4,000 years ago, an official named Aradmu kept economic and social records of agrarian life and the economy near Nippur in southern Iraq. After having been looted from Iraq, smuggled to the United States and stored in the Customs House at 6 World Trade Center when the building was destroyed in the September 11th attacks, Aradmu’s clay tablets defied all odds and survived to be translated. The 302 tablets—145 of which were written by Aradmu—were retrieved, restored, and given to Harvard Professor Benjamin Studevent-Hickman for translation before returning them to Iraq. Aradmu’s writings include receipts, loan records and descriptions of his brothers and his father Lugal-me-a. The records provide a window into ordinary life and the economic conditions of the time (grain loans included whopping 33% interest rates), but the story of the tablets’ recovery and translation is anything but ordinary.

Harvard Assyriologist Benjamin Studevent-Hickman translated the recovered cuneiform tablets.

Read more about the tablets’ history and translation.

A gaunt Nehemiah guards the portal on the west facade of the Church of St. Lazare, in Avallon, central France. In a recent study, scroll scholars Torleif Elgvin and Esther Eshel identified the first known copy of the Book of Nehemiah among the Dead Sea Scrolls. Photo: Foto Marburg/Art Resource, NY.

Anyone familiar with the Dead Sea Scrolls can tell you that portions of nearly every book in the Hebrew Bible are represented in these ancient texts discovered in caves near the Dead Sea.

The only exceptions were the Book of Esther and the Book of Nehemiah;* scholars assumed the latter had been written on the same scroll as the Book of Ezra (as was common) but simply hadn’t survived—until now. In a recent blog post,** Norwegian scroll scholar Torleif Elgvin of Evangelical Lutheran University College in Oslo, Norway, announced that he and colleague Esther Eshel of Bar-Ilan University will be publishing a collection of more than two dozen previously unknown scroll fragments, including the first known fragment of Nehemiah.

The scrolls in the new book come from Qumran Cave 4, Bar-Kokhba caves and Wadi ed-Daliyeh. The publication, Gleanings from the Caves (forthcoming from T&T Clark) will feature enhanced photographs of the scrolls by Bruce Zuckerman and his team,*** as well as “artifacts from the Judean Desert such as a scroll jar, a palm fiber pen, a bronze altar and inkwell.”

** Torleif Elgvin NEWS FROM THE SCHØYEN COLLECTION

*** See Bruce Zuckerman, “Archaeological Views: New Eyeballs on Ancient Texts,” Biblical Archaeology Review, November/December 2011.

As Bible History Daily readers, you are part of a community of people who have an imperishable enthusiasm for Biblical studies and the archaeology of the Biblical lands. We at BAS aim to keep you informed and entertained by providing the latest Biblical archaeology news along with information about the scholarship presented in the pages of Biblical Archaeology Review. We report on the latest insights, debates and discoveries while maintaining balances between Hebrew Bible and New Testament topics and those of Biblical and neighboring cultures. Certain subjects, such as the Dead Sea Scrolls or the recent forgery trial, have ignited wonderful debates, and we aim to keep our readers up-to-date and involved in the discussions.

Most importantly, this is a community, and we encourage your involvement. So please, if you have favorite topics or posts, comment on them, ask questions and let us know what you’d like to see. Often Bible History Daily posts are discussions and summaries of content from Biblical Archaeology Review. If you want to read over 35 years of original scholarship in BAR, Bible Review and Archaeology Odyssey, it is all waiting for you in the BAS Library.

We are lucky to have such a great depth of scholarly content to draw from, and even more lucky to have such an interesting and interested readership. We would love to hear more from you. If you would be generous enough to go back to your favorite BHD articles and provide comments, questions and subjects that you’d like to explore, we will do our best to provide you with the resources that you need.

Thank you for reading and sharing my enthusiasm for archaeology, Biblical scholarship and the ancient world.

Noah Wiener
BAS Web Editor

Collector Oded Golan and antiquities dealer Robert Deutsch were acquitted after a seven-year trial involving the alleged forgery of several sensational Israeli antiquities. Despite the extensive expert testimony leading to the acquittal, the Israel Antiquities Authority still fights against the return of the James Ossuary and other artifacts to owner Oded Golan.

Despite the March 14th verdict declaring collector Oded Golan not guilty on all counts of forgery, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) persists in its conflict with the defendant. Prosecutor Dan Bahat announced the IAA’s intention to fight the return of the artifacts to Oded Golan.

