Today we released a music video for Psalm 23, featuring the beautiful “Adonai Ro’i” song by Miqedem and illustrated with photos from our collection. The song is in Hebrew, the very words composed by David in ancient Judah 3,000 years ago, and played by a band of believers in Israel. I think it’s one of the best videos of Psalm 23 ever created.
You can watch the video here, and if you like it, it would be a great help if you could share, like, and comment. Thank you.
A team excavating in Luxor has uncovered a mummy in a wooden sarcophagus that dates to 1600 BC.
“Archaeologists have discovered a shrine in a temple in Egypt that describes a ritual never seen before.”
Six thousand artifacts taken from the Kerak Castle will be displayed in the city museum.
Syria announced the uncovering of a large, remarkable 1,600-year-old mosaic depicting scenes of the Trojan War.
“New mosaics with various figures were unearthed during the ongoing excavations in the ancient city of Hadrianopolis, which is called the ‘Zeugma of Black Sea.’”
“Archaeologists may have found the sanctuary of the Samian Poseidon while they were conducting excavations at the Samicum Acropolis in Greece.”
The British Institute for the Study of Iraq is hosting an online international conference to mark the 100th anniversary of Sir Leonard Wooley’s first season of excavations at Ur.
Shai Gordin and Avital Romach explain the benefits of using computers to study ancient cuneiform texts.
New release: A Companion to the Hellenistic and Roman Near East, edited by Ted Kaizer (Wiley, £159; Amazon).
International Archaeology Day on October 22 will be celebrated at the Nashville Parthenon with a number of activities.
“An American tourist knocked over two ancient Roman busts in the Vatican Museums after he was told he couldn’t meet with Pope Francis.”
Our team has been working on a special little project, and we look forward to sharing that this week. By way of preview, I will say that it is a powerfully beautiful celebration of one of the most loved passages in all the Bible.
HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Ted Weis, Explorator
“Forty-four pure gold coins were recently found hidden in a wall during excavations at the Banias archaeological site.” The coins were minted in the reigns of the last two Byzantine emperors before the Muslim conquest in AD 635.
Mahmoud Hawari has a brief report on the Khirbat al-Mafjar Archaeological Project at Jericho.
As a follow-up to his previous post about a 1st-century synagogue at Chorazin, Carl Rasmussen shares some photos taken earlier this week on the current restoration project.
Leen Ritmeyer shares a number of reconstruction drawings from the Double Gate in Jerusalem, which he identifies with the Beautiful Gate of Acts 3.
The Museum of the Bible and DIVE (Digital Interactive Virtual Experiences) are hosting a virtual tour of the Kidron and Hinnom Valleys on November 9. The cost is $20.
Ferrell Jenkins provides some history and photos of Tirzah, the second capital of the northern kingdom of Israel.
Zoom lecture on Oct 26: “One Site, Two Peoples: Phoenicians and Jews at Kedesh of the Upper Galilee,” by Andrea Berlin
Bryan Windle has written another well-illustrated archaeological biography, this one on Hazael, the Aramean king who boasted of defeating Israel and the “house of David” in the famous Tel Dan Inscription.
New release: Encyclopedia of Material Culture in the Biblical World. A New Biblisches Reallexikon, edited by Angelika Berlejung with P.M. Michèle Daviau, Jens Kamlah, and Gunnar Lehmann (Mohr Siebeck, $223).
Eretz Magazine has created a new travel guide to the Herodium, lavishly illustrated with photos, maps, and reconstructions.
New subscribers to Approaching Jerusalem (Chandler Collins) receive a free e-booklet, “Golden Heights: Five Accessible Panoramas of Jerusalem.”
HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Alexander Schick, Ted Weis, Explorator, Paleojudaica
“The discovery of hidden hieroglyphics within Tutankhamun’s tomb lends weight to a theory that the fabled Egyptian queen Nefertiti lies in a hidden chamber adjacent to her stepson’s burial chamber.”
“Silphion cured diseases and made food tasty, but Emperor Nero allegedly consumed the last stalk. Now, a Turkish researcher thinks he’s found a botanical survivor” (subscription).
Sam Mirelman describes the Babylonian Akītu Festival and the Ritual Humiliation of the King.
Owen Jarus gives a lengthy survey of the history of Babylon.
