Biblical Topics

Biblical Topics

Exodus in the Bible and the Egyptian Plagues

Mar 30

Exodus in the Bible and the Egyptian Plagues

By: Biblical Archaeology Society Staff

The Book of Exodus describes ten Egyptian plagues that bring suffering to the land of pharaoh. Are these Biblical plagues plausible on any level?

Mar 22

Covenants in Context

By: Jean-Georges Heintz

The theme of covenant is central to the Hebrew Bible. It provides the background to many of its most memorable stories where Yahweh establishes alliances […]

guido-reni-saint-james

Mar 21

James or Jacob in the Bible?

By: Mark Wilson

How did the Jewish name Ya’akov, properly translated as Jacob, become James in English versions of the Bible?

Roman Lady Mosaic from Pompeii

Mar 19

5 Ways Women Participated in the Early Church

By: Megan Sauter

What was life like for women in the Christian Church during the first century C.E.? When the books of the New Testament were being written, […]

Gospel of Thomas (Sayings of Jesus) from the Nag Hammadi

Mar 16

The Gospel of Thomas’s 114 Sayings of Jesus

By: BAS Staff

Read the 114 sayings of Jesus from the Gospel of Thomas as translated by Stephen J. Patterson and James M. Robinson.

robert-campin

Mar 12

The Split of Early Christianity and Judaism

By: Biblical Archaeology Society Staff

Northern Renaissance painter Robert Campin’s Marriage of the Virgin dramatically captures the split of early Christianity and Judaism.

The Apostle Paul in Arabia Petra Treasury

Mar 9

The Apostle Paul in Arabia

By: Megan Sauter

The New Testament recounts many episodes from the apostle Paul’s life. Yet it provides scant details about his visit to Arabia. In his letter to […]

Mar 8

The Riddle of the Rephaim

By: Jonathan Yogev

The identification of the beings known as “Rephaim” in biblical and ancient Near Eastern sources has caused much bewilderment throughout the years. Biblical dictionaries and […]

Mar 5

Where Was Moses Buried?

By: Marek Dospěl

Where was Moses buried? We don’t know exactly. Nor did the biblical writers: “Then Moses, the servant of the Lord, died there in the land of […]

pozo-moro-relief

Mar 2

Did the Ancient Israelites Think Children Were People?

By: T. M. Lemos

The Book of Exodus presumably reflects the views of its Israelite authors on their deity, morality, and the like. Why then would the Israelites have imagined Yahweh slaughtering Egyptian children for sins the children themselves had not committed? Did the Israelites even think children were persons with any type of rights?