Golan and codefendant Robert Deutsch were acquitted after a seven-year trial involving the alleged forgery of several sensational Israeli antiquities including the first-century C.E. James Ossuary, a bone box bearing the inscription “James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus,” and the Jehoash inscription, which may be the first known royal Israelite inscription.*

Now, two months after the verdict, the IAA is pursuing the permanent confiscation of the James Ossuary and other artifacts. Despite nearly a decade of scholarly inquiry that led to Golan’s acquittal on all counts of forgery, the IAA persists in referring to the artifacts as fakes, and Bahat went so far as to compare the return of artifacts to Golan with returning drugs to a dealer.

In 2007, Amir Ganor, the head of the IAA anti-theft unit, stated that the artifacts would be returned to Golan if he were to be acquitted. Even though the verdict ruled against any evidence of forgery, Bahat has suggested that the “fakes” be given to the Israel Police forensics laboratory rather than being put on display in a museum or returned to Golan’s collection. Oded Golan’s attorney Lior Bringer responded by stating that “the prosecution is asking the court to punish the defendant for crimes for which he was acquitted.”

According to Oded Golan, he has owned the James Ossuary since the late 1970s but was unaware of the implications of the inscription and never once tried to profit from his ownership of the spectacular artifact. He described himself to BAS as “not an antiquities dealer. I have never sold any item of antiquity overseas and have never removed antiquities from Israel without a license. I have never considered my collection a source of profit or income. Out of my love for the field, I took steps to save thousands of artifacts discovered in the Judea and Samaria region, which are the territories of the Jewish people’s heritage and history.”

The James Ossuary with its inscription reading “James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus” was one of several artifacts involved in the “forgery trial of the century.” Despite the evidence against forgery, the IAA still considers the ossuary and other artifacts fakes.

Over the course of the ten-year investigation and trial, Golan has been subject to public criticism, financial losses, two periods of imprisonment and over 700 days of house arrest. Judge Aharon Farkash referred to the IAA attempt to confiscate the artifacts and push for maximum sentences on three minor charges as a “witch-hunt” against Golan. Antiquities dealer and scholar Robert Deutsch, who was acquitted of all charges, has already announced his intentions to sue the IAA for defamation of character.**

After the verdict, Oded Golan gave BAS editors a statement. “The hot-air balloon released by the prosecution and the IAA has finally popped. The court has said its word and unequivocally determined that all the attempts to label me and others forgers were refuted in entirety.”

Despite receiving a severely humiliating and conclusive hit with the verdict, the IAA has not wavered in its stance on Golan or the James Ossuary, which may be the only archaeological evidence with a direct connection to Jesus’ family. The spectacular importance of the antiquities and the massive scale of the case against Golan have led the case to be considered the “forgery trial of the century.” Perhaps the Israel Museum will follow a quip by Judge Aharon Farkash to put up a special display of the artifacts from the trial.

Read more about the IAA’s attempt to confiscate the artifacts in Mathew Kalman’s Jerusalem Post article.

* Biblical Archaeology Review and Bible History Daily have published an extensive collection of articles and blogposts on the forgery trial. Read BAR editor Hershel Shanks’s authoritative post-verdict analyses in the BHD post “Verdict: Not Guilty.”

Get the complete picture of the verdict through Bible History Daily’s “James Ossuary Forgery Trial Resources Guide. ”

Download a FREE eBook “James, Brother of Jesus: The Forgery Trial of the Century” featuring BAR editor Hershel Shanks’s post-trial analyses along with the original scholarly publications on several of the alleged forgeries.

** Robert Deutsch to Sue IAA.

When Cambridge archaeologist John MacGinnis examined a tablet listing the names of 60 women found at an Assyrian governor’s palace in southeastern Turkey, he noticed that most did not bear resemblance to other ancient Near Eastern names or languages. As names were usually formed out of ordinary words, the tablet from ancient Tushan indicates the discovery of a “new” ancient language.

The international team of archaeologists working at Tushan (Ziyaret Tepe) found the tablet in an archive, suggesting that the list may have been created as a record of working people kept for economic reasons. MacGinnis believes the women, whose names include Ushimanay, Alagahnia, Irsakinna and Bisoonoomay, came from the Zagros Mountains in Western Iran. During the 8th-century B.C.E., the Assyrian kings Tiglath Pilasser III and Sargon II carried out military campaigns in the Zagros area, a region whose ancient languages are not well known.

