Theodore Feder explores how a second-century pagan love story alludes to the Biblical tale of Adam and Eve. Read more…
Biblical Topics
Biblical topics encompass issues in the study of the Bible and Biblical archaeology, scholars and archaeologists who study the Bible, and issues in the interpretation of the Bible and Biblical archaeology findings.
-
Lovers’ Tale
• 02/14/2019
-
The Song of Songs: Love Is Strong as Death
• 02/13/2019
The Song of Songs (or Song of Solomon) from the Hebrew Bible is a love song beyond compare—although it has been compared to everything. Some have deemed it lewd entertainment. Read more…
-
The Story of Ruth
• 02/08/2019
According to Adele Berlin, the Book of Ruth illuminates the main theme of the Hebrew Bible: the continuity of God’s people in their land. Read more…
-
Galatians 3:28—Neither Jew nor Greek, Slave nor Free, Male and Female
• 01/15/2019
In her Biblical Views column in BAR, Biblical scholar Karin Neutel examines Paul’s vision for how we would live together in an ideal society. Read more…
-
Errors in the Masoretes’ “Original” Hebrew Manuscripts of the Bible?
• 01/09/2019
The Hebrew Bible today differs from the Bible manuscripts of the first millennium B.C.E. How do we identify alterations? Learn why critical editions of the Bible are essential. Read more…
-
Anastylosis at Machaerus, Where John the Baptist Was Beheaded
• 01/06/2019
Győző Vörös details the restoration work taking place at Machaerus—giving archaeological context to the New Testament episode featuring Princess Salome and John the Baptist. Read more…
-
How December 25 Became Christmas
• 12/25/2018
Theological scholar Andrew McGowan examines how December 25 came to be associated with the birthday of Jesus and became Christmas, a holiday celebrated by Christians around the world. Read more…
-
Christmas Stories in Christian Apocrypha
• 12/19/2018
The modern Christmas nativity scene is drawn from apocryphal texts in addition to the infancy narratives of Matthew and Luke. Read more…
-
Who Was Jesus’ Biological Father?
• 12/17/2018
Was Joseph Jesus’ biological father? If not, who was Jesus’ biological father? Andrew Lincoln examines what early Christians thought about conception and explains how views about this subject have changed Read more…
-
When Was Jesus Born—B.C. or A.D.?
• 12/12/2018
In which year was Jesus born? While this is sometimes debated, the majority of New Testament scholars place Jesus’ birth in 4 B.C. or before. This begs the question: How Read more…
-
Where Was Jesus Born?
• 12/09/2018
If Jesus was born in Bethlehem, why is he called a Nazorean and a Galilean throughout the New Testament? Philip J. King addresses this question in his Biblical Views column. Read more…
-
Who Was St. Nicholas?
• 12/07/2018
The legend of jolly old St. Nicholas evolved into Santa Claus in Christmas tradition, but who was St. Nicholas? Read more…
-
Were Mary and Joseph Married or Engaged at Jesus’ Birth?
• 12/06/2018
Were Mary and Joseph married or engaged when they traveled to Bethlehem? Biblical scholar Mark Wilson examines what the gospels say in this Bible History Daily guest post. Read more…
-
The Origins of “The Cherry Tree Carol”
• 12/02/2018
“The Cherry Tree Carol” is a Christmas carol that first appeared in 13th-century England; an American version was discovered in Appalachia in the 20th century. Stonehill College Biblical scholar Mary Read more…
-
The Aleppo Codex
• 11/27/2018
The world’s oldest Hebrew Bible, the Aleppo Codex, is missing pages—and not just a couple leaves, but four of the Five Books of Moses! What happened to them? Read more…
-
What’s Missing from Codex Sinaiticus, the Oldest New Testament?
• 11/26/2018
Compare differences in the Biblical text between the King James Version and Codex Sinaiticus, the oldest New Testament. Read more…
-
Tischendorf on Trial for Removing Codex Sinaiticus, the Oldest New Testament
• 11/26/2018
Constantine Tischendorf’s chance finding of Codex Sinaiticus, the oldest New Testament manuscript, at St. Catherine’s Monastery in the Sinai—and his later removal of the manuscript—made him both famous and infamous. Read more…
-
Women in the Bible
• 11/15/2018
Although the Bible is largely a product of the male-dominated societies of ancient Israel and the first-century C.E. Roman world, some of its most fascinating, evocative and inspiring characters are Read more…
-
Site-Seeing: Nimrod
• 11/14/2018
Nestled in the northern Golan between Tel Dan to the west and the Hermon Ski Resort to the east, there’s a site that is too often passed by: Nimrod Fortress. Read more…
-
What Were the Crusades and How Did They Impact Jerusalem?
• 11/11/2018
Some of the most famous churches in Jerusalem were built during the Christian Crusades by Crusaders wishing to memorialize sites they believed to have great Christian significance. Read more…
-
The Patriarch Abraham and Family
• 11/10/2018
In a special collection of Bible Review articles, Biblical scholars provide different avenues to understanding the Genesis account of the patriarch Abraham. Read more…
-
An Unexpected Consequence of the Christian Crusades
• 11/04/2018
The Fihrist, and the scholarship it represents, is one of the shining positives that emerged from the Crusades. Read more…
-
Lilith in the Bible and Mythology
• 11/03/2018
Who were the original humans that God created in the Garden of Eden: Adam and Eve? Or Adam and Lilith? A close look at the opening chapters of Genesis—and ancient Read more…
-
Who Is Satan?
• 10/31/2018
Does our modern conception of Satan have any resemblance to the devil in the Bible? Just who is Satan? Read more…
-
Video Lecture: “The Origin of Heaven and Hell”
• 10/31/2018
In this illuminating lecture, BAR Editor Robert R. Cargill will show you how heaven and hell came to exist so prominently in Jewish and Christian literature. Read more…
