The Ancient Near Eastern World

The Ancient Near Eastern World

Cuneiform tablets from the site of Nuzi in northern Iraq. Zunkir, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Jun 13

The Nuzi Tablets

By: Philippe Bohström

Northern Iraq is a landscape steeped in both historical and economic significance. During the early 20th century, international oil consortiums dispatched businessmen, geologists, and engineers […]

canaanite-sidon-burial

Jun 1

What Happened to the Canaanites?

By: Robin Ngo

For the first time, researchers have conducted DNA sequencing on ancient Canaanite skeletons and have determined where the Canaanites’ descendants can be found today.

Satellite view of the city of Tyre in southern Lebanon. Image: Google Earth, with data from Airbus, Sata SIO, NOAA, US Navy, NGA, GEBCO, Landsat/Copernicus

May 27

The House of Tyre

By: John Drummond

Unlike many of ancient Israel’s neighbors, the Phoenicians were often presented favorably by the biblical writers. The city-state of Tyre, in particular, was considered one […]

DNA

May 24

Jews and Arabs Descended from Canaanites

By: Jonathan Laden

After examining the DNA of 93 bodies recovered from archaeological sites around the southern Levant, the land of Canaan in the Bible, researchers have concluded […]

sidon-ram-human-deity

May 18

Biblical Sidon—Jezebel’s Hometown

By: BAS Staff

The city of Sidon on the coast of modern Lebanon is mentioned 38 times in the Hebrew Bible. Recent excavations have exposed part of the ancient Canaanite—and later Phoenician—city, including a massive temple and depictions of deities worshiped at Sidon.

eurytios-krater-louvre

May 10

What Does the Bible Say About Dogs?

By: Megan Sauter

A survey of dogs’ portrayals in ancient Near Eastern and Mediterranean cultures shows that far from being perceived as “unclean,” dogs served as companions, guard dogs, sheep dogs, hunters, and—surprisingly—physicians.

Gobekli Tepe

May 8

The Göbekli Tepe Ruins and the Origins of Neolithic Religion

By: Biblical Archaeology Society Staff

The massive stone enclosures of the Göbekli Tepe ruins may be the earliest examples of Neolithic religion.

Delphi Oracle

Apr 29

The Oracle of Delphi—Was She Really Stoned?

By: Jelle Zeilinga de Boer and John R. Hale

According to Strabo and other sources, the Pythia who gave prophecies on behalf of Apollo was inspired by mysterious vapors. Is there evidence that intoxicating gases actually drifted through the Temple of Apollo at Delphi?

Apr 28

Pharaoh Ramesses III in Jordan

By: Nathan Steinmeyer

The Jordanian Minister of Tourism and Antiquities announced the discovery of the cartouche of Pharaoh Ramesses III (1186–1155 BCE) carved into a rock face near […]

Stela from El-Amarna, Egyptian King Akhenaten is seen with his wife Nefertiti and their daughters bearing offerings to the sun-disk Aten.

Apr 10

Akhenaten and Moses

By: Robin Ngo

Pharaoh Akhenaten, who abolished the Egyptian pantheon and instituted worship of a single deity, the sun-disk Aten, in the mid-14th century B.C., may have established the world’s first monotheism. Did this influence the birth of Israelite monotheism?

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