This tablet from Ancient Tushan (Ziyaret Tepe) contains the names of 60 working women, most of which do not relate to any known language. This “new” ancient language may shed light on the ancient languages of the Zagros Mountains.

Read more about the ancient language.

The English language Dead Sea Scroll translation by Geza Vermes has evolved from a slim edition into its present form as a 720-page tome.

Fifty years have passed since a young scholar named Geza Vermes published the first Dead Sea Scrolls translation of the texts available at the time. Geza Vermes has played an essential role in scroll research from the beginning. Following their discovery in 1947, Vermes published his first article on the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1949, completed a doctoral dissertation on their historical framework in 1952, and published his first book on the subject the following year. Dead Sea Scrolls research was still in its infancy in 1962, but Geza Vermes was already an established expert in the field.
Geza Vermes’ original Dead Sea Scrolls translation was a slim 255-page volume from Penguin Books simply titled The Dead Sea Scrolls in English. This insightful but accessible translation quickly attracted both general readers and scholars. As the field of Dead Sea Scrolls study burgeoned, so has the volume by Geza Vermes. Celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, the book (now in its seventh edition) has grown into a 720-page tome. An estimated 500,000 copies have been sold.

Geza Vermes

The seventh edition of the book, now titled The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English, includes every sufficiently preserved and available Qumran text. (Some fragments and possibly larger texts are still out there somewhere!) The Dead Sea Scrolls translation remains a standard in scroll study for its literary quality and interpretations. Marking the 50th anniversary since the first edition, Geza Vermes, now 87 years old, told BAR “Few books last that long. Few authors last that long. The combination of the two is even more uncommon.”

Based on “Fifty Years of Dead Sea Scroll Translation,” Biblical Archaeology Review, May/June 2012.

Read Geza Vermes and Lawrence Schiffman’s “The Dead Sea Scrolls: How They Changed My Life” as it appeared in Biblical Archaeology Review, Jul/Aug 2007.

According to Luke 2:36–38, the elderly and widowed prophetess Anna, depicted here in a 17th-century painting by Rembrandt, served God day and night in the Jerusalem Temple. When Joseph and Mary bring Jesus to the Temple as an infant, she immediately recognizes Jesus as the Messiah.

During her time at the 2011 conference of the Society of Biblical Literature in San Francisco, California, BHD contributing blogger Robin Gallaher Branch enjoyed many stimulating lectures, including one by New Testament scholar Mona Tokarek LaFosse on the important role played by older women in the patriarchal society of the New Testament world. While there were certainly competing ideas about the proper role for women in society, LaFosse concludes that older women were especially valued for their abilities to influence family relationships and mold, teach and guide younger women.

Robin Gallaher Branch’s summary of LaFosse’s intriguing lecture is given below.

In her lecture “Roles and Responsibilities for Older Women in Early Christianity,” Mona Tokarek LaFosse, an instructor in New Testament language and literature at Huron University College in Ontario, used Titus 2:3-5 to point out that five distinct groups of people were found in a typical household in the Mediterranean world. Proper behavior was expected among and between individual members, both within the household and in their relationships with the rest of the world. It is possible that early Christian communities “included elements of age hierarchy among women who may or may not have had familial connections,” she said.

Stating at the outset that Titus was a fictive character and that the letter to Titus was pseudo-Paul, LaFosse then examined the letter’s comments about older women. Older women were to be reverent, not slanderous, and not slaves to wine. Their lives and characters were to be models for younger women. They should exhibit self control and be able to teach younger women chaste and proper behavior.

Another model of older women, certainly a competing one, included those who were witches, sex-craved and toothless, LaFosse added.

LaFosse wondered, “Who are these older women in the letter to Titus? Are they fictive? How do older women have power over younger women?” LaFosse pointed out that for a woman, being considered “older” by her family and peers may have been the most powerful time in her life. LaFosse gave the example of how a daughter-in-law was subject to the wishes and commands of her mother-in-law.

LaFosse believed there were many female networks in urban settings in the patriarchal society of the New Testament world. She maintained that the author of Titus recognized the influence of such networks.

She concluded that the “evidence suggests that expected roles for older, non-elite women, such as those referred to in Titus 2:3-5, included modeling, teaching, guidance, matchmaking and patronage for younger women.”

