Recent investigations have identified five mikva’ot (singular: mikveh), or Jewish ritual baths, in caves on the Galilean cliffs of Arbel, revealing the highly religious orientation of the inhabitants. Read more…
Ancient Israel
The land, culture and people of Israel during the Biblical period, especially from the Iron Age to the Persian period.
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Mikva’ot in Galilean Caves Suggest Lives of Refuge and Religion
• 04/27/2012
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How Ancient Taxes Were Collected Under King Manasseh
• 04/09/2012
Discovered during the Temple Mount Sifting Project, this seventh-century B.C.E. clay bulla inscribed in paleo-Hebrew script with the phrase “Gibeon, for the king” provides new evidence for how ancient taxes Read more…
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A History of Horses in the Divided Kingdom of Israel and Judah
• 02/21/2012
Examine the history of horses in Ziony Zevit’s review of Deborah O’Daniel Cantrell’s The Horsemen of Israel: Horses and Charioty in Monarchic Israel. Read more…
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A New Document Dated to Four Years After the Second Jewish Revolt
• 02/08/2012
During the First Jewish Revolt against Rome (66–70 C.E.), which ended with the destruction of the Temple, Jews minted their own coins dated to the first, second, third, fourth and, Read more…
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Does the Merneptah Stele Contain the First Mention of Israel?
• 01/17/2012
Does this fragmentary hieroglyphic inscription contain the first mention of Israel? According to a recently published article by Manfred Görg, Peter van der Veen and Christoffer Theis, the name-ring on Read more…
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Ritual Sacrifice in Ancient Israel
• 10/25/2011
What are the origins of animal sacrifice? We know that many ancient cultures practiced ritual sacrifice, and ancient sacrifice in Israel was a part of religious worship at the Jerusalem Read more…
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The Collections of the Israel Museum, Jerusalem
• 10/14/2011
Steven Fine reviews the book Chronicles of the Land: Archaeology in the Israel Museum Jerusalem edited by Michal Dayagi-Mendels and Silvia Rozenberg. Read more…
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Daily Life in Ancient Israel–An Examination of Israel in the Time of Jesus
• 10/14/2011
Shaye J.D. Cohen reviews Jodi Magness’s book Stone and Dung, Oil and Spit: Jewish Daily Life in the Time of Jesus. Read more…
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Does Radiocarbon Dating Accuracy Help Us Determine Bible Chronology?
• 07/17/2011
There’s been a lot of debate around the issue of Bible chronology, which more specifically relates to the era of the reigns of David and Solomon. Did they live in Read more…
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How Should We Study Ancient Israelite Religion?
• 07/17/2011
Few Biblical scholars carry as much weight as does Frank Moore Cross, author of the following article, “The History of Israelite Religion: A Secular or Theological Subject?,” in which he Read more…
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The Importance of Bible Artifacts Found Outside the Trench: House Shrines
• 07/15/2011
Continuing our series on unprovenanced Biblical artifacts, that is, Bible artifacts found outside of a professional excavation, another example of these Biblical artifacts found in the Middle East are house Read more…
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The Importance of Bible Artifacts Found Outside the Trench: Magic Incantation Bowls
• 07/15/2011
Bible artifacts found not in a stratified context, and often as the product of archaeological looting, tend to get a bad rap. In this installment of our series on important Read more…
