Daily Life and Practice

Daily Life and Practice

Sep 27

A Biblical Spice Rack

By: Devorah Emmet Wigoder

The brevity of life is compared to the delicate bloom of the caper in one of the Bible’s many references to fragrant and edible plants. Enjoy a glimpse of some of these plants.

ancient-music-lute-player

Sep 19

How Were Biblical Psalms Originally Performed?

By: Marek Dospěl

Biblical psalms have throughout millennia been an important part of traditional Jewish and Christian worship. How were Biblical psalms originally performed?

Temple on Mount Gerizim

Sep 17

The Temple on Mount Gerizim—In the Bible and Archaeology

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? […]

Sep 10

Making Sense of Kosher Laws

By: Biblical Archaeology Society Staff

The origins of Jewish dietary or kosher laws (kashrut) have long been the subject of scholarly research and debate.

Einot Amitai

Sep 7

Jewish Purification: Stone Vessel Workshop Discovered in Galilee

By: Robin Ngo

An excavation at a cave in Galilee has uncovered what may be a 2,000-year-old stone vessel production center. In the first century C.E., Jews commonly used stone vessels in observance of Jewish purity laws.

Sep 3

First Temple Cheating Weight

By: Nathan Steinmeyer

A First Temple cheating weight was found at City of David, dating from Iron Age Jerusalem. The 2,700-year-old stone is four times as heavy as its markings indicate. There were several admonitions against cheating in this manner, in the Bible.

Medically Hole-drilled Skull

Aug 4

Medicine in the Ancient World

By: Sarah Yeomans

What exactly did ancient cultures do to combat disease and injury, and did these methods have any real basis in science as we know it today? The answers may surprise you.

Dove

Jul 27

The Enduring Symbolism of Doves

By: Dorothy Willette

Few symbols have a tradition as long and as rich as the dove. Read about what it represents and how its use has been shared, adapted and reinterpreted across cultures and millennia to suit changing belief systems.

Delphi Oracle

Jul 18

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?

May 26

Harvesting the Balm of Gilead 

By: BAS Staff

In the Summer 2023 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review, Zohar Amar of Bar-Ilan University identifies the biblical “balm of Gilead” with the resin from the […]