Resources Archives - Page 92 of 149

More Volumes of the Survey of Western Palestine

The February 2014 issue of the BiblePlaces Newsletter was sent yesterday (you can read it here, or sign up for future newsletters here). After it went out, A.D. Riddle alerted me to the availability of three of the missing volumes of the Survey of Western Palestine, now online for free. We’ve now updated that article to include all of the available volumes. If you simply want to access the volumes we just added to the list, you can do that with these links: Special Papers on Topography, Archaeology, Manners and Customs, etc. (1881), by C. Wilson, C. Warren, C. R. Conder, et al. (pdf) The Survey of Western Palestine: Memoir on the Physical Geology and Geography of Arabia Petraea (1886), by E. H. Hull (pdf) Survey of Eastern Palestine: Topography, Orography, Hydrography and Archaeology: The Adwan Country (1889), by C. R. Conder (pdf) We’ve also updated the single file download of all 10 available volumes in pdf format. If you want the maps to go along with them, you can get high-quality scans along with a number of other valuable features in our collection here ($35).

Tagged Historical Geography, Resources

New Book: The Tomb of Jesus and His Family?

The sensational discoveries get all the media (and blog) attention, but too little is reported when the initial claim falls short. One example is the papyrus fragment that mentions “Jesus’ wife” which Harvard University probably wishes would just quietly be forgotten. (More than a year later, there is still no report from a test that was supposed to take weeks.)

Another case is that of the “Jesus family tomb” in Talpiot. There was a barrage of sensational press coverage when the movie was released, but what do scholars say once they’ve had a chance to evaluate the evidence?

Eerdmans has just released a volume based on a conference convened in Jerusalem in 2008. The Tomb of Jesus and His Family?: Exploring Ancient Jewish Tombs Near Jerusalem’s Walls was edited by James H. Charlesworth, and the 600-page volume includes 28 chapters written by several dozen contributors. The work is selling on Amazon for $34. Here are a few of the chapters:

The Talpiot Tomb Reconsidered: The Archaeological Facts, by Amos Kloner and Shimon Gibson

Identifying Inscriptional Names in the Century Before 70:
Problems and Methodology, by André Lemaire

Demythologizing the Talpiot Tomb: The Tomb of Another Jesus,
Mary, and Joseph, by Stephen Pfann

On the Authenticity of the James Ossuary and Its Possible Link to ‘the Jesus Family Tomb,’ by Amnon Rosenfeld, Howard R.
Feldman, and Wolfgang E. Krumbein

The Burial of Jesus in Light of Jewish Burial Practices and

Roman Crucifixions, by Lee Martin McDonald

Polemics, Irenics, and the Science of Biblical Research, by James H. Charlesworth

The full table of contents is available via the preview in Google Books.

Eerdmans has also produced a 22-minute video interview with James Charlesworth.

Tagged Resources, Tomb of Jesus

Weekend Roundup

With the cooperation of local landowners, a new national park may be established at Tal al-Umayri (el-Umeiri) in Jordan.

Archaeologists have discovered what may be the oldest Roman temple at the foot of Capitoline Hill in Rome.

“The remains of a bustling port and barracks for sailors or military troops have been discovered near the Giza Pyramids.”

Archaeologists working at Tell Abu al-Kharaz in the Jordan Valley believe they have evidence that some of the Sea Peoples settled there ca. 1100 BC.

A new computer system in use by the Israel Antiquities Authority will enable archaeologists to create “a national database of sherds, a kind of sherd Google.” (Haaretz; registration required)

Some of Syria’s historic sites are being destroyed for political reasons.

A Study Guide of Israel: Historical & Geographical, by Arnold Fruchtenbaum is on now on sale at ~~Logos~~ ~~for $18. ($52 used at~~ ~~Amazon~~.)

The HCSB Study Bible is on sale for the Kindle for $3.

This diagram shows Paul’s missionary journeys in the form of a London subway map.

Leona Glidden Running, co-author of a biography of W. F. Albright, has died.

HT: Joseph Lauer, Jack Sasson, Mark Hoffman

Port and barracks excavated near Giza pyramids.
Photo by AERA.

Tagged Discoveries, Egypt, Jordan, Resources, Syria, Technology, Weekend Roundup

Now Available: Edward Robinson’s Works on Logos

Logos Bible Software is offering a set of 8 volumes entitled “Classic Studies and Atlases on Biblical Geography.” What you need to know is that it includes the three volumes of Edward Robinson’s Biblical Researches in Palestine. The collection is now listed on the Community Pricing, which is always the most affordable way to purchase books from Logos. Once they receive enough orders, the price will jump up $100 or so. Now you can bid what you feel the set is worth.

