Negev Archives - BiblePlaces.com

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

A worker clearing a nature path at Nitzana (Nessana) in the Negev discovered a stone with a Greek inscription reading “Blessed Maria.”

A forthcoming article by David Ussishkin argues that there was no gate shrine at Lachish desecrated in the reign of Hezekiah.

Bill Barrick’s latest research trip post focuses on Tel Dan and includes a variety of images and a list of recommended resources.

The Crusader-era siege ramp around Ashkelon served another purpose: protecting the city from being overtaken by sand.

After an extended investigation, the Israel Antiquities Authority recovered thousands of looted artifacts in three raids in central Israel.

Evie Gassner looks at a lot of evidence in order to determine just how Jewish King Herod was.

Bruce Routledge will be lecturing on Jan 11, 11am CET, on “Iron Age Jordan: The Levant from a very different angle.” To register and receive a Zoom link, email [email protected].

Conversations in the Archaeology and History of Ancient Israel with Israel Finkelstein. This video series with a controversial archaeologist will be rolling out over the coming year. The initial videos (20-30 min. each) are available now.

Claus-Hunno Hunzinger died this week. He was the last living member of the original Dead Sea Scrolls team.

An obituary has been posted for Shlomo Bunimovitz who died last month.

Peter Goeman gives a good roundup of articles in the blogosphere in the latest biblical studies carnival.

HT: Agade, Andy Cook

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Discoveries, Galilee, Israel's Coast, Jordan, Lectures, Negev, Philistines, Sad News, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

“A first ever First Temple-era gold granule bead was discovered during wet sifting of earth from the Temple Mount by a nine-year-old.”

Jamie Fraser and Caroline Cartwright give a very interesting account of the discovery and excavation of an olive oil factory in Gilead.

Israel’s Good Name shares his adventures at various sites in the western Jezreel Valley.

Leen Ritmeyer uses archaeological and textual sources to locate the Music Chamber in Herod’s temple.

Though most don’t believe that it is Mount Sinai, Har Karkom is home to 40,000 rock engravings.

According to Jeffrey Chadwick, the width of a gate at Gath is the same dimensions as the height of giant Goliath.

The release of Ken Dark’s new book has put in the news again the author’s theory that he has identified the house believed by the Byzantines to have been the house of Jesus.

“Visiting Sepphoris” is the latest video tour hosted by John DeLancey.

COVID restrictions have helped researchers excavating an underwater site off Israel to develop methods that will make future undersea excavation more precise and efficient.

A doctoral dissertation proposes that a silver shortage in Israel in the early Iron Age led to the creation of an alloy composed mainly of copper.

The next ASOR Zoom webinar: Eric Meyers, “Early Synagogues, Jesus, and Galilee—A Jewish Perspective,” on Dec 13, 7:30 EST.

Yesterday we released the Photo Companion to 1-2 Corinthians. These two volumes include 2,500 images.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Keith Keyser, Ted Weis, Ferrell Jenkins, Alexander Schick, Arne Halbakken

Tagged Discoveries, Galilee, Jerusalem, Jezreel Valley, Jordan, Lectures, Negev, Philistines, Photo Resources, Technology, Temple Mount, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

The Tel Burna team has begun a survey of Khirbet ʿAter, a likely candidate for biblical Ether.

Bruno Soltic created a video on “Tel Burna – Week on a Dig,” featuring interviews with Itzick Shai, Steven Ortiz, Chris McKinny, and others.

Registration has now opened for next summer’s excavations at Tel Burna and Gath.

Sepphoris was an important city near Nazareth, and Wayne Stiles looks at its possible place in Jesus’s youth.

Bill Barrick posts about his visit to Sepphoris on a recent research trip, and he includes many photos.

Archaeology magazine has a feature on the dye industry at Tel Shikmona near Haifa.

Israel21c has identified “Israel’s best ancient toilets.”

Three individuals were arrested on suspicion of stealing antiquities from ancient Megiddo.

“In the hills of Timna in the Arava Desert, just north of Eilat, lies a secret lake that has become a magnet for some adventurous Israelis unable to travel abroad due to the coronavirus pandemic.”

Hebrew University has just released the first three volumes in the Tel Rehov final report series (scroll to the bottom).

Shalom Paul died earlier this week.

Israel’s Good Name made a number of outings this year to the Yavne dunes, finding it an ideal place for spotting birds, snakes, and other wildlife.

I am excited about this book forthcoming from Barry Beitzel: Where Was the Biblical Red Sea? Examining the Ancient Evidence. Beitzel defends the traditional location and shows why the Gulf of Aqaba hypothesis is impossible.

The Infusion Bible Conference (formerly the Institute of Biblical Context Conference) has just announced that the 2021 conference will be held in Franklin, Tennessee. This year’s topic is “Paul and His Roman World.”

