People & Cultures in the Bible

People & Cultures in the Bible

Jezebel

Mar 12

How Bad Was Jezebel?

By: Janet Howe Gaines

For more than two thousand years, Jezebel has been saddled with a reputation as the bad girl of the Bible, the wickedest of women. But just how depraved was she?

Mar 10

Abraham and Lot in the Bible

By: Megan Sauter

Ancient interpreters frequently painted Lot as greedy and unscrupulous—a foil to Abraham’s righteousness.

Gospel of Thomas (Sayings of Jesus) from the Nag Hammadi

Mar 7

The Gospel of Thomas’s 114 Sayings of Jesus

By: BAS Staff

Read the 114 sayings of Jesus from the Gospel of Thomas as translated by Stephen J. Patterson and James M. Robinson.

hezekiah-bulla

Mar 3

King Hezekiah in the Bible: Royal Seal of Hezekiah Comes to Light

By: Robin Ngo

For the first time, the royal seal of King Hezekiah in the Bible has been found in an archaeological excavation.

Deborah in stained glass by Chagall

Feb 27

Deborah in the Bible

By: Robin Gallaher Branch

Deborah, the only female judge in the Bible, excelled in multiple areas. She served ancient Israel as a prophet, judge, military leader, songwriter, and minstrel.

Woodcut from Die Bibel in Bildern (1860) by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld.

Feb 13

Jesus Was a Refugee

By: Joan E. Taylor

Scholar Joan E. Taylor says that it’s worth remembering that Jesus’ earliest years were, according to the Gospel of Matthew, spent as a refugee in a foreign land.

Joshua hangs back as Moses leads him by the hand in this 15th-century stained-glass panel from the Church of St. Lawrence in Nuremberg, Germany. Image: Sonia Halliday.

Feb 13

Joshua in the Bible

By: Elie Wiesel

Joshua inherits authority from Moses but not his charisma. God performed miracles for Joshua, even causing the sun to stand still, but Joshua’s speech lacks the prophet's magic. Joshua’s story is melancholy: violent victory tinged by deep sadness. As award-winning author and activist Elie Wiesel examines.

Woman, Unnamed

Feb 11

The Three Most Important Women in Mark’s Gospel—All Unnamed

By: James Tabor

Clearly in Mark the 12 male disciples are complete failures and are never presented as heroes, even at the end. However, what we do find in Mark, in stark contrast to this chosen group, are three unnamed women who become Mark’s heroines and carry the core message of the entire book for those readers with eyes to see and ears to hear.

Herod Antipas

Feb 10

Herod Antipas in the Bible and Beyond

By: Biblical Archaeology Society Staff

Who was Herod Antipas? This son and successor of Herod the Great ruled Galilee when Jesus lived, and he participated in the trial of Jesus. In BAR, Morten Hørning Jensen examines what archaeology can tell us about this not-so-great Herod.

Herod the Great Coin

Feb 8

30 People in the New Testament Confirmed

By: Lawrence Mykytiuk

Archaeology has confirmed 53 people from the Hebrew Bible. What about the New Testament? In BAR, Lawrence Mykytiuk examines the political figures in the New Testament who can be identified in the archaeological record and by extra-Biblical writings.