In addition, LaFosse challenged the view that a woman who married was lost to her natal family and cited papyrological evidence suggesting that urban Roman women “retained contact with their natal family after marriage.”

Robin Gallaher Branch

Robin Gallaher Branch is professor of Biblical studies at Victory University (formerly Crichton College) in Memphis, Tennessee, and Extraordinary Associate Professor in the Faculty of Theology at North-West University in Potchefstroom, South Africa. She received her Ph.D. in Hebrew Studies from the University of Texas in Austin in 2000. She was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship for the 2002-2003 academic year to the Faculty of Theology at North-West University. Her most recent book is Jereboam’s Wife: The Enduring Contributions of the Old Testament’s Least-Known Women (Hendrickson, 2009).

In the sixth century C.E. history The Buildings of Justinian, the Byzantine historian Procopius of Caesarea describes how God provided a miraculous supply of stone for the construction of the Nea Ekklesia of the Theotokos church. The recent discovery of a Jerusalem quarry by Israeli archaeologists in the Rehavia neighborhood may be the site of Procopius’s miracle. A partially chiseled Byzantine column over 20 feet tall bearing the inscription “Mizi Achmar,” meaning red stone, reminding Israel Antiquities Authority archaeologists of Procopius’s tale.

Procupius wrote that “God revealed a natural supply of stone perfectly suited to this purpose in the nearby hills, one which had either lain there in concealment previously, or was created at that moment…So the church is supported on all sides by a number of huge columns from that place, which in color resemble flames of fire.” Archaeologists found markings indicating the chiseling of other columns nearby the original find. Professor Yoram Zafrir notes that the type of stone is exceptionally hard to work with, and the stonemasons presumably moved on to a new column fearing cracks in the discovered work.

The partially chiseled Byzantine column bearing the inscription “red stone” reminded Israel Antiquities Authority archaeologists of Procopius’ tale.

Read more about the quarry.

Jill Katz, lecturer in anthropology and archaeology at Yeshiva University, explains how ethnographic analogy can be used to understand early Israel during the period of the Biblical Judges.

Traditional Biblical and archaeological scholarship considers early Israel a “tribal” society during the time of the Biblical Judges. But what does that mean? According to anthropological archaeologist Jill Katz in her column “An Anthropologist’s View of Early Israel” in the May/June 2012 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review, the answer can be sought using anthropology and ethnographic analogy.

As Katz writes, ethnographic anthropologists concern themselves with the living, while archaeologists prefer the dead. And while archaeology extends the timeframe of human cultures into the distant past, anthropology provides valuable comparative and interpretive tools that archaeologists can use to better understand past cultures.

The most important of these is ethnographic analogy. A basic definition, according to Katz, is the use of ethnography—the study of a living people—to infer how another group may have lived long ago. In other words, by looking at behavior observed among peoples in more recent times, archaeologists can better understand an ancient group that lived in a similar fashion.

Unfortunately, as Katz notes, the field of Biblical archaeology has been relatively slow to adopt ethnographic analogy and other anthropological methods. Most debates in Biblical archaeology focus on issues of proper dating and arguments over historical issues such as whether or not King David was an actual king. While these are indeed important issues, they rarely incorporate ethnographic analogy or anthropological methods that make up an “archaeological toolkit.” Once the conversation between the two disciplines begins, however, Katz believes anthropology and Biblical archaeology scholars will discover that they have much to share with each other.

For example, in her study of ancient Israel during the period of the Biblical Judges (c. 1200–1000 B.C.E.), Jill Katz found that ethnographic analogy offered a useful way to investigate the nature of pre-monarchic Israelite “tribal” society. In looking over ethnographic parallels, Katz determined that during the period of the Biblical Judges, Israel appears to be what anthropologists call “Big Man” societies—that is, small, autonomous, village-based agricultural communities where leadership emerges from charisma and personality rather than inheritance.

That leadership was conceived of as informal during the period of the Biblical Judges is expressed most clearly in the story of Gideon. After a successful campaign against Midian, the “men of Israel” specifically request that Gideon and his children become permanent leaders: “Rule over us, you, your son, and your grandson as well” (Judges 8:22). Gideon rejects the offer on behalf of himself and his children in the spirit that the “Lord alone shall rule over you” (Judges 8:23).

