Nov 21
By: Megan Sauter
In ancient Israel, were gluttony and drunkenness—excessive eating and drinking—viewed as acceptable behaviors? As it turns out, the answer is somewhat complicated. On the one […]
Nov 2
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?
Oct 27
By: Megan Sauter
Genesis 38 recounts the saga of Judah and Tamar. Er, Judah’s oldest son, marries Tamar, but he dies, leaving her a childless widow. Er’s brother […]
Oct 21
The oldest Hebrew Bible texts are the Dead Sea Scrolls (c. 250 B.C.E.–115 C.E.), but the most nearly complete copies of the Hebrew Bible are codices from a thousand years ago. What happened in the period between these two discoveries? The Ashkar-Gilson Manuscript fills the gap in our knowledge of this interim period.
Oct 14
By: Megan Sauter
Although Leviticus 19:28 clearly prohibits tattoos, it does not give an explicit reason why. This begs the question: Why does the Bible prohibit tattoos?
Oct 6
By: Biblical Archaeology Society Staff
The Book of Genesis tells us that God created woman from one of Adam’s ribs. But Biblical scholar Ziony Zevit says that the traditional translation of the Biblical text is wrong: Eve came from a different part of Adam’s body—his baculum.
Oct 6
By: Jennifer Drummond
Giants have long appeared in the tales and folklore of people throughout the world. Larger than life characters such as the Cyclops from the Odyssey […]
Sep 28
By: Ellen White
Dogs—or celeb in Hebrew—were not well loved in the Bible. Given the negative associations with dogs, it is surprising that one of the great Hebrew spies bears this name.
Sep 26
By: John Drummond
Sandwiched between the genealogies of Adam’s descendants and the tale of Noah’s flood are a few enigmatic verses that leave many of us scratching our […]
Sep 7
By: Ronald S. Hendel
If we wanted to find the flood that gave rise to the legend of Noah’s Flood, we should look for a big flood in northern Mesopotamia, says scholar Ronald S. Hendel.
