Reviews

Enjoy book reviews by top scholars on wide-ranging topics in religion, archaeology and Biblical studies.

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• The Biblical Archaeology Society 2013 Publication Awards Winners

  Biblical Archaeology Society Staff   •  08/13/2013

  

  The 2013 Biblical Archaeology Society Publication Awards recognize the best books published in 2011 and 2012. The biennial BAS Publication Awards for books about archaeology and the Bible have been   Read more…
  2 comments

• Ancient Gospel or Modern Forgery

  Reviewed by James D.G. Dunn   •  08/13/2013

  

  James D.G. Dunn reviews “Ancient Gospel or Modern Forgery: The Secret Gospel of Mark in Debate” edited by Tony Burke.   Read more…
  2 comments

• The Lives of Ordinary People in Ancient Israel

  Reviewed by Eric H. Cline   •  08/13/2013

  

  Eric H. Cline reviews “The Lives of Ordinary People in Ancient Israel:Where Archaeology and the Bible Intersect” by William G. Dever.   Read more…
  No comments

• The Iron Age I Structure on Mt. Ebal

  Reviewed by Aren Maeir   •  08/01/2013

  

  Aren Maeir reviews “The Iron Age I Structure on Mt. Ebal: Excavation and Interpretation” by Ralph K. Hawkins.   Read more…
  2 comments

• The Dead Sea Scrolls—A Biography

  Reviewed by Charlotte Hempel   •  06/12/2013

  

  Charlotte Hempel reviews “The Dead Sea Scrolls—A Biography” by John J. Collins.   Read more…
  1 comment

• The Walls of the Temple Mount (2 vols.)

  Reviewed by Shimon Gibson   •  06/07/2013

  

  Shimon Gibson reviews “The Walls of the Temple Mount (2 vols.)” by Eilat Mazar (with Y. Shalev, P. Reuven, J. Steinberg and B. Balogh).   Read more…
  2 comments

• Louis C. Tiffany and the Art of Devotion

  Dorothy Willette   •  05/06/2013

  

  Dorothy D. Resig reviews “Louis C. Tiffany and the Art of Devotion” edited by Patricia C. Pongracz.   Read more…
  2 comments

• Doyen of the Dead Sea Scrolls

  Reviewed by Weston W. Fields   •  04/10/2013

  

  Weston W. Fields reviews “Doyen of the Dead Sea Scrolls” by Zdzislaw J. Kapera and Robert Feather.   Read more…
  1 comment

• Back-Breakers from Ashkelon and Hazor

  Reviewed by William G. Dever   •  04/03/2013

  

  William G. Dever reviews “Ashkelon 3 The Seventh Century B.C.” and “Hazor: The 1990–2009 Excavations: The Iron Age” by Lawrence E. Stager, Daniel M. Master, J. David Schloen, Amnon Ben-Tor,   Read more…
  No comments

• The Biblical Archaeology Society 2013 Publication Awards Call For Entries

  Biblical Archaeology Society Staff   •  02/19/2013

  

  Nominations are invited for the 2013 Biblical Archaeology Society Publication Awards, for books published in 2011 and 2012. The biennial BAS Publication Awards for books about archaeology and the Bible   Read more…
  No comments

• Paul and Jesus

  Reviewed by James D.G. Dunn   •  02/13/2013

  

  James D.G. Dunn reviews “Paul and Jesus: How the Apostle Transformed Christianity” by James D. Tabor.   Read more…
  3 comments

• Le Projet Béthesda (1994–2010)

  Reviewed by Urban C. von Wahlde   •  02/13/2013

  

  Urban C. von Wahlde reviews “Le Projet Béthesda (1994–2010)” by Claudine Dauphin and Shimon Gibson.   Read more…
  No comments

• Alexander to Constantine

  Reviewed by Morten Hørning Jensen   •  01/10/2013

  

  Morten Hørning Jensen reviews “Alexander to Constantine: Archaeology of the Land of the Bible (Vol. 3)” by Eric M. Meyers and Mark A. Chancey.   Read more…
  No comments

• Jesus and His World

  Reviewed by George Giacumakis   •  12/12/2012

  

  George Giacumakis reviews “Jesus and His World: The Archaeological Evidence” by Craig A. Evans.   Read more…
  2 comments

• Parables of the Sages

  Reviewed by Étienne Nodet   •  12/12/2012

  

  Étienne Nodet reviews “Parables of the Sages: Jewish Wisdom from Jesus to Rav Ashi” by R. Steven Notley and Ze’ev Safrai.   Read more…
  No comments

• The Fiscus Judaicus and the Parting of the Ways

  Reviewed by Shaye J.D. Cohen   •  10/10/2012

  

  The fiscus Judaicus was a tax imposed on the Jews of the Roman Empire by Emperor Vespasian in the early 70s C.E. Whereas formerly the Jews had sent a half   Read more…
  4 comments

• Jesus, Paul and the Gospels

  Reviewed by Sean Freyne   •  09/13/2012

  

  Sean Freyne reviews “Jesus, Paul and the Gospels” by James D.G. Dunn.   Read more…
  No comments

• Assessing Biblical Atlases

  Reviewed by Harold Brodsky   •  08/27/2012

  

  Harold Brodsky reviews “The New Moody Atlas of the Bible” and “Zondervan Atlas of the Bible” by Barry J. Beitzel and Carl G. Rasmussen.   Read more…
  No comments

• Byzantium and Islam

  Reviewed by Steven Werlin   •  08/08/2012

  

  Steven Werlin reviews “Byzantium and Islam: Age of Transition”, edited by Helen C. Evans with Brandie Ratliff.   Read more…
  No comments

• Writing and Literacy in the World of Ancient Israel

  Reviewed by Alan Millard   •  06/14/2012

  

  Did ancient Israelites write? Is there evidence apart from the Hebrew Bible? If so, what did they write? And who could write? Inscriptions on stone, notes and scribbles on pots   Read more…
  2 comments

• The Coins of Herod: A Modern Analysis and Die Classification

  Reviewed by David Hendin   •  06/13/2012

  

  It turns out that Herod the Great was great at a lot of things—but making coins was not one of them. “Herod’s numismatic legacy is disappointing to say the least,”   Read more…
  No comments

• How Jewish Is the New Testament?

  Reviewed by James D.G. Dunn   •  04/17/2012

  

  The Jewish Annotated New Testament. Edited by Amy-Jill Levine and Marc Zvi Brettler
  This volume introduces the text of the New Testament along with 30 brief essays by some 50   Read more…
  4 comments

• The Art and Science of Textual Criticism

  Reviewed by James A. Sanders   •  04/17/2012

  

  Textual Criticism of the Hebrew Bible by Emanuel Tov.
  This third edition of Tov’s enlightening treatise is the necessary handbook for the understanding and practice of the art and science of   Read more…
  2 comments

• Molten Color

  Reviewed by Dorothy D. Resig   •  04/17/2012

  

  Molten Color by Karol B. Wight.
  This book was directly inspired by the Molten Color exhibit that Wight installed at the Getty Villa for its reopening in 2006, and virtually all   Read more…
  No comments

• Jesus and Biblical Archaeology: Very Short Introductions

  Reviewed by Leonard Greenspoon   •  03/21/2012

  

  Oxford University Press has published more than 300 “short introductions” to almost every imaginable topic (and some, frankly, that I never would have imagined). Among them are the two diminutive   Read more…
  No comments