The Peabody Museum of Archaeology at Harvard University is hosting an event on International Archaeology Day on Oct 15.
Phillip J. Long has written a new book, The Book of Enoch for Beginners: A Guide to Expand Your Understanding of the Biblical World.
Dan Reynolds will be speaking at the PEF on Oct 13 on “The Inheritance of Christ: Christian Pilgrimage in the Holy Land Before the Crusades, c. 800 – c. 1099.”
“September 2022 proved to be a banner month for discoveries in the world of biblical archaeology.” Bryan Windle reviews the top three.
HT: Agade, Keith Keyser, Arne Halbakken
Archaeologists discovered an intact burial cave from the 13th century BC on the Palmachim Beach south of Tel Aviv. Unfortunately the cave was plundered while it was being excavated.
Scientists have identified the earliest use of opium in a 14th century BC burial pit at Tel Yehud.
Here are many more photos of the beautiful Byzantine mosaic floor discovered in the Gaza Strip.
“An ancient shipwreck found off the shore of Israel and loaded with cargo from all over the Mediterranean shows that traders from the West still came to port even after the Islamic conquest of the Holy Land.”
Drew Longacre answers nine common questions about the Dead Sea Scrolls.
John DeLancey and Kyle Keimer discuss the excavations at Tel Dan (40 min).
Rocco Buttliere built a model of Jerusalem in the 1st century using 114,000 Legos.
“Five perfectly red heifers, required for the ritual purification of those who have touched a dead body, arrived in Israel from a ranch in Texas on Thursday, as the Temple Institute continues preparations to lay the ground for the construction of the Third Temple in Jerusalem.” There is hope that they will produce a herd that will be a tourist attraction for Christians.
New release: The Social Archaeology of Late Second Temple Judaea From Purity, Burial, and Art, to Qumran, Herod, and Masada, by Eyal Regev (Routledge, 2022; $128; eBook $39)
Bryan Windle has written an archaeological biography for King Pekah, one of the last kings of Israel.
I had what may be a unique experience in my life this week – three articles I wrote were published within a few days of each other. Rather than pass over them briefly here, I’ll plan to say more in separate posts in the next few weeks.
HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Arne Halbakken, Wayne Stiles, Charles Savelle, Keith Keyser
What scholars once believed was an ancient synagogue near Khirbet Midras is actually a Roman temple. Haaretz has the story for subscribers.
A silver quarter-shekel from Year 4 of the First Jewish Revolt that was looted from the Elah Valley has now been returned to Israel. The coin is so rare that there are none in any of Israel’s museums.
With the announcement pending of the most beautiful mosaic floor ever discovered in the Gaza Strip, scholars are calling for greater protection of the area’s antiquities.
Bible History Daily’s latest OnSite video is of the Herodium. Nathan Steinmeyer has packed a lot of information and images into just over two minutes.
Chandler Collins has posted the first “Jerusalem Tracker,” with links to recent articles, books, lectures, and developments related to Jerusalem. This is like a roundup on steroids, all focused on one important city. (You can support his work here.)
The Museum of the Bible and DIVE (Digital Interactive Virtual Experiences) are hosting a virtual tour of Masada on October 19. Registration costs $20.
A new exhibition entitled “Arteology: The Power of the Ancients in Contemporary Forms” has opened near the Davidson Center in Jerusalem.
New release: The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Nag Hammadi Codices: Selected Papers from the Conference “The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Nag Hammadi Codices” in Berlin, 20–22 July 2018 (hardback $167; pdf free).
Martin Heide and Joris Peters write about “Camels in the Biblical World of the Ancient Near East.” Their evidence for their use over the millennia observes the use of domesticated camels in the time of Abraham.
In the latest episode of BiblicalWorld, “Chris McKinny and Mark Janzen discuss the early vs. late date for the date of the exodus, date of the conquest, the emergence of Israel in the land of Canaan, settlement patterns in Canaan, and biblical chronology.”
“The Kerem Tunnel, the first bicycle tunnel in Israel, has been inaugurated as part of the Jerusalem Ring Path, a 42-kilometer cycling route that surrounds the capital city.”
We have a good deal right now for the brand-new Photo Companion to Hebrews (only $39 for 1,950 photos). Or you can pick up all of the General Epistles for only $49 (4,800 photos).
HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Arne Halbakken, Charles Savelle, Explorator