Biblical Archaeology Society Staff

By: Andrew McGowan

Theological scholar Andrew McGowan examines how December 25 came to be associated with the birthday of Jesus and became Christmas, a holiday celebrated by Christians around the world.

By: Shawna Dolansky

The serpent in the Garden of Eden is portrayed as just that: a serpent. The story in Genesis 2–3 contains no hint that he embodies the devil, Satan or any other evil power. So where does the devil come into the details of Eden? Biblical scholar Shawna Dolansky examines how the serpent became Satan.

By: John Ahn

Learn how to read the Book of Amos in context and how the prophet Amos’s message is relevant today.

By: Kim Jonas

Why did the ancients invent increasingly subtle and ingenious methods to arrive at an exact value of pi? Human curiosity.

By: Joan E. Taylor

Scholar Joan E. Taylor says that it’s worth remembering that Jesus’ earliest years were, according to the Gospel of Matthew, spent as a refugee in a foreign land.

By: Ronald S. Hendel

If we wanted to find the flood that gave rise to the legend of Noah’s Flood, we should look for a big flood in northern Mesopotamia, says scholar Ronald S. Hendel.

By: Jennifer Ristine

For a people living in the diaspora, unable to visit the Jerusalem Temple frequently, what kept the memory and centrality of the Temple fresh in their minds? An intriguing stone uncovered at the Galilean site of Magdala might offer a clue.

By: Trevor Bryce

In the latter part of the second millennium B.C., the Hittite empire was a Near Eastern superpower. Then, suddenly, the empire collapsed and Hattusa was invaded and destroyed.

By: Biblical Archaeology Society Staff

The Gospel of Matthew describes an earthquake during Jesus’ Crucifixion. Sediment disturbances mentioned in a recent article in the International Geology Review points to the Biblical earthquake and may give a concrete date of the crucifixion. Painting by James Jacques Tissot.

By: BAS Staff

Was there really weeping from the Judahite exiles by the rivers of Babylon? New evidence suggests that life was actually pretty good for some Judahite deportees and their successors.