This passage makes explicit that the Biblical Judges did not pass on their leadership from generation to generation. But it is only through the use of ethnographic analogy that we can see just how difficult it is to be a leader without any formal claim to authority.

To continue learning about anthropological approaches to Biblical archaeology, read Jill Katz, Archaeological Views, “An Anthropologist’s View of Early Israel,” Biblical Archaeology Review, May/June 2012.

Hebrew University of Jerusalem's Yosef Garfinkel with a stone shrine model found at Khirbet Qeiyafa (Credit: Hebrew University of Jerusalem).

The exciting finds just keep coming at Khirbet Qeiyafa. This unique, fortified Judahite city on the border with Philistia had a short-lived existence between 1020 and 980 B.C.E., according to carbon-dated remains excavated at the site, that places it at the dawn of the Israelite Monarchy, the time of King Saul and King David. In 2008, excavation director Yosef Garfinkel of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem revealed an ostracon with five lines of early script that had been discovered at Khirbet Qeiyafa. Among the earliest examples of alphabetic writing found in Israel, the enigmatic Qeiyafa Ostracon has been the focus of several articles in Biblical Archaeology Review, including two features in the May/June 2012 issue.

Want to learn more about cult at Khirbet Qeiyafa directly from excavation director Yosef Garfinkel? Check out the brand new DVD “The Sanctuary of Khirbet Qeiyafa.” Garfinkel’s recent dynamic lecture includes illuminating slides highlighting evidence of the city’s unique early Judahite cult.

Now even more fascinating finds from Khirbet Qeiyafa are shedding light on the crucial historical period of King David. Announced today at a press conference in Jerusalem, Garfinkel shared with the public for the first time several cultic items that were recently excavated from three “shrine rooms” at the site, including two portable shrine models, two basalt altars, two pottery libation vessels and five standing stones. According to Garfinkel and his codirector, Saar Ganor of the Israel Antiquities Authority, these finds offer the first clear archaeological evidence of cultic activity in Judah during the time of King David. The shrine models also show the existence of sophisticated royal architecture styles during that period and may shed light on design elements of Solomon’s Temple as described in the Bible.

See the images and press release below from the Hebrew University for more about the discovery that has the archaeological world buzzing.

View a slideshow of the newly announced finds from Khirbet Qeiyafa below.

Hover cursor over image to read caption.

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Department of Media Relations

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Hebrew University archaeologist finds the first evidence of a cult in Judah at the time of King David, with implications for Solomon’s Temple

Jerusalem, May 8, 2012—Prof. Yosef Garfinkel, the Yigal Yadin Professor of Archaeology at the Institute of Archaeology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, announced today the discovery of objects that for the first time shed light on how a cult was organized in Judah at the time of King David. During recent archaeological excavations at Khirbet Qeiyafa, a fortified city in Judah adjacent to the Valley of Elah, Garfinkel and colleagues uncovered rich assemblages of pottery, stone and metal tools, and many art and cult objects. These include three large rooms that served as cultic shrines, which in their architecture and finds correspond to the biblical description of a cult at the time of King David.

This discovery is extraordinary as it is the first time that shrines from the time of early biblical kings were uncovered. Because these shrines pre-date the construction of Solomon’s temple in Jerusalem by 30 to 40 years, they provide the first physical evidence of a cult in the time of King David, with significant implications for the fields of archaeology, history, biblical and religion studies.

Located approximately 30 km. southwest of Jerusalem in the valley of Elah, Khirbet Qeiyafa was a border city of the Kingdom of Judah opposite the Philistine city of Gath. The city, which was dated by 10 radiometric measurements (14C) done at Oxford University on burned olive pits, existed for a short period of time between ca. 1020 to 980 BCE, and was violently destroyed.

The biblical tradition presents the people of Israel as conducting a cult different from all other nations of the ancient Near East by being monotheistic and an-iconic (banning human or animal figures). However, it is not clear when these practices were formulated, if indeed during the time of the monarchy (10-6th centuries BC), or only later, in the Persian or Hellenistic eras.

The absence of cultic images of humans or animals in the three shrines provides evidence that the inhabitants of the place practiced a different cult than that of the Canaanites or the Philistines, observing a ban on graven images.

