Negev Archives - Page 23 of 25

Giveaway: The Israel Collection (5 Volumes)

This week we are going to give away two copies of the Israel Collection (volumes 1-5) of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands. Just as any father likes all of his children, I like all 18 volumes. But since these are not children, I can say without hesitation or fear of repercussion that the first five volumes are my favorite ones.

Israel is not only the center of God’s redemptive plan for the world, but it was my home for a long time. These photos reflect that, not only in terms of comprehensive coverage, but also in quality of photos because of repeated visits in various seasons and at different times of the day.

If you asked a father to describe a few characteristics of his children, he would beam with joy and respond immediately. I’m not going to tell you about my five children, but I will offer a few words about these five volumes.

Galilee and the North – my favorite place in Israel is on the shore of a lake where Jesus walked, talked, and gave us a tiny taste of the kingdom to come.

Samaria and the Center – this volume easily wins the “most improved” award because so many of the sites had restricted access during the years I was making the previous editions (Shiloh, Shechem, Samaria, Jericho, etc.).

Jerusalem – the “city of the Great King” is my favorite city in the whole world. I could teach a whole course on it. But I enjoy even more a quiet stroll along the walls in the early morning.

Judah and the Dead Sea – this really is a 3-in-1 volume, with about 700 photos of the Judean Wilderness and the Dead Sea area, another 300 photos of the Hill Country, and another 500 of the Shephelah and Coastal Plain.

Negev and the Wilderness – I added a lot to sites previously included (Beersheba, Arad, tabernacle model, etc.), but a LandRover and some great friends got me to beautiful places you’ll probably never see. Indeed, the wilderness is “vast and dreadful,” but it also is majestic and inspiring.

This week you can sign up to win one of two free copies. One will be given away to entrants who use the email form. The other will go to those who enter with PunchTab. You can enter either or both. If you don’t win, you can purchase the Israel Collection with all of its 6,000 photographs for $149.99. If you do win and you already own the collection, we’ll refund your purchase or surprise you with something else. The drawing ends this Friday at 10 am Pacific Time.

(We need your email address to notify you if you win. We will not use it for anything else.)

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Tagged Galilee, Giveaway, Jerusalem, Judah, Negev, Photo Resources, Samaria

Weekend Roundup

The Friends of the Israel Antiquities Authority has announced the establishment of the Brandt-Lewis Center for Ancient Jewelry and Artifacts, to be part of the Schottenstein National Campus for the Archaeology of Israel in Jerusalem.

The BBC reports on a dispute over oil pipelines that run under the ruins of Babylon.

The Jerusalem Post reviews the 30th volume of Eretz Israel.

The Freeman Institute has produced a 14-minute film on the Rosetta Stone and how they create full-size replicas.

James Tabor explains why he believes that finding Jesus’ remains in the Talpiot tomb does not contradict Christian belief in Jesus’ resurrection. Michael Heiser writes an excellent response.

Joe Yudin describes the wonders of the Small Machtesh.

Don’t forget about Eisenbrauns 30/30/300 sale. It ends on the 30th.

I’ll be traveling the next couple of weeks, but I have some posts prepared and may have a little time along the way. When I return I’ll have the most important announcement in the history of this blog.

HT: Joseph Lauer, Jack Sasson

Machtesh Qatan panorama

Tagged Jerusalem, Museums, Negev, Resources, Tomb of Jesus

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

News:

Plans are being made for a renovation of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, beginning with a long-delayed replacement of the roof.

Paleobabble gives a summary of Randall Price’s recent presentation on the 2011 search for Noah’s Ark.

The Israeli government is planning to relocate 30,000 Bedouin in the Negev.

The seed of the date palm discovered at Masada has now grown to a 8-foot (2.5 m) tall tree after more than five years. The tree was planted last week at Kibbutz Ketura in the Arabah. Previous updates were posted in 2006 and 2008.

A new study of textiles has determined that the Qumran inhabitants differentiated themselves from their contemporaries by what they wore.

“Moammar Gadhafi’s forces tried to flee Tripoli with a sack of ancient Roman artifacts in hopes of selling them abroad to help fund their doomed fight, Libya’s new leaders said Saturday as they displayed the recovered objects for the first time.”

The Jerusalem Post has added a two-minute video on the dating of the southwestern corner of the
Temple Mount, including sound bites from Ronny Reich and Eli Shukron.

Joseph Naveh passed away this week. His life and publications are remembered by Christopher Rollston.

