Current Digital Issue • May/June 2013 • Vol. 39 No. 3
About this issue: As the leafy trees outside become green and lush, the May/June 2013 issue of BAR is ripe with stories that deal with some much older, drier trees. As a result of earthquakes, Al-Aqsa Mosque on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount had to be dismantled and reconstructed in the 1930s and 1940s. Read more…
The Christian Flight to Pella: True or Tale?
According to fourth-century church historian Eusebius, on the eve of Jerusalem’s destruction by the Romans in 70 A.D., Jesus’ followers miraculously escaped the city and fled to Pella of the Decapolis in Jordan. After decades of excavation, have archaeologists been able to sift through more than 8,000 years of occupation history to find evidence of these early Christian refugees? Read more…
Wooden Beams from Herod’s Temple Mount: Do They Still Exist?
As a result of earthquakes, Al-Aqsa Mosque on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount had to be dismantled and reconstructed in the 1930s and 1940s. Massive Cedar of Lebanon and cypress beams were reused, and others were simply removed. Some of these beams are significantly older than the mosque itself. Were they once part of Herod’s Temple Mount architecture? Read more…
Cedars of Lebanon: Exploring the Roots
David’s Palace and Solomon’s Temple—two of the most famous structures in the Bible—were both built with Cedars of Lebanon (Cedrus libani) provided by the Phoenician king Hiram of Tyre. Dendroarchaeology, the archaeology of trees and wood, is now able to tell us why Cedrus libani was so treasured and how widely used it was in antiquity. Read more…
“The Lord Is One”: How Its Meaning Changed
A 1-inch rectangular gold leaf inscribed with the Shema‘ Yisrael (“Hear O Israel”) served as a protective amulet for a Jewish baby’s body in the Roman era. The declaration that “The Lord is One” in this incantation reveals that the Israelite deity Yahweh was more than just the sole God of the Jews, he was the only God. Read more…