The findings at Khirbet Qeiyafa also indicate that an elaborate architectural style had developed as early as the time of King David. Such construction is typical of royal activities, thus indicating that state formation, the establishment of an elite, social level and urbanism in the region existed in the days of the early kings of Israel. These finds strengthen the historicity of the biblical tradition and its architectural description of the Palace and Temple of Solomon.

According to Prof. Garfinkel, “This is the first time that archaeologists uncovered a fortified city in Judah from the time of King David. Even in Jerusalem we do not have a clear fortified city from his period. Thus, various suggestions that completely deny the biblical tradition regarding King David and argue that he was a mythological figure, or just a leader of a small tribe, are now shown to be wrong.” Garfinkel continued, “Over the years, thousands of animal bones were found, including sheep, goats and cattle, but no pigs. Now we uncovered three cultic rooms, with various cultic paraphernalia, but not even one human or animal figurine was found. This suggests that the population of Khirbet Qeiyafa observed two biblical bans—on pork and on graven images—and thus practiced a different cult than that of the Canaanites or the Philistines.”

Description of the findings and their significance

The three shrines are part of larger building complexes. In this respect they are different from Canaanite or Philistine cults, which were practiced in temples—separate buildings dedicated only to rituals. The biblical tradition described this phenomenon in the time of King David: “He brought the ark of God from a private house in Kyriat Yearim and put it in Jerusalem in a private house” (2 Samuel 6).

The cult objects include five standing stones (Massebot), two basalt altars, two pottery libation vessels and two portable shrines. No human or animal figurines were found, suggesting the people of Khirbet Qeiyafa observed the biblical ban on graven images.

Two portable shrines (or “shrine models”) were found, one made of pottery (ca. 20 cm high) and the other of stone (35 cm high). These are boxes in the shape of temples, and could be closed by doors.

The clay shrine is decorated with an elaborate façade, including two guardian lions, two pillars, a main door, beams of the roof, folded textile and three birds standing on the roof. Two of these elements are described in Solomon’s Temple: the two pillars (Yachin and Boaz) and the textile (Parochet).

The stone shrine is made of soft limestone and painted red. Its façade is decorated by two elements. The first are seven groups of roof-beams, three planks in each. This architectural element, the “triglyph,” is known in Greek classical temples, like the Parthenon in Athens. Its appearance at Khirbet Qeiyafa is the earliest known example carved in stone, a landmark in world architecture.

The second decorative element is the recessed door. This type of doors or windows is known in the architecture of temples, palaces and royal graves in the ancient Near East. This was a typical symbol of divinity and royalty at the time.

The stone model helps us to understand obscure technical terms in the description of Solomon’s palace as described in 1 Kings 7, 1-6. The text uses the term “Slaot,” which were mistakenly understood as pillars and can now be understood as triglyphs. The text also uses the term “Sequfim”, which was usually understood as nine windows in the palace, and can now be understood as “triple recessed doorway.”

Similar triglyphs and recessed doors can be found in the description of Solomon’s temple (1 Kings 6, Verses 5, 31-33, and in the description of a temple by the prophet Ezekiel (41:6). These biblical texts are replete with obscure technical terms that have lost their original meaning over the millennia. Now, with the help of the stone model uncovered at Khirbet Qeiyafa, the biblical text is clarified. For the first time in history we have actual objects from the time of David, which can be related to monuments described in the Bible.
 

Read some of the highlights on Khirbet Qeiyafa and house shrines in the BAS Library.

Gerard Leval “Ancient Inscription Refers to the Birth of Israelite Monarchy” Biblical Archaeology Review May/June 2012.

Christopher Rollston “What’s the Oldest Hebrew Inscription?” Biblical Archaeology Review May/June 2012

Shanks, Hershel. “Newly Discovered: A Fortified City from King David’s Time.” Biblical Archaeology Review, Jan/Feb 2009, 38-43.

Garfinkel, Yosef. “The Birth & Death of Biblical Minimalism.” Biblical Archaeology Review, May/Jun 2011, 46–53, 78.

Dever, William G. “A Temple Built for Two.” Biblical Archaeology Review, Mar/Apr 2008, 55-62, 85.

Davies, Philip. “A Minimalist Disputes His Demise.” Biblical Archaeology Review Web Exclusive, December 2011.

Shanks, Hershel. “The Untouchables: Scholars Fear to Publish Ancient House Shrine.” Biblical Archaeology Review, Nov/Dec 2005, 20-25.