Apr 3
By: Megan Sauter
What kind of stone sealed the tomb of Jesus? Was it a round (disk-shaped) stone or a square (cork-shaped) stone? While both kinds of blocking stones are attested in Jerusalem tombs from the time of Jesus, square (cork-shaped) stones are much, much more common than round (disk-shaped) ones.
Jan 6
By: Megan Sauter
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.
Dec 25
By: Andrew McGowan
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.
Dec 17
By: Biblical Archaeology Society Staff
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 over time.
Dec 9
By: Megan Sauter
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.
Nov 26
By: Biblical Archaeology Society Staff
Compare differences in the Biblical text between the King James Version and Codex Sinaiticus, the oldest New Testament.
Nov 26
By: Ellen White
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. Is he a hero or thief?
Oct 4
By: Megan Sauter
Stephen J. Patterson discusses what Jesus meant when he referred to “eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 19:11–12).
Sep 23
By: Ellen White
The Christian apocrypha—noncanonical gospels—didn’t make the cut. But were they truly rejected, suppressed and destroyed? Until recent times there was no doubt. But now this “truth” may be unraveling. Many early Christians may have regarded these apocryphal texts as sacred.
Sep 13
Who was the first person to truly recognize Jesus as the messiah and understand the implications? Biblical scholar Ben Witherington III takes a close look at the account given in Luke, and sheds some light on what the Biblical narrative has to say about who was the first to recognize Jesus as the messiah.
