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Displaying 1 - 20 of 22 results
The New Jerusalem Inscription—So What?
In 2012, while excavating at the southern wall of the Temple Mount, Israeli archaeologist Eilat Mazar discovered the oldest alphabetic inscription ever found in Jerusalem. It had been inscribed on a storage jar, but, alas, the jar had not...
Biblical Archaeology Review, May/June 2014
The Question of Israelite Literacy
How widespread was the ability to read and Write in ancient Israel? Until recently, the answer usually was, “Quite limited.” The ability to write, it was said, was restricted to a class of professional scribes, who possessed a skill...
Bible Review, Fall 1987
Prize Find: Priestly Blessing of a Voyage
Recovery of a harbor scene at Dor
Part of a Persian period pit produced a perplexing prize find. It was discovered at the end of our 13th season (1993) at Tel Dor.a Persian period pits (fifth-fourth century B.C.E.) are...
Biblical Archaeology Review, January/February 1995
Were Words Separated in Ancient Hebrew Writing?
Twice in recent issues of Bible Review, in otherwise excellent articles, Harvey Minkoff has asserted that “Ancient [Hebrew] manuscripts generally did not leave space between words.”a Writing without word divisions is called scriptio...
Bible Review, June 1992
Daniel and Belshazzar in History
The party was in full swing, the wine flowed freely, and everyone felt on top of the world. There was no power on earth to rival Babylon, and no gods in heaven to equal hers. This is the setting of the famous fifth chapter of the Book of...
Biblical Archaeology Review, May/June 1985
Pagan Yahwism: The Folk Religion of Ancient Israel
The Bible imagines the religion of ancient Israel as purely monotheistic. And doubtless there were Israelites, particularly those associated with the Jerusalem Temple, who were strict monotheists. But the archaeological evidence (and the...
Biblical Archaeology Review, May/June 2001
Phoenicia and Its Special Relationship with Israel
With a commercial empire that lasted a millennium, the Phoenicians were major players in the ancient Mediterranean world. Spreading their culture and goods, they came into contact with many different groups, but their relationship with the Israelites was distinct. Join Ephraim Stern as he explores the Phoenicians’ identity and interactions with their close neighbor and ally, Israel.
Biblical Archaeology Review, November/December 2017
Literacy in the Time of Jesus
Could His Words Have Been Recorded in His Lifetime?
How likely is it that someone would have written down and collected Jesus’ sayings into a book in Jesus’ lifetime? Several lines of evidence converge to suggest it is quite probable. The first factor to consider is how prevalent literacy was...
Biblical Archaeology Review, July/August 2003
The Many Masters of Dor, Part 1: When Canaanites Became Phoenician Sailors
History runs deep at Tel Dor—45 feet deep to be exact! Layer upon layer of ancient cities, each built on the ruins of its predecessor, have formed this immense mound on Israel’s Mediterranean coast, about 12 miles south of Haifa. As...
Biblical Archaeology Review, January/February 1993
The Many Masters of Dor, Part 3: The Persistence of Phoenician Culture
Twelve years of excavation have barely begun to uncover the 3,900 years of history buried at Tel Dor. Located 12 miles south of Haifa, on Israel’s Mediterranean coast, this 45-foot high...
Biblical Archaeology Review, May/June 1993
The Babylonian Gap
The Assyrians impressed their culture on Israel … the Babylonians left no trace
The Assyrians and Babylonians both ravaged large parts of ancient Israel, yet the archaeological evidence from the aftermath of their respective conquests tells two very different stories. Why? In 721 B.C.E., the Assyrians brought an end to...
Biblical Archaeology Review, November/December 2000
Gorgon Excavated at Dor
It was a fitting climax. We had been excavating at Tel Dor—an 80-acre tell, or mound, on the Mediterranean coast of Israel—for 20 exciting years. This was to be our last season. It was near the end of the dig when we found evidence of a Greek...
Biblical Archaeology Review, November/December 2002
The Many Masters of Dor, Part 2: How Bad Was Ahab?
Tel Dor, on Israel’s Mediterranean coast, is the site of one of the most conquered cities in the Levant. Although practically...
Biblical Archaeology Review, March/April 1993
Re-creating the Tablets of the Law
How should we imagine the Tablets of the Law that Moses twice brought down from the mountain? Whether the story is legend or...
Bible Review, February 1994
The Other “Philistines”
The Bible portrays the Philistines as Israel’s cruel and ruthless enemy. The two peoples engaged in a fierce struggle for control of the land in the 12th–11th centuries B.C.E. We all know the stories of Samson’s struggles against the...
Biblical Archaeology Review, November/December 2014
Ebla and the Bible
What’s left (if anything)?
I remember it well. It was early October 1975. We were sitting on top of the tell having lunch. One of our guests, Afif Bahnassi, the director of the Department of Antiquities of Syria...
Bible Review, April 1992
Does the Bible Exaggerate King Solomon’s Golden Wealth?
Those who read the Biblical text and make a subjective judgment as to its reliability often conclude—and understandably so—that the descriptions of Solomon’s gold are gross...
Biblical Archaeology Review, May/June 1989
What Happened to the Cult Figurines? Israelite Religion Purified After the Exile
Accidental discoveries of two pits containing cult figurines have led me to discern an extraordinary development in Israelite religious observance. This development occurred when the Jews returned from the Babylonian Exile in the sixth to...
Biblical Archaeology Review, July/August 1989
How Reliable Is Exodus?
Recent attacks on the historicity of the Exodus raise the question of whether or not a text prepared long after the event is likely to be historically accurate. For it is undoubtedly true that the text of Exodus was prepared centuries after...
Biblical Archaeology Review, July/August 2000
ReViews: The ABCs of Early Israel
Biblical Archaeology Review, July/August 2012