A handful of ancient Israelite inscriptions feature an enigmatic title that has been variously translated as “governor of the city” and “commander of the fortress.” Who was this figure? Read more…
Biblical Artifacts
Biblical artifacts are manmade objects, often found during archaeological excavations, that make a contribution to our understanding of the Bible and/or the historicity of Biblical events.
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Understanding an Ancient Israelite Military Title
• 01/29/2019
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Puzzling Finds from Kuntillet ‘Ajrud
• 01/28/2019
“Yahweh and his Asherah” is written across the top of this eighth-century B.C. drawing on a ceramic pithos from Kuntillet ‘Ajrud in the eastern Sinai. Some scholars have theorized that Read more…
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King Hezekiah in the Bible: Royal Seal of Hezekiah Comes to Light
• 01/26/2019
For the first time, the royal seal of King Hezekiah in the Bible has been found in an archaeological excavation. Read more…
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First Person: A Little Jot on a Jerusalem Column
• 01/14/2019
The Jerusalem Column is the first inscription from the Second Temple period where the full spelling of the Hebrew name of Jerusalem appears. Read more…
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Classical Corner: Phidias and Pericles: Hold My Wine
• 01/07/2019
One way we protect our things is to label them. Ancient Greeks were no different when it came to such practices, including two famous fifth-century B.C.E. Athenians. Read more…
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How Ancient Taxes Were Collected Under King Manasseh
• 01/01/2019
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 evidence for how ancient taxes were Read more…
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New Dead Sea Scroll Caves?
• 12/28/2018
Archaeologists have identified two new caves that may have once held Dead Sea Scrolls. Read more…
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Was Pontius Pilate’s Ring Discovered at Herodium?
• 12/04/2018
Thorough cleaning and advances in photographic technology have shed new light on this discovery. Read more…
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Why Did Early Christians Prefer the Codex to the Bookroll?
• 11/28/2018
Evidence shows that preserved early Christian manuscripts are more often codices than the then-established bookrolls. Why? Read more…
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Tischendorf on Trial for Removing Codex Sinaiticus, the Oldest New Testament
• 11/26/2018
Constantine Tischendorf’s chance finding of Codex Sinaiticus, the oldest New Testament manuscript, at St. Catherine’s Monastery in the Sinai—and his later removal of the manuscript—made him both famous and infamous. Read more…
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Five Museum of the Bible Dead Sea Scrolls Are Fake
• 10/23/2018
The Museum of the Bible announced that at least five of their Dead Sea Scrolls fragments have been determined to be fakes. Read more…
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The Nag Hammadi Codices and Gnostic Christianity
• 10/12/2018
Until the discovery of the Nag Hammadi codices in 1945, the Gnostic view of early Christianity had largely been forgotten. The teachings of Gnostic Christianity—vilified especially since they were declared Read more…
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2,000-Year-Old Jerusalem Inscription Bears City’s Name
• 10/09/2018
Archaeologists have unearthed a Second Temple period stone inscription that spells the name Jerusalem as Yerushalayim (as it’s spelled in Hebrew today). Read more…
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Precursor to Paleo-Hebrew Script Discovered in Jerusalem
• 10/08/2018
Alan Millard examines the Proto-Canaanite script of the earliest alphabetic text ever found in Jerusalem. What can it tell us about literacy during the time of David and Solomon? Read more…
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Early Christian Amulets: Between Faith and Magic
• 10/01/2018
Just like their pagan neighbors, Jesus’s followers of the first Christian centuries would commonly resort to protection amulets to guard themselves from illness and any kind of harm. Read more…
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Where Did the Philistines Come From?
• 09/22/2018
Excavators at Tell es-Safi/Gath, the site of Gath of the Philistines mentioned in the Bible, found an exceptionally well preserved horned altar reminiscent of the Israelite horned altars described in Read more…
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The Aramaic Dead Sea Scrolls
• 09/11/2018
What is the significance of the Aramaic texts among the Dead Sea Scrolls for elucidating the literary, societal, political, and religious contexts of ancient Judaism and nascent Christianity? Read more…
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The Tel Dan Inscription: The First Historical Evidence of King David from the Bible
• 09/10/2018
Few modern Biblical archaeology discoveries have attracted as much attention as the Tel Dan inscription—writing on a ninth-century B.C. stone slab (or stela) that furnished the first historical evidence of Read more…
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Word Play
• 07/28/2018
Three thousand years ago, when alphabetic writing had just begun to spread across the masses of the ancient Near East, written words were far more than idle marks meant simply Read more…
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Scribes in the Dead Sea Scrolls
• 07/23/2018
What can we learn about scribes and scribal activity from the Dead Sea Scrolls? Read more…
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Ancient Scribe Links Qumran Scrolls to Masada
• 07/14/2018
Paleographer Ada Yardeni identified the handwriting of a single scribe on more than 50 Dead Sea Scrolls from Qumran and Masada. What can this tell us about the scribal community Read more…
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First Person: Was the Dead Sea Scroll Community Celibate?
• 07/13/2018
One of the many fascinating questions about the Dead Sea Scroll community living at Qumran is whether its members were celibate. Did they marry and have children or not? Read more…
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The Doorways of Solomon’s Temple
• 06/26/2018
In the Bible, the inner shrine of Solomon’s Temple is described as having five mezuzot. What are they? The question has puzzled Biblical scholars for centuries. Does a recently discovered Read more…
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The Animals Went in Two by Two, According to Babylonian Ark Tablet
• 06/18/2018
A recently translated Old Babylonian flood tablet describes how to build a circular ark.
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Papyrus Amherst 63 Up Close
• 06/01/2018
Karel van der Toorn contends that three Israelite psalms appear in Papyrus Amherst 63—although only one is attested in the Bible. Read more…