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, G. M. Grena, Charles Savelle, Explorator

Tagged Excavations, Galilee, Israel's Coast, Jordan Rift, Lectures, Negev, Philistines, Resources, Sad News, Shephelah, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Archaeologists have discovered a fortified building in the Golan Heights that dates roughly to the time of David and may have belonged to the kingdom of Geshur.

A cache of gold coins dating to the early Islamic period have been unearthed near the Western Wall plaza in Jerusalem.

Expansion of Beit El threatens to destroy remains of an ancient village.

Excavations at Caesarea Philippi (Banias) revealed a 2nd or 3rd century AD altar with a Greek inscription written by a pilgrim to the god Pan.

Bryan Windle has found a number of photos to illustrate the brief reign of King Jehoiachin, in his most recent archaeological biography.

A new film (in Hebrew) claims that the united kingdom was based in Israel, not Judah, and began in the 8th century, not 10th, based on Israel Finkelstein’s excavations of Kiriath Jearim.

Wayne Stiles looks to Ziklag for the secret of David’s spiritual success.

John Delancey’s latest video visits the City of David.

New from Eisenbrauns:

Ashkelon 7: The Iron Age I, by Lawrence E. Stager, Daniel M. Master, and Adam J. Aja.
Scribal Tools in Ancient Israel: A Study of Biblical Hebrew Terms for Writing Materials and Implements, by Philip Zhakevich.
(Use coupon NR20 for 30% off)

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Ted Weis

Tagged Discoveries, Galilee, Golan, Jerusalem, Negev, Resources, Samaria, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup

Excavations at Khirbet Kafr Mer near Beit El have revealed dozens of jars and intact ceramic objects inside a repurposed underground reservoir.

“A new paper published last week in the PLOS ONE journal explains how trash mounds found in villages and agricultural settlements in the Negev from the Byzantine and Early Islamic periods show that there was a turning point in the management of herbivore livestock dung, a vital resource in the Negev.”

Egyptian artifacts in several Berlin museums have been damaged by vandals.

Pat McCarthy has written an article about reputed relics of Jesus that have undergone scientific scrutiny.

New: Go Now to Shiloh: A Biblical Theology of Sacred Space, by N. Blake Hearson

Albright Virtual Workshop: Discussions in response to:
The Archaeology of the Bronze Age Levant:
From Urban Origins to the Demise of City-States, 3700-1000 BCE,
Cambridge University Press, 2019, by Raphael Greenberg. Registration required.

The Badè Museum is hosting a series of lectures entitled “New Perspectives on Ancient Nubia.”

The Cyprus American Archaeological Research Institute has posted their online program for the coming months.

UCF has compiled a list of open educational resources for the ancient Near East.

This week on the GTI Tours podcast I talk with Rich Ferreira about the value of photographs in understanding and teaching the Bible.

HT: Agade, Ted Weis, G. M. Grena, Charles Savelle

Tagged Mediterranean Islands, Museums, Negev, Resources, Samaria, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Leen Ritmeyer suggests that a couple of recently discovered arches on the Temple Mount may belong to a gate leading from the Court of the Women into the Music Room.

Archaeologists have discovered a copper-ore smelting furnace in Beersheba from the Chalcolithic period, making it the oldest known to date.

Opposition is increasing toward Jerusalem’s plan for a cable car to the Old City.

Tourism to the Holy Land has completely stopped for the first time since the Franco-Prussian War. This article in Haaretz (premium) describes the effects on the industry, renovation projects underway, and prospects for the future.

John DeLancey’s newest video provides a tour of the Jerusalem model at the Israel Museum.

GTI Tours has begun a new podcast, with interviews with Gary Burge on the Fifth Gospel, Brad Gray on Jesus’s baptism, and more.

Eric Cline talks about the story of the excavations at Megiddo in the 1920s and 1930s on The Times of Israel podcast.

Bryan Windle pulls together a lot of detail and good photographs in his archaeological biography of King Jehu.

Wayne Stiles looks at Israel’s journey through the Red Sea and to Mount Sinai to see how God works through painful journeys.

Ginger Caessens will be leading an intensive study tour of Jordan in June. I have recommended this many times in the past and continue to do so.

New: A Christian’s Guide to Evidence for the Bible: 101 Proofs from History and Archaeology, by J. Daniel Hays.

Steven Anderson’s research on the identifications of Darius the Mede is now posted online in a very easy-to-read format, presenting the major views and objections to each.

HT: Agade, Explorator, Carl Rasmussen

Tagged Discoveries, Egypt, Jerusalem, Jezreel Valley, Jordan, Negev, Resources, Temple Mount, Tourism, Weekend Roundup