you’re able to see it!

Tagged Jerusalem, Jordan, Movies, Temple Mount

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

A ship that wrecked off the coast of Dor circa 600 BC was carrying chunks of iron after they had been smelted, providing the first evidence that iron was traded in this form.

“Dozens of rare coins dating to about 2,000 years ago were seized from a Palestinian doctor attempting to smuggle them through the Hizma checkpoint between the West Bank and Jerusalem on the first Friday of Ramadan.”

Oded Lipschits and colleagues have published an article in Palestine Exploration Quarterly about a mass grave of young children from the Persian period at Tel Azekah.

Ruth Marks Eglash writes about the politics of Israelis excavating in the West Bank.

Yesterday’s Jerusalem Tracker lists the latest books, book chapters, and articles about the Holy City.

“T’OMIM (Tanakh Observable Matches of Intertextual Mimesis, from Hebrew תאומים meaning “twins”) is an open-access dataset of labeled parallel passages in the Hebrew Bible, compiled for computational and literary research on inner-biblical intertextuality.”

The long-awaited Gospel Companion from Biblical Backgrounds has arrived. The resource is on sale now until the end of Passover ($29.50).

The first two episodes of Season 1 of The Sacred Thread was released this week. Remaining episodes will release one a week through April on Angel Studios.

“A new theory is drawing attention to Malaita Island in the Solomon Islands as a potential hiding place of the Ark of the Covenant.”

Chris McKinny and Kyle Keimer discuss the best archaeological finds of 2025 on the Biblical World podcast.

Denny Sissom will be teaching a new online class entitled “Revealing the New Testament through the History, Politics, and Customs of the Inter-Testament Period.”

New release: The Raging Torrent, 3rd edition, by Mordechai Cogan (Carta; $88)

New release: When Israel Was Young: A History of the Jewish People from the Beginnings to the Roman Conquest of Jerusalem, by Lester L. Grabbe (Bloomsbury, $25-$90; Amazon)

Legends of the Lost Ark will be in movie theaters on April 12, 14, and 15. A richly illustrated companion book by Chris McKinny and Roy Brown will soon be available. The pre-order sale price is $32.

HT: Agade, Explorator, Paleojudaica

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Israel's Coast, Jerusalem, Lectures, Movies, Resources, Samaria, Shephelah, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup

“Archaeologists working in Upper Egypt have uncovered around 3,000 ostraca pottery fragments during the current excavation season … [which] raises the total number of ostraca found at the site to approximately 43,000…, making it the largest known collection of inscribed pottery fragments from a single archaeological location in Egypt.”

“Ancient Egyptian craftspeople used a corrective fluid similar to modern-day Wite-Out to fix their mistakes, according to researchers at the University of Cambridge’s Fitzwilliam Museum.”

An underground Roman-era vaulted water channel has been discovered in northeastern Turkey.

For the first time in a millennium, water is now flowing below the now-reconstructed monumental arches of the Asopos Bridge at Laodicea.

“A striking, large-scale marble lion, with its detailed mane and head turned in a noble pose, has emerged from the earth at Philippi.”

“Greece’s archaeological sites generated higher revenue in the summer of 2025, even as visitor numbers declined.”

“Archaeologists in Rome have uncovered a well-preserved necropolis decorated with Winged Victory figures.”

“A small graffito recently discovered in a theater corridor at Pompeii offers a rare glimpse into how ordinary people experienced the spectacle of the games.”

“The first permanent exhibition of Pompeii’s historic casts is now on display in Italy, paying homage to those who were brutally killed after being engulfed by an inundation of volcanic ash.”

“Here are 10 practical and creative ways to spark a child’s interest in archaeology — including how social media can play a positive role.”

Michael Foust interviews Chris McKinny about the upcoming docudrama Legends of the Lost Ark.

Hybrid lecture at the Albright on March 25: “From Kaiser to AI: Current Projects of the DEI Jerusalem,” by Katja Soennecken

Jack Lundbom, author of the three-volume commentary on Jeremiah in the Anchor Bible series, died last month.

New release: The Jesus Discoveries: 10 Historic Finds That Bring Us Face-to-Face with Jesus, by Jeremiah Johnston (Bethany House, $16). The ten include the Shroud of Turin, the James Ossuary, and the Palatine Graffito.

Carl Rasmussen’s outstanding Zondervan Atlas of the Bible for Kindle is on sale at the moment for $3.99 (reg. $25).

Season 1 of The Sacred Thread will begin releasing on March 24 on Angel Studios. “Seven episodes unpacking each phrase of the prayer Jesus taught — expanding on the feature film with deeper scholarship, new stories, and breathtaking cinematography.”

HT: Agade, Keith Keyser, Ted Weis, Arne Halbakken, Explorator

Tagged Discoveries, Egypt, Greece, Italy, Lectures, Movies, Resources, Sad News, Turkey, Weekend Roundup