Anna is one of the Bible’s most unusual women. Introduced at the end of the Birth Narrative (Luke 1:1-2:40), Anna concludes the sextet of named, pious Israelites surrounding the miraculous Read more…
People & Cultures in the Bible
Groups of people and cultures in the Bible such as the Israelites, the Egyptians, the Samaritans, the Pharisees and the Sadducees, as well as Biblical figures such as Adam, Eve, Moses, Rachel, Sarah, Mary the mother of Jesus, Joseph the father of Jesus, John the Baptist, and the disciples of Jesus.
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Anna in the Bible
• 05/26/2018
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Cain and Abel in the Bible
• 05/21/2018
World-renowned author and Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel reflects on the Biblical figures Cain and Abel in a Supporting Roles column for Bible Review. Read more…
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Minor Prophets in the Bible: Amos
• 05/16/2018
Learn how to read the Book of Amos in context and how the prophet Amos’s message is relevant today. Read more…
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Left-Handed People in the Bible
• 05/15/2018
Were the warriors from the tribe of Benjamin left-handed by nature or nurture? Read more…
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Jacob in the Bible
• 05/08/2018
Who did Jacob wrestle with in the Bible? Phyllis Trible connects this episode to her own struggle with feminism and the Bible in her Biblical Views column “Wrestling with Faith.” Read more…
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Titus Flavius Josephus and the Prophet Jeremiah
• 05/02/2018
In the first century C.E., during the First Jewish Revolt, the Jewish historian Josephus urged his besieged countrymen in Jerusalem to surrender to the Romans. Half a millennium earlier, Jeremiah Read more…
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Lydia and Tabitha in the Bible
• 05/01/2018
While the majority of the leaders of the early Christian church were men, the New Testament describes several prominent women leaders as well. Teresa Calpino analyzes two of these women—Tabitha Read more…
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Mark and John: A Wedding at Cana—Whose and Where?
• 04/29/2018
James Tabor discusses the wedding at Cana from the Gospels of Mark and John. Whose wedding was this and why were Jesus and his family present? Read more…
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Where Did Jesus Turn Water into Wine?
• 04/28/2018
Where did Jesus turn water into wine? According to archaeologist Tom McCollough in “Searching for Cana: Where Jesus Turned Water into Wine” in BAR, one site offers the most compelling Read more…
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Job Challenges God by Suing: God Responds
• 04/25/2018
After losing his health, wealth and children in inexplicable tragedies, the righteous and devout man Job questions God as to what he must have done to deserve such a heavy Read more…
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The Bethesda Pool, Site of One of Jesus’ Miracles
• 04/24/2018
The Bethesda Pool, where Jesus heals the paralytic man in the Gospel of John, is a complex site. It appears to have been a mikveh, or ritual bath. As the Read more…
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The Apostle Peter in Rome
• 04/20/2018
Brown University Religious Studies professor Nicola Denzey Lewis answers frequently asked questions about the apostle Peter. Denzey Lewis appears in the CNN series Finding Jesus: Faith, Fact, Forgery, which aims Read more…
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Jesus Before Pilate
• 03/29/2018
The Gospels offer a surprisingly excusatory depiction of Pontius Pilate, the Roman prefect of Judea directly responsible for Jesus’ death. While the contemporary sources do not mention Pilate’s fatal involvement Read more…
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Was Jesus’ Last Supper a Seder?
• 03/28/2018
Many assume that Jesus’ Last Supper was a Seder, the ritual Passover meal. Examine evidence from the synoptic Gospels with scholar Jonathan Klawans. Read more…
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How Was Jesus’ Tomb Sealed?
• 03/23/2018
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 Read more…
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Tour Showcases Remains of Herod’s Jerusalem Palace—Possible Site of the Trial of Jesus
• 03/20/2018
Visitors to Jerusalem’s Old City can explore remains of King Herod’s palace, which may be where Roman governor Pontius Pilate tried and condemned Jesus of Nazareth to death. Read more…
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How Bad Was Jezebel?
• 03/19/2018
For more than two thousand years, Jezebel has been saddled with a reputation as the bad girl of the Bible, the wickedest of women. This ancient queen has been denounced Read more…
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Was Mary Magdalene Wife of Jesus? Was Mary Magdalene a Prostitute?
• 03/17/2018
Was Mary Magdalene a prostitute who repented or simply an influential female follower of Jesus? Mary from Magdala has popularly been saddled with an unfavorable reputation, but how did this Read more…
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Lilith
• 03/15/2018
In most manifestations of her myth, Lilith represents chaos, seduction and ungodliness. Yet, in her every guise, Lilith has cast a spell on humankind. Who is Lilith in the Bible? Read more…
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Who Was Moses? Was He More than an Exodus Hero?
• 03/13/2018
Who was Moses? Was he more than an Exodus hero? Discover the Biblical Moses with Peter Machinist in his article “The Man Moses.” Read more…
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What Did Jesus Really Look Like?
• 03/04/2018
What did Jesus look like? In “Painting a Portrait of Jesus,” D. Moody Smith examined the difficulties in answering this question. Read more…
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The Virgin Mary and the Prophet Muhammad
• 03/03/2018
The Virgin Mary and the prophet Muhammad have a lot in common within their respective Christian and Islamic traditions, according to author Mary Joan Winn Leith. Read more…
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Isaiah’s Signature Uncovered in Jerusalem
• 02/22/2018
The Ophel excavations at the foot of Jerusalem’s Temple Mount have yielded numerous exciting discoveries, including a new Biblical signature. Archaeologist Eilat Mazar reveals what may be a seal impression Read more…
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King Hezekiah in the Bible: Royal Seal of Hezekiah Comes to Light
• 02/21/2018
For the first time, the royal seal of King Hezekiah in the Bible has been found in an archaeological excavation. Read more…
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Uncovering the Jewish Context of the New Testament
• 02/16/2018
Most Jewish readers approach the New Testament, if they approach it at all, with at best a certain unfamiliarity. This is unfortunate, according to Jewish New Testament scholar Amy-Jill Levine, Read more…