For those who don’t know, Edward Robinson’s set is the seminal work on historical geography of the land of Israel. Robinson and his student Eli Smith traveled throughout Palestine in 1838 with a goal of locating ancient sites, primarily on the basis of name preservation. I have a couple of sets of this work, including one original edition from 1841. I once began creating an electronic edition, but other matters came in the way and it was set aside. Now you can purchase this at an attractive price. (And, yes, Google Books has long had this for free, but what you save in money you’ll pay for in the headache of trying to sort out the volumes from various editions that do not go together.)

I do wish that Logos would add to this collection the fourth volume, Later Biblical Researches in Palestine (1856). This was based on a later trip that Robinson and Smith made to answer some outstanding questions.

The other titles included:

The Bible Atlas of Maps and Plans, by Samuel Clark
Atlas of the Historical Geography of the Holy Land, by George Adam Smith
An Historical Textbook and Atlas of Biblical Geography, by Lyman Coleman
Sacred Geography and Antiquities, by E. P. Barrows
Physical Geography of the Holy Land, by Edward Robinson

Once upon a time, I created a list of the best resources by 19th-century explorers of Palestine.

You can put in your bid here. And here is another collection of similar works, but no longer at the attractive Community Pricing.

HT: Charles Savelle

Robinson's Arch with new excavations, db6806245201

Robinson’s Arch in Jerusalem, named for Edward Robinson
Photo by David Bivin

Tagged Resources

Weekend Roundup

Noah Wiener has a follow-up article on the spring tunnel discovered in the Rephaim Valley. He includes a great photo of the tunnel.

Zachi Zweig disagrees with Leen Ritmeyer’s dating of the newly revealed course of ashlar stones on the Temple Mount. He dates it to the Early Islamic period.

A woman has turned over to the IAA a large collection of pottery discovered by a relative in the Mediterranean Sea.

The winter dig at Khirbet el-Maqatir began in the snow. They spent several weeks excavating three caves.

The ancient Myceneans once used portable grills at their picnics.

Archaeologists have discovered grain from the Neolithic period at Çatalhöyük.

The report for the 2013 excavation season at Tall el-Hammam is now online.

The first two volumes of NGSBA Archaeology are available for download. (NGSBA = Nelson Glueck School of Biblical Archaeology.)

Just published: The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of the Levant: c. 8000-332 BCE, edited by
Margreet L. Steiner and Ann E. Killebrew. Oxford University Press. 912 pages. $165.

Wayne Stiles explains how to make the maps in your Bible atlas fully searchable.

HT: Joseph Lauer, Tim Graham, Jack Sasson

Tagged Greece, Israel's Coast, Jerusalem, Jordan Rift, Photo Resources, Resources, Temple Mount, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup

Leen Ritmeyer has photos and interpretation of the latest illegal excavations on the Temple Mount.

Ritmeyer suspects the revealed wall line may be the northern boundary of the 500-meter square pre-Herodian Temple Mount.

New excavations began at Tel Hebron this week.

Gershon Galil has translated the earliest Jerusalem alphabetic inscription be a reference to “wine part.”

Some rare fabrics dyed with extract from the murex shell have been discovered. The three colors found “represent the most prestigious colors in antiquity: indigo, purple and crimson.”

A couple of Top Discoveries of 2013 have been posted: Gordon Govier (Christianity Today) and
Noah Wiener (Biblical Archaeology Society).

In 2012, from time to time I surveyed excavation reports published by the Israel Antiquities Authority. I did not have time for that in 2013, but you can peruse the list here.

Scholars are using Google Earth to trace ancient trade routes around Antioch of Syria.

Currently on exhibition at the Israel Museum: Mapping the Holy Land II: Cartographic Treasures from the Trevor and Susan Chinn Collection.

Logos Bible Software has a pre-publication sale on Biblical Archaeologist/Near Eastern Archaeology 1992–2011 ($140).

Timothy Valentino has written an outstanding eulogy for Professor David A. Dorsey.

HT: Joseph Lauer, Jack Sasson, Charles Savelle

Tagged Excavations, Jerusalem, Judah, Museums, Resources, Technology, Temple Mount, Weekend Roundup