HT: Biblical Flora, Joseph Lauer, Jack Sasson

Tagged Dead Sea, Negev, Temple Mount

Wednesday Roundup

Excavations at the Central Bus Station of Beersheba are turning up remains from the Byzantine city.

The southern steps leading to the Temple Mount may have been used by worshippers singing the 15 Psalms of Ascent, writes Wayne Stiles. Not so, argues Leen Ritmeyer, former architect of the excavations. “There are, however, more than 15 steps, in fact, there are 27 at the eastern end and 31 at the southern end.” I don’t think that is correct, and I do know that if you read Psalm 120 at the bottom of the staircase and advance by two steps (to the broader steps) for the next psalm, you’ll be reading Psalm 134 at the top of the staircase. Perhaps that’s just coincidence. Of course, the psalms could be sung in many places as the pilgrim came up to Jerusalem and the temple to worship.

Southern steps leading to Double Gate of Temple Mount

Shmuel Browns reports that the public can now walk from the Pool of Siloam to the Temple Mount via the (now underground) first-century street and drainage channel.

If you’re tired of going to the Dead Sea and seeing scantily-clad men, there is now hope. A beach was dedicated on Monday for separate bathing. If they’d only open a third section for the men in Speedos, we would all be happy.

A one-minute video at the Jerusalem Post shows the highlights of the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo.

An automated ticket-selling machine is now in operation at the Giza Pyramids.
Zahi Hawass’ successor has resigned.

A Roman villa and a Byzantine mansion are being excavated in Antioch of Pisidia.

If you’ve ever wondered what the Israel Antiquities Authority looks like, Leon Mauldin has a picture of her. 🙂

Tagged Dead Sea, Egypt, Excavations, Jerusalem, Negev, Turkey

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

Timna Park, 20 miles (32 km) north of Eilat, has benefitted from a multi-million dollar spending spree, resulting in the creation of four new bicycle paths, hundreds of shade trees, and talk of a new hotel. The article says not a word about the best attraction of the park: the life-size model of the tabernacle.

In a BAR editorial, Aaron A. Burke describes how his detective work in the records of a deceased archaeologist revealed more about the city of Joppa (Jaffa) and cleared the archaeologist of claims of misdeeds.

At the Bible and Interpretation, Paul V. M. Flesher describes what a synagogue of Jesus’ time looked like.

CITYsights takes viewers on a one-minute video tour of Solomon’s Quarries (Zedekiah’s Cave) in
Jerusalem. The audio track consists of music only and if you turn the volume off, you’ll enjoy it more.

The Jerusalem Post has more details of Jerusalem: IMAX 3D, slated for release in 2013.

The headline of this Arutz-7 story would lead you to believe that it is about Ein Gedi, but it is primarily about the synagogue at the site.

BibleX notes that the Biblical Archaeology Society has 17 free e-books (with login/registration).

A group in Jordan is threatening to sue Israel over its opening of a baptismal site on the Jordan River.

They claim that the Israeli site is located in Jordan.

A story about ancient graffiti in caves in Israel is accompanied by a six-minute video.

Wayne Stiles in the Jerusalem Post: “There’s much to see in the area of Tel Maresha and Beit Guvrin.

Remnants of pottery, war, industry, entertainment, and tombs—all gifts of archaeology.”

Cave at Maresha/Beit Guvrin with ancient staircase

Tagged Jerusalem, Negev, Resources, Shephelah, Weekend Roundup

Oil Spill in Nahal Zin

The Eilat-Ashkelon pipeline was damaged today during work by heavy machinery. From Haaretz:

A large amount of gas leaked into the Nahal Tzin Nature Preserve in the Negev after a major Eilat pipeline burst on Wednesday. The leak caused major damage to the southern Israel nature preserve’s wildlife. The pipe burst when the Eilat Ashkelon Pipeline Company (EAPC) was performing maintenance work in the Tzin Valley. While EAPAC was working in the nature preserve, a pipeline collapsed, resulting in the leakage of a large amount of crude oil into Nahal Tzin. The leak may have caused damage to the nature preserve’s water sources. Eli Amitai, the director-general of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, has called on all available teams from the authority to arrive on the scene of the leak as soon as possible. They have already successfully prevented the further spread of the oil-leak and efforts are currently underway to clean up the preserve. The area surrounding the Nahal Tzin Nature Preserve has been closed off to hikers.

The full story is here. Ynet News reports the story here. In the Bible, the Nahal Zin constituted part of the southern border of the land God gave to Israel (Num 34:3). UPDATE: The Jerusalem Post has more details, including several quotes from Parks officials about the severity of the spill. Nahal Zin

Tagged Negev