The Ancient Near Eastern World

By: Marek Dospěl

Ancient texts are generally difficult to interpret. Even seasoned scholars of the ancient Near East who have spent many years learning to read the cuneiform […]

By: Robert Cargill

I recently published a book titled Melchizedek, King of Sodom: How Scribes Invented the Biblical Priest-King. A highly technical book, it contains much textual analysis […]

By: Biblical Archaeology Society Staff

While some scholars suggest that temple prostitution was practiced in ancient Israel, Edward Lipiński argues that neither the Bible nor archaeology provides any clear evidence that Israelite religion incorporated the sexual rites of Canaanite goddesses.

By: Don Knebel

Mr. Don Knebel traveled with BAS to Egypt in 2007; subsequently Jordan and many other places in the world.   In 2015 he wrote “Flushed with Curiosity; […]

By: Jonathan Laden

Two Moabite inscriptions appear on a 2,800-year-old stone altar from Ataroth in modern Jordan. Notably, the words are written in the Moabite language and script, […]

By: Megan Sauter

Temples have been found throughout the ancient Near East. What went on at these sites? Along with reconstructing architectural remains, can scholars piece together ancient worship practices? […]

By: Megan Sauter

Those who sat on the throne of Egypt, one of the mightiest kingdoms of the ancient world, wielded a tremendous amount of power. At a time […]

By: Jonathan Laden

A massive staircase made of basalt plates 4.5 meters wide has been discovered at Tell Hazor, an ongoing excavation by Hebrew University, a part of the Selz Foundation Hazor Excavations in memory of Yigael Yadin. The lead archaeologists are Prof. Amnon Ben-Tor and Dr. Shlomit Bechar.

By: Robin Ngo

An ancient clay tablet acquired in recent years by the Sulaymaniyah Museum in Iraq offers new insights into the Gilgamesh Epic.

By: Ellen White

Archaeology tells us a lot about the Hittites—and the Neo-Hittites too. But it’s hard to reconcile this with the Hittites of the Bible.