How did the Jewish name Ya’akov, properly translated as Jacob, become James in English versions of the Bible? 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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James or Jacob in the Bible?
• 09/15/2018
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Barnabas: An Encouraging Early Church Leader
• 09/08/2018
Who is Barnabas in the Bible? In part one of this two-part study, Robin Branch describes the traits that define Barnabas as an early church leader. Read more…
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Part II—Barnabas: An Encouraging Early Church Leader
• 09/08/2018
Who is Barnabas in the Bible? In part two of this two-part study, Robin Branch further analyzes the traits that define Barnabas as an early church leader. Read more…
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Lydia and Tabitha in the Bible
• 08/29/2018
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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Herod’s Death, Jesus’ Birth and a Lunar Eclipse
• 08/18/2018
Read letters published in the Q&C section of BAR debating the dates of Herod’s death, Jesus’ birth and to which lunar eclipse Josephus was referring. Read more…
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Scandalous Women in the Bible
• 08/16/2018
Mary Magdalene, Jezebel, Rahab, Lilith. Today, each are popularly considered scandalous women in the Bible. Are these so-condemned salacious women misrepresented? Read more…
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Herod the Great and the Herodian Family Tree
• 08/14/2018
See a visualization of the Herodian family tree and key events in the New Testament related to members of the Herodian family. Read more…
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Rahab the Harlot?
• 08/11/2018
In the Book of Joshua, Rahab (a Biblical heroine nonetheless known as “Rahab the Harlot”) assisted two Israelite spies in escaping out a window and down the city wall of Read more…
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Anna in the Bible
• 05/26/2018
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…
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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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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…
