Bible History Daily

Bible History Daily

Neolithic Bread from Catal Hoyuk. Courtesy Necmettin Erbakan University

Mar 18

Neolithic Bread at Catal Hoyuk

By: Nathan Steinmeyer

Excavations at the important site of Catal Hoyuk in south-central Turkey have uncovered what archaeologists have termed “the world’s oldest bread.” According to a press […]

Preserved hair from a Jewish male found in the 1st-century “Tomb of the Shroud”

Mar 17

The Only Ancient Jewish Male Hair Ever Found

By: James Tabor

The braided hair of a Jewish woman was found at Masada but until recently no example of preserved hair from a Jewish male had ever been found from the late 2nd Temple period. This discovery is one of the many fascinating, but less publicized finds of the 1st century “Tomb of the Shroud,” discovered in the summer of 2000 just outside the Old City of Jerusalem. The secrets this tomb continues to yield are many, including recent correlations with the DNA test results from the Talpiot Jesus tomb.

Mar 16

Eunuchs in the Bible

By: Megan Sauter

Stephen J. Patterson discusses what Jesus meant when he referred to “eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 19:11–12).

Tyrian Purple

Mar 15

Ancient Israel’s Tyrian Purple Factory

By: Nathan Steinmeyer

  Tyrian purple, tekhelet, royal purple: All names for an incredibly expensive, ancient dye. While this dye is often associated with the Phoenician city-state of […]

Puteoli graffito

Mar 14

Ancient Crucifixion Images

By: Biblical Archaeology Society Staff

Crucifixion images abound today—from sculptures and icons in churches to the masterful paintings hanging in museums. But how many of these actually give us a realistic idea of what Jesus’ crucifixion looked like? Do these artistic crucifixion images accurately reflect ancient Roman crucifixion methods?

Beth Shean in the Bible and Archaeology

Mar 14

Beth Shean in the Bible and Archaeology

By: Biblical Archaeology Society Staff

Beth Shean plays an important role in the Bible following the death of King Saul and as a major Israelite administrative center. Excavations over the past century have revealed what archaeology (and the Bible) can—and can’t—tell us about the site’s history.

Flat plastered stone installation and limestone pillar in the Azekah sun temple’s inner sanctuary

Mar 13

Bathed in Morning Light

By: BAS Staff

Nestled in the heart of the Shephelah with a commanding view over the Elah Valley, the Late Bronze Age (c. 1550–1200 BCE) Canaanite city of […]

The early alphabetic inscription, dated to the mid-15th century B.C.E., was preserved on a tiny sherd of painted Late Bronze Age pottery imported from Cyprus. Image credit: Austrian Archaeological Institute/Austrian Academy of Sciences.

Mar 12

Early Alphabetic Writing Found at Lachish

By: BAS Staff

A newly published inscription from Tel Lachish in southern Israel is the earliest alphabetic writing discovered in the southern Levant. The fragmentary inscription features a mere handful of letters inscribed on a tiny pottery sherd, measuring just 4 by 3.5 cm. The sherd is dated by radiocarbon to the 15th century B.C.E., or the first part of the Late Bronze Age.

Jezebel

Mar 12

How Bad Was Jezebel?

By: Janet Howe Gaines

For more than two thousand years, Jezebel has been saddled with a reputation as the bad girl of the Bible, the wickedest of women. But just how depraved was she?

Mar 11

Pompeii Reborn

By: Nathan Steinmeyer

The Pompeii Archaeological Park is launching a 100-million-euro project aimed at regenerating the archaeological and urban landscape of the ancient Roman city. As well as […]