Sep 27
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.
Sep 19
By: Marek Dospěl
Biblical psalms have throughout millennia been an important part of traditional Jewish and Christian worship. How were Biblical psalms originally performed?
Sep 17
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
By: Biblical Archaeology Society Staff
The origins of Jewish dietary or kosher laws (kashrut) have long been the subject of scholarly research and debate.
Sep 7
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
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.
Aug 4
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.
Jul 27
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.
Jul 18
